Rabiu was five years old when his father placed him in a bus headed to the city. The father paid the bus fare to the driver and instructed him to drop Rabiu upon arrival at the city, with any group of Almajiris that he meets. He waved to Rabiu, who fought back the tears, as the bus rolled away from the village.
His heart was pounding in his chest and his mouth was suddenly very dry, as he stared out of the window, terrified about what was to come in the strange city of Maiduguri. He had never left home and had never been alone for even one hour, in the entirety of his life thus far.
Tears rolled down his face, as he recalled his mother, trying to encourage him the previous night, while she fought back her own tears, as she told him that he would go on to learn and become a great Islamic scholar and she will be proud of him. But he has to be brave, she had said. He was not feeling particularly brave, as he shuddered in the cold harmattan breeze.
Story B
Ola is a 10-year-old boy whose parents are divorced and both had since remarried. Ola and his two siblings were considered an inconvenience and sent to live with their paternal grandmother, who passed away shortly afterwards. They were subsequently sent to various relatives.
Ola ended up with an aunt who said she could not afford to send him to school, but would rather he assists her at her restaurant business. He was up at 5 am daily to wash plates, sweep the floor and run other errands. He looked longingly at other children as they walked to school daily, while he was busy doing the dishes.
He was often hungry and decided to help himself to some left over food. His aunty caught him and beat him so much that he was sure he would die. I will run away and become a motor park conductor, he resolved. At least, I will be independent and will make enough money to eat good food. I may even become a driver.
Story C
Emeka was 13 years old when his father decided that keeping him in school was a waste of time and money. After all, there are many graduates who are jobless on the streets, he further affirmed. Emeka, I will send you to be an apprentice in the big city. In five years’ time, when your mates are still struggling to write, JAMB or WAEC, you would be getting set to start your own business.
Emeka would have really wanted to remain in school and he especially liked Economics, but he knew he had no say in the matter. He loved life at the village and wondered what life away from his family in Lagos, would be like. He was afraid, but was resigned to fate.
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Connecting the dots
The majority of sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, continue to grapple with conflicts and wars, malnutrition, chronic childhood diseases and infectious conditions such as malaria. The exposure to these challenges threaten the survival of these children and frequently result in unacceptably high rates of death before the age of five years.
While the governments and development partners have focused on ensuring the improved survival of children, and reducing the impact of these diseases and conflicts, very little attention is being paid to the socio-economic determinants of national development.
A key consideration in this regard, is the undervalued impact of poverty and malnutrition on the growing brain of young children, and on their intelligence. The pervasively negative and long standing consequences of poverty and malnutrition affect, not just the children’s brain development and intelligence, but also impact on their physical development, as well as their social and emotional wellbeing.
Furthermore, these effects often persist into adulthood, resulting in under-achievement of their true potentials; a vicious and negative spiral of generational poverty; as well as reduced participation in maximally productive economic activities.
Indeed, it is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest proportion of disadvantaged children, with 62 per cent of her children experiencing vulnerable exposure to poverty, malnutrition and infectious diseases.
The situation is worsened by grossly insufficient brain stimulation and access to quality education in our schools. When you super-impose the poor school enrollment rates and high drop-out rates on the prevailing gloomy situation across the country, it immediately becomes clear that we are not prioritising investment in our country’s future and indeed, her best resource– the nation’s children and youth.
To be concluded next week.
and then