President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday called for an end to abuse of children. In his Children’s Day message, Buhari urged security agencies to
redouble their efforts in protecting children from danger and violence
in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria and Child Rights Acts, 2003.
Full text of his speech:
“Today affords me another opportunity to re-affirm our
Administration’s commitment to the protection of children, a day to
reflect on our roles and responsibilities as Parents and Leaders towards
our children, and also assessing how far we have fared in this regard.
As you may recall, one of the cardinal objectives of this
Administration is the provision of quality education to our children as a
fundamental foundation of economic and social development. In this
regard, I am pleased to inform you that this Administration has recorded
measurable success in the home grown school feeding programme as it has
continued to expand.
Our children are our future, and the initiatives that come from them give confidence that our country has a bright future.
I am always inspired and encouraged when I remember encounters I had
with three of our young ones. When I was on medical vacation in 2017,
three year old Maya Jammal recorded a prayer for my recovery, which went
viral online.
Also, 10 year old Aisha Aliyu Gebbi wrote a personal letter to me, describing herself as my “biggest fan”.
Nicole Benson, then 12 years old, had contributed the sum of Five
Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira and Eighty-Five kobo (N5,700.85) to my
campaign in 2015. The money was all saved up from her lunch and pocket
allowance. There are millions of such children nationwide.
I am very impressed by what our children have been able to do, and
what the future holds for them. That is one reason why we are committed
to the school feeding programme, to prepare a future generation of
physically and intellectually robust children. At the last count, over
8.2 million children in 24 states of the Federation are being given free
meals daily. This happens in 45,000 schools round the country.
I therefore call on all stakeholders to support this programme to
ensure that all the 36 States of the Federation and FCT are covered.
This will promote substantially higher enrolment levels in our schools.
Since its inception in May, 2015, this Administration has also
focused attention on addressing issues of child protection,
participation and survival. In 2015, the campaign to end violence
against children was launched which was commemorated in 2016. In
November 2016, the Campaign to End Child Marriage was also launched to
ensure that as many children as possible are able to fully enjoy their
childhood and be protected from all the challenges associated with this
phenomenon. These campaigns have been reinforced with sensitization
campaigns in some States of the Federation.
The theme for this year’s celebration “Creating Safe Spaces for
Children: Our Collective Responsibility” is an opportunity to promote
the safety and security of our children. As a responsible Government, we
are committed to ensuring that children are protected from violence and
exploitation against them, and, that their environments are safe enough
for them to pursue their educational attainments, discover their full
potentials to grow into responsible citizens.
This Administration has made giant strides in the protection of the
Rights of the Nigerian Child and as a result of such efforts, Nigeria
has been declared a Pathfinding Country on Ending Violence Against
Children. This I believe is a collective achievement and I urge us to
continue to build on the present momentum to achieve the targets of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In our efforts to protect our children from abuse, exploitation and
trafficking as well as provide safe, non-violent inclusive and effective
learning environment in our schools, this Administration has directed
the management of all Federal Government Colleges and advised all state
owned schools across the Country to provide adequate measures of safety
and security of their students. I again call on all schools management
committees at all levels of public and private institutions to take
adequate security measures and put in place mechanisms for safety of
children.
May I therefore call on the Families, Security Agencies, Traditional
Rulers, Religious Leaders, Civil Society Organizations, Human Rights
Activists, and the Society at large to rise up and take urgent and
decisive actions to stem the unacceptable rising cases of violence
against our children. We must ensure safety of our children in homes,
schools, markets, worship centres, on the streets and everywhere at all
times.
Furthermore let me use this medium to appeal to parents not to relent
in their efforts to send their wards to school, especially the girl
child as her education reduces infant and maternal mortality and
prevents early and child marriages. It also increases literacy and
reduces poverty. The saying that to educate a woman is to educate the
nation is very apt in this regard.”