The Principal of Wellspring College, Innocent Agofure, has appealed to stakeholders to prioritise the well-being and moral development of the boy-child

Speaking during an event to mark the International Day of the Boy Child 2024, with the theme, ‘Passion and Drive: Igniting the fire within the Boy Child’, experts advocated character development of boys and the need to instil integrity, empathy and positive values in them.

He said: “Today is a remarkable day in the life of boys, all over the world. We are celebrating the boy child to ignite passion and fire in them. For a long time, the boy child has received little or no attention from the society, knowing that the boy- child is strong, resilient, not quick to complain or grumble over things. However, because of these values, the boy-child has not been given the attention they need and that is why in a bid to react, you will see them indulging in certain social vices.”

He added that Wellspring School is giving education a leap beyond the classroom to harness the potential in boys.

AMVCA Best Digital Creator, Isaac Olayiwola known as Layi Wasabi, said in recent times the boy child has been a little bit more laid back than what we have in the previous time.

“I think now we need to encourage men to do more, most especially the boys who will eventually become men. we need them to be more ascertain in what they want and take more roles in society. It becomes obvious that men are not as willful as they were before,” he said.

A facilitator, Tochukwu Macfoy, said data has shown that a lot of passion is done by women and the reason is because of the emphasis on media globally, driven by the SDG goals, United Nations and global organisations which was needed but almost neglected the boy child.

“If you check education, technology and others, the women are taking over and so we have to start igniting and show the boys what it needs to be a boy in this era.

“Most of our parents did not encounter what the boys are going through today because there is no social media. An average boy is on social media getting knowledge from the global world which might be anticultural and such knowledge might affect our traditional principles.”

He urged the government to create institutions that can help and speak the language of the child.

“The boy child needs a physical touch point because you don’t grow a child on social media like Facebook or Instagram. We need to have parks and physical spaces for cultural integration.

“Parents need to understand that the digital space cannot train their child, they have to participate and be present parents. Likewise, the churches, mosques and religious communities need to understand that they need to pay attention to the boy child. Parents need to be more involved, understand their children and not allow the digital world to displace their roles.

“In every era, men have been important and relevant. It is not about gender equality, it is about gender celebration for doing their purpose on earth, he said”