By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
The other day, in my neighborhood, Gadumo new layout,in Lokoja, Kogi state, north central Nigeria, I came across a striking scene of a girl, no more than five years old, backing an infant who couldn’t have been more than a year.
I observed that she walked steadily, with a seriousness far beyond her years,the kind worn by those who have learned early that childhood is a luxury. That small girl, named Alisha, still supposed to be discovering the world through play, was already being ushered into the world of responsibility. At this stage I began to ponder.
But on the second thought, I noticed that in that moment, she seemed to be learning the ropes of caregiving, perhaps even wearing the robe of motherhood before her time.
It occurred to me that scene such as this is a quiet reminder of the burdens many children bear in the society and the roles they are made to play before they’re ready,before they even understand the weight of those roles.
