What if your son woke up one morning and said:
Daddy, I want to become a footballer? A paint artist? A photographer?
Let me guess your typical answer.
"Son, nah nah. Read either Medicine, Engineering, Law or Accounting first. Then when you are financially independent, you can go for any career you will sponsor on your own."
This is our brand of fatherly realism today.
The irony is how Daddy sees a match on DSTV and doesn't stop yapping about how wealthy these young chaps are.
He has a canvass painting he bought for a hundred grand online to beautify the living room. It was made by some random guy in Taiwan!
Daddy is even on Instagram and follows 54 artistry--a rich collection of photographic masterpieces!
But while he loves the products of these professions, he has narrowed his admiration of it for others to do; just not for you.
Could it be possible that our parenting is what drives our children away from the success they are talented to enjoy rather than towards it?
The Ronaldo or Messi we love, The Serena or Venus Williams we idolize, the pianist Jennifer Lin we drop our jaws at, all had parents who didn't mind having their kids take an unusual career path.
Don't say it doesn't work in Nigeria. It never will until we see our parents get supportive about kids wanting to pursue Mixed Martial Arts as if they just applied for Medicine.
Until then, every child is a doctor who should have been a director of films. A banker who should have been a bicyclist. A lawyer who should have been a long distance runner.
This failure is not only societal. It is parental.