STOP BLAMING NIGERIA – RAISE YOUR CHILD! (Sunday Sermon)

By Ewere Okonta

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eobnewsmedia@gmail.com

www.ewereokontablog.org.ng

 

Let’s not pretend today. Let’s not dilute this with motivational clichés or wrap it in soft theology. This is Sunday, and this is truth; raw, uncomfortable, and necessary.

 

There is a quiet crisis in our homes, and it is more dangerous than inflation, unemployment, or bad governance. It is the slow, deliberate abdication of parental responsibility. Too many parents have become spectators in the lives of their own children, outsourcing discipline to pastors, values to schools, and accountability to a government they don’t even trust.

 

And then, when everything falls apart, you blame the system.

 

No. Not today.

 

Let me say it plainly: your child is not a government project. Your child is your assignment.

 

When did we get here? When did parenting become a side hustle; something you squeeze in between WhatsApp broadcasts, endless hustling, and political arguments? When did we start believing that dropping children off at church every Sunday was enough to secure their future?

 

Your pastor is not raising your child.

Your child’s teacher is not raising your child.

That housemaid you barely supervise is definitely not raising your child.

 

You are.

 

Or at least, you’re supposed to.

 

The Lie We Keep Telling Ourselves

 

“We’re trusting God.”

 

It sounds spiritual. It sounds deep. But in many homes, it’s just laziness dressed in church clothes.

 

Trusting God is not abandoning responsibility. Faith without structure is chaos. Prayer without parenting is noise.

 

You cannot be absent Monday to Saturday and expect Sunday School to fix what you broke all week.

 

At home, your child speaks to you like a peer.

At home, they consume anything on the internet without boundaries.

At home, there is no discipline, no structure, no real conversation.

 

But on Sunday, you expect a miracle.

 

Life doesn’t work that way.

 

And deep down, you know it.

 

The Church Is Not Your Emergency Room

 

Let’s be honest, the church is doing more than it should already. It is counseling broken marriages, feeding struggling families, mentoring confused youths, and still carrying the emotional baggage of people who refuse to do the work at home.

 

Now you want it to raise your children too?

 

No.

 

The church is reinforcement, not replacement. It builds on what you’ve already established, not what you neglected.

 

If your home is empty of values, don’t expect the altar to compensate.

 

Because what your child sees daily will always overpower what they hear occasionally.

 

The Consequences Are Already Here

 

Look around. The evidence is everywhere.

 

We are raising a generation that is loud but not deep. Expressive but not disciplined. Connected online but disconnected emotionally.

 

Adults who cannot take correction.

Young people who crumble under pressure.

Leaders without integrity.

Citizens without empathy.

 

And you think this is just a “Nigeria problem”?

 

No. This is a parenting problem.

 

That boy you refused to correct becomes the man who disrespects authority.

That girl you never listened to becomes the woman who shuts down emotionally.

That child you raised without boundaries becomes the adult who believes rules are optional.

 

And then we gather in prayer houses shouting, “God fix our nation!”

 

God is asking you a simple question:

“What did you do with the child I gave you?”

 

Intentional Parenting Is Not Optional

 

Let me show you the other side, the side many of you are avoiding because it requires effort.

 

Intentional parenting.

 

It’s not glamorous. It’s not always convenient. But it works.

 

It means setting boundaries, even when it makes you unpopular at home.

 

It means having real conversations, not just giving instructions.

 

It means correcting with love, not avoiding conflict.

 

It means being present; not just physically, but emotionally.

 

A well-raised child doesn’t just “happen.” They are built; daily, deliberately, consistently.

 

And the results?

 

You sleep with peace, not anxiety.

 

You hear good reports, not constant complaints.

 

You watch your child grow into someone who adds value, not stress.

 

In church, they serve with understanding.

 

In school, they stand out with discipline.

 

In society, they contribute with integrity.

 

That’s not luck. That’s parenting.

 

Stop Romanticizing Struggle While Neglecting Responsibility

 

Yes, the economy is hard. Yes, Nigeria will test your patience. But hardship is not an excuse for negligence.

 

Many of you are working hard, but in the wrong direction.

 

You’re building businesses, chasing contracts, debating politics… while your home quietly collapses.

 

You’re present everywhere, except where it matters most.

 

Log out for a moment.

 

Leave the government to fix itself.

Face your living room.

 

Because the child you ignore today will become the reality you cannot escape tomorrow.

 

You Can’t Delegate Destiny

 

Let this sink in: you cannot delegate your child’s destiny.

 

Not to the church.

Not to the school.

Not to the government.

 

You can get help, but you cannot transfer ownership.

 

Be their teacher.

Be their guide.

Be their moral compass.

Be the example they cannot ignore.

 

Let them see your discipline.

Let them hear your wisdom.

Let them feel your presence.

 

Because one day, they will either thank you, or spend years recovering from you.

 

There is no middle ground.

 

Final Word From This Pulpit

 

This is not condemnation. This is correction.

 

Because the truth is simple: if we fix our homes, we won’t need to scream so much about fixing the nation.

 

So, stop outsourcing your child.

Stop hiding behind prayer points.

Stop blaming systems you cannot control.

 

Start with what you can control, your home.

 

Parent intentionally.

Discipline consistently.

Love deeply.

Show up fully.

 

And maybe, just maybe, we will raise a generation that doesn’t need to be repaired.

 

See you next Sunday.

 

But before then, go home and do the real work.

 

This is my Sunday Sermon from my holy pulpit.

 

Ewere Okonta is the CEO of EOB Media, a family values advocate, and writes from the Department of Business Administration, University of Delta, Agbor.

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