A Lagos-based mother, Mary Queen Udoka, has found herself at the center of a growing controversy after raising concerns over a nursery school textbook she says contains disturbing content for young children.
Udoka’s concerns began while assisting her five-year-old child with homework from a book titled: “English Language Foundation for Nursery Schools (Reading/Letter Work Volume 2)”.
According to her, a section of the book depicts an elderly man harshly punishing his dog for failing to stop a thief, content she believes is inappropriate for children of that age.
Describing her reaction in a video that has since gone viral, Udoka questioned the suitability of such material in early childhood education.
“I couldn’t ignore it… Is this what my child is being taught?” she asked.
What initially appeared to be a routine parental concern, soon escalated. Udoka alleged that she began receiving threats after speaking out publicly.
The situation intensified further following the reaction of the book’s author, Ayengbe Ebhohimen, who defended his work and criticized the manner in which the issue was raised.
“I’m not a social media type,” the author said, insisting that the mother could have reached out to him directly instead of taking the matter online.
He maintained that there was nothing wrong with the story and described the public criticism of his work as inappropriate.
The controversy has since drawn the attention of the Lagos State government, which clarified that the textbook in question was not approved for use in schools.
Authorities have launched an investigation into both the private school involved and the publisher responsible for the material.
Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who is representing the family, said the incident highlights broader concerns within the education system.
According to him, the case exposes gaps in the regulation and monitoring of instructional materials used for young learners.
Meanwhile, the issue has sparked widespread debate on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), with Nigerians expressing sharply divided opinions.
While some users support Udoka’s decision to speak out, emphasizing the need to protect children from inappropriate content, others argue that the matter could have been handled privately without resorting to public criticism.
@AdaWritesNG (Ada Nwoye) said “a five-year-old reading about violence in a schoolbook? The mother did the right thing. This is not about ego; it’s about children.”
Another X user @ChiefOla (Ola Adeyemi), however, disagrees, saying “why go to social media first? The author has a point. There should have been proper engagement before dragging his work online.”
For @LegalLens (Tunde Bakare), the entrance of the police into a purely educational matter is baffling, asking “police summons over a complaint about a nursery book? That’s the real issue here. This is intimidation, plain and simple.”
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The child’s mother finds support from an X user identified as @MumLifeNG (Blessing Okafor), who said that “as a mother, I would have done the same. Kids absorb everything. We must be careful what we expose them to.”
In the opinion of yet another X use, @EduWatchAfrica (Sadiq Bello), “the biggest failure here is the system. How did an unapproved book even make it into a classroom?”
The development has raised pressing questions about oversight in early childhood education, the responsibility of schools in selecting appropriate learning materials, and the rights of parents to challenge what their children are exposed to in classrooms.
As investigations continue, attention remains firmly on accountability and on ensuring that educational content for young children meets acceptable standards.
