A lack of trees and the absence of Sesame Street

I once asked a kid what the name of his favourite Enid Blyton book was and he stared at me as if I had asked him a classic "impossible" Jamb question When people ask me what the problem with many of the children found in Lagos might be, I always reply: "A lack of trees and the absence of Sesame Street."

Whilst many might not agree with my answer, everyone does agrees that there is something strange about the current lot of children around. Somehow they seem different from the kids we knew back when we were kids. Call me paranoid, but they appear to have evolved.

For instance, kids today look a lot smoother than they did 30 years ago. I don't mean they act a lot more confident which they most certainly do, I mean they just LOOK smoother.

I'm not sure if this is because they now eat better food-as is sometimes claimed-or that my eyesight are finally weakening. Perhaps it is a function of both. Whatever it is, children look so smooth that by just looking at them I sometimes slip and fall. Of even more importance in the current trend of evolution, is the worrying evidence that many of our children are in fact getting dumber. Results of local exams seem constantly in the red. I find myself wondering how this can be.

The old excuse of JAMB and WAEC being harsh monsters does little to inspire our children to success. They are brainwashed by the opinions of the public into thinking that it is simply impossible to pass these exams by studying. So instead of sitting down and figuring out how "erliphant" really is spelt, they wait for the day of the exam and hand over a thousand naira note. It might be expensive, but it will get you the "A" you require and in the long run, it turns out to be nice business for everyone involved. Give or take the "erliphant".

It wasn't this way 30 years ago. When people are asked what has changed in the last 30 years they are quick to point out the many benefits that once were but are now sorely lacking. In the good old days, Fuel was below 10 naira a litre, the current price of a bottle of coca cola would have gotten you at least 2 crates of the same and the Naira-much to the horror of the western world and the delight of the east-was actually rated higher in value than the dollar.

Yes all these undoubtedly would have been nice things to still have around with the exception of extremely cheap bottle of coca cola. Very few people remember the other points which were of more importance to children. 30 years ago, children studied more. Days at school were followed by short hours of homework. Children watched television much less and these periods were devoted more towards educational programs like Sesame Street. When children got bored they went outside and played silly games like "who can climb that tree faster?" These days all that has changed. Children spend more hours in front of the television than they do anywhere else.

I once asked a kid what the name of his favourite Enid Blyton book was and he stared at me as if I had asked him a classic "impossible" Jamb question. The culture of reading which was very much a part of Nigerian youths in times past has gone out the window and dropped 50 floors. Instead of reading a good book, most kids will choose to watch a movie. And instead of going outside to climb a tree, the option instead is to hop inside and kill monsters on their favourite video games.

Of course there is the possibility that I am over reaching. It is an accepted fact that each generation moans the last as being the death of society. When I was a kid my mum used to complain about how lazy I was compared to how hardworking she had been as a kid. It seems we are all bound to get lazier as the evolution in technology becomes smarter. Still, I can't help but worry that the rate at which we are unwinding seems to be on the increase. I believe something positive needs to be done to arrest the current downward spin.

Otherwise there is the very real and unnerving possibility that in 10 years, I will ask a group of children who their favourite character in Sesame Street was.

And after 3 minutes of debate and searching amongst each other, one of them will look at me and then cautiously answer "Babanginda".

Big Bird would weep.