Some Islamic clerics in Lagos State on Sunday called for repositioning of the family and proper parenting for national peace, security and development in the country.
The clerics took turns to emphasise this at the 11th Ramadan Lecture and Special Prayer for the Nation organised by the Abdulwahid Islamic Foundation in Lagos.
Shaykh Abdur-Razaq Abdul-Malik, an Islamic Scholar, delivered the Ramadan lecture on “Re-Positioning the Family for National Development: Raising Positive Kids through Responsible Parenting.”
Abdul-Malik said: “The message we are passing is nothing than what has been stipulated by the Almighty God. For any nation building, it has to start from the family.Parenting starts from the father and the mother not schools.
“This has to do with human character building and good morals inculcated in the children by parents.This will translate from family to society and the world at large.
“Any family that does not take care of children is endangering the future of not only such family but the society. So, to build the nation, we need to start from the foundation which is the family.”
The guest speaker said that in the last 30 years, responsible parenting had been deteriorating in the country, hence the many challenges facing the country.
He said that education without morals would not take the nation far, adding that parental failure was responsible for pains facing many families, communities and the society at large.
The Grand Patron of the foundation, Shaykh Abdur-Rofi’i Muh Awwal, said that the theme of the lecture was chosen based on the challenges facing the nation.
“There is no harmony and security. We thought the foundation of the problem is the smallest unit of society which is the family. If parents realise their roles to teach their children morals, this nation will not be destroyed.
“If we don’t teach and train our children, they will bring headaches, restlessness, pains, and sorrow to the family and nation.
“My message to parents is that they should not rely on the teachers at the schools or alfas in the mosques but take responsibility for training their children,” he said.
Another speaker, Mr Olanrewaju Lawal, noted that parental failure and poor parenting had worsened national security which had also affected the nation’s economy and peace.
Lawal said that Muslim parents should ensure that their children eschew criminality, suicide bombings, kidnapping, cultism, saying Nigeria and Nigerians are now suffering from the negative effect of poor parenting.
In his remarks, Lagos State Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Waheed Ishola, said that training of children should not be left in the hand of mothers alone but by both parents to create a better society.
Ishola, who said that the theme of the lecture would not have come at a better time than now, noted that the society was filled with a lot of decadence.
He said that responsible parents should model the kind of behaviour they like to see in their wards, urging love, discipline and affection for children.
The Chairman of Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, Mr Dele Oshinowo, urged parents and clerics to go back to the holy books and start rebuilding families, saying the nation could not move forward without responsible parenting.
Oshinowo, who was Special Guest of Honour, urged religious leaders to work harder in preaching and admonishing parents and children on morality to reshape the negative trends of insecurity and criminality in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the special prayers were offered for the nation to be restored to the path of peace, progress and development. (NAN)
