By Abdu Rafiu
In matters of human affairs, experiences and what have you bordering on what editors
call human interest stories, reactions from readers are fast and sometimes they come in torrents. Predictably so because we are part of global human family. We see ourselves in the experiences of others. Even if it is easy to file away some, it is hardly so when it concerns children or the vulnerable.
Last week, this column ran the story of a 12-year-old girl fighting for what she called her identity. Another of the subjects that drew instant reactions is the column’s piece on Maryam Sanda Bello captioned ‘Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth’. Following are reactions to the two subjects and the piece on Vanishing Harmattan:
The outcry of Ayotomide Labinjoh is not about furthering of education or emotional stability for her daughter or herself. Dr. Adedeji Adeleke already provided both and she is not satisfied. She is inordinately desperate for her daughter and by extension herself to live in the United States. Little does she know that a person’s birthsoil is what provides the most solid foundation.
She claims her daughter is psychologically unstable, but worse awaits a 12-year-old migrant in the United States of today. There the child stands to end up scarred spiritually, in no time, Ayotomide’s yet unachieved goal to become a U.S. citizen is a blessing in disguise but her craving for a fanciful lifestyle overseas is making her miss the point. Majority of our gen-z females are only about fame, show-off, hedonism and flippancy. What a pity! Ayotomide’s mum should know that here in Nigeria, Dr. Adeleke’s compassion and connections can easily help her daughter and granddaughter actualise all their abilities but due to their being birds of the same feather, she too is nursing the ambition to have access to the United States, thus narrow-minded to see that in the United States, Davido is just another citizen and it’s only here in Nigeria that the name Davido-Adeleke opens doors.
M. LARNEE, Otta, Ogun State.
In this article