ByConstance Meju
May27 of every year, Nigeria joins the word in commemorating the InternationalChildren’s Day, a day set aside by the United Nation to focus on children’sissues. As usual, there were parades mounted by excited children in the statesand the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as well as in all the 774 localgovernment headquarters of the country.
Stategovernments even hosted some of the children to parties later in the day and inBayelsa State, their excitement over this once-in-a –blue –moon treat led tosome form of injury to the first lady. Apologies Maam!
Someparents too, took out time and money to spend time with their children inchoice spots but that is as far as the celebration of Nigerian children goes.Thereafter, it is back to the usual. The Nigerian child is one of the mostuncared for in the world. From conception, through infancy to adolescent, careof this sector of the Nigerian population has been most negligent. So negligentthat only recently, concerned child advocates have challenged the federalgovernment to declare a state of emergency on violence Against Children in thecountry.
Accordingto monitored reports, the call arose from findings of a one-week poll conductedby the Civil Organ Research Advocacy and Funding Initiative, CORIFID, thecoordinator of the West African Peace-building Network, WANEP in the NorthEast.
From the poll conducted on Facebook, 75 per centrespondents demanded that the federal government should declare a state ofemergency on violence against children while 24 per cent want the creation of acommission to directly address the escalating cases of violence againstchildren in the country perpetrated mainly by adults. Hardly a day passeswithout reports especially on social media, of children being violated byparents, step-parents, guardians, teachers, relatives, bandits, etc. even withthe existence of the Child Right Act specifically put in place to address themenace.
Muchof Nigeria today is troubled by violence with thousands of families displacedand forced to take shelter in neighbouring towns and villages or urban centers.Many of these so internally displaced persons are children.
Thereis also a growing trend of child-trafficking with some girls selling babies,parents constrained by poverty selling their children to raise funds for otherpressing family needs. Many children serving as house-helps in the homes ofmore endowed relatives and masters/mistresses, are abused almost daily and infrightfully gruel ways daily because of the pervading poverty in a country nowthe world’s poorest; millions are out of school and millions more face hungerand mal-nutrition.
Asa matter of fact, 93 million Nigerians are now in extreme poverty conditionaccording to the World Poverty Clock. That translates to more deprivations forchildren as well as more vulnerability to violence. According to the UN,poverty increases exposure of children and women to violence.
The United Nations Center for Education and Culture,UNICEF states that, “one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children isin Nigeria”.Allchildren, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, have the rightto quality education.
About 10.5million children are not in school even though primary education isofficially free and compulsory.
Healthwise,the situation is equally bleak. A grater of the 45.7 sickle cell diseasecarriers in the country are children and are battling with the HIV/AIDS scourge. Nigeria is on the world child mortality ranking.
Inthe education sector, as important as the sector is, the abuse there is evenmore pronounced as exposed since little Miss Success Adego made us know-horrible and shameful despite yearly budget allocations to thatsector.Following the outburst of this Education Ambassador, more revelations ofneglect and exploitation in the public school system has been uncovered in acountry whose leaders compete in purchasing jets while our kids sit in concreteblocks immersed in water to learn.
Whilethe public schools rot, our leaders happily send their children to choiceschools within and outside the country and gladly deprive the public schools ofamenities and even teachers.
Inthe face the glaring neglect, Mr. Natheniel Anuquila, CORAFID founder says thelack of adequate commitment to end this spate of violence against children inthe country necessitated warranted calls for special attention to theendangered Nigerian children. He noted that on March 7, 2019, UNICEF disclosedthat the cumulative economic cost of violence against children stands atN6.1billion or 1.07 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP.
TheWANEP coordinator lamented that despite this, government has not considered itnecessary to fashion out a budget plan dedicated to addressing childrenspecific issues or set up appropriate institution to address them.
Childrenconstitute about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population(NP OPC 2011) and at leasthalf of all children in Nigeria are exposed to violence including emotions,sexual and physical violence” (UNICEF 2015).
On November20, 2018 , UNICEF called onglobal leaders to commit to doing more to fulfill children’s rights.
The call came witha global request asking individuals to sign a global onlinepetition asking for ‘children to be put back on the agenda.’
“We want to builda world where every child is in school, safe from harm and can fulfill theirpotential – and nowhere is this more true than in Nigeria,” said Mohamed Fall,UNICEF’s representative in Nigeria.
“A lot has beenachieved, but there is still much to do to ensure that Nigerian childrenbenefit from advances in child rights. At the moment, too many children arebeing left behind, and we need to reach them, ” stated.
According toUNICEF, “Nigeria has the world’s highest number of out-of-school children, andone of its highest rates of maternal, child and infant mortality. More thanfour million children are unimmunized and tens of millions of Nigerians stilldo not have access to clean water and proper sanitation, putting children’shealth at risk.
“Diseases likepneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria – combined with underlying malnutrition – areresponsible for most of the deaths among infants and children in Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s burdenof stunted growth among children is the second highest in the world, with 16.5million affected, and the burden of severe acute malnutrition is high, with anestimated 2.6 million children severely acutely malnourished.
“No matterwhere a child is born – whether into wealth or poverty – they and their parentshave the same hopes and dreams for their future. And we owe it to all childrento give them a fair chance to survive and fulfill those dreams,” said MohamedFall.
Followingthis call, it is only proper that as the world marked this special day forchildren this year; that we raise enough concern within the decision makingsector of government to seriously consider this demand for children specificbudgeting or commission. We cannot deny our children the right to a betterlife, one in which their dreams and potentials meet for a greater Nigeriatomorrow.
#GAP#
#Kebetkache#
# For the Children#
Constance Meju is aPort Harcourt based journalist and publisher of National Point Newspaper, ahuman right, children advocate and gender equity activist.
