President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has launched the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria, with a call for the stiff enforcement of the Child Rights Act and other child protection laws that guarantee the safety, dignity, and future of Nigerian children.
He outlined practical steps his administration is taking to achieve this, including the establishment of a dedicated Child Protection and Development Agency, the launch of the Universal Child Grant to reduce household poverty and children’s vulnerability, and the creation of a National Child Protection Database and a Child Well-being Index to track the government’s progress and uphold accountability.
The President stated this on Thursday during the first regional meeting of the Africa Pathfinder Countries of the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
President Tinubu, who was represented at the event by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, declared his administration’s commitment to “establishing a dedicated Child Protection and Development Agency to ensure coherent coordination of all issues relating to the Nigerian child.” In a statement by presidential spokesman Stanley Nkwocha, the president noted that while each day reminds us of the dreams of Nigerian children, the conditions into which they are born and whether these conditions protect or betray them are also critical issues to ponder.
He said, “Our legal frameworks reflect our conviction. From the Child Rights Act to the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, Nigeria has laid down the statutory foundation for the protection of children. But legislation alone does not shield the vulnerable—it is the will behind those laws, and the systems that enforce them, that make the difference.
“That is why our national strategy also embraces prevention and early intervention. We are strengthening families and communities through programmes that promote positive parenting, challenge harmful social norms, and provide targeted support to vulnerable households.”
President Tinubu assured that relevant government institutions, including the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, are armed with the required training and resources to spearhead the protection of the Nigerian child across all levels of government, even as he maintained that it is a crusade for which sincerity and honesty are required.
“But we must be honest with ourselves. We cannot protect the child by merely reciting the anthems of their struggles or romanticising their vulnerability.
“The real hope lies in action—concrete, deliberate action. Our commitment must run deep, reaching into the very architecture of our education and health systems. This is the soul of our human capital development strategy,” he stated.
To ensure stiff enforcement of child protection laws in Nigeria, President Tinubu said his administration is “strengthening existing institutions and laws, and launching national campaigns to promote awareness and drive behavioural change.”
The president underlined the importance of the first regional meeting of Africa’s Pathfinder Countries under the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children, pointing out that “it breathes new life into the bold declarations made at the First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children held in Bogotá.”
Earlier, the United Nations special representative of the secretary general on Violence Against Children, Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, urged African leaders to move beyond commitments and implement concrete actions to protect children from violence and exploitation.
Dr M’jid also charged the meeting delegates and other participants to focus on peer learning, effective strategy sharing, and collective actions to address common obstacles and ensure the sustainability of child protection efforts in Africa.
For her part, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Hon Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, highlighted the country’s commitment and the progress made since the Ministerial Conference in Bogotá, Colombia, in November 2024. She noted that President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda strengthens legal frameworks, scales up the Safe Schools Programme, expands parenting interventions, and increases budgetary allocations to child protection systems.
“Through our renewed national child policy framework now under review, and our adopted National Strategy and Costed Action Plan to End Child Marriage in Nigeria, we are laying the foundation for more accountable, inclusive, and data-driven action,” she said.
In separate remarks, the heads of delegation to the regional meeting from Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, stated the recommitment of their various countries to the global alliance to ending violence against children as declared in Bogota in November 2024.
They presented progress reports from their respective countries, commended Nigeria’s leadership, and urged all stakeholders to be intentional about ending violence against children and not to pay lip service to the programmes and policies designed to actualise the objectives.
Also present at the meeting were the wife of the Senate President, Hajiya Laila Jibrin Barau; minister of women, family and children from Cote d’Ivoire, Hon Nasseneba Toure; minister of public service, labour and social welfare from Zimbabwe, Edgar Moyo; minister of gender and children affairs from Sierra Leone, Hon Isata; permanent secretary in the ministry of women affairs, Nigeria, Dr Maryam Keshinro, and representatives of development partners and heads of agencies, among others.
