he youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity, so says Benjamin Disraeli and he is one hundred percent right. We watch over our youth, as they grow, just as we do spring flowers blooming in springtime. We strive to keep them away from danger and evil influences just as we remove killer weeds from the midst of our growing flowers to preclude them from being stifled or becoming stunted. But what happens when the killer jaws of death prematurely snatch away one of the expected custodians of posterity? What happens when posterity is robbed of one of its priced possessions- the young? Simply put, such tragedies bring untold agony and perpetual despair to families while making the world worse off. Such is the case in the untimely and heart-rending demise of Obinna Okoro, the 17-year old son of a Nigerian-born pharmacist, Mr. Patrick Okoro, who lives in New Jersey. As a father, who also has a teenage son, even though I did not know the Okoro family, the news of the senseless death of Obinna tore through my heart like a double-edged dagger and the shock reverberated through me as though someone had delivered a devastating punch on my solar plexus. I instantly found myself wondering how the family must be coping with such a loss.

During casual discussions with friends and contemporaries, it never takes long to decipher that the most common dream and prayers of parents, is that God would keep them long enough to see their kids grow into fathers and mothers so that at the ripe time, they would proudly hand over the baton of life to the kids and then urge them on to greater heights just as relay runners do after the exchange of batons. That dream is only natural and is shared by all parents. In simple terms, we all hope that our kids will outlive us and be there for us during the last days for the final and parting embrace. When this expected trend is reversed, when nature decides to rock the boat of harmony and orderliness by prematurely visiting death on the young, it leaves disappointment, heartbreak and despair in its wake.

On that fateful day, June 2, 2003, Obinna Okoro had readied himself for his upcoming graduation from Union High School in New Jersey, which was slated for June 20th. His limousine, tuxedo and other necessary paraphernalia had already been procured in readiness for the D-day - prom night. Just like every other graduating senior, he was looking forward to it all. Before graduation, however, there was one more opportunity to share in the tradition of his school at this time of the year, the tradition of whitewater rafting with friends and classmates. Nothing would deter him from partaking in that rite of passage. He saw nothing wrong, and rightly so, with having that last commune, camaraderie, if you will, with his classmates and friends, just before the graduation day which as fate would have it, turned out not to be for him. Even when his father, as reported, cautioned that whitewater rafting was a dangerous venture and would not sign the permission slip, Obinna went along with his friends and classmates anyway. In hindsight, it sounds like the proverbial date with death but how could he have known that evil was lurking in the corner? Just like every other kid his age, he was full of life and hope and looked forward to the morrow with the upbeat feeling that all will be well, especially when previous rafting trips by erstwhile graduating seniors in the school, came off successfully.

The whitewater rafting trip went awry; rapid waves hit the boat Obinna was in and the kids were dislodged into the fast-moving river. The struggle for survival began and in the final analysis, three of the kids managed to swim to safety but unfortunately, Obinna was unable to make it. With that, the premonition of a father, which caused him to deny consent for the trip, turned into reality. The premonition, which caused him to waver, when he was asked to sign a permission slip, became real. All parents face a dilemma when confronted with the issue of signing permission slips for kids to participate in school or scouting activities. They sometimes have to make the tough and unpopular decision to deny their consent when they sense danger. The kids do not always like it, but parents have to sometimes do it anyway, in the interest of their kids. That was exactly what happened in this case. Mr. Patrick Okoro knew that whitewater rafting was dangerous and refused to give his consent but in this case he was unable to stop the young, ebullient and vivacious teenager.

Obinna's friends reported seeing him swept under the waves, when the boat capsized, just a little before noon, but searches, which began almost instantly in Sparrowbush, New York, did not immediately yield any fruitful results. Finally, some days later, after an exhaustive search, his body was located six miles from where the accident took place, on the Pennsylvania side of the river and a parent's worst nightmare began - Obinna was gone!

It is not a mean feat, as we all know, to train, nurture and guide a child to his 17th year on earth in a world that has increasingly become sophisticated; a world that has become an intricate maze to navigate through; a world full of vices and temptation that one could easily succumb to. Nurturing a child up to that stage, in spite of all the obstacles that modern life throws at parents, takes tenacity of purpose; it takes dedication and selflessness; it certainly takes extreme sacrifice, which includes denying oneself of some life's pleasures to ensure the best for the child. It is therefore a tragedy of utmost proportions, for Obinna to have been taken away from his parents at this stage, the prime of his youth. It is exceedingly painful. Any parent, and indeed any human being, could identify with the hurt that this tragedy has heaped on the family of Patrick Okoro, both in New Jersey and in Nigeria. Our hearts certainly go out to them as they grieve this irreparable loss.

One can say without fear of contradiction, that we, here at the Nigeriaworld and indeed the Nigerian community in the United States, sympathize with the Okoro family and wish them God's Guidance as they undertake a journey strewn with grief, despair and "what ifs"