Opinion

Kids Without Play Opportunities

Published

3 years ago

January 28, 2024

All work and no play”, it’s said, “makes Jack a dull boy.” Despite this age-long maxim that recognizes the role of play in early childhood development, play appears to be eluding many Nigerian kids. The deprivation of play opportunities comes in different forms for the Nigerian child depending on family’s social setting or status, but the effect is much the same. For children in Nigerian poor families, life is becoming as much a hassle as it is for their struggling parents. Due to harsh economic conditions, many families resort to engaging their kids prematurely in trading activities especially in hawking, to help boost family revenues, when these kids should be enjoying leisure after school. Some of these children barely attend schools while being forced to spend much of their childhood hustling in the streets. For children from well-off families, time could be as crunchy as it is for their busy parents when, obsessed with setting agenda for the future of their kids, parents arrange stringent educational regiment too early for their kids.
These group of children are made to get-off the bed by 5.30am every weekday, get ready for private school buses that call at 6.00am, otherwise report by however means to school at 7.20am.The situation is worse for kids in the city of Lagos where the need to beat urban traffic rush-hours is very high. Most children are further subjected to extra hours of lessons after school at 2.00pm, only to be released with loads of homework. On many occasions children who leave home for school at 6.30am get back by 3.30pm. With hardly enough time to eat, do school assignments and take afternoon naps, these children hardly had time for plays before dinners. In Nigeria, kids of ages between 3 and 12 spend averages of 9 hours a day and 45 hours a week to and from schools, and additional hours doing home assignments and domestic jobs, whereas their peers in developed countries spend about half that duration and have more time for leisure.
Any remaining spare time left after school work or street hustle is further stolen, when kids who usually are fascinated by gadgets, are exposed to household electronics like phones, tablets and gaming consoles. Electronic games may create a sense of leisure, but the difference with human interactions is that kids doing games interface mostly with machines or with programs structured in ways that entrap a child’s pysch directionally, according to the game’s programming, in ways that may not encourage independent thinking. Moreso, attraction to such gadgets displaces kids’ attention from important television and radio programmes. The prevalent tight, academic schedules for some Nigeria kids, though intended for academic excellence, encroaches on childhood leisure time needed to achieve an all-round childhood development, and could make children to resent formal education altogether. Besides, academic excellence or economic pursuit, is not all there is to living a well-nurtured life.
Children’s leisure time, defined as time left over after sleeping, eating, personal hygiene and attending school or day-care, is very crucial to childhood development. Sociologists recommend that children should have at least 40% of the day as leisure. According to Berry Brazelton, a former pediatrician at Harvard Medical School, “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about him or herself.” Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, and in the process build self-confidence and self-control. Play is one of the important ways in which young children gain essential knowledge and skills. Leisure time enhances learning as fun enables children to learn at their own level and pace. Young children naturally explore and learn many skills by making cognitive connections from events that catch their attention.
Unstructured plays help children developed their cognitive, physical and communication skills that make them acquire social qualities necessary in navigating relationships in adult life. Plays enable children assess how others feel and learn perspectives as well as empathy through observing differences in facial expressions, body language and even tone of voice, which helps them copy how to express themselves to others, and therefore develop socially acceptable behavours that build relationships. In cooperative activities, children willingly take things it in turn and may delegate roles. Children can also share the glory of winnings through competitive games, which is all great for working together in task sharing. Aside encouraging parents to ensure adequate leisure time for their kids at home, schools should make plays and exercises an integral part of the educational curriculum. The educational curriculum set by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) includes specific training durations and break periods, as well as sporting activities, as part of the school system.
Due to poor government funding, sports in public school has declined, while most private schools lack sporting infrastructure or even play grounds. These make recreational activities and sports implementation almost impossible in schools. Also the increasing rate of urbanization in Nigerian communities is gradually eroding ancient playgrounds, while established urban centres have lost community playgrounds. With tightening apartment spaces now being the norm in most urban residential areas, many kids are forced to wriggle within burglary-proof enclosures. Nigerian governments and the relevant agencies should ensure that existing child labour protection laws, educational and urban development codes are implemented in the country, to enable proper nurturing of children as the future stakeholders of our society. Private schools, especially, should be supervised to ensure they follow the educational curriculum standards set by NERDC.
In a bid to impress parents and draw more patronage as better option than public schools, private schools, most of whom operate in cramped environments, have continued to set high regiments of training schedules beyond the capacity of most kids, and even encourage enrollment of pre-school age kids who can’t sit still to listen for an extended periods of time. Schools, from creche to secondary levels, without playgrounds and recreational facilities should not be allowed to operate, and should be made to understand and implement appropriate curriculum and training durations. Many Nigerian kids, whether from rich or poor families, appear to have been set-up inadvertently, in the same leisure denial that affects their parents. All work and no play could lead to some messed-up kids who grow up not understanding social cues, and being unemotional and self-centered, manifest later as obsessive-compulsive adults. We need to pay attention to the kind of society we build, because all our leadership challenges may hinge on it, we need an economic Blueprint that will enrich every Rivers senatorial district from investment to grow productivity and to enrich every Rivers person from career-based productive labour, just as Pharaoh was enriched by Joseph’s economic Blueprint”.
We thank God who is above all human contrivance and arrogance. Congratulations, Your Excellency Amaopusenibo Sir Siminialayi Joseph Fubara. Your victory takes us back to the Bible as a living document of a God that rules in the affairs of all His creation. In a manner of speaking, welcome back from your first war with Phillistines, Your Excellency! Yes, first example is David and Goliath! And like David, Your Excellency stands over Goliath in victory. But that is not enough. Our real enemy is that Your Excellency is Governor of a State with a wretched economy. Indigenes of Your State are today reduced to battalions of beggars waiting for who will hire their loyalty on the usual “pay-as-you-go” basis.
Your Excellency, it brings us to another Bible- based parallel. Conscientious Rivers indigenes above 50, should identify with and commit our all to this second parallel. It is to liberate the economy and people of Rivers people from 23 years enslavement and poverty, for us to regain our dignity and pride. When the economy of Egypt was drifting into a disaster zone, even Pharaoh didn’t know it. He also didn’t know what to do. But God sent a Joseph to build the economy into a fortress of good fortune that overcame the economic and social disaster Egypt did not know was ahead. Your Excellency for 23 years Rivers State has been ruled without any logical, credible and consistent PLAN of how to overcome mass poverty from our dehydrated local economies.
Your Excellency, Rivers State cannot survive one month without Federal allocation! So called IGR only about 10% of Federal allocation. It is also not based on what we produce but on tax from other people’s productivity that pass through our State. Pharaoh did not know what to do in the case of Egypt. May it please God to position another Joseph in Governor Siminilayi Joseph Fubara to heal Rivers State and build an economy that all Africa will come to access in order to chart a new course out of worsening economic hardship that is caused by near zero investment in productivity and endemic reckless looting. They are the twin chambers nursing a corporate cancer unfolding across Nigeria and Africa. The hard work begins today, Your Excellency.
We need an economic Blueprint that will enrich every Rivers senatorial district from investment to grow productivity and to enrich every Rivers person from career-based productive labour, just as Pharaoh was enriched by Joseph’s economic Blueprint. Let Rivers State stop the trend of waisting the lives of young Rivers people recruited by Phillistines into cultism, thuggery and easy money, as a career. These Phillistines believe they have only lost one phase of many legal battles and battles by other means. But from comments in the public media, their eyes are fixed on 4-years of war and more! Your Excellency, we the people will not let you forget what you owe us. We have to make unbelievers SEE that your leadership is different and that we are uprooting the old order of an unproductive Feudal System. That system makes a few persons & their cronies to monopolize our collective wealth, while the majority are left in misery. Let’s put an end to enslavement by cabals and mass poverty in Rivers State. That is when the Phillistines will surrender.

Joseph Nwankwo

Opinion

Professor Kamene Okonjo: A Life Beyond Motherhood

Published

6 days ago

November 2, 2026

The Tide

Quote “Professor Kamene Okonjo’s life was a testament to the power of scholarship, courage and service. Beyond raising a daughter who would attain global prominence, she distinguished herself as an accomplished sociologist, an advocate for women’s empowerment and a royal matriarch whose remarkable journey included surviving a kidnapping at 82. At 96, she leaves behind a legacy that transcends family ties and deserves enduring recognition.”

Some women leave behind more than a family name. They leave behind a legacy of intellectual accomplishment, courage, service and commitment to humanity that deserves to be celebrated long after their departure. Professor Kamene Okonjo, the renowned sociologist, women’s rights advocate and mother of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), was one such woman. Professor Okonjo died on Friday, October 23, 2026, at the age of 96. Her death was announced on Sunday October 25, 2026 by the Umu Obi Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom in Delta State. Her passing has drawn tributes to a life distinguished by academic excellence, dedication to family, community service and the advancement of women.

Yet, to remember Professor Kamene Okonjo merely as the mother of one of Nigeria’s most internationally recognised women would be to tell only a part of her story. She was an accomplished academic whose contributions to sociology earned her recognition beyond Nigeria. Her lifelong interest in women’s rights and empowerment reflected a conviction that women deserved opportunities to develop their abilities and contribute meaningfully to society. Her life demonstrated that a woman could combine professional distinction with family responsibilities and traditional obligations without allowing one aspect of her identity to diminish the others. She occupied a place in the academic community while remaining a respected figure within the royal institution of Ogwashi-Uku.

Professor Okonjo was the beloved wife of the late Professor Chukwuka Okonjo, a distinguished scholar and former Obi of Ogwashi-Uku. Their marriage lasted 66 years, representing decades of companionship, family building and shared responsibilities. Together, they raised children who made their own contributions to society, including Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who served as Nigeria’s Finance Minister before becoming the first woman and first African to lead the WTO. Her daughter’s international accomplishments have naturally brought additional attention to the family. However, the late professor’s own scholarly achievements and advocacy for women’s advancement deserve recognition in their own right. The achievements of children may bring honour to their parents, but they should never obscure the individual contributions of those parents.

one of the most dramatic chapters of her life occurred in december 2012, when she was 82 years old. On December 9, 2012, Professor Okonjo was kidnapped in Delta State, an incident that attracted national and international attention. Her abduction was particularly disturbing because of her advanced age and the public position occupied by her daughter, who was then serving as Nigeria’s Finance Minister under President Goodluck Jonathan. Reports at the time indicated that her abductors demanded a substantial ransom. The incident also generated widespread concern about insecurity in the Niger Delta and the vulnerability of citizens to kidnapping. For five days, the family endured uncertainty over her whereabouts and safety. The situation became a major national concern, with security agencies intensifying efforts to secure her release.

On December 14, 2012, the then Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, confirmed that Professor Okonjo had been released. According to reports, she was dropped off near her residence. The governor attributed her release to pressure from security operatives, although the precise circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear. Her release brought relief to her family and the wider public. At 82, she had survived an ordeal that exposed the frightening reality of kidnapping in Nigeria. Her experience remains a reminder that insecurity does not discriminate by age, social standing or family background. Nearly 14 years later, Professor Okonjo’s death at 96 closes a remarkable chapter in the story of a woman whose life encompassed scholarship, motherhood, royal responsibilities and personal resilience.

She leaves behind children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as a legacy that extends beyond her immediate family. The royal family described her as a woman of exceptional intellect, humility, compassion and grace. These qualities, alongside her academic achievements and commitment to women’s empowerment, form an important part of her enduring contribution. Her passing also offers an opportunity to reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women whose influence may be overshadowed by the public achievements of their relatives. Behind many prominent Nigerians are parents, mentors and family members whose sacrifices, values and personal accomplishments helped shape their own journeys.

Professor Kamene Okonjo deserves to be remembered not simply because she was the mother of a globally influential woman, but because she was herself a scholar, an advocate and a woman who lived through extraordinary circumstances with dignity. At 96, she had completed a long journey marked by intellectual distinction, family devotion and service. Her story reminds younger generations that a meaningful life is measured not only by longevity or public recognition, but also by the knowledge imparted, the people encouraged and the causes advanced. As the Okonjo family and Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom mourn their matriarch, her life offers a fitting lesson: true legacies are built through years of purposeful living, and their influence continues long after their authors have departed. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi

Opinion

On Ancestrial Worship: My Take

Published

6 days ago

November 2, 2026

The Tide

Quote: An African who invokes the spirits of his ancestors is branded an idolater, yet Christians invoke Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in prayer. Why is one tradition revered while the other is condemned?”

This is the concluding part of this story, published first in our October 30, 2026 edition.

… Given the fact that I was the chairman of the Sports Committee of Rivers State School of Basic Studies (SBS no Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic CEAP) and the Commissioner of Youths and Sports was billed to flag off the school games that day, I could not join them on the trip. It was in view of the above reality that I planned the return trip to Owerri for Wednesday. Resultantly, I asked them to keep the date since Chief Abasi was part of the process, knew the venue and had the details of the contract. They pulled off the short driveway and I waved them goodbye; I watched the beautiful and effervescent Auntie Alice, the diligent and organized Chief AM Abasi and the very dutiful driver roll out of the gates of SBS compound on the journey to Owerri.

At the end of the visit by the Honorable Commissioner and the hectic day of the flag off, I retired to my apartment. At about 7.30pm, the phone rang, I picked and it was the unmistakable voice of Chief Ranami Abah; he sounded relieved. In some excitement, he said “Ehe, Jason, you people are back”. I answered in the negative and explained why I did not travel with them. In a voice laden with worries, he narrated all the efforts he had made to reach them and wondered if I could Mr. Nwaorgu. Unfortunately, I only had Nwaorgu’s office number and didn’t know if he had a phone at home. I quickly drove to Chief’s house where his friends had gathered. HE Melford Okilo, HRH Ere, Dr. LongJohn etc. were there and thoughts went in every direction.

Back to my apartment, at about 1am, a dog barked in the direction of the school gate. In the stillness of the night, the bark echoed and reverberated across the campus. Shortly thereafter, another dog barked and then another and, in what came across as a relay, the barks came towards the direction of my area of the compound. As soon as the next-door neighbor’s dog stopped barking, there was an eerie sign of non-human presence in my bedroom. Christy, my spouse, sat up quickly in bed and nervously said “I can perceive Auntie Alice’s perform”. At that, I sat up immediately and having had OBE at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC in May 1975, I knew that consciousness survives the death of the human body. With the eerie presence coupled with Christy’s observation, I spoke thus: “Auntie Alice, you can see and hear us but we can neither see nor hear you.

Under normal circumstances, you should not see us the way we are now. You have left your body in what we refer to as death but you know that your spirit is still alive. By coming close to us, you could hurt us without meaning to. So, go on in your new setting. I promise to ensure that Chief gives you a befitting burial”. At that point, the air of strange presence cleared, the dog next door barked and the relay of barks commenced in reverse order until the dog at the gate barked. In total shock, Christy looked at me with wide eyes and, in Ogbia dialect, she nervously muttered a sentence that included a word that means “wizard”. By the way, Auntie Alice had visited me once and, in a very pensive mood, told me that she knows that she will die before Chief.

That all she asks is that Chief should give her a befitting burial. Christy and I sat frozen; it was obvious to us that Auntie Alice had died. What about Chief Abasi and the driver? Our thoughts went wild in every direction until we fell asleep. The next morning, Christy and I went to Chief’s house where his friends and relatives had gathered; the atmosphere was dreary and everybody wore a long face and talked In whispers. Christy and I knew something they didn’t but we kept it to ourselves. At about 8.30am, I put a call across to Mr. Nwaorgu and the chilling truth came out: Chief Abasi and Auntie Alice did not keep the appointment; not on Wednesday neither on Thursday. A search party, which Chief insisted on leading, set off on the route of the journey.

For some reason that I do not recollect now, I was not part of the party. As the search party found out, at Umuapu, the blue Peugeot 504 rammed into a stationery truck. Auntie Alice and Chief Abasi died on the spot; the driver, who survived the collision, died on the way to the hospital at Owerri. Today, I recollect vividly that throughout that experience, I did not pray to God or to Him through Jesus Christ not to talk of the Virgin Mary of Catholicism. This is not to say that I do not believe in God; I do without any reservation whatsoever. I even pride myself saying that I believe in God more that a majority of the Clergies and Clerics that abound in institutional religion. However, I consider the issue of Jesus being “the only begotten Son of God” through whom I must pray, as preposterous and anti-Christ.

I believe that everyone in humanity is directly connected to the Divine. Therefore, we do not need any intermediary, not the priest, Jesus, Imam or whoever to connect with the Source if only we keep clean this Temple of God, which our soul occupies for now. In the universality of the ministry of Jesus, he did not claim divinity and an object to be worshiped, NO!!! Rather, he gave humanity an effectual template through which to strive and achieve what he achieved and even more. Hear him “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12) Osai and his son Lazarus heard my cry and, I believe, played a role in the mystery of the narrative; Auntie Alice listened to me and heeded my advice.

Our ancestors have not gone far from us. They exist in another dimension from which they see and influence our daily lives in this dimension in the multiplicity of dimensions in God’s creation. Metaphorically and allegorically, Jesus referred to this as “many mansions in my father’s house (John 14:2). My advise to the reader is thus: in your daily prayer to God, feel free to invoke the spirit of your ancestors; they are here with us and they know and understand our problems and feel for us much more than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. With a clean heart, mind and hand; with absolute belief in God and with a spirit of gratitude and contentment you command your circumstance. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear”.

By: Jason Osai

Opinion

FG’s Transport Support And Rivers Workers

Published

1 week ago

October 30, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government’s approval of a N70,000 monthly transport intervention for public service workers for six months, beginning in November 2026, offers hope to employees struggling with the rising cost of living. The agreement with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), reached at a conciliation meeting in Abuja on October 27, is intended to cushion transport costs and ease pressure on workers’ incomes. But for public servants in Rivers State, it raises a familiar question: will the State Government key into the intervention and ensure that its workers benefit? The agreement provides for N70,000 monthly across all levels, for six months. The Federal Government also approved peculiar allowance arrears effective from May 1, 2026, to be paid in three equal instalments beginning in November.
The parties agreed to reconvene after one month to assess implementation. Ultimately, the value of these resolutions will be measured not by announcements but by whether eligible workers receive the money. Transport costs consume a substantial share of many civil servants’ earnings before they can meet household needs. Support for commuting is therefore not a luxury or political favour; it is temporary assistance to help workers remain at their jobs without sinking further into hardship. For lower-paid employees, transport costs can turn modest salaries into a daily exercise in difficult choices and sacrifice.
The agreement also urges State and Local Governments to participate and unions to press for implementation. The federal agreement does not automatically guarantee that every State and Local Government employee will receive the support. State authorities must clarify how it will apply to their workforce, make the necessary arrangements and publish a payment timetable. Rivers State must approach the arrangement with urgency and transparency. The Government should State whether it will implement the intervention and when payments will begin. Any administrative or financial question should be addressed promptly with organised labour, not allowed to become excuses for delay.
The concern is sharpened by the earlier N35,000 monthly wage award introduced by the Federal Government in 2023 after petrol subsidy removal. It was intended as temporary relief pending a new national minimum wage. While several States negotiated and paid wage awards or related sums, implementation nationwide was uneven. Reports in 2024 indicated that many States had failed to pay the federal award, while others provided different amounts. In Rivers, labour and media reports raised concerns about implementation of the N35,000 award for State workers, amid separate announcements and arrangements concerning Local Government employees.
The wage award was meant to ease the immediate effects of subsidy removal, yet workers faced uncertainty over whether the promised relief would reach them. In February 2024, the Rivers State Government announced approval of the N35,000 award for local government workers, but subsequent reports showed that implementation across worker categories remained a concern. The lesson is clear: approval and implementation are not the same. A declaration at a meeting offers little comfort to a worker whose account does not reflect the promised payment. For workers who travel to their offices daily, the implications of delayed support are significant. Transportation expenses compete with food, rent, school fees, healthcare and other essential household needs.
As fares rise, employees may be forced to reduce spending on necessities or borrow to sustain their families. A timely transport intervention would therefore provide practical relief and demonstrate that government understands the economic pressures confronting its workforce. Its temporary nature makes prompt implementation even more important. It is fair to acknowledge that this transport intervention is a new agreement and that its administrative details may require clarification. Rivers State should not be condemned in advance for a failure that has not occurred. Nevertheless, the earlier experience gives workers legitimate grounds to seek assurances before the November commencement date. The State should avoid allowing uncertainty to persist until workers begin asking why the promised assistance has not arrived.
The NLC and unions in Rivers State should engage the State Government immediately and seek a written commitment, an implementation plan and a process for reporting missed payments. If clarification from the Federal Government is needed, the State should seek it without abandoning the goal of providing relief. Labour leaders must also keep members informed about progress and insist that any agreed arrangements are applied fairly and transparently. The Rivers State Government should treat this intervention as an opportunity to rebuild confidence. Timely support would show that workers’ welfare is more than a talking point and that the State recognises the economic realities confronting its employees.
Silence, delay or selective implementation, by contrast, would revive frustration over earlier relief measures and weaken trust between government and labour. Every month lost to administrative delay leaves workers facing the same transport burden without the intended assistance. The State should consult labour, publish arrangements and pay eligible workers on time. Rivers workers should not have to wonder whether federal relief will reach them. The Federal Government has announced the support; now the State must make its position clear. We hope the N70,000 monthly transport intervention will not follow the troubling path of the earlier wage award. Rivers State should learn from that experience and ensure that this time, relief is not merely promised but delivered.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi