By Babatunde Ayedoju

In the past, it was only the telephone known as land phone that we knew. Those were the days when NITEL ruled the telecommunication industry. Telephone was a luxury and only for the rich and educated elite at that time.
During the first tenure of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the President of Nigeria, he took a step to deregulate the telecommunication industry and this led to the emergence of mobile phones in Nigeria. Many Nigerian adults will still remember names like Turaya and Apanromi. These were some of the early brands of mobile phones in the market.
While these phones could hardly be used for any other thing than to make phone calls and send messages, advances in technology, otherwise known as media convergence, have made the contemporary mobile phone multipurpose.
Today we have smartphones that can be used to browse the internet, type documents that can end up as books, download and read ebooks, take pictures, record videos and even short films, watch movies, watch television channels and listen to radio stations.
In fact, during the lockdown in Nigeria as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of religious and secular organisations shifted their meetings to the cyberspace and many participated using their mobile phone.
The multipurpose nature of mobile phones, coupled with the fact that most of the brands are now cheaper than they used to be, seems to have made it very popular among Nigerians. When mobile phones came newly, only the rich could afford them because they were very expensive at that time. Even the SIM cards were beyond the reach of the common man because of the huge price.
Now, it is common to see mobile phones among all categories of people, no matter their economic status, even students in secondary school are not left out.
According an online platform, Statista, mobile internet penetration in Nigeria as at 2021 is 48.12 percent and the number of smartphone users in the country is forecast to grow to more than 140 million by 2025.
Now, the questions are, is it right for parents to allow their underage children own mobile phones? What are the reasons to justify their standpoints?
Mr. Odun Ofere, a parent who is also a teacher, said, “I can say yes, provided such parents can guide (not hunt) their children diligently. Phone could be necessary for them because we are in the age of technology and we can’t afford our children living in the primitive while their contemporaries are already cosmopolitans. The children might have the need to participate in an online competition such as the ongoing MTN Spelling Bee Competition or take assignments from school.”
“Sometimes, parents are not at home and will have the need to speak with their children. Should the children continue to go and always receive such calls from neighbours, peradventure there is one? Even where neighbours are available, what happens in case of emergency, especially when the neighbours are away from the house?”
Mr Ofere said further, “more also, there’s a lot of information on their subjects/courses in school which their teachers may not be able to provide for them, for whatever reason, that they might have to read online. For how long will they continue to struggle with their parents’ phones before they get all these done? So to me, it’s not bad if children have access to phones. It is just imperative that parents should properly guide them.
According to Mr Bolaji Olaniyan, a parent and publisher, “I don’t think a child should be allowed to own a mobile phone before age 18. It causes distraction, even for adults. For instance, I had to collect the mobile phone of my child who was doing O level exams, because he was always on the phone instead of reading his books. I understand that parents may need to communicate with a child who is faraway. In that case, a small phone, different from an Android, will suffice.”
Another parent, Mr Samuel Enesi, an architect said, students should only be allowed to use phone because of final exams in SS 3, because they need it for Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination and other registration processes for admission. Outside that, no student in secondary school should be given phone to use. However, a tab may be allowed for the purpose of learning, not socialising. It’s basically a distraction. They don’t need it. From calls, they will move to chatting, following, and so on.”
The Hope equally spoke with some young people on this issue. Florence Tapgun said, “I think is wrong for parents buy a phone for their chidren Although there are good and bad aspects of everything, the bad always surpasses the good if not properly handled. Such children can be exposed to fraud, ponography, bad company and bad habits. The best time for proper use of phone should be at the university level after properly educating the child about the do’s and don’t of phone.”
In the words of Samuel Ogundipe, ‘If I have the opportunity, I will buy my children Mobile phone from Senior Secondary School (SSS 1). The reason is that I should know my children’s whereabouts, especially when they are not in the school’s hostel. God forbid any wrong movement, phone can be used as tracker. If they need urgent help, they are free to call for any emergency, It is just good for this generation
Talking about access to the internet, there are ways I can bar him/her from some sites and I will tell him/her the reason why I am doing it, because he/she can access those websites from other people’s phones.