From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Miffed by the growing rate of infanticide, which is the killing of children with defects like albinism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and abnormal teeth growth, among others, the European Union (EU) and ActionAid Nigeria have joined forces to abolish the barbaric act.
The international organisations also vowed to expand their battle to stop the clandestine killing of twins, triplets and quadruplets by parents faced with socioeconomic hiccups, negative cultural beliefs, societal stigmatisation and the death of women during childbirth.
Country director of ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, made the commitment recently in Abuja when a building was donated to Vine Heritage Home, in Gwagwalada Area Council.
She said the project, tagged “Mobilising Actions Towards the Abolition of Infanticide in the FCT (MATAI), was funded by the EU.
With the rescue of 158 children so far, Obi disclosed that ActionAid Nigeria and other development partners have hit the ground running by aggressively sensitising members of 57 communities in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Kuje, Abaji, Kwali and Gwagwalada, where the inhuman act is believed to be predominantly high.
To bolster the battle, she vowed to ensure the implementation and monitoring of legal and policy frameworks targeted at addressing infanticide in the FCT and beyond.
She said: “In 2019, we began the mobilisation for the abolition of infanticide and also stopping the killing of twins, triplets, quadruplets and multiple births.
“At birth, you can see where it becomes a crime when you lose your mother, which is maternal mortality. It is a child that is counted as evil that has taken the life of the mum and then children with albinism as well.
“These are children that have not known the comfort of a single mum or a single father.
“This practice is commonly carried out by the Ganagana, Bassa-Komo and Gbariyamma tribes and is ever shrouded in secrecy.
“We have been working in 57 communities located in AMAC, Kuje, Abaji, Kwali, Gwagwalada and other area councils. People were in disbelief that children born with albinism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, abnormal teeth growth and babies whose mothers die while nursing them are evil and are killed.”
While explaining the contribution of her organisation and the EU towards the construction of the complex and the MATAI project, she said: “Following the assessment that the current living space is not conducive for the children and their caregivers, ActionAid Nigeria, with funding from the European Union and support from a few corporate organisations and individuals, built this new complex for the benefit of the children, to enhance hygiene, proximity to school and better nutrition.
“Compared to the former home, this new complex consists of a school, dormitory, play area, cottage farm and washrooms, to mention a few.”
For transparency and accountability, she disclosed that the total amount expended on building the VHH complex was “estimated at N141,719,721.49, out of which the EU provided N80,000,000 and ActionAid also contributed N50,644,921.”
On his part, head, of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Amb. Samuela Isopi, charged citizens to join in sensitising people against infanticide.
The envoy expressed hope that, by the end of the campaign, “we will not need homes like this because this would mean that we would have achieved results in eradication of infanticide and children will be accepted by their families and they will remain in their homes.”
Isopi equally assured Nigerians that the EU would deepen its interest and investment in the future of Nigerian children in areas of education and healthcare for children.
“We will invest more in children’s future not only by supporting projects like this one, but also by supporting maternal health, by supporting access to greater basic education for all, because, yes, young Nigerians, they are the backbone of the society.
“And for Nigeria to succeed, young Nigerians have to succeed, and all Nigerian children have to have their rights respected.
“They have to have access to education, and they have to live in dignity. And this is why the MATAI project is so special and unique, because it is true that, with our friends, ActionAid, we work across the country but this project here, this home, is unique,” he said.
The caregiver of VHH, Pastor Olusola Stevens, stressed that, with the donation of the building and its facilities, the children would have a sense of belonging and love.
According to him, the majority of the children would have been killed, if not for the quick intervention of sympathizers.
He said: “I am happy. I am blessed because, every day, I look up to God to see my children live in a better environment and in a very spacious home.
“They will not be cramped together like they are presently. I am grateful to God because, by the time this complex is completed, I will have more than enough space.
“On impact of the new complex on infanticide, it is going to change a lot of things in Nigeria.
“The majority of the children you are seeing today would have been killed. They are already in the process of breaking through because they are doing well in school and in every aspect.
“I do not call my children underprivileged. They have privileges today I didn’t have growing up. God gave me the opportunity to bring them out from where they were to this place.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to communities in Nigeria where these things are being practiced, no child is evil, no child is a witch. God called them in his heritage to be managed.
“I know this project will have a repeat effect in other parts of Nigeria.”