Paul Orude, Bauchi
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has called on the Bauchi State Government to domesticate the Child Rights Act (CRA) in order to effectively tackle the persisting violence against violence faced by the Nigerian child.
UNICEF Communication Officer, Bauchi Field Office, Mr. Samuel Kaalu, made the appeal during an interactive session with school children organised by the Bauchi State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) in collaboration with UNICEF Bauchi.
The session was to commemorate the Day of the African Child (DAC) in Bauchi and had participants from Alkaleri, Bauchi, Ganjuwa and Toro Local government Areas of the state.
Kaalu said that despite interventions to ensure safety and protection of children, the Nigerian Child is not safe and is faced with different forms of violence, abuse, maltreatment, exploitation and perpetrators of such are not adequately brought to book.
He explained that the Act would protect the welfare of the Nigerian child and therefore appealed to the state government to domesticate the Child right Act as children are the future of any society.
He said, “Any society that does not take care of its children is destroying itself because a lot of children who are suppose to be enjoying health care and education are not getting it.If we do not do something about it, an important segment of the population that are supposed to be contributing to development will be lagging behind.
“The child right act is the legal framework for the right of children to be protected. We are appealing to the state law makers to ensure speedy passage of the law. The state government should also come up with other interventions to ensure all children are in school”
On his part, the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Adamu lauded the various interventions by UNICEF towards educating children, saying that it has complemented government’s efforts towards ensuring that school children were enrolled and mobilised to obtain basic education.
“We appreciate the various contributions by UNICEF in the area of education because it has complemented government’s efforts towards providing basic education for our children,” he said.