Immigrants: Why should children know your roots - Dele Olawanle

Sometimes I awaken weeping over the stories I heard and the cases I handled the previous day. The story of an elderly man or woman who is abandoned by the offspring he or she spent a lifetime raising.

The children reached adulthood, married, and left the family home without ever looking back. Some children of this generation can be so egocentric and unforgiving over trivial family disputes.

I spent my early years in Nigeria before moving to the United Kingdom on my own dime. I have spent the last 33 years and counting in the United Kingdom. I lay on the ground. On the dunghill I was. Life was awful, but it is improving. Consequently, I interacted with both the impoverished and the wealthy. I have been a pastor for close to twenty-one years and a lawyer for even longer. I thrive on the private information that people willingly share with me. Please pay attention.

As an elderly immigrant in the United Kingdom, I want to appeal to my fellow African immigrants to let their children know where they originate from. Bring them to your home country. Bring them to your previous institutions. Send them to some affluent suburbs. Place them in a ghetto. Inform them that the United Kingdom is not the world. Once these infants reach adulthood, they will forget they are Africans. The majority of them! Their mentality is exceptionally limited and rigid.

It's all right now. You're still young. Everything is in functioning order. You're earning money. Your favourite vacation destinations are America, Canada, Mainland Europe, Dubai, Turkey, and others, but your native country is off limits. You are a negligent parent. As you become older, you'll realise how much you need on your country. You require your team. You will feel lonely and frustrated.

For instance, if you are from Nigeria, like I am, you will understand that there is no place like home. I have the financial means to travel everywhere in the world, but my experience in Nigeria is unique. Last year, I visited five times. There is a lot of difficulty there, but there is also a lot of abundance. It's different when you're around your people. The difference is in the positioning.

There is hardship in the United Kingdom, as well as discrimination based on race and colour. There is also stylish repression. To achieve here, you must have a strong will. I can tell you from personal experience. What makes you happy today will soon become a burden.

Many elderly people who have dedicated their lives and resources to raising their offspring are confined to an old people's home near the end of their lives. They approach me to draught their will, yet the most of their time with me is spent talking about their regrets. They claimed that their children don't look back and think like English people. They also admit that it was their fault because they did not teach them about Africa, did not praise their home country, and did not take them home even once. What a pity!

Hear me out, young people: no matter how wealthy you are in the UK, you should have a home in your home country where you can take your children on vacation. Discuss your country with them. That is something I do with young Africans, including my own children. They returned to thank me. Don't get too excited. Things do change.

You can accept or reject this post as you read it, but don't throw it away. Tomorrow, may you remember me with gratitude in your heart.

My name is Dele Olawanle. I write and speak to improve people's lives. If you were inspired, please follow me for more mind-bending writing.