AS an enthusiastic cub journalist and a watchful observer, I have seen a rather unpalatable and inhuman trend that is gradually becoming a norm in our society. My basket mouth wants to leak and it would surely spew some unconventional truth to whoever cares to read further. After all, “truth is bitter.”
I was in church on one foot-dragging Sunday like that. Oh! How I dislike Sundays; I wish the Sabbath day could serve for Sabbath, a Hebrew word that means ‘Rest’, so I can indeed rest and sleep till the Sun sets but these 21st-century Pastors make them more exhaustive than even Mondays.
Well, this particular Sunday was an interesting one. It was Children’s anniversary at our church and many of the various programmes were taken over by these boisterous, zealous kids. They recited bible verses from their memory; they sang worship songs; they staged a play.
They did all except sermon and collection of the offering. Apparently, these children were happy to imitate their parents and Church mentors as some of them showed traits of becoming ‘Men of God’ in the future. How glorious they are as our Pastor thought loudly.
However, I left the Church with a shattered mind that day. It was becoming interesting; in fact, I was praying we could hold Children’s anniversary every Sunday until devastation passed through my staring gaze to my cogitative mind.
It was time for memory verse and about ten children trooped out from the Congregation; they had been made prepared by their Sunday-school teachers; they came out and recited their verses in very fluent English. They were reciting and simultaneously receiving clap-offering from the congregation.
When it got to the seventh or eighth kid, a young girl of about 10 years old stepped forward and Alas! She blurted out in Yoruba language, an action that ruffled the encomium. I was puzzled. Was it a deliberate plan by their teachers or by the young girl? I was curious and decided to find out.
As a result of my inquisitiveness, I was able to gather that the Young girl is the housemaid of one of the rich, well celebrated, and most acknowledged Elder of the Church; I also gathered that she is a stark illiterate from Benin Republic.
Oh! I felt sorry for the poor girl. Why was she included in the team of memory verse readers? That she has a good memory regardless of her academic deficiency? Or that she could be compensated with religious knowledge while she lacks basic education? Or that she could feel inferior among her pairs who are privileged to get a basic education? (Is Education supposed to be a right or a privilege? We shall get there).
The service was concluded and in Sobriety, I found my way to the comfort of my hostel. I engaged my roommate on the issue and we recounted various experiences with these hopeless kids.
I remembered a 12-year-old housemaid of a rich Aunt of mine. Her housemaid although attended a Primary school but she is also a stark illiterate.
Which Primary school did she even attend? Schools where the teachers, rather than teach, asked the pupils to help them sell goods, run errands and even wash clothes. Her parents probably saw how much knowledge she had gained from these kinds of teachers and sent her to go learn a trade after she finished Primary school. I can only imagine how successful a trader she would be without education.
There are many of such kids living in big houses with no hope of a better tomorrow; there are many people like my Aunt who prefer these school-age kids to mature ladies as housemaids. When you ask them why, the lame excuse you get is “Oh! You cannot trust these grown-up girls; they can snatch your man.” Is your man a commodity that can be snatched? I have seen many of such families and I can only imagine what society we are building.
While alone, I tried to wrap my head around many things. I thought about how poverty plagues many families, especially mine; I thought about my four younger sisters and quickly thank God they are better off these children that are shipped from one rich house to another to work as maids and make money for other members of their family.
I heard their parents use the remuneration of these girls to sponsor their male siblings’ education -– how about gender equality; I thought about the poor again and about the Rich – I resolved that a poor man doesn’t ask for too much, he wants his kids to go to good schools, and he wants a place to lay his head at night. Like Beautiful Nubia sang, “Is that too much to ask?”
While ruminating on what could be done to reduce this inhuman act, I thought about the Law and decided to consult my copy of the 1999 Constitution. The Educational Objectives of government as contained in Chapter II of the Constitution expressed the significance of Education to a serious government. Section 18(3) says “Government shall STRIVE TO ERADICATE ILLITERACY; and to this end government shall as and when practicable provide: (a) free, COMPULSORY and universal primary education; (b) free university education…”
This 21st-century slavery no doubt is an evidence of the failure of leadership. The constitution promises free education to tertiary level, but our leaders argue that education can never be free. Even with the commercialization of schools, our education system remains a total mess.
Primary education, albeit free in many states across the federation, is not made compulsory as promised by the constitution, else we would not see primary school age children on the streets hawking or in some mansions washing, cleaning and cooking day and night.
I suggest that Secondary education should also be free and compulsory. Parents who refuse to send their children to school should be dealt with by the government. Also, a law should be made to prevent this modern-day slavery by Rich people who send their own children to the best of schools and hire school-age children as maids.
“Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.” Says Maria Montessori. The injustice of Girl-housemaid is evident of the fact that successive governments have failed to provide affordable and qualitative education to the poor.
Education is supposed to be a RIGHT and not a rear Privilege. And pls spare me the trash of a quote that says, “If education is expensive, try ignorance.” In a sane clime, education should never be too expensive for commoners.
I shall plead with those at the top echelon in the society. Please, remember the less privilege in all that you do; remember those who ride hopes like horses — when you build your mansions, and ride in your fancy cars – rather than go to the altar with an offering envelope of N1 million, why not at least sponsor your hopeless neighbour’s education so that together with your children they can make the society a better place for all. There can only be sanity when there is equality.
Abimbola Odeyinka is a student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Department of Mass Communication.
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