The Federal Government has charged Nigerians in general to take urgent actions against the increasing violence against children in the country.
Their safety, the government said, must be guaranteed at all times, irrespective of wherever they might find themselves.
Also, the government charged security agencies to redouble their efforts in protecting children from danger and violence in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Child Rights Acts, 2003.
In the same vein, the government called on parents in particular not to relent in their efforts to send their children to school, reasoning that the advantages of such a step were too numerous to count.
The call is contained in the message by President Muhammadu Buhari on the occasion of this year’s Children’s Day.
His words: “May I therefore call on the Families, Security Agencies, Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, Civil Society Organisations, Human Rights Activists, and the Society at large to rise up and take urgent and decisive actions to stem the unacceptable rising cases of violence against our children. We must ensure safety of our children in homes, schools, markets, worship centres, on the streets and everywhere at all times.
“Furthermore, let me use this medium to appeal to parents not to relent in their efforts to send their wards to school, especially the girl child as her education reduces infant and maternal mortality and prevents early and child marriages. It also increases literacy and reduces poverty. The saying that to educate a woman is to educate the nation is very apt in this regard.”
The president said Children’s Day offered an opportunity to re-affirm government’s commitment to the protection of children, reflect on the roles and responsibilities as parents and leaders towards the children.
According to him, it also offered an opportunity to assess how well the government had fared in that regard.
He pointed out that as one of the cardinal objectives of his administration was the provision of quality education to children as a fundamental foundation of economic and social development, government had recorded measurable success in the home grown school feeding programme.
The programme, he said, had continued to expand.
He reiterated that the children remained the nation’s future and the initiatives that came from them gave confidence that the country had a bright future.
He said his government had been committed to the school feeding programme in schools because he had been impressed by what they (children) had been able to do, and what the future held for them.
According to him, the programme was to prepare a future generation of physically and intellectually robust children.
At the last count, he said, over 8.2 million children in 24 states of the federation were being given free meals daily in 45,000 schools round the country.
“I therefore call on all stakeholders to support this programme to ensure that all the 36 states of the federation and FCT are covered. This will promote substantially higher enrolment levels in our schools,” he said.
President Buhari said since its inception in May, 2015, his administration had also focused attention on addressing issues of child protection, participation and survival.
He said in 2015, the campaign to end violence against children was launched.
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“In November 2016, the Campaign to End Child Marriage was also launched to ensure that as many children as possible are able to fully enjoy their childhood and be protected from all the challenges associated with this phenomenon. These campaigns have been reinforced with sensitisation campaigns in some states of the federation.
“The theme for this year’s celebration “Creating Safe Spaces for Children: Our Collective Responsibility” is an opportunity to promote the safety and security of our children. As a responsible Government, we are committed to ensuring that children are protected from violence and exploitation against them, and, that their environments are safe enough for them to pursue their educational attainments, discover their full potentials to grow into responsible citizens,” the president said.
He said his government had made giant strides in the protection of the Rights of the Nigerian Child and as a result of such efforts, Nigeria had been declared a Pathfinding Country on Ending Violence Against Children.
He said in its efforts to protect Nigerian children from abuse, exploitation and trafficking as well as provide safe, non-violent inclusive and effective learning environment in schools, his government had directed the management of all Federal Government Colleges and advised all state owned schools across the country to provide adequate measures of safety and security of their students.
“I again call on all schools management committees at all levels of public and private institutions to take adequate security measures and put in place mechanisms for safety of children,” the president said.
