The current state of Nigeria is traumatising to the children of Nigeria. The situations they go through are alarming. The children’s interest needs to be prioritised and given attention.
The chaos that has befallen the children of Nigeria has made us to become the shadow of ourselves. With the current happenings that affect children, the future of thousands of school children in
Northern Nigeria remains bleak as hundreds of schools in some states have been closed indefinitely due to rising insecurity. Many children have abandoned education due to the psychological trauma of witnessing violent attacks or living in captivity. We also have children of the poor whose parents cannot afford to feed, let alone educate them. The gap in the quality of education and care given to the children continues to widen as a result of poor quality of governance. The rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria has leaped from 13 million to 18.5 million of which most are females.
The problems that the Nigerian child faces are numerous and these myriads of problems hinder qualitative growth of the child. Major issues like insecurity, abuses, hunger, starvation, poor health facilities, lack of proper and qualitative education, child trafficking, child labour and poverty are becoming threats to our lives.
The children of Nigeria are making passionate appeal to the government at all levels to create an enabling environment to aid their growth, facilitate their wellbeing and prepare them for nation building. We are, however, deeply worried by the brazen corruption, gross absence of role models, unabated killings of innocent Nigerians, soaring unemployment rate and mismanagement of scarce resources, which made the country a laughing stock in the comity of nations. We are therefore calling on the government at all levels to create a more accommodating environment for us to grow.
The Nigeria we want is a country that is concerned about the welfare of citizens. We need a visionary leader to improve the standard of living. We need a country that is concerned about our protection, participation, survival and development. A country that is responsible for the provision of basic amenities for the benefit and comfort of the masses. A country where children are offered compulsory basic education and mandatory scholarships to enable them further their education.
We want a country that would critically look into the skyrocketing cost of living despite the nation’s enormous economic prospects. A country with an intelligent and broad-minded leader who will see the whole nation as one united entity. A country that has leaders that are not self-centred but place humanity in their hearts. A country that has a stable and qualitative education in tertiary institutions devoid of strikes. A country that has respect for different ethnic groups and religion, transparency in dealing with people and a nation devoid of conflicts. A country that has an avenue for children to interface freely with leaders and express themselves on issues that bother them. A country where the Child Right Act is fully implemented and protects the rights of children from internal and external attacks. A country that offers free and quality healthcare services to children and citizens. A country that is interested in encouraging our participation by impacting the citizenry and inculcating democratic skills in us. We want honest leaders to inspire our younger generation. A country that has love for one another despite differences in beliefs, norms and values. A country whose leaders are sacrificial to the younger generation. A country that creates economic policies that make citizens economically self-reliant. This is the Nigeria we want!
Let us seize this transitional political opportunity of 2023 elections
to get leaders who will put smiles on the faces of Nigerians, especially our children.
– Hon Melvin Nicholas is the speaker, Cross River State Children Parliament
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