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Insubordination cause of child neglect?
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Insubordination, has been identified as a contributory factor to child neglect in some communities in the Upper West Region.
This negative attitude has resulted in shirking of responsibilities by some parents towards their adolescent children in the area.
“My daughter is very stubborn; she has refused to help me on the farm from the day she entered Junior High School, and I cannot even scold her when she goes wrong without getting a reply from her”.
This was the lamentation of a parent from Gbegru, a community in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region when the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organised a day’s sensitisation programme for people in the community recently.
The topic was, “Ending teenage pregnancies and child marriages”.
Again, the worried mother who did not see the need to cater for her stubborn daughter posed this question during an open forum: “How do you expect me to use my money on such a child when the money is coming from the farm she has refused to help me weed?”.
The aforesaid comments were triggered when the Field Assistant of the PPAG, Mr Joseph Aniah challenged parents to help eliminate teenage pregnancies by providing for their adolescent girls rather than transferring their parental responsibilities to men who took advantage of them(girls).
Mr Aniah noted that proper parental care would go a long way to help eradicate early pregnancies as many of the girls entered early relationships to get money for their basic needs.
He said if those needs were provided for by the parents, the girls would not have any reason to entertain men when they were still in school.
His comments did not go down well with some parents who expressed reservations that they were not neglecting their duties but were rather reacting to rudeness of their wards as “a way of punishing them”.
“I am into shea butter processing and that is what I do to feed the entire house. I have a daughter at the Junior High School and whenever I ask her to help me carry the nuts to Wa to mill, she will not, even when I go to mill and prepare the product and ask her to help me sell at the market, she will still refuse, so tell me why I am supposed to give her money after she has refused to assist me?” another parent asked.
Some of the men at the meeting also said that the girls were engaging in sexual acts for their own pleasure not because their parents had refused them their basic needs.
“My cousin’s daughter successfully wrote her Basic Education Certificate Examination and was awaiting the results but before we could say jack, she was pregnant. These days we are also overwhelmed by such incidents as parents and do not know how to handle them,” he said.
A facilitator at the meeting, Pognaa Amamata Mumuni encouraged parents to “engage their children more often in discussions early in life till they are of age”.
She believed that keeping the children as friends would help reduce animosity between them and as well pave the way for the children to discuss personal issues with their parents without fear.
“You should not only engage the children when you are sending them on an errand, you should engage them frequently in conversations about their sexual and reproductive health, their association with peers and the opposite sex, among others, in a friendly manner,” she advised.
She again encouraged parents to exercise patience with the children but chastise them with love so that the discipline they were instilling would not end up creating more problems for the child.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Gbegru
Mr Issahak Ibrahim, the Atwima Mponua District Chief Executive (DCE), has stressed the need to invest in initiatives that will encourage school children to read at all times.
He said a nation that invested in reading invested in its future, since a reading child was a potential future leader.
Speaking at the District Reading Festival for 32 schools in the district, at Nyinahin, he said reading strengthened literacy skills and inspired young leaders to unlock their full potentials while nurturing a lifelong love for learning, which leads to success.
Mr Ibrahim, therefore, enjoined teachers, parents, pupils and all stakeholders in the district to inspire every child to discover the limitless possibilities that begin with the act of reading in order to make it reflect the shared commitment to building a generation of confident readers, critical thinkers and lifelong learners in the society.
He pledged his commitment to support and empower more children and help them to achieve higher educational laurels in the area, while championing the cause of reading among children to achieve the related benefits.
“I remain committed to supporting educational initiatives that would empower our children with the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed in an ever-changing world,” he stated.
The festival was organised by the District Directorate of Education in conjunction with the ISMAT Foundation, a local educational non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded by the DCE, to support needy learners in the district and beyond.
The festival was under the theme: “Turn a page to begin a journey.”
The festival was aimed at encouraging and motivating the interest of pupils in reading and general learning.
All the 32 participating pupils from four zones within the district received school bags, exercise books, pens, pencils, erasers, mathematical sets and certificates.
Lawal Kwame from the Botrampa D/A Basic and Sadique Bamba from the Mpasatia African Faith Preparatory schools in the Nyinahin Zone, emerged first in the KG One and two classes, whilst Alice Fosu, Beatrice Sarfowaa and Priscilla Agyemang from the Adiembra Anglican Basic School also in the Nyinahin Zone, came first from Basic One to Basic Three classes respectively.
Ernest Duah from the Mampong Abebrese D/A and Blessing Sika from the Sreso Presby School in the Sreso Zone as well as Eric Osei Agyemang from Adiembra Anglican Basic School came first in the Upper Primary department.
Ms Ama Adwubi Asafu-Adjaye, the District Director of Education, commended the DCE for the programme, which was the first of its kind after the year 2022 one, which was supported by the USAID.
She said a Basic One boy called Obed Awuku from Mampong Abebrese D/A Basic School climbed from the district through a Regional contest, won and placed second at the national level in the year 2022 as one Salam Mohammed of the Otaakrom D/A Islamic Basic School, who also emerged as the 2024 winner in the district also placed fifth among the 16 regional participants even though they had a very short notice for preparation.
She said other achievements encouraged her and her management to make the programme an annual event in June and July as part of the activities on their academic calendar and a source of pride for the district.
She, therefore, encouraged the teachers to work harder to produce talented kids for higher achievements from the area. -GNA
The forecourt of the Gbewaa Palace, was a mixture of rich tradition and emotional scenes as thousands of mourners concluded the three-day adua for the late Overlord of Dagbon, Ndan Yaa Naa Abukari II.
For the period, the Gbewaa Palace became the spiritual and cultural heartbeat of the Dagbon Kingdom as Islamic clerics, traditional rulers, politicians, security personnel and ordinary citizens united in prayer for the repose of the soul of the revered monarch.
From dawn each day, streams of mourners, mostly dressed in traditional smocks and black attire, steadily filled the palace grounds and adjoining streets, transforming the royal seat into a sea of mourners.
Men, women, youth and children sat under canopies and open spaces while verses from the Holy Qur’an echoed across the palace, creating an atmosphere of reverence and reflection.
The air occasionally reverberated with ceremonial gunshots and traditional warrior displays, symbolising honour, bravery and the rich cultural heritage of the Dagbon Kingdom.
The adua, observed in accordance with Islamic tradition following the burial of the Yaa Naa, was attended by eminent Imams and Mallams who offered continuous prayers, seeking Allah’s mercy and eternal peace for the departed King.
Throughout the three-day observance, a steady flow of dignitaries visited the Gbewaa Palace to pay their respects and sign the book of condolence.
Among them were the Northern Regional Minister, Ali Adolf John Mburidiba; the Savannah Regional Minister, Salisu Be-Awuribe Issifu; and the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who joined members of the royal family, traditional rulers and mourners in honouring the late Yaa Naa.
Security remained tight throughout the mourning period, with the Ghana Police Service deploying 450 personnel to ensure law and order.
The officers were stationed at strategic locations, including the Gbewaa Palace, major entry points into Yendi and other key installations, where they managed traffic, maintained public order and provided security for thousands of mourners and visiting dignitaries.
Beyond the official ceremonies, the event reflected the deep respect the people of Dagbon and Ghanaians at large had for the late monarch.
The conclusion of the three-day adua marks another important milestone in the funeral rites of the late Yaa Naa and signals the gradual transition towards the customary processes leading to the selection and enskinment of a new Overlord of the Dagbon Kingdom.
Although the formal three-day prayers have ended, mourning activities continue, with the seventh-day Islamic prayers expected to draw another large gathering of traditional authorities, government officials, religious leaders and well-wishers from across the country.
From: Geoffrey Buta, Yendi
