Mentoring the Girl Child

Mentoring the Girl Child by Sunday Akinrelere. 

I am a man, but I feel it is not out of place to advocate for the girl child, too.

Charles Malik once said, “The fastest way to change society is to mobilize, educate, mentor and empower young ladies and the women of the world.”

This is not far from the truth!

Investing in girls education is undoubtedly a rewarding investment. It is like casting one’s bread on the waters, for it will be found after many days.

The evils carried out by today’s generation of girls need to be quickly addressed before it gets out of hand, because girls will grow to become mothers, and mothers have great influence on their children which make up the society.

Some girls are victims of rape and have been deflowered because of their indecent dressings and undefined relationship with the opposite sex.

Some of our girls are already exposed to the use of contraceptives at their tender age.

We now have more girls in this ‘Indomie’ generation who cannot boil water, let alone prepare stew, probably because they’re not well trained by their parents or they refuse to make themselves available for training.

We have many physically attractive girls today with lots of packaging, but lack virtues. They are weighed on the scales of good characters and are found wanting!

Here’s a clarion call on all virtuous women to mentor our teenage girls, and serve as good role models to them.

Parents/Guidance should invest in girls education as much as they do for the boys. Girls should not be considered as liability to parents and of little importance in the family.

The popular assertion that, ‘women education ends in the kitchen’ no longer holds true as we have great women, both at the local and international level, who have left their footprints on the sand of time.

It is wrong to invest time and resources only on the male child while concentrating less on the female child.

Let’s empower the girl child for a brighter tomorrow.

Protect our girls.
Be a good role model.
Mentor the girl child.

© Sunday Akinrelere

Lessons from Snail by Sunday Akinrelere

What can you say about the snail 🐌 ? 

I’m sure the very first thing, or probably the only thing, that will come to your mind is the sluggish nature of a snail. It will interest you to know that there is more to that.

I recently carried out research on snail, and I can’t but share the insight I got from the study with you here.

Of a truth, snail is one of the slowest animals on earth. Snails move at the pace of 0.5 to about 0.8 inches per second. It means if the snail does not stop moving, it would take more than a week to cover a distance of 1 kilometer.

Though slow, but very steady. Success is not measured by how FAST you can go, but how FAR you can go. 

When snails are disturbed by man or any external force, they quickly withdraw into their shell. This they do to protect themselves from harm.

Sensitivity is needed. You need to withdraw into your ‘shell’ when you sense any danger around you. If your friends are dangerous to move with, kindly withdraw from their company.

Another interesting fact about the snail is that it carries out ‘courtship’ when attracted to another snail, which may last for some hours, before mating/sexual intercourse takes place.

This shows that rapists are no better than snails. In fact, snail is better than them! It is a grave offence to carry out sexual intercourse without the nod of the other person.

You will agree with me that snails do not change their hard shells as the shell grows along with them, unlike some other animals that change/shed their shells when they grow.

I need to talk to some achievers here. You don’t have to change your relations or companion when you feel you have arrived or achieved. They gave in their support and were glued to you like a shell when you were still hustling on the street.

And lastly, snails, unlike snakes, leave behind a line of mucus when moving. Oftentimes, the trail of mucus is visible on the soil, which represents impact. As small as you are, you can make an impact. What impact are you making? What will people remember you for when you leave?

I drop my pen.

© Sunday Akinrelere