We Cannot Celebrate a Future We Refuse to Protect: A Bitter-Sweet Children’s Day By Olatunbosun S. Olanrewaju

We Cannot Celebrate a Future We Refuse to Protect: A Bitter-Sweet Children’s Day

By Olatunbosun S. Olanrewaju

Today, we celebrate. We decorate our streets, fill our homes with laughter, and sing the familiar anthem that children are the leaders of tomorrow and the ultimate future this nation truly relies upon. Their innocence is the truest mirror of our potential, and their goodness is the irreplaceable wealth this country desperately needs to survive.

However, as we look at the calendar today, we must realize that we cannot afford a celebration built on empty clichés. We cannot praise a beautiful future while failing to secure the immediate, fragile present. True celebration requires us to balance our joy with a fierce commitment to the safety of these young souls.

As we commemorate this day, our hearts are heavy. Just days ago, in the peaceful communities of Oriire in Oyo State, armed terrorists invaded schools and stole our children and teachers right from their classrooms.
​Let us be completely honest with ourselves: those young souls currently held in the dark depths of the forest did not offend God. They did not break the laws of the land. They are completely innocent. They are not offenders; they are victims of a system that stalled when it should have protected them. They did everything they were supposed to do, they woke up, put on their uniforms, and went to seek knowledge to build Nigeria’s tomorrow. And yet, the system failed to guard their gates.

Yet, while we gather in safety to mark this occasion, they remain trapped in the shadows of a brutal reality.
Therefore, I urge every parent, guardian, and anyone currently in possession of strength, influence, and power to speak deeply to the children around them today. Do not just offer them gifts; look them in the eyes and remind them of how incredibly valuable they are to the destiny of this country. We must preach to them from their childhood, giving them the knowledge and awareness of how the country truly is, so they grow up equipped to change it rather than be silenced by it. We must gently tell those who are safe today that while they are happy here, they must take a moment to pray for those who are not privileged. They must understand that they are celebrating Children’s Day while some of their peers are being abducted into the forest.

True love for our children means demanding a nation where going to school is no longer an act of terrifying bravery. We cannot keep quiet, and we cannot tell our collective conscience to hold up while our future is being bartered away by insecurity. We pray that the authorities move with decisive force and absolute wisdom to bring these children home safely to their parents. Remember it’s not just Children’s Day, it’s also Eid.

We pray that the bleeding ends soon in Nigeria, and that peace returns to our land. To every child surviving, dreaming, and holding onto hope across this country, Happy Children’s Day.