On the rights of children

The idea behind the global Children’s Day celebration is alien to African history and tradition.  It is not that African children are not valued and regarded as precious gifts from the Almighty God: parents actually believe that there should be limitations to their liberty and the show of affection in order not to spoil them. For example, twins are revered as a special species and a blessing to the society, and so they are sometimes celebrated through public funfair of drumming and dancing, which also involves parental display. Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day. It is celebrated on 20th November each year to promote international togetherness and awareness among children for their wellbeing. The day is not a public holiday but a global observance to mark the anniversary of the declaration of the rights of the child. Other countries hold the event on different dates such as the fourth Wednesday in October. Today, the world Children’s Day is celebrated on 20th November to commemorate the Declaration of the Right of the Child by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on 20 November 1959.

There is a variant of Children’s Day traced to the USA in 1857 where a pastor called Charles Leonard held a service for children in his church known locally as Children’s Day. Another faction gave credence to that of Turkey which has celebrated its International Children Day since 1920. The first International Children’s Day was declared in 1925 at the World Conference on Child Welfare in Geneva. In Moscow, the Women’s International Democratic Federation declared that June 1st should be celebrated as an International Day for the Protection of Children, with other days announced across the globe. As a matter of fact, May 27 every year is traditionally Nigeria’s children’s holiday. Children are granted a holiday as part of the government’s concern with promoting social wellbeing in the country. However, most children in villages do not have full knowledge of the occasion. Some of them are seen in their various school uniforms celebrating the occasion with various activities such as march parades at the select stadia, according to the administrative planning of each state.

The children have the opportunity of seeing the governor of their state live or his representatives, among other state officials who motivate and charge them to be godly and well-behaved as upcoming assets of the nation. African children encounter various public dangers and domestic hazards due to the unacceptable idea in some quarters that a child must be exposed to hardship before acquiring qualitative experience and wisdom in life. No wonder some of the children sometimes turn out to be street hawkers, vendors of all sorts of merchandise, performing activities that are closely related to child labour. The response of most African parents while being cautioned to desist from being unnecessarily harsh on their children is that, to put it the Yoruba way, “Oloju o’ni laju e sile ki’talubo wo”; meaning no parent would watch his child going rebellious. Happily, however, most states in the country have passed the Child Right Act into law to protect children from maltreatment whether from their guardians or biological parents. Today, all manners of ill-treatment are not only being condemned globally, the affected parents may incur the wroth of the law.

The celebration of Children’s Day raises awareness on issues affecting children’s wellbeing.  In particular, the Ogun State government remains committed to the wellbeing of the children and commemorated the May 27, 2021 Universal Children’s day with the theme: ‘Promoting Girl Child Education For Sustainable Development’ through virtual App. The App was created by Integrity Campaign Club and supported by Mobile Classroom App, through which the wife of Ogun State governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, charged the children across the state to be well behaved, focused and hard working towards achieving their dreams. As a matter of fact, the Ogun State government must be commended for organizing virtual Children’s Day first of its kind in the nation. The children were feted and also exposed to various motivating activities such as talent hunt for 20 secondary schools students, each from the three senatorial districts. The children participated in poem recitation, quiz, and musical presentations on keyboard, trumpet, and saxophone among others. There is optimism that the present administration would not relent in promoting child rights.

Well-to-do Nigerians from all professions should support the celebration of Children’s Day so as to build reliable future leaders for the socioeconomic growth of the nation. Besides, African parents should learn from the global value attached to Children’s Day: the fun fare, games, among other sporting activities aimed at motivating children and instilling in them a sense of leadership.  Let governments at all levels take child education as their core priority, protect their rights and create more awareness on training with civility.

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