The Dangers Of Allowing Your Grandparents Raise Your Children, By Anayo M. Nwosu

Deji and Labake had been having issues on how best to raise their two boys. Both of them had come to realize that their careers had made them unable to devote good enough time for proper parenting. They were afraid that their children would turn out not-well trained should they not do something urgently.

The hardworking couple would not sacrifice their high paying jobs just to parent the kids. They needed to make the money now for a brighter and more secured tomorrow for themselves and for the kids.

Labake, Deji’s wife, was a banker and the husband was a scientist researching on the cure for AIDS.

It was Deji that first suggested that their children be sent to his parents in Ibadan and the wife reluctantly consented.

Labake had no other better option.

And the kids, aged 6 and 8 were shipped down to Ibadan to their ever willing grandparents.

Deji believed that his father, a 72 year old retired headmaster, who raised him up with iron hand to become a responsible son, would perform the same feat with his grandchildren.

Chief Ojudu, Deji’s father, was so happy that his son had finally agreed to send the children for him to train. He had made various attempts in the past to convince his son and his wife to allow him nurture the children, set them on good path and to uproot any trace of congenital bad behavior from them.

Now, he had the chance.

Deji’s dad was reputed as a very stern headmaster in his hey days. He even flogged auxiliary teachers who failed to prepare notes of lesson on time. A disciplinarian to the core, he was adjudged the most incorruptible in the whole of old Oyo State.

Even when their children returned to Lagos for short vacations, Deji and his wife could not notice that their children had grown from good to worse and were descending to worst in terms of character and learning.

Unbeknownst to Deji and his wife, their children had found the old grandparents very pliable and easy to handle. The grannies valued the company and presence of the children more than the task of parenting. They had been lonely and had found companionship in the little children.

Neither Deji and his wife nor the grannies knew the kind of damage being done to the children.

The grandparents were using archaic methods on digital children who had perfected smart ways to confuse or even abuse the oldies, the trainers.

Every young parent in Nigeria knows that the easiest way to spoil young children is to send them to be raised by aged grandparents especially those that have not updated their parenting skills.

It is however mind-bugling that the youths of Nigeria have now surrendered their future and that of their children to their greedy, poorly educated and outdated grandfathers.

Surprisingly, the youth still expect magnificent results from the spent parents.

Why would anyone expect the fearsome General Buhari to reenact at over 75, what he could do or did when he was 40 years old.

Why won’t we ask Segun Odegbami to play for Nigeria in the 2018 World Cup?

Enormous or tasking job is for the young to do not the retired.

What happens to every grandparents has set in the retired General Buhari and he can never be the same again. He has mellowed down and can only bark but not bite.

Ever wonder why he couldn’t punish his erring but loving political grandchildren accused of malfeasance or incompetence as he would have 40 years ago? He also shown any qualms in retaining his disharmonious kitchen cabinet whose key members are at each other’s jugular.

Our dear president is now tempered by age and could easily be played or hoodwinked as Deji’s children did to their grandparents. He is now more understanding and generous in love to his political children as against an efficient and transformative governance he promised during his presidential campaigns.

Baba has thrown away his koboko or gbulala and his famed mojo is lost.

People around Baba know the great man’s strength has obeyed and is still obeying the force of gravity. Accordingly, they now guide him like Odogwu masquerade who moves wherever those beside him lead him to.

The wife, Madam Aisha had sometime ago cried out so loudly to the hearing of the discerning but nobody cared to probe further. No curse would therefore affect her and her children. She did what Karma requires of her. She spoke out.

We are now wailing and stewing in our own juicy choice. We made the choice and must wait it out.

Only God knows what the smart political grandchildren around our national grandfather get him to sign or commit all of us to. We shall soon get to know.

No former strong man is immune to age induced weakness. Not even King Solomon or Alexander the Great.

It takes a smart Rebecca and a willing Jacob to confuse an old Isaac.

No man is the same after the age of 70.

A septuagenarian can even make a promise in a moment and would forget it within a blink of an eye.

In 2019, Nigeria would have to choose between two grandparents aged between 74 and 76 years old as our president.

Watch out! Most of our youth, who would campaign for either of them, would never send their children to be raised by their septuagenarian parents.

Not to even the presidential candidates. They fear the children could be spoiled.

Some arch supporters of immortal political grannies would not seek their candidate’s opinions on career or economic issues.

Yet, they would without any sound reasoning, hand over Nigeria, their future, to their aged parents to spoil.

Our fathers, have over the years, deliberately made us lose confidence in our abilities out of sheer selfishness with the sole intention to spend their own youth, spend ours and that of our own children.