By IJEOMA UKAZU
“There are children out there who are vulnerable to violence, exposed to danger, forced into labour, some of them are not in school. I believe every African child has the right to go to school. More schools should be built and child labour be stopped.
“African government should prioritize the rights and welfare of children. They should ensure that no child is on the street. Our leaders should be more remorse, not thinking of their families alone. They should also care for vulnerable children in the country,” says 15 year-old Oshodi Hamzat from Kingston College, Lagos.
The Senior Secondary 2 student, Hamzat said, he feels good that the African child is recognised and celebrated, however, he advised children not to copy bad habits from their environment, as well as shun all forms of peer pressure, stating that; “not all that glitters is gold. I am tasking Nigerians not to be bad influence on children and youths. If you want to smoke, please smoke in your house not outside.”
For Wisdom Faith, her dream of a better Nigeria is one that is free from child labour, free education for street children who can not afford to pay school fees.
The 12 year-old, Junior Secondary 2, students of Bijamic College, Lagos called on parents believes with encouragement, every child would feel cared for, while calling on children to focus and putt more efforts on their education.
Faith also called on the Nigerian government and African leaders to provide job opportunities so parents can work and take care of their children, stating that; “children who are orphans should not be neglected. The government should offer them good parenting and education as well.”
Hamzat and Faith are just two out of millions of children in the continent yearning for a better life and space to exercise their talents.
This year’s commemoration of Day Of The African Child with the theme: “Africa Fit For All”, coincides with 30 years anniversary of the African Charter on Children’s Rights.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF Communication, Advocacy And Partnership Manager Nigeria, Nidhi Joshi said, once again Nigeria is celebrating the Day of the African Child, an opportunity to reflect, and take stock on child rights issues in Africa, looking at the progress made and challenges that need to be addressed.
She said UNICEF celebrates with children all over Africa amidst the existing challenges heightened by COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a major stumbling block, towards having a continent fit for children which is in line with the theme for this year’s celebration.
In commemoration of the 2021 Day of the African Child organised by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN Ikoyi, Lagos in partnership with UNICEF, Joshi said, “30 years after the adoption of the Charter: accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2040 for an Africa fit for children”, “We all must commit, all through the year, and more so today, to reinforce the protection mechanisms for all children.”
She said the coronavirus pandemic left a huge impact on the lives of women and children: “The longer the pandemic goes on, the more intense the impact on women and children. Violence is perpetrated against one in four Nigerian children and one in three Nigerian girls is sexually abused. These violations of the rights of children have increased during the pandemic.
“COVID-19 crisis has been a child rights crisis worldwide. Poverty is rising, inequality is growing, and the pandemic has often disrupted the essential services of providing timely health and nutrition services, continuing education and learning, and protecting children and young people.”
She reiterated, that as a people, we must act in the best interests of children and deploy innovative solutions to fast-track learning and health services to build back better for every child in the African continent.
Speaking earlier during his opening speech, the Director General, Federal Radio Corporations of Nigeria, Dr. Mansur Liman who was represented by the Acting Director, Radio Nigeria Lagos Operations Mr Istiphanos Baba said, “16th June every year, government, NGOs, International organisations and stakeholders gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the full realization of the rights of children in Africa.
“It is in commemoration of about 10 thousand black school children who watched in a stretch of more than half kilometers long on 16th June 1976 in South Africa protesting the poor quality of their education and is also to raise awareness on the need for improvement of the education provided to African children.”
He said, in Nigeria, government is making more effort in trying to address the issue of child rights and welfare as a lot still need to be done.
According to the Director General, after almost four decades and despite political actions towards achieving universal basic education, shockingly, recent statistics show that over 10.5 million children in Nigeria are still out of school.
The commemoration of this day according to him, gives us yet another opportunity to mobilize all resources and consolidate efforts towards overcoming these challenges.
Highlights of the events were recitation of poems, debates by different school students present, drama amongst others.