SAMUEL OGUNGBEMI
This year’s Children’s Day is worth celebrating. We give thanks to God Almighty for making it a reality despite
the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
There is no doubt that the banner of
God is over all the children to protect
them from COVID-19 and all other diseases. As an advocate for children in a
day like this for more than two decades,
violence against children is an act that
should be condemned outrightly
Violence against children in all forms,
either physical, mental torture, injury,
assault, neglect treatment, maltreatment, oppression, sexual abuse, bodily
infliction, etc. should be discouraged
and heavily punished to serve as deterrent. Physical aggression amounts
to shouting, embarrassment, yelling,
screaming at a child as well as calling
children offensive names, such as dumb,
mad, nonentity idiot, etc. Violence
against children was a long wicked practice right from the Holy Book when a
king ordered the killing of all male children in a whole city for his selfish motive, aggrandizement and actualisation.
Mary Slessor in 1870s stopped the
killing of twins in Calabar, Nigeria
which contributed largely also to a stop
to the violence against children. All
twins who are part of today’s celebration should reference Mary Slessor for
the motherly and humanitarian role she
played to stop the killing of twins otherwise you too (twins) should not have
been in existence today.
Violence against children cuts across
the boundaries of tribe, race, culture
and religion. It happens at home, school,
workplace, and place of worship, prison,
market place and in all our communities. Those who engage in these antisocial practices are parents, teachers,
guardians, hoodlums and others.
Violence to children is a major
threat to global development which
must not be left to continue; instead
decisive measures must be taken to
eliminate it. Violence against children should never be tolerated or
justified. If its underlying causes are
identified, addressed and redressed,
it means violence against children is
entirely preventable or avoidable.
Violence at home is the most horrible. Some heartless and wicked
parents inflict and maltreat their
children far more beyond the offence
being committed. Imagine a child
who steals one hundred naira and
because of that the parents or guardian to the child takes a razor blade
and inflict marks on the body of the
child and later adds dry pepper to the
cuts on the child’s body. It has been
reported occasionally that guardians
used hot irons to punish children for
any wrong doing.
Violence being displayed at our
public primary schools is beyond
mentioning, children learn under
shed, roof without ceiling, sandy
classrooms and full of teaks, classrooms without chairs, schools without staffrooms, staffrooms without
chairs and tables, and sometimes
the teachers have to bring their own
tables and chairs from their houses.
All unpalatable situations of the pupils and their teachers are directly or
indirectly violent against children.
Violence against children includes
engaging children in child labour,
which is beyond their age, strength
and capability. Imagine a six-year-old
child being forced to be carrying cement blocks, heavy buckets of water.
What a heartless and wicked habit?
Despite that, wages are not paid as at
when due even after great sweat. Children under this condition are not even
given food to eat and will become mis- erable and dejected.
Violence at church and mosque is not
worth speaking about, but it happens,
what about children who are kept to
worship in buildings with fewer facili- ties as compared with what is obtain- able at the adult assemblies, where
they worship under air-conditioner
with good furniture while children are
parked under tattered roof where ventilation is poor. Forced marriage, drug,
trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping,
under-age children sent to war fronts,
gender discrimination are all forms of
violence contravening children’s fundamental human rights.
Article 19 of International Fundamental Human Rights states that parties shall take all appropriate legislative,
administrative, social and educational
measures to protect the child from all
forms of physical or mental torture, injuries, or abuse, neglects or negligent
treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse. The right
of all boys and girls to protection from
all forms of Violence have been enshrined in International Human Right
Treatise including the Convention on
rights of children (CRC).
It is worrisome and disheartening
that despite all the international fundamental human rights and all other national law standard, scarcely do you see
the law enforcement agents/agencies
to do something quickly and decisively
about those who commit rape, kidnap- ping, trafficking and so on. The attempt
to take decisive action to end violence against children should no longer be
with lip service.
The consequences of violence against
children can be devastating; it can result to early deaths. Children who survive stigmatization will be left to cope
with terrible physical emotional scars
due to no fault of theirs. All forms of
physical, sexual and emotional abuse
against girls and boys may have seri- ous negative physical mental and re- productive health consequences. The
2006 global meta-analysis estimated
that more than three-quarters of the
world’s children had experienced mod- erate or severe physical, sexual and or
emotional abuse during the past year af- fecting nearly 1.5million boys and girls
aged 2-17.
The following recommendations
will help in the eradication of violence
against children: 1. Implementation
and enforcement of fundamental hu- man rights, 2. Immediate prosecution
of those guilty of violence against chil- dren, 3. Avoiding justice delay which
naturally leads to justice denial.
4• Capacity building through income
and economic empowerment should be
put in place by the Federal, State and lo- cal governments
5. Eliminate or discard all harmful
practices including forced and early
marriage and female genital mutilation
6• Provide conducive safe and nonviolent inclusive and effective learning
environment for the children.
Children are tired of being rhetorical- ly told that they are the future leaders
of today and tomorrow when they are
being marginalised and grossly mal- treated.
Ogungbemi, a cleric, writes from
Ibadan