Child Abuse, the Bane of Our Society

It is not uncommon to see children walking the streets desperate, looking wretched and hunger stricken while hawking. Some of these children grow up to become touts, thugs, drug addicts, prostitutes or armed robbers.

What happened to their right to qualitative education access to clean water, food, shelter and health services? Why is the reverse the case in Nigeria and most Africa societies with children of school age roaming the streets, seeking alms with others serving as guides to the disabled parents?

This is a cause for alarm because the Nigerian child is in dire straits. From health, to education, to life expectancy, damning statistics regularly paint unflattering pictures of the terrible conditions under which Nigerian children are nurtured.

At different fora in all parts of the country, government officials make speeches about the state of the Nigerian child and promise them and their parents a better deal, as has being the routine over the years, yet the condition of the Nigerian child remains the unchanged.

Chatting with those who hawk, I found out that some parents are contributory factors to their constant presence on the streets. Some of the children even say they are always under strict instructions not to return home, unless they have something to show for it.

Everywhere in the country, the pitiable state of children in Nigeria is an evidence. In the Northern part of the country, hopeless students,beggars, almajiris, roam the landscape. In Lagos and other urban centre of the country, children are often to be found in market and in the street, engage in trading and other strenuous activities that are well beyond the at their tender frames.

Those who are Almajiris (students in search of knowledge) say they have no option but to go begging for what to eat, since their Mallam (teacher) cannot afford to provide for all of them likewise their parents. These Mallam can only afford shanty and unfavorable accommodations.

Over the years, organizations, philanthropists and indeed the government have made several pronouncements on the need to reduce or if possible completely eradicate this problem on our streets. Rather than reduce, the problem seems to have defined all solutions. The question then is what has been wrong with the previous efforts towards solving these problems? What steps do we need to take in order to tackle them once and for all? Yes, there exist governmental and non-governmental agencies that are making efforts towards eradicating the menace but what exactly needs to be done about the issue? Yes, there is the need to critically review the present situation because these children will eventually become the leaders of tomorrow.

The most disheartening aspect of the problem is that our politicians who have the mandate to steer aright the people's aspiration have remained in the forefront, promoting this unwholesome culture. They spend huge amounts of money buying drugs and other intoxicants for these youths to impulsively attack political opponents.

Infact they have organized them under various names across the country to unleash terror on innocent citizens such names include: Kaourage (tough ones) in Kaduna Yan Sara suka in Bauchi, Yan kalare in Gombe. Ecomog in Maiduguri, Bakassi boys in Eastern part of the country and Area boys in Lagos.

The questions are: why not spend such money in a better way? Why not provide infrastructure, offer scholarships, build vocational center’s or institutions and create job opportunities in order to eradicate the menace?

Should future mothers continue to hawk and fall victims of rituals and rapists as they seek to sell pure water, oranges, kola nuts, groundnut or soft drinks? These young children ranging between the ages of 7 - 12 years have become vulnerable to dangers of teenage sexual exploit by men. These men recklessly spend money on them and encourage them into commercialized sexual relationships. Children are raped, maltreated and sold at the whims and caprices of depraved adult. The girls end up as bread winners of their families, with some beneficiary parents deliberately ignoring to ascertain these sudden source of steady fat income.

Subsequently, they become victims of social insecurity with unwanted pregnancies, increased maternal mortality and infant mortality rates during child birth due to untimely attainment of maternal responsibilities and evidence of lack of adequate healthcare service delivery.

No wonder the famous American President, Abraham Lincoln emphasized on the importance of training a child, knowing fully well that they are the leaders of tomorrow. This was when he wrote a letter to his son's teacher in which he says "he will have to leave and know, that all men are just all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel, there is a hero. That for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that a dollar earned is of far more value than five dollars found. Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy in winning. Steer him away from envy... Teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Teach him the wonder of books, but also give quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside. In school, teach him that is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to have faith in his ideas, even if everyone tells him is wrong. Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with tough people. Try to give him strength not to follow when everyone is joining the band-wagon. Teach him gently, but do not cuddle him because the test of fire makes fine steel, let him have the courage to be patient, let him have the patient to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in his creator and faith in himself too because then will he always have faith in mankind."

Children are largely unprotected by the state and their rights to life, basic education an d the right not to be used for forced labour, child trade, child trafficking etc, as provided for under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989, are routinely flagrantly flouted. The United Nations Declaration on the Right of the Child that "mankind owes the child the best it has to give" ha little meaning in the country.

Our government at various levels need to strengthened current efforts to ensure the attainment of goal number two of the millennium development goals. Budgetary provisions should be improved; policy matter in this regard should be implemented collaboration with holders of stake should be instituted and sustained to ensure that children regardless of gender disparity attain basic education at affordable or no cost at all. They also need skill acquisition programmes to be able to cater for their own needs and those of their parents while they become employers of labour.

Awareness campaigns on the dangers of street hawking need to be stepped - up by constituted authorities with enforcement of stiff penalties on defaulters; provision of social amenities in rural and urban settings by government at various levels must be top priority; infrastructure and availability of competent manpower in educational institutions should be upper most on policy issues. All these will help to reduce the menace of child abuse in our societies. We cannot afford to fail our future generations. The time to act is NOW!

This lovely write up was done curtesy of: Lubabatu Idris of the Department of mass communication, University of Maiduguri.

I take my hat off for you...