In commemoration of the 2022 International Day of the African child, the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Oyo state council put together an enlightenment programme for secondary school students within Ibadan metropolis to teach them about harmful practices, their rights and how to get help as victims. YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports the programme served as a platform to further call for concerted efforts in protecting the African child.
STAKEHOLDERS in child welfare and rights as well as parents and teachers were part of a programme last Thursday gathered to deliberate and enlighten secondary school students on issues bordering on harmful cultural practices and how it affects them in a programme put together by the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Oyo state council, to commemorate the 2022 edition of the International Day of the African Child.
The event themed “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice Since 2013” which held at Bethel Comprehensive College, Alakia-Isebo, Ibadan, the Oyo state capital was filled with various activities aimed at teaching students the value of their culture and the aspects that border on abuse in the cultural beliefs of the African race.
They were taught how to speak out, get help and educate people around them on various harmful cultural practices.
Participants were charged to redouble their efforts at protecting every African Child by ensuring that they are educated and enlightened on harmful cultural practices and abuses that may threaten their well being either now or in the nearest future with participating schools, which were a mixture of public and private schools from across the state making culture presentations on the theme of the year’s celebration.
Speaking at the event, the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, AbdulRahman AbdulRaheem, represented by the Permanent Secretary/Inspector General of Education, Ibadan Education Office, Zone 2, Mrs Ayobami Oluokun, harped on the role parents must play as the first and most important role models in the life of the children, maintaining that when children have good and proper upbringing they go into the society as better representatives of the family and a positive influence on the larger society.
He stated that the Oyo state government, being the first to pass the Child Right Law has mechanism to check any and every abuse of the children, adding that “presently there is an initiative against the abuse of girl child and every case of girl child abuse is thoroughly followed up so that the victim is resuscitated while the perpetrator is dealt with under the law. Government is against all forms of abuse of any child and any parent that knows that the child is being abused, they should speak out. The social welfare is there, the committee set up by the state government is there to ensure that the right is a child is protected in Oyo state. The children would have to speak out too anytime they know their parents or guardians are engaged in harmful practices,” he said.
One of the partners that collaborated with NAWOJ, Hacey Health Initiative through its Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer, Oni Emmanuel Iyiola seized the opportunity to educate the youths and students on the need for them to speak out against harmful cultural practices including Female Genital Mutilations and Cutting among others, adding that educating the students will go a long way in helping prevent the cutting of any girl child in the immediate future while they also serve as peer educator and influence on parents.
The guest Lecturer, Dr Kunle Awotiku highlighted the challenges that children are facing through abusive practices that have not been enacted in the laws for child rights while harping on the dangers of early child marriage, mutilation, rape, Dr Awotiku harps more on psychological abuse which children undergo, saying many children are been abused psychologically with many parents not even knowing they are abusing the children.
In her opening remarks, the Oyo NAWOJ chairperson, Comrade Jadesola Ajibola said the motivation for organising the event in collaboration with other stakeholders and partners is to celebrate the African Child as Africans.
“First and foremost, I am an African Child and I recognise the need to celebrate the African Child. As parts of our programs in NAWOJ to celebrate the International Day of the African Child, so we need to do this. For us, the need to continue to talk about the children has become very important for us. These days we tell our children not to listen to strangers, or talk to outsiders and these are some of the opportunities we can use to create the awareness.
“But, we need to also understand that, everyone must be involved so that those children who are not trained would not negatively influence those that are. So we felt we need to start calling the attention of the upcoming generation to it. Let’s agree that some of our generation are lucky not to have been mutilated, the generation that are here today, we need to also let them know some of the disadvantages and the fact that the practice has no known health benefit for anyone,” she added.
and then