Guard your children on exposure to internet – Udoh

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Monilola Udoh has submitted that children’s digital rights require an effective framework for interventions and consultation with evidence-based policy development that consider trends in society, technology and recent happenings in the world of today.

The Permanent Secretary stated this on Friday while giving her remarks at the commemoration of the 2023 Day of the African Child (DAC), a day set aside by African Union to remember the massacre of innocent young children in Soweto, South Africa on the 16th June in 1976 while demanding for their rights for improved education.

Udoh, who described this year’s theme: The Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment as “apt and strategic”, commended the Committee of Experts of the African Union Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child for their insights in adopting the theme.

She added that Nigeria as a signatory to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as well as WE Global Alliance on online child abuse, will ensure that the promotion of the rights of the children which include rights to privacy, information, education, safeguard from abuse, freedom of expression and rights to be heard will be upheld.

The event witnessed a panel discussion by school children, which highlighted issues about the rights of children in the digital space.

There were goodwill messages from the Speaker of the Children Parliament for FCT, Representatives of Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Capital Territory (FCTA) Secretary for Education, Nigerian Communications Commission, Save the Children International, and UNICEF.

Special papers were presented by Onyedichi Uzodinma (Women in ICT), Edith Gumut (Save the Children International), Mrs Ibukun (also from Women in ICT), Justina Godwin (Girl Child Freedom at the Grassroots), Joycelin Attah Bijimi (also from Women in ICT).

The papers highlighted issues of online child protection; children’s rights in the digital world, and the effects of social media and morals among children.

A departure from the usual keynote remarks by a Permanent Secretary, which sticks to the theme of an event, was given by Mrs. Monilola Udoh when she gave some nuggets to the children “as a mother”. The nuggets were that children should “love their Country (Nigeria); they should have “Common good of all”; they should imbibe “Diligence/Honesty”; they should also imbibe “Humility; “Be in good teams/Team player”; while they should give “Service with humanity and have “Contentment”.