Former president Jerry John Rawlings has sent a word of caution to all fathers on a day the world is celebrating fathers.

The former president in an interview on TV Africa said, relatively, men are not doing too well as fathers and therefore irresponsible fathers must feel ashamed for neglecting their children and leaving the burden of raising them on the mothers

“Because men do not carry the babies, they do not have emotional attachment to them, this makes it easier for them to walk away and leave the burden of raising the child on the mother but that should not be the case,” he added

According to him the popular saying that “Children are gifts from God” is not an excuse for men to be fathering children indiscriminately.

“The fact that children are gifts from God doesn’t mean that you can go and have sex anyhow,” he said

The charismatic leader said, children, when taken care off, become an asset to the parents, country and society as a whole, adding that “when you reach your retirement age that is when you will reap the benefit of fathering a child and training him or her properly”.

Mr. Rawlings was quick to add that some children can also become a thorn in the flesh when left with no parental care to roam on the street.

“The fact that the process of having a child is an easy one and involves a lot of pleasure is not a good reason for people to just father children without planning and with proper preparations, that nonsense must stop” he said.