Budding

A happy new year to you. How was the past year? And plans for the new? Make good your plans.

Ever considered a plant bud? Have you looked at it closely? Do you see how unattractive and unpromising it looks at that stage? I rememeber that as a kid, my friends and I would pluck the bud off the plant and open it up. I guess we thought it was a kind of flower (which really it was) but were disappointed when we opened it up and it contained a couple of shrivelled petals. It just didnt look like a flower. But we would notice a new flower and wanted to be the first to pluck it and put in our hair. It never once crossed our minds that if we had allowed, left that bud to blossom, we wouldn't be scrambling for just one flower, there would have been at least one extra!

The meaning of my rantings? Look at it this way. Every child you see on the road is a bud waiting to blossom. Some are plucked away by death, bad company, family breakup, wars, epidemics, name them and others 'escape' these factors and blossom. After they open up their beauty (maybe graduating with a very beautiful class of grade), the very society that almost plucked them in their prime scramble for them, dangling enticing offers in their faces. Each company wants to show off the wealth they possess in human resources.

What brought about these? I happened to have watched the 'Change a life scheme show' on New Dawn (www.newdawnwithfunmi.com) and was so touched by the changes that have occurred in the lives of those kids whom Funmi Iyanda and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have jointly helped to get out of choky situations and I almost cried. These kids appeared to me as buds which are being preserved by some people who have seen the potentials in them to turn out to be beautiful bunches. God bless Funmi and preserve her own 'Bud' for her to blossom well and beautifully.

Resolutions? Well, it's good to make them but instead of remaking resolutions that are over 5 years old, why not change your 'resolution' this year to include fighting for the rights of these buds and adding to the beauty of the society. Desist from child traffiking, abhor child labour and all such 'bud threatnening' acts. See the beauty in these ones and give them a chance to grow.

'I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let then lead the way
Show them all the beauty they posses inside
Give them a sense of pride, to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be'.