How often should children visit their hometowns?

Very few children today know where the come from or regularly visit their villages or hometowns to interact with their kinsfolk and learn something about their traditions and culture.

There is a saying that knowing your roots is an important step in understanding and appreciating who you are. But in a multi-lingual country like Nigeria where many people live in big cities like Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, most children don’t often have the opportunity to visit their villages and hometowns regularly to acquaint themselves with their kith and kin. Is this a healthy trend? Life Xtra sought the opinion of a cross section of people on the issue.

Jethro Ogunmola King, an operations officer at Korenet Technoloies Ltd Abuja, thinks that visiting one’s hometown at least once a year is a good idea; this includes “seasonal periods like Christmas, Sallah and other main global seasons.” He adds that even when there is a major cultural festival such as the New Yam festival “they should visit where they can learn firsthand about it. Try to make it fun and educative as they will remind you of the dates, I can bet that.”

Ahmed Meto Mamudu says visiting once a year was the best thing for children because: “Too much familiarity is not good. There is so much Jealousy in the village because of your achievements in life.”

For Machara Oye, it depends on how often the parents visit home: “Some folks really don’t have ties with the village and where they do it is usually during brief visits. If you are the type that goes home often, by all means, take them along. Let them have a feel of the life on the ‘other side of town,’” adding however that: “But then again, most homesteads have become concrete jungles too.”

Lucky Mere, who works as a durable equipment technician at a medical facility in Abuja, says parents’ financial standing should determine how often their children visit their hometowns: “My honest response is as often as possible but it also depends on the financial purse of their parents or guardians.”

He added that knowing ones root is important because while he was growing up his parents always ensured they spent long holidays in the village and it was a “beautiful experience.” Lucky added that going to one’s hometown has positive impact: “My frequent visits to my hometown have had a positive impact on me with regards to knowing the Igbo culture.”

Abuja-based civil engineer Oluwatosin Taiwo noted that it is not mandatory for children to visit their villages often: “It’s not mandatory that children should visit often but at least they should know their hometown; know their ancestral lineage probably during festive periods.” He explained that festive periods are when people usually have time for such visits, adding that he visited his hometown about a decade ago. 

Most people believe that travelling to their hometown is dangerous because of the African mentality that witches and village wizards might kill them,” Taiwo explained.

However, Owoicho Apochi Nelson, a teacher and development worker disagrees with Taiwo, stressing that children should visit their hometowns as often as possible, “but if you need numbers, thrice in a year.” Visits during festive and non-festive periods will expose them to their ancestral background because “visits during festive periods leave them with little or no knowledge about where they come from.”

Nelson added that regular visits will help give the children a sense of identity and a sense of belonging. “We are growing a new generation that has no identity as Nigerians,” he lamented.

But Adeshina Sunday, the father of a toddler, agrees with Nelson that children should visit their hometown often, he insists that this should only be during periods when schools are on vacation.