Children’s Day: Obaseki kicks against child marriage, drug abuse

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo says he is working hard to get justice for Memunatu Musa, a 14-year-old pupil in Enikaro Primary School in Edo who was recently lured into early marriage.

Obaseki said at the 2019 Children’s Day celebration in Benin on Monday, that he was working in conjunction with his Kastina State counterpart, Aminu Masari, to achieve this.

He said his administration would not allow children to be taken out of school for early marriage, noting that Miss Musa has to be brought back to Edo to continue her education.

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He said the Edo Government would continue to work with the Federal Government to end child marriage in the country and ensure the Nigeria child attained his/her full potential.

The governor also said his administration had set up a mechanism to punish parents and teachers in the state who abused children.

Obaseki said the theme of the 2019 Children’s Day, “Drug Abuse among Children: Addressing the Challenges,” was a call for all to galvanise actions to end the menace in the country.

He said the state would buy into the federal government’s intervention strategies to end drug abuse among children noting: “if we allow drugs and other vices to spoil our children, we are destroying our future.

“Edo is currently working with the federal government and other stakeholders to develop appropriate responses and measures to end the rising case of drug abuse among children.”

He said the state would set up special teams at the local and state levels to coordinate issues relating to drug abuse and take advocacy against the menace to schools.

Obaseki said Edo would also domesticate the recently passed national disability bill to ensure the improvement of livelihood of children with disabilities in the state.

The governor said his administration would continue to expand the home-grown school feeding programme which had helped to improve school enrollment, create jobs and agricultural business in the state.

In his speech, Master Richard Asen, the Speaker of the Edo Children Parliament, said the 2019 children’s day celebration was a call to end drug abuse among children in the country.

Asen, represented by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Miss Esosa Otasowie, said everybody should work hard to curtail the menace which was ravaging the future of children.

“We need massive advocacy in behavioural pattern and we want the strengthening of the state structures responsible for policies to address the issue”, the speaker said.

He commended the Obaseki-led administration for its developmental strides, especially in the basic education sub-sector.

The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalong, who was a guest at the event, said the celebration was unique as it brought to limelight the need to invest in the Nigerian child.

Dalong urged the state government to sustain its investment in education, noting that investment in infrastructure without investment in human capital development was hypocrisy.

He said he was in Edo to inaugurate the National Youth Parliament on Thursday.