OSHIOMHOLE INUMAH
Being a natural part of the environment of all early-human and pre-human species, it is a piece of creative art of leisure that possesses invincible powers capable of taking captive of our emotions and thoughts. Its ability to directly or indirectly convey unsolicited messages soul-to-soul to us is unimaginable. It is an embodiment of the good, the bad and the ugly, whose cunning influence on us unconsciously becomes social life and value.
Its influence on humans and nature is powerful and charming enough to heal the most painful memory, soften the hardest heart and bring tears to our eyes.
It speaks the universal language of mankind that breaks barriers of culture, space and time, with capabilities to activate several parts of the brain while helping to absorb very complex messages through melody, pitch and rhythm.
The significant role it plays in pre-schools’ grooming of pupils in letters, numbers and diction mastering for excellent speech and communication skills cannot be over-emphasized. Music is as soothing as a balm of sweet-smelling oil.
Regrettably, this excellent piece of creative art of communication, cultural bond, education, leisure and research has largely been abused and manipulated towards immorality, indiscipline and all forms of social vices that have greatly undermined collective positive efforts of government, individuals and organizations at raising total child as a viable human capital for growth and development.
Children being smart learners, carefree communicators and vulnerable, have unfortunately been hard-hit in an environment where uncensored adult audio, texts and visual contents are carelessly proliferated for everyone’s consumption through every available means, including internet enabled mobile devices and satellite TV channels.
Failed by indifference attitude of relevant government regulatory agencies like the National Films and Video Censors Board (NFVC) saddled with responsibilities of checkmating excesses of entertainment industry and lack of substantial investment in education and reward mechanism for moral and academic excellence, children’s rights to decent, modest leisure and social life have become threatened and greatly deprived.
Poor quality input produces faulty output, a clear case of garbage-in, garbage-out. Uncensored expletive-filled lyrics, texts and visuals made accessible for everyone is a child abuse and a deliberate psychological defilement of budding stars’ innocence who gets psychologically derailed and struggle to discern between the good and the bad being taught at homes and schools and the junk they constantly got force-fed with, through sub-standard music, books and visual contents leading to divided minds that culminate into teenage rebellion.
To prioritize revenue drive over entrenchment and promotion of positive value system while desperate entertainers and authors get away with propagation of nudity, vulgarity and violence that disorientate the vulnerable is tantamount to abdication of responsibility and violation of children’s right to safe environment.
Governments at all levels as custodians and guardians of the law and citizens respectively must ensure legislation and strict enforcement of creative arts laws to protect children from all forms of sub-standard creative works that negate virtues of hard-work, honesty and dignity dished out by desperate unregulated creative artists whose only motivation of money pushes up the bar of indecency than ever.
It is agonizingly depressing and worrisome to see citadels of learning throw in the towel and join the bandwagon rather than strive to arrest the scourge of moral decay and erosion of family values. Ignorantly de-educating children by entertaining them with toxic music during schools’ annual awards for academic and moral excellence; it is an irony to employ advocates of decadence for celebration of excellence.
We all owe the children cum future leaders and society at large moral and spiritual obligations of synergy and support in building and entrenching cultural and family values that promote sound education hinged on enduring foundation of character, discipline and dignity for sustainable economy, peace and security.
Inumah, PTA Chairman AFPS 2 and Children Rights Advocate, writes from Lagos
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