Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has described as unacceptable, the 10.5 million out of school children figure for Nigeria released by United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
The Governor who stated this in a remark to mark the year 2022 Children’s Day celebration, urged government at all levels to take decisive steps in revising the trend.
He said such number cannot be accepted saying no Nigerian child deserves to be out school because they are the future of the nation.
“I first of all, congratulate the Nigerian child on this special day as they mark the Children’s Day. I pray that they will grow in wisdom and knowledge to contribute their quota to the growth and development of our nation.
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“It is because of this that the Benue State government under my leadership would not tolerate keeping children on the streets instead of enrolling them in school. We have zero tolerance for child trafficking and indeed all crimes against humanity.
“We will continue to promote children’s rights and ensure that every child of school age is enrolled in school. I, therefore, challenge governments at all levels to take the rights and welfare of the children as a number one priority.
“I am, however, saddened with the latest figures disclosed by UNICEF that over 10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school is disturbing to me. This is unacceptable. We must all work hard to change this narrative”
Governor Ortom lamented that if children were not enrolled in school, they would become ready tools in the hands of terrorists and killer herdsmen to foster their criminal and inhuman activities.
Ortom who insisted that “we must protect our children from evil men. Parents must not allow their children to be exposed to the vagaries of terrorists, killer herdsmen, cultists, traffickers and ritualistic”, also advised government and parents to cater for the welfare of the children by training them to become good leaders of tomorrow.
