May 27 of every year is marked all over the world as Children Day. It is a day set aside to remember and appreciate the young ones who are the leaders of tomorrow.
The day is usually characterised by a lot of activities which include track and field events, march past, among others. School children in both primary and post primary schools converge on designated centres either at local government or state levels for such activities.
Mouth-watering prizes are usually given to schools that emerge best in many activities that normally feature. Individual prizes are also given out to children who represent their institutions well at such events. Such occasion offers opportunity for the children to bond with their colleagues and make new friends with those from other schools.
During this day, also, a lot of corporate organisations, non-governmental organisations and philanthropists usually organise one programme or another in order to put smiles on the faces of these future leaders. Gift items are also given out to the children.
This time around, none of these featured. Instead, children were holed-up in their parents’ houses. The day came and passed by without the usual funfair.
The children missed the fun. No thanks to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic currently ravaging the entire world, necessitating a lockdown to contain its spread.
Following the outbreak of the virus in Nigeria, the Federal Government ordered all schools to close down. Since March 27, 2020, there have been no physical activities in schools across the country.
Telling their stories, how badly they missed the fun, a cross section of children in Lagos metropolis spoke with BDSUNDAY.
David Ewuzie, a Senior Secondary School (SS3) student of Mercy Evelyn Group of Schools, Surulere, said the 2020 Children’s Day would always be a day to remember with mixed feelings.
Describing the 2020 Children’s Day as “quarantined one”, he prayed that the entire world should never again experience such pandemic as, according to him, it has disrupted a lot of things.
It is his wish that the pandemic will quickly be contained and eradicated from the surface of the earth so that school children can all go back to school to continue with their studies.
A Senior Secondary School (SS1) student of Baptist Bowel Secondary School said he was not happy celebrating the day at home, adding that May 27 of every year is a day he always looks forward to.
“Children’s Day has always been an interesting day for me; it is a day to participate in different sports activities; it is also a day to make new friends. But, this year is something else. We have to stay at home in order not to be infected with the virus. It is better to stay at home in order for one to be alive to continue with one’s education. We can always have another Children’s Day celebration. But it is painful, I must say,” he lamented.
Mary Lois Michael, a Senior Secondary School (SS2) student of Sanya Senior Grammar School, said she badly missed the Children’s Day this year.
“This year’s celebration is nothing to talk about and l am not happy. Besides going to the National Stadium, my church also normally organises interesting programmes for the children. But, this year, there was nothing like that. I was at home doing nothing. I pray that l will not have any cause to celebrate subsequent Children’s Day at home while I still remain in secondary school,” she added.
On how the Covid-19 has impacted her life, she said: “Before the Covid-19, l used to make some savings from school transport fare given to me by my parents. But now, l do not have any money because l have not been going to school. I pray that God will stop the spread of this disease so that we will go back to school.”
Speaking in the same vein, a Senior Secondary School (SS2) student of Mercy Evelyn Group of Schools, Josephine Onyebukwa, described her stay at home during the last Children’s Day celebration as an experience she would not forget so soon.
“It has always been a day of excitement and joy, a day to make new friends. But, there was nothing like that this year. I was at home throughout. No place to visit. It was not interesting. I do not wish to experience such a situation in my life again,” Josephine said.
For a Junior Secondary School (JSS3) student of Aguda Community Junior Secondary School, Lilian, this year’s Children’s Day celebration did not worth the name because the activities that should make a children’s day indeed were missing.
“We were all home, nothing to celebrate and nowhere to go. l know things will be better next year; by then, Covid-19 would have become a thing of the past,” she said optimistically.
