The Role of Parents in Raising the New Generation of Leaders

Yesterday, on the blog, was a post by Amina, the co-founder and deputy director of the Young Muslim Women international, on Youths as Agents of Change. If you have not read her article, simply click on the link above. Today, I have chosen to discuss the role of parents in raising the youths as ideal leaders for the world. I would share my thoughts and opinions and I hope I can get to read your own opinions on the discussion via your comments.

Who I am today is largely a function of who I was yesterday and who I will be tomorrow, depends a lot on who I am today. Some school of thoughts may not necessarily agree with me and like i said earlier on, I look forward to your own arguments. But really, even the mistakes I made yesterday have become lessons that I drew from to shape who I am today.

The first source of life lessons that any individual born into the world draws from is the home in which he or she is born into. The individual learns from the various parent figures around him or her and tries to adapt their speech, way of life and attitudes. Thus, the individual has utmost belief in those whom he grew up with in the family that in most cases, should there be a contradictory opinion from someone else, that individual is most likely to refute it.

Very important to note that, the parents in this article that I am referring to, do not necessarily have to be the child’s biological mother and father but, adults who surround the life of this individual either as aunties, uncles, domestic workers (who spend most of their time with the children in the absence of their busy biological parents), tutors, religious leaders. This entire category of people has a role or roles that are crucial in forming a child into the adult of tomorrow and ultimately, the leader of the future. Thus, it is important that the primary responsibility of raising the child in the right way is not neglected or relegated to the rear. An attempt to do this has grave consequences on the society at large.

The Holy Book of the Christians says that we should train a child in the way he should grow and when he is old, he shall not depart from it. In most cases, this has proven to be true which is why the dent created by that child in the society is a stigma to the entire family and the success of that child earns admiration and respect for the family.

Our society today is decaying morally and otherwise and can only be revived and restored when our parents begin to take up the responsibility to enforce what is right in the children. Academic decadence evolved from malpractice in examinations which in some cases are encouraged by the parents (tutors inclusive).

Today, organisations complain about the quality of graduates whom they employ and whose qualifications can no longer be entirely relied on. Thus, the need for these organisations to conduct their own company tests to ascertain the competence of these graduates. We really cannot blame these organisations as they have no intention to bore liabilities in the companies but assets who can be productive and contribute to the growth of the organisation. It may sound ridiculous and unbelievable but, I have come across graduates who cannot fill a form properly or, have difficulty expressing themselves which makes me wonder how they wrote exams in the institutions and graduated.

There are also leaders who have no clue on how to govern the people especially in terms of making policies that are beneficial to the society. Thus, they rely solely on their employee which really is not the best. In as much as you are not expected as a leader to be grounded in all sectors of the society, it is imperative that you have a little knowledge about each sector. That way, you keep your employees on their toes and do not necessarily absorb all that they say. Rather, you are able to question their postulations and ensure that the best policies are reached.

I really would not want to beat hard on the topic because, I really need to know what you think but I conclude by reiterating my point that, parents have a lot to do in the formation of the youths as leaders of tomorrow. Ponder on it if you need to and let me know your stand.

Thank you for always reading and sharing with your friends. I also look forward to your comments and remember you can get your articles published on the blog. Just send them to ijehiri@gmail.com. Have a lovely day.