Its 5:50am in the morning and the first thought I wake up with is the irresponsibility of the young men in Generation Y (aka Millenials) and Generation Z.
I read in the papers last week about a couple of 12 year old boys caught for raping a 6 year old girl!!! 12 years old!!! 12 years old!! At this point I’m at a loss for words.
We spend so much time and energy developing the girl child. More so with the strong wave of gender equality and female empowerment moving through Nigeria currently; the level of investment in the life of the girl child has been really… FIERCE.
Almost every weekend there’s one female empowerment conference or the other; we even have blogs, websites, foundations and organizations dedicated solely to this cause. But WHAT ABOUT THE MEN? WHAT ABOUT THE BOYS?
Have you ever noticed that with the increasing rate of responsible and culturally sound young women it seems like there is a direct decrease of responsible young men? It appears that as our girls get stronger and more self-reliant, there is an increasing number of ladies who get married late or end up with broken homes.
Why won’t it be that way when no one is taking the time out to tell this young men how to behave, how to lead, what is expected from them and more importantly how to appreciate strong women as colleagues, business partners, friends and sisters. WHY!? Have we made the mistake of assuming the guys already know it? Are we leaving a whole gender out of the development process?
Most of our young men today are confused and not nearly as purposeful as the girls. I have them as colleagues, acquaintances and to be honest sometimes I’m grossly disappointed by their lack of direction and purposeful living. Isn’t it possible that this because I know something that they don’t?
What’s the point of training the girl child when the untrained boy child will be a thorn in her flesh in the workplace? in family and society in general? Isn’t this pattern a tad bit similar to what African parents do in the home? How a lot of effort and discipline is instilled in the females while the boys are left to go outside and play?
I’m here trying to do right by God and be the best I can possibly be and I’m constantly reminded about how a lot of strong independent females end up alone or have really late marriages. Is it their fault though? Is it their fault that somehow the guys they have come across do them more harm than good? Is their fault they haven’t found a brother who appreciates their strengths and values their achievements?
I agree that the girls have always needed an extra push; particularly because of the ill fate culture has dealt them. I agree, I accept. I personally have thoroughly enjoyed all the attention and empowerment these initiatives bring. All I’m saying right now is I’m concerned about my brothers, my future sons, my colleagues, my friends, for this whole gender equality and female empowerment movement to be sustainable and yield the results we want, the guys NEED to be pulled into the development process.
I am itching to hear your opinion on this! This topic has been a hot debate in my head for a long time now and I’m sure your views can help set something’s into perspective. So ladies, Guys, do you catch my drift? Am I speaking truth or just blowing things out of proportion? Please share your views in the comment box below.
Sinmisola NY.
Sinmisola Nojimu-Yusuf 
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