By Lucky Isibor
A nonogenarian and elder statesman, Chief Stephen Imuse Ehiaguina has called on parents to make education the cornerstone of the upbringing of their children, noting that education is the back bone of everything good in child upbringing.
Chief Imuse gave the admonishion while speaking with newsmen on the sideline after a Thanksgiving Mass organised by his children to mark his 95th birthday in Benin City on Sunday, 14 September. The father of several children and grand children called for discipline and self restraints among people to live a healthy life and called for hard work among young people to enable them enjoy life to its fullest.
Stressing on the imperatives of education in child upbringing, the nonogenarian said: “Education is the back bone of everything regarding good upbringing of children. If you train and educate them and they all go well with the training and education, then they’ll find life very easy. Training is not just about education alone, but in business as well. By the grace of God, all my children have university education and presently, three of my grand children are medical doctors.
“We are all Christians and they follow father and mother’s footsteps. You know that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, whenever you train your children to have the fear of God and they follow it up, you will be alright and okay.”
Counselling parents further on the upbringing of their children, Pa Imuse admonished that, “They should be able to give them good home training, take them to school. After acquiring the basic education, those who can go further, let them go while those who cannot continue should learn a trade, acquire a skill; anything they can do let them do. Those who want to learn a trade, let them learn and those who want to go into farming, let them do it. They should ensure they earn their money genuinely and avoid being involved in 419 or yahoo.”
Speaking on what has sustained his life and gave him success in business, Pa Imuse called for the enthronement of merit in our national life if Nigeria truly wants to get it right as a nation.
“Life is up and down and it depends on how you take life. Life depends how you exercise self control and self restraints, if you can follow the self control you put in place by yourself, say yes where you need to say yes and say no where you plan to say no, don’t muddle them together, and you will live long. You know God says through thy sweet thou shall eat, when you work hard and you’re able to control yourself, that’s where life lies upon, as you lay your bed, so you shall lie on it.
After my early education I went to acquire skill in capententary. After acquiring the relevant skills, I went into furniture manufacturing. Like I said earlier, self control is key, you work hard and be prudent and don’t lavish your earnings, then you’ll enjoy yourself.
“When I started my own business, it was very easy, then we only deal on 10 percent, but now it is just outrageous. At that time most business dealings were based on merit; what you merit, you get, no partiality, no this is my towns man, or my country man, but hpgive to whoever it is due to. That was the life we grew up to meet and followed. But nowadays, the reverse is the case.
“I’m not a politician, but if we must get it right; let our yes be yes and our no be no. But if we bring in favouritism and other negative attitudes, it will be difficult. Let us ensure that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.”