The Child: An Object of Moral Concern or Moral Agent? Ethical Implications for Nation-Building in Nigeria

Abstract

A nation begins or starts with the child because the future, progress, and development of the former depends on the success or failure of the upbringing, education, and formation of the latter. The importance of the child and its childhood in the future assessment of a society can only be identified with an Arabic answer associated with her classic humorist, Juha, when asked to say who is more important, the Sultan or the Farmer, thus:"Who’s more important", Juha was asked one day, "the sultan or the farmer?" "The farmer, of course", Juha answered. "If he didn’t produce any grain, the Sultan would starve to death" (Jayyusi, 2007:143) In a classical analogy, this paper wishes to argue that there can be no nation without the ‘feeder’, ‘the farmer’, ‘the child’, especially a properly and morally formed one. Without good-bred children, a nation would starve to death, especially morally. There can also be no ‘adults’ in the proper moral understanding of it. The paper challenges the involvement of the relevant authorities in Nigeria in the proper training of the child to enhance mutual co-existence, interreligious dialogue, cultural diversity, and the spirit of brotherly love.

Keywords: the child, character formation, moral agent, moral concern