By Banji Ayoola
Every child, as a sacred gift of the Almighty Father for the right parents, needs first and foremost the immediate spiritual ramparts provided by the mother and by the father within which he is to develop properly on earth.
By giving birth to the child at all, the parents have voluntarily taken some duties upon themselves to take good care of the child lovingly entrusted to them. To take care of his security spiritual and physical, of his health and welfare, his earthly physical needs, education and upbringing.
It is given that the parents are in their own home, even a very modest rented apartment, where they are free to take independent decisions on their own about themselves, which will advance the life of every child entrusted to them, of their union, their respective tasks to the union and their respective tasks on earth as independent human beings responsible individually to the Lord, in ensuring the wise use and development of the talents entrusted in each of the two parents.
In their own independent home, however modest, the mother and father together are able to provide solid spiritual and physical ramparts of protection that cannot be easily breached, punctured, penetrated, broken or violated by an outsider, however powerful.
They are able freely to give their parental attention, love and care undisturbed to each child entrusted to them who looks up to them with absolute trust and confidence, and full of hope. Which the child needs most at this most delicate stage of his life on earth.
In return, the parents will reap joy and blessing for faithfully performing their duties towards the child entrusted to them.
But outside their own independent home, their situation could be likened to a thatched enclosure (ogba) woven around certain human beings with several openings through which anybody outside, friend or foe, even dangerous animals, can enter freely to attack or even poach the inhabitants.
Besides, there are other unseen or hidden dangers to which the child, his mother and father are exposed to outside their own independent home. Dangers that may cause damages, symptoms of which may not manifest in the child at all in his childhood or adolescence, but in his adulthood when it would be too late to repair or reverse the damages.
As squatters, the privacy, freedom and security of the parents and their children are already compromised. They have no control on who visits, enters or exits where they squat. Or on the activities of their hostess or host and neighbours. They do not have full control over anything.
Their movement and activities there are curtailed, and are even turned to an open book for everyone to read and interfere unnecessarily.
They are made to sleep anywhere and tolerate everything, every insult or humiliation even if they boil inside.
They suffer this even when their hostess or host has a pure volition and they can vouch for her or him, confide in her or him as a truly loving, good and reliable human being.
But can the same be said of each of the other neighbours and many other human beings who frequently visit? And there are many other dangers lurking in the dark, which, in the interest of the parents and the children entrusted to them, are better averted soonest!
