Our children, our investment

In Maiduguri, the Borno State where our abducted girls are being held by Boko Haram insurgents for over one month now, concerned citizens marked children’s day with a rally. An impressive number of stakeholders from all walks of life marched to the Government House to draw attention to the plight of our girls. In various […]

In Maiduguri, the Borno State where our abducted girls are being held by Boko Haram insurgents for over one month now, concerned citizens marked children’s day with a rally. An impressive number of stakeholders from all walks of life marched to the Government House to draw attention to the plight of our girls. In various state capitals prayers were said for the safe return of the girls while rallies were organised to demand action from government.
On its part, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) called for collective responsibility in the protection of children. The organisation said the collective includes the family, community, society and the state. In a statement released to mark the annual event, UNICEF’s Communications Specialist, Mr Geoffrey Njoku said “Every day in the media we hear of one form of abuse or the other against children, rape of under aged children, child trafficking and so on.” According to him, the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls recently underscores the urgent need for collective action, saying, “We need to create a protective environment for our children to ensure a bright future for them.”
UNICEF noted that the protective environment is based on the recognition that all children are entitled to protection – as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Nigeria’s Child’s Rights Act 2003. “All children have a right to grow up in an environment that ensures their protection. UNICEF helps to create a protective environment for a child which fortifies them against abuse in the same way that good nutrition and good health care fortifies them against disease. We are working with the Nigeria Police, the immigration service, the Federal Ministries, departments and agencies to achieve this.”
According to the Communications Specialist, “Our best efforts in survival and development will come to nought if the child is abused later in life, put in harm’s way through abduction and trafficking. Even strong, healthy children can be victims of abuse.” He added that a well-nourished and immunized child who is beaten is not a healthy child and that a young girl in school is likely to be not well educated if she is sexually abused by her teacher as she would drop out of school.
The UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Jean Gough added that the fear of abduction will erode all the gains made in girls’ education. She said, ‘Let us all work together, collectively to ensure that our children are protected against harm so they can grow into productive adults who will contribute to the development of Nigeria in future’.
Senate President David Mark called for prayers for the survival of the Nigerian child from becoming an endangered species in the hands of abductors and kidnappers. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, Mark said the situation calls for sober reflection on the way forward as he cannot rationalize why the children who represent the future suddenly become the target of evil men in Nigeria.’
In a goodwill message to mark this year’s Children’s Day, Mark specifically lamented that over 200 Government Secondary School girls in Chibok, Borno State abducted by the dreaded Boko Haram sect are still held captives. He said, “In spite of the outcry across the world on the abduction of the Chibok girls, their captors remain adamant. This is inhuman, barbaric, insane and condemnable by all right thinking members of the human race”. “As parents or guardians, we owe the children care and protection. How do we explain to generations yet unborn that our girls abducted from their school by unknown persons are still being held more than one month after? He urged Nigerians to put aside religious, political or ethnic considerations and adorn the jersey of one united Nigeria in the battle against insurgents adding “With the cooperation and collective will of all of us, we shall overcome.” Mark recalled that it was in realization of the dangers faced by children in today’s world and the need to address same that that National Assembly passed the Child Right Act into law. He urged some state governments yet to implement the child rights law to do so without further delay. The Heads of State of Benin, Cameroon, Chad, France, Niger and Nigeria, as well as representatives of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, participated on 17 May 2014 in a Summit in Paris dedicated to security in Nigeria. This Summit has helped intensify regional and international mobilisation to combat the terrorism of the Boko Haram group.
While reflecting on the plight of our girls, other activists are digging deeper and expressing concern about the high level of corruption in the country. Recuing the girls has become rather complex as the Nigerian Army has said it is ill equipped to confront the insurgency. The United States, Britain and other countries have offered to help in rescuing the girls. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, US officials offered an unusually candid and public assessment of the Nigerian military. “We’re now looking at a military force that’s, quite frankly, becoming afraid to even engage,” said Alice Friend, the Pentagon’s principal director for African affairs. “The Nigerian military has the same challenges with corruption that every other institution in Nigeria does. Much of the funding that goes to the Nigerian military is skimmed off the top, if you will.”
Corruption erodes the quality of life we provide for our children and the security they need to live a protected life. A civil society organization Africans Against Corruption (AAC) is mobilizing Africans to fight corruption. It expressed concern that very few are profiting and stealing over US148billion a year from the millions of Africans. It noted that Africa is endowed with rich natural resources, a burgeoning, talented and innovative youthful population.  AAC statistics show that 17 of the 58 African countries/territories out of 177 worldwide are ranked in the lowest quarter of Transparency International 2013 publication on the perceived levels of public sector corruption.
Corruption in some African countries is systemic and endemic and with lack of political will to curtail it, has fuelled violence, human trafficking, terrorism and conflict. Corruption has a negative socioeconomic and development impact on millions of Africans who live in abject poverty and strangulates the dreams of millions in pursuit of their aspirations. The dreams of our girls are being truncated; the time to act is now.