Tessy Igomu
For years, violence against the Nigerian child has always hit the headlines. It has for long remained on the front burner of national discourse. Despite workable solutions proffered by experts and international bodies, the social malaise appears to be assuming a pandemic level.
In homes across the country, countless children are daily subjected to unimaginable horror and ill treatment. Dehumanising treatment mete out to these minors has led to many of them getting killed or maimed. With reports indicating a sharp increase in abuse and severe torture of children, many have opined that a culture of bestiality appears to have become enshrined in Nigeria.
The recent alarming dimension to violence against children is the economic impact, which many have described as mind-boggling. It is estimated that on the average, Nigeria loses about $6.1 billion annually, almost N1.42 trillion to acts of violence against children.
According to a report jointly launched by The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Federal Government under the leadership of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the financial loss is equivalent to about 1.07 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The report indicated that it is from the cumulative loss of earnings due to loss of productivity stemming from suffering associated with different degrees of violence, over time.
A breakdown of the N1.42tn showed that the cost of physical violence against children alone accounted for N1.01tn. The report stated that 52 per cent of boys and 50 per cent of girls were victims of physical violence prior to the age of 18. Out of the N1.42tn, the report put the cost of sexual violence against children in Nigeria at N307bn, adding that 11 per cent of boys and 25 per cent of girls in Nigeria were victims of sexual violence before the age of 18.
It said the balance of N91bn was the cost of emotional violence suffered by children in Nigeria, adding that 20 per cent of boys and 17 per cent of girls were victims of emotional violence prior to the age of 18.
Decrying the huge economic loss, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ifeoma Anagbogu, said the cost of inaction is high when it comes to violence against children.
“Violence affects children’s health, education, and productivity. It is clear that we need to eliminate any form of violence against children both from a moral perspective and an economic perspective.”
According to UNICEF, violence against children is a pervasive problem in Nigeria, with six out of every ten children suffering one or more forms of physical, sexual or emotional violence before their 18th birthday. More than 70 per cent are said to experience this violence repeatedly, while one out of two suffer physical violence, such as punching, kicking, whipping, burning, choking, attempted drowning, threatening or assault with a weapon.
“One in four girls and one in ten boys have experienced sexual violence. One in five boys and one in six girls suffer emotional violence. Mostly, the perpetrators are someone the child knows, and the violence often takes place where the child should be safe – in their homes, in a neighbour’s home, at school, and coming to and from school. The vast majority of children never speak out, silenced by fear, shame, stigma and a lack of knowledge of where to seek help. Fewer than five per cent of children who are victims of violence ever get the help that they need to recover,” UNICEF stated.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), in its report, stated that about ten million African children under 15, are abused, while the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) noted that at least 16 million, not less than 13 years of age, work for long hours, yet are underfed and underpaid in the process.
Statistics from a 2014 research by the National Survey on Violence Against Children, published by the National Population Commission (NPC) and UNICEF, informed that Nigeria has one of the worst statistics on violence against children in the world, with six out of 10 children suffering from physical, sexual and emotional abuse before the age of 18.
Despite these alarming statistics, as the day breaks, more bizarre bestiality towards vulnerable children continues to unfold. Many horrid stories abound, a particular one that breaks the heart was that of August 2018, when a stepmother broke the head of her four-year-old stepson with the pointed edge of a shoe. She took her unimaginable form of bestiality a notch higher by breaking the arms and legs of the boy’s two-year-old sibling in Igabi local government area of Kaduna State.
Later reports from the hospital indicated that the children were also treated for lacerations in the eyes, stomach, back and private parts.
According to social critics, stories like this abound and more with blood curdling details will still unfold as several homes still live in acute poverty.
From all indications, harsh economic realities have made survival difficult and most parents resort to placing their children with extended family, wishfully hoping to give them a better life there.
Unfortunately, these children are turned to modern-day slaves, confined to the house or are condemned to work long hours with miserly food to get along. They are mostly underfed, deprived of sleep and other basic necessities. In several instances, they are severely punished for not accomplishing tasks that are quite beyond their age and ability.
And for the females, their gory experience could include sexual abuse, which tends to scar them for life. Some children also get killed, like13-year-old Oceania Elizabeth Ogbanje, who was raped to death by her guardians.
Maltreatment or brutality of any form, according to a child counsellor, Nwosu Okeke, is child abuse and violence against children. She explained that it falls foul of the Child Rights Acts, which aims at guaranteeing the alienable rights of every child to have a secured future.
“It breaks the heart that daily, children become more vulnerable to neglect, violence, child murder and other various forms of cruelty. Children are battered in Nigeria based on the premise that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child. This in turn has resulted in the death of many. A number of others get disfigured, become psychological imbalanced, depressed or they start having suicidal thoughts. I believe a framework to better protect Nigerian children should be drawn up. A nation that cannot protect her children is endangered and may be unknowingly destroying the most valuable human resource base that would define and sustain her future,” she said.
With these alarming timeline of abuse, many concerned Nigerians have maintained that the only way the worrying trend can be reduced is when the Child Rights Law, adopted in 2003, is embraced across the 36 states of the federation.
After series of advocacy and protest, the National Assembly passed the Child’s Right Bill into law in 2003 and was assented to by the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Act is a follow-up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the United Nations General Assembly adopted on November 20, 1989. The African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the AU Assembly of Heads of States and Governments also adopted it in July 1990. Nigeria has signed both instruments, and had them ratified in 1991 and 2000, respectively.
The two international instruments contain a universal set of standards and principles for the survival, development, protection and participation of children in socio-economic activities
The Child’s Rights Act states basically that, “Every child is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly, no child shall be – subjected to physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment, including sexual abuse; or subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or subjected to attacks upon his honour or reputation; or held in slavery or servitude, while in the care of a parent, legal guardian or school authority or any other person or authority having the care of the child.”
In September 2015, President Buhari launched a Year of Action to End Violence Against Children and called on all Nigerians to join the battle. He renewed his commitment in October 2016 by launching a long-term campaign, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, to End Violence Against Children by 2030. The Presidential Campaign has been translated into a national modelling programme, spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, to strengthen child protection systems. Despite these grand initiatives, many have continued to lament that the social malaise keeps rising.
Commenting on the disturbing trend, Ifeoma Anagbogu, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, said the cost of inaction when it comes to violence against children, is high.
“It is clear that we need to eliminate any form of violence against children- both from a moral perspective and an economic perspective.”
According to a guidance counsellor, Mrs. Itunu Olayiwola, acts of brutality on children can cause life-long damage to the psyche and dignity of victims. She said victims also tend to become promiscuous, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or become withdrawn with poor grades in school.
Human rights activists, Shola Akinyele maintained that constitutionally, government at all levels are entrusted with the responsibility of protecting children. He regretted that government seems to have failed in that role.
He stressed that the leaders appear to lack the political will to implement or domesticate the various statutes that protect children and women’s rights.
For the president of Life Parenting Academy and Family Values, Samson Iyayi, the effect of maltreatment on children goes beyond the physical, noting that it can originate sadistic behaviours and criminal tendencies later in life.
In his words, a line should be drawn between discipline and maltreatment. He also advocated proper legislation and enforcement that would curb the ugly trend.
He averred that as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, it becomes imperative that collective efforts be made to protect children from violence, abuse and neglect.
He submitted that providing child protection services in Nigeria and prioritizing the elimination of violence against children could ensure the country’s human capital has the mental, physical, and emotional stability needed to boost its social and economic development.
The UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, noted that the country must pay more critical attention to the issue of child protection in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.