"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." ---Proverbs 13:24

I have said it before and I will say it again that a lot of our vices as Nigerians were learned from our colonial masters in the United Kingdom, and events in the news constantly bear me out. The difference probably is that since English is their native language, they are masters of using simple words to cover transgressions, while on the other hand we make use of superfluous words, the result it becomes obvious that we on the one hand are doing something untoward, while they appear to be doing things aright.

Good example is the recent case in Parliament where an honourable member, the aptly named Derek Conway was caught in bare faced nepotism, and further investigation revealed that it is common practice in Parliament. There is no doubt in my mind that had his transgressions not been made public, he would still be doing what he does best today. This kind of behaviour in Nigeria is called nepotism, or more colloquially, ima madu. The Brits on the other hand have a very cute name for it. They call it networking. Same difference, I get to a position because of someone that I know. Happens everyday here, no one is dead yet, country is 'making progress'. However, the similarities in our dark nature is not the main thrust of this write up. What I am interested in is one of our sillier similarities, the fine art of burying our heads in the sand.

In the news today was a story about a campaign to ban the 'Mosquito' device. According to the device's Wikipedia entry, the Mosquito is a product made to drive away teenagers from no-loitering zones. You see, teenagers have the ability to hear high frequencies which an older person can't hear because of presbycusis. This device works by emitting high-frequency tones at approximately 17.4 kHz. The tones can definitely be heard by people younger than 20 and almost never heard by people older than 30. It is claimed that exposure to the device has little effect for someone entering a store where the device is externally installed, but the sound becomes very annoying for those wishing to be around the immediate area for longer than 10 minutes. Although it will not force people to leave the area, due to a limit on volume (75 dB) it is effective at deterring random loitering.

The Children's Commissioner for England, Al Aynsley-Green, has started a campaign called Buzz Off aimed at scrapping the use of the device. One of his reasons is that it is discriminatory to all young people, another is that no one knows the real long term effects. He also argues that there are better ways of disciplining young people such as ASBOs. I agree with him in all of his reasoning except his suggestions on how exactly to deal with young people in this country.

I have been a victim of wild youth on the rampage before, and what I see each time I look out of my window is not exactly comforting. All this talk about ASBOs and 'talking to the kids' is not going to help out at all. As Jeremy pointed out in that article: "Yes something has gone badly wrong with parenting in the West. It all begins when little Timmy and Emma are allowed to choose their breakfast cereal from Tescos and start squealing when they don't get what they want - the birth of the little monster begins. Children don't learn table manners (a crucial boundary-setting device historically in the West) and are no longer disciplined for talking back. Its all a bit of a mess. So many people make terrible parents, trying to bring up kids with mom and dad stressed and tired from work, and always-on-tv the babyminder."

The question that arise for me is as follows: How many of my Nigerian contemporaries would have gone totally haywire were it not for a few well timed slaps?

Hell, Chxta might have ended up an armed robber if not that on more than one occasion my mum tore me a hot one, then reported me to my dad when he returned, he in his turn tore me a few hot ones, and depending on the severity of what I had done added a few lashes for good measure. In my view it is quite simple: when a child (like we all once were) is younger than a certain age (methinks 12 is about right), you can't really reason with such a child. The best way to let him know what is right from wrong is physical discipline. So that he would be afraid of committing an offence not because he really knows why it is wrong, but because he knows the consequences of his committing that offence. As he grows older and his reasoning capacity increases, then the parent can begin to explain to him the why of right and wrong. Respect for elders, something that is fundamentally lacking in this country, isn't something that people are born with. It is put into you as you grow up by setting boundaries and meting out the appropriate punishment as and at when due. That is where the UK has lost the plot.

Robot  # 1 | 13.02.2008 14:56

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