Core Values: Lai Mohammed Sends Important Message To Parents

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has admonished parents to prioritize teaching their children core values in order to raise a generation of decent people.

Naija News understands that the minister gave the advisory while delivering a speech at the cast of “Death and the King’s Horseman”, produced by the Founder of Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters, on Monday in Lagos.

Mohammed noted that though technology and modern medication have made great impacts in the African nation, we must not trash our core values.

“It is those core values that are very important,” the minister said.

Mohammed stressed that it is important for parents, schools and other stakeholders to inculcate in children societal core values which makes the difference between a brute and a decent man.

Naija News understands that “Death and the King’s Horseman”, a play by Wole Soyinka, is based on a real incident that took place in Nigeria during the colonial era.

Mohammed’s remark at the event reads: “We probably cannot go back living in caves. We know what technology has done. We know the value of modern medicine, but we must take it together with our core values. It is those core values that are very important.

“It is those core values that will make the difference between a brute and decent man. That explains why you find that when we talk about rape, incest, on all kinds of crime, it is even more prevalent in the Western world, because, here, there are certain values that are important to us that we must not let go of.

“You must bring up your children every time to understand that there are values which they must keep.”

Despite 3,125 killed by bandits in 2021, the minister said President Muhammadu Buhari administration has made tremendous progress.

He urged organisations and individuals to support the creative industry through donations in order to create job opportunities.

According to him, apart from the agriculture industry, the creative industry employs the largest number of people, especially the young and women.

“You can imagine when they were introducing the cast and the crew and staff, imagine how many people earn their livelihoods from Austen-Peters productions,” Mohammed said.

He added: “That is why we must continue to encourage creative industry, the arts the film industry, music industry, fashion, makeup, whatever makes up the craziness because after agriculture today, it employs the largest number of people and especially the young and women.

“So, we need to support through donations, sponsorships because this production would not have been possible without the sponsors.”