AND THE CHILD DIED BY ANONYMOUS AUTHOR

I am sure a number of us have been following the story of the six-year-old boy who was murdered in Kano state on Sunday. The child was kidnapped from Kaduna state and taken to Kano where they murdered him after collecting one million naira ransom from his parents.

So pathetic! Is it not?

But more worrisome are the circumstances surrounding the death of that innocent child.

• The chief suspect among the kidnappers is a neighbor of the late boy’s family.

• This chief suspect sent the boy on an errand to a destination where his partners in crime were already waiting for the innocent child.

• The child went on the errand without telling his parents where he was going to.

• According to the report, the suspects who committed this heinous crime were people who the father of the deceased used to help.

• They killed the boy, even after collecting a ransom from his parents because they were afraid that he might reveal their identity. In other words, the boy knew them.

Matters arising:

• I will never get tired of warning parents not to trust anybody totally with their child. Teach your children to love and respect everybody but be careful and on alert while relating with people outside their home. Even at home, extended family member, in-laws, domestic servants and family friends should not be trusted, unless tested and proven to be genuine.

• Your child should not be sent on an errand by anybody without your consent. And don’t just give your consent without knowing where they are being sent to. Community life is no longer what it used to be, therefore, be very careful with the people you call friends and/or neighbours.

• Stop the idea of making your child an errand boy/girl to everybody in your neighbourhood. Many children have been sexually molested through that, some were knocked down by a vehicle, while very unfortunate ones like this boy lost their lives.

• For crying out loud, I don’t know why someone should send a six year old child on errand outside the compound where they live. Please don’t allow that, it is not right.

• If trying to protect your child will earn you bad names from your friends and neighbours, I will suggest that you better answer the bad name than lose your child.

• Understand that no other person can take care of your child the way you do. Therefore, never assume that somebody somewhere is there on your behalf for your children.

• Teach your children to say NO if anybody, no matter who, makes unpleasant demands from them. I talked about this in my new book “The Menace of Pedophiles”. Many children who fall victim to pedophiles were not able to say no when they needed to do so.

• The wave of kidnapping is so high now; sleep with one eye closed while the other eye watches your family members. I don’t know whether you are still comfortable with engaging the services of commercial bike or tricycle riders to take your child to and from school. If I were you, I will stop now.

I rest my case for now. May God comfort the family of that innocent child and give them the fortitude to bear their loss.