Many things we need can wait, but the
child cannot wait. Now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood
is being made, his mind is being developed. To him, we cannot say
tomorrow; his name is today.
The preceding philosophical assertion by
Gabriela Mistral, a Chilean Poet and Nobel laureate, is certainly
expected to engage the minds of the Nigerian political class, parents,
privileged business class, traditional rulers, the academic community
and other stakeholders as Nigeria joins other countries the world over
to celebrate this year’s Children’s Day today with the theme, Let’s
build a culture of peace and security for the Nigerian child.
This theme cannot be more relevant and
imperative than now and forever as the Nigerian child, empirically
speaking, has become most endangered in the midst of many abnormal
events which have daily continued to shake the foundation and growth
pattern of his life.
Accordingly, information and data rolled
out periodically by credible and reputable organisations have
consistently, over the years, portrayed the Nigerian child as having a
bleak future, as one almost permanently ruined in inter-religious and
ethnic conflicts that stunt his socio-economic growth, and as one bred
in a million of endless social strife and instability generated by the
greed, selfishness, corruption and incompetence of most of the country’s
political, economic, business, religious, traditional and academic
leaders.
Apart from that, many Nigerian children
are still subjected to physical and mental violence, sexual abuse,
neglect and maltreatment, even while with parents or guardians,
especially as most parents these days hardly devote quality time to
their children, under the excuse of making a living for them.
And apart from child labour, many
Nigerian children are victims of human trafficking, kidnapping and
ritual killing. Thus, a recent study by the International Labour
Organisation showed that Nigeria lost 4,000 children to traffickers. It
was also claimed by UNICEF a year ago that about 10 million Nigerian
children of school age were out of school. This is in spite of federal
and some state governments’ free education programme under the framework
of Universal Basic Education programme, and the almajiri education that
has just been launched by the Federal Government.
But against the backdrop of cultivating
culture of peace and security of the Nigerian child, what do the
Nigerian children actually need to be, apart from being assets to
themselves and to the society?
Yet, there is really nothing that we
cannot afford for the Nigerian child, such as adequate meals, shelter,
good primary health care, committed parental upbringing, good education
and guaranteed future of opportunities. Thus, it is not for want of
money that most of our children suffer comprehensive deprivation,
especially in the context of peace and security. Nor is it for lack of
local expertise and foreign assistance to lift our children out of fate
that, if care is not taken, could be worse than what their parents
experienced in childhood.
Rather, it is for want of a broad vision
of a greater tomorrow, concerned leadership, focused direction and
competent management of the country’s abundant resources. In this
regard, at least four of the eight Millennium Development Goals that
Nigeria, like the rest of the world, must meet by 2015 focus one way or
the other on the conditions of children. But the reports so far indicate
that the country may not meet these goals.
Why? Because the Nigerian child has
continued to be a victim of “adult delinquency” — that is the failure of
the older generation to genuinely plan for the child’s future in a most
pragmatic manner, backed by political will. Indeed, most adults in high
and low positions of authority unwillingly ruin the lives of millions
of Nigerian kids through disastrous choices, thus undermining their
peace and security.
Many of such adults in the political
class have not helped matters, as they tend to engage in attitude of
profligacy towards politics and governance, which often threatens the
peace and security of the children. As a consequence, most Nigerian
children become victims of moral dislocation and value-disorientation
fostered on them by adults.
To that extent, the hardest task or
challenge our children face today is that they live in a society where
there are very few examples or models to look up to in spite of the long
speeches and fanfare that invariably mark the celebration every year.
Yet, Nigeria is a unique nation whose
predominantly young population holds so much tremendous promise in terms
of energy and talent. No serious nation jokes with the future of its
children. This implies that Nigeria’s capacity to compete in a world
that is focusing on knowledge, skills and ability would depend on the
quality of its investment in its young population.
Therefore, as Nigeria celebrates another
Children’s Day today, I call on our leaders to really look beyond the
rituals of speech making and engage in serious, thought-provoking
policies, with a view to making more time, energy and resources
available for the full-scale development of the Nigerian child.
I also call on state Houses of Assembly
that have not passed the 2003 Child Rights Act to do so without further
delay. That is the most reliable and sustainable way to ensure peace
and security for the Nigerian child, since any country that fails to
secure the future of its young generation places its own future in
jeopardy.
•Dr. Ojah, a media consultant
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