Children: Our collective responsibility

“History will judge us by the difference we make in everyday lives of children”-Nelson Mandela “It is easier to build a strong children than to repair  broken men”. Fredrick Douglass May 27 every year is a day set out for Children’s Day is a day recognised to celebrate children and increase awareness of the rights, […]

“History will judge us by the difference we make in everyday lives of children”-Nelson Mandela

“It is easier to build a strong children than to repair  broken men”. Fredrick Douglass

May 27 every year is a day set out for Children’s Day is a day recognised to celebrate children and increase awareness of the rights, care and education of children.  There are many social issues that affect children, such as childhood education, bullying, child poverty, dysfunctional families, child labour,hinger, and child homelessness(street children/almajiri).

The quality of childhood sets the stage for our future development – as individuals and societies. Childhood is when we plant the seeds of a new generation, which can flourish only within a caring family environment. For a sustainable future, every child must be valued and included.

Child protection is about practices that ensure children accessing services are safe, ensuring that potential abuse and neglect, along with general concerns about child wellbeing, are identified and appropriately responded to. It is key to building a culture of child protection where the safety and security of children is paramount.

The responsibility for making sure that children are safe and that their needs are met is shared between the families, the general community, professionals working with children, law enforcement and government. Each has a significant role to play to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people and to help prevent them from harm.

Whilst most child abuse occurs within families and communities, children also experience abuse and exploitation in organizations’ that provide them with support and services. Experience has found that physical, emotional abuse and neglect in child focused organizations and institutions are less systematic and usually un- planned. It is usually the result of poor conditions, bad work practices and negligent management.

According to journal of child abuse and Neglect, Child abuse is “any recent acr or failure to act on part of parent or guardians/caregivers which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, an act or failure of which an imminent risk of serious harm”. Child abuse can take several forms, the four main types are physical, sexual, psychological and neglect.   

Child labour is another worst form of labour were children are used in hazardous work like agriculture, mining, building, quarry, prostitution, any form of hard labour etc.

It is quite disheartening to see young children of school age being used in all these areas against the social norms and beyond their physical and mental capacity. Child labour debases humanity in general, it makes the child to lose self-esteem and his future. We have all witnessed in many instances when vehicles knock down children hawkers. Stories children being raped or used for moneymaking purposes. 

According to reports, 21 out of 36 states had adopted the Child Rights Act 2003 enacted by the Federal Government following the signing and ratification of the UN Convention on the Right of the Child. In spite of this, children in Nigeria are at the risk of multiple violations of their rights such as violence, trafficking, exploitative labour, abuse, child marriage and female genital mutilation. Sixty percent of children often experience one or more types of violence before attaining adulthood. Over 17.5 million children can be categorized as orphans and vulnerable while a quarter of Nigerian children age 5-14 are involved in child labour according to UNICEF.

Tackling child abuses requires practical action, particularly in areas of restraining laws and enforcement institutions. The children are the future leaders and their abuse is a crime that should be punished with severity to underline its unacceptability. Protect the children, its everyone responsibility.

Ahmad Muhammad Danyaro wrote in from Number 8 Accra Street ,Wuse Zone 5 Abuja [email protected]