Today is Nigerian Children’s Day. It is a day set aside to honour Nigerian primary pupils and secondary students who are given a day off from school to participate in events like excursions and parades, among other activities, to celebrate their significance and roles. For Nigerians, May 27 offers an opportunity to review and assess conditions of the Nigerian child in terms of health, education, among other needs, including beaming searchlights on the effectiveness of government’s policies towards the general wellbeing of children.
The awareness for the adoption of a Universal Children’s Day was agreed by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1954. Four years later, in 1959, the UN General Assembly on the same day adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child that declared International Children’s Day to be November 20. The essence of the declaration was to give effective declaration to the protection of children’s rights. The International Children’s Day is marked by other countries of the world on different dates.
Since the commencement of the International Children’s Day by Nigeria in 1964, the fate of Nigerian children has witnessed varying curves, with both previous and present governments developing policies to curb some of the challenges. From imposing free education programmes by the Western Regional Government in the First Republic, the promulgation of the same programme by the Second Republic, headed by President Shehu Aliyu Usman Shagari, were all aimed at availing education for the nation’s children’s population.
In continuation of brightening the prospects of the Nigerian children, the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration passed the Child Rights Bill into law in which the human rights granted to Nigerians in the 1999 constitution was also approved to the children. Though the Act was only passed at the federal level, state Houses of Assembly are expected to enact the Act before implementation.
Over 60 years since the commencement of Children’s Day in Nigeria, there are still yawning gaps in improving the growth and welfare of children as enshrined in the constitution. Nigerian children are still encumbered with not only health and educational trials, but the policies of the government have come short of tackling existential problems confronting Nigerian children. The Nigerian child is still faced with unnumbered challenges that include high poverty, malnutrition, and preventable diseases. No fewer than 18 million Nigerian children are not only out-of-school, but also vulnerable to child labour and displaced by insurgencies, among other factors crippling the future of children.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported in June 2024 that about 11 million Nigerian children were experiencing severe child food poverty. On a global scale, “181 million children under the age of five are considered to be facing severe child food poverty. Nigeria ranks among the 20 countries that account for 65% – almost two-thirds – of these children. Four out of five children experiencing child food poverty globally are fed only milk or a starchy staple, such as rice, maize or wheat. Less than 10% of these children are fed fruits and vegetables”.
Summarising the three main health implications of severe food poverty and child malnutrition, the report identified stunted growth and development as serious and complex consequences that affect both physical and cognitive development of children. Stunted children, according to the report, grow to become susceptible to the higher risk of developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, thus delaying mental and motor development, leading to poor school performance that could reduce earning potential in adulthood. Therefore, malnourished children suffer from brain development impairment which affects learning abilities and complete intellectual development, such as memory, attention and problem-solving skills.
Out-of-school children, presently estimated to be 18 million, caused by insurgencies in the North-east, banditry in the North-west and attacks on communities in the North-central zones, among others, are clear signs that the welfare of Nigerian children is under attack. These attacks have led to decrease in school enrolment and destruction of educational infrastructure. If the future belongs to educated citizens, then, the future of the Nigerian children is being destroyed by these attacks that are yet to be completely resolved, despite the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It’s categorically clear that the future of Nigerian children must be salvaged from the constant assault mounted by forces of insecurity working hard against the protection and provision of additional educational infrastructure.
The federal government should continue to be devoted to safeguarding the future of Nigerian children by providing security of life for all Nigerian citizens. Efforts should also be geared towards improving maternal and child nutrition; enhancing food security; supporting small-scale farming, implementing food assistance programmes; providing access to quality healthcare and investing in education and healthcare infrastructure. Blueprint calls on the federal government not to let down efforts to engage besieged communities in providing the first line of defence in the face of attacks. The rights of the Nigerian child cannot be guaranteed in a nation that is constantly under attacks by insurgents and other criminal groups.