A non-governmental organisation, the Anti-Kidnapping, Human Trafficking, Child Abuse and Drug Abuse Initiative (AKH-TRACADA) has called on the Federal Government to step up the fight to protect Children’s Rights.
The Founder, AKH-TRACADA, Mr Belonwu Ezeanyaeche made the call in a statement in commemoration of the Children’s day celebration on Monday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Year 2024 Children’s day theme is “For every child, every right.”
Ezeanyaeche said that parents must not treat investment in the future of their children with levity adding that the government also needed to provide infrastructure and ensure that every Nigerian Child was well catered for.
He said that parents and government at all levels needed to prioritise the future of Nigeria children, especially those below 18 years by giving them sound education.
He urged those states yet to pass the Child’s Right Act to do so while tasking the National Assembly (NASS) to hamornise various laws defining Who a Child was in the country.
Ezeanyaeche recalled that in commemoration of 2015 world Day against Child labour and international Day of the African Child, held in Abuja, the association frowned that over 100 million African children were engaged in various forms of child labour.
He recalled that about 50 million in Asia also suffer similar fate with most of them illegally employed in farms and factories working with dangerous chemicals and machines.
This, he said in which could endangered their lives, leading to premature death through industrial accidents.
He observed that the theme for 2015 version; No To Child’s labour, Yes To Qualitative Education”; was ideal.
This he said was because it drew public attention for global action to promote and guarantee the rights of children to qualitative education for self-reliance.
“This year’s theme is a reminder that the country should continue to create a safe environment for children to evolve into resourceful, creative, and patriotic adults.
“The so-called advance western counties including the United States of America USA, equally engage migrants and ethnic minority children for Child labour by companies to reduce their Production cost.
“Government should intensify efforts at eliminating all forms of Child labour and abuse by waging stiff battle against Kidnapping, Human Trafficking, Child aduction and Illicit Substances Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking in the country, “he said.
Ezeanyaeche enjoined government to encourage and retrain teachers so that they could feel a sense of belonging which would boost their morals to continue to teach the children.
He said: “when teachers are well-paid, sufficient funds are made available for research work and lecturers are well-equipped and trained, then Nigerian students will be able to compete favorably with their counterparts from other part of the world.
“I am of the opinion we should help education generally and people can aspire High so that if a pastor or evangelist knows and understands the Bible very well, he or she will be able to interpret it very well, he said.
The NGO boss however cautioned parents to bear only the number of children they could raise up to become responsible citizens through effective family planning.
This, he said was in view of the trend of Child trafficking, whereby young girls were hired as house help or sales girls, only to be forced into prostitution.
He lamented that most of the children engaged as domestic servants, were abused, exploited and sexually harassed which accounted for the alarming increase of defilement and rape cases in recent times.
“AKH-TRACADA had collaborated with the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) southeast Zonal command, Enugu and the department of State Services (DSS) Anambra State Command to dismantle several “Baby factories” in Nigeria.
“There was a particular one at Ama-sea, a suburb of Awka, where over 35 sex workers were arrested in 2014, and some of them with children.
“About three of them were pregnant and identified the Men responsible for their pregnancies.
“On our part, we will not relent in our efforts to ensure that children’s rights are protected at all cost,” he maintained.
