Any hope for the Nigerian child
By ADEZE OJUKWU



"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
— Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa



The life of the Nigerian child still remains the worst reflection of Nigeria's dismal peculiarities.

The anguish and suffering of many children across the country are horrifying.

More than else, the very despicable circumstances that have pushed these young ones to the precipice reflect the nation’s spiralling failings.

The challenges facing them are, to say the least, most haunting and daunting.

Right from the nation’s capital of Abuja to the commercial hub in Lagos and oil nave of Port Harcourt the gaunt faces of hungry and beggarly looking children confront one with endless queries about Nigeria’s commitment to its children. The situation is worse in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and other Northern states, due to poor access to modern education, health and social amenities.

Who will rescue the Nigerian child? This question has bedevilled the nation, for many years, despite decades of national and international interventions to secure the lives of these young ones.
Most people blame it on poor governance, corruption, extreme religious and cultural practices that promote gross violations of rights of children and women too.

Remember the case of Ese Oruru. The 14 year-old lad was cruelly frittered away from her secure home in
Bayelsa State to Kano State and converted to Islam by Yunusa Dahiru, who defiled and impregnated her.

Though justice has been meted to her abductor, Ese’s life remains severely affected by the traumatic experience, sexual abuse, early pregnancy and unplanned motherhood.

Just like the kidnap of Chibok girls, Ese will remain a sore point in the conscience of the nation, as many children particularly girls continue to fall victims of terrorism, rape, kidnap and death, according to police and media reports.

Without doubt Ese represents the huge percentage of Nigerian kids, whose lives chronicle the bestiality of the nation's failed political, economic and social system.

It is simply difficult to forget Ese. She is the girl next door.
She is the child rummaging through dirty dump site for bread.
She is the child criss-crossing major roads across cities and towns selling items to augment the family income,
She is also the child-bride forced into a mix-matched marriage of oddities.
She is also among the tribe of beggars and almajiris dotting street corners and markets, due to obnoxious religious and economic reasons.
The list is endless.

Her story still rings an uncanny bell about this country and its absurdities of poor governance, economic failures, religious extremism and socio-cultural inequities.

Ese is the face of the Nigerian child marked by the savagery of the nation’s failed system and obnoxious cultural practices that tend to subjugate women and children.
She represents the millions of out-of-school girls and boys, who provide fodder for Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal bandits.

Sadly this mirrors the lives of countless numbers of children and young adults across the country.

Apart from a few privileged ones, most children across the length and breadth of the land live in despicable circumstances that defy reason and logic.

Many are trapped in sex slavery and child marriages; others are living on the precipice of poverty, illiteracy and economic exploitation.


Nigerian kids are among the most vilified children globally according to reports from United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and sister agencies.

It is no longer news that Nigeria has over 10 million
out-of-school children accounting for one of the highest rates globally.

Sadly these dismal demographics have worsened by the emergence of Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, religious violence and political upheavals.

UNICEF confirmed this in its 2017 report saying
‘the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria has significantly increased in scale, due to the on-going conflict in the North-East. In the three most directly affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, 8.5 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 1.68 million internally displaced persons, more than half of whom are children.’


In line with the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan, UNICEF said its focus remains on these three states, where 93 per cent of the internally displaced reside. The nutrition situation is of great concern, with some areas experiencing rates of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) (10–20 per cent) that far exceed emergency thresholds.’

The apex children agency lamented that social services are still severely disrupted, with 40 per cent of health facilities and 1,200 schools damaged or destroyed due to the conflict. Similarly, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has become a growing concern, with an estimated 3.9 million people needing assistance.

‘Presently, three million children have lost access to learning; more than 2.7 million conflict-affected children need psychosocial support; 20,000 children are unaccompanied and separated and 8,000 children are associated with armed forces and groups,’ it revealed.

UNICEF warned that failure to reintegrate and separation from families is increasing children’s risk of abuse and exploitation.
In 2017, UNICEF said it needed ‘US$ 146.9 million to reach more than four million people, including 2.1 million children due to 69 per cent funding gap, especially for children and their families. It noted that donor support is critical to continue scaling up the response in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.’

On several occasions wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari has tasked political religious and traditional leaders to promote the rights of children through investments in health and educational programmes, especially for the girl-child.

Speaking during a side event at the 50th Session of United Nations Commission on Population and Development, in New York, United States (US), Buhari called for more investments in out-of-school teenage girls, as ‘a substantial number of these girls have either not completed their education or have never attended school, and that this portends unpleasant consequences for humanity.’


The event had as theme: ‘Investing in out of school teenage girls: a priority for achieving demographic dividends, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa.’

She made a similar call in her message to mark this year’s International Women’s Day urging governments at all levels to rise to the global challenge of ensuring gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

She also challenged relevant organizations and stakeholders to rise to the global challenge of ensuring the achievement of the goals in line with the objective of SDPs.

Lamenting over the intractable violations of women and children, she charged women to remain courageous despite the social and economic challenges in several communities in Nigeria and other developing nations.
“As you may be aware, records have shown that women are the most vulnerable and poorest group globally.

Said she: “In Nigeria, this gap exists as a result of socio-economic and other factors. Despite these challenges that women face in their journey, however, they must not be deterred as they are the fountain of wisdom and endurance.’

This year’s theme, “Be Bold for Change”, was enunciated towards taking effective action to support women rights, accelerating gender equality and improving access to economic opportunities, especially to girls.
Obviously this will have a direct impact on the lives of children in most affected countries across the world.

Research has shown that there is a strong correlation between women and children. Hence children fare better in societies, where women’s rights and empowerment are promoted.

The need to tackle the underlying social and cultural factors that compromise and threaten the lives of children in the country must be tackled with all the seriousness it deserves, as part of a comprehensive approach to end all forms of discriminations against children.

.OJUKWU a journalist and Fellow of USA-sponsored Hubert H Humphrey (HHH) Fellowship wrote via
adezeo@yahoo.com.

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