The Celebration Has Been Interrupted

Around this time every year,children usually start asking important questions like:“Will there be rice after the celebration?”“Can I wear sneakers instead of sandals?”“Will they share biscuits?”Small questions.Soft questions.Questions that belong to childhood. But somewhere else in Oyo State,some parents woke up staring at silence instead.The kind of silence that enters a home after fear has already passed through it. And tomorrow,Nigeria will celebrate Children’s Day.There will be banners.School celebrations.March past.Matching outfits.Rice in plastic plates.Teachers forcing children to smile for group photographs under hot sun. And honestly, that is what makes this country emotionally confusing sometimes.How joy and grief somehow stand beside each other here without explanation. Because while some children will rehearse cultural dances tonight,some parents are still rehearsing hope.Still praying.Still refreshing their phones.Still waiting for children who also left home wearing uniforms. And maybe that is the part that keeps disturbing me most:how quickly innocence can become national news in this country. One moment, a child is worried about break time.Next moment, the country is discussing security briefings, rescue operations, and missing students. And somehow, we still move forward.Campaign posters are already entering conversations.Microphones are already warming up for future elections.Promises are already preparing to wear agbada and shake hands publicly. Meanwhile,children are still missing. Maybe before asking:“Who should lead next?”we should first ask:“Why are children still unsafe inside places called schools?”Because security should not sound like luxury.It should not sound like campaign strategy.It should be normal.Basic.Expected. A country should not have to beg fear to spare its children. And tomorrow, when speeches are made about “the leaders of tomorrow,”I hope somebody remembers the children whose tomorrow suddenly became uncertain.I hope somebody remembers that beyond balloons and celebration clothes,there are classrooms that still feel emotionally unfinished. Because a nation cannot claim to love children loudly once a year while protecting them quietly the rest of the time. And tomorrow,while Nigeria celebrates Children’s Day,some families will still be celebrating something else entirely:hope.

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