We’ll protect Nigerian children against violence – Buhari

AGAINST the backdrop of the increasing menace of violence against children, President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that every child in the country is protected.

He gave the reassurance at the launch of the End Violence Against Children by 2030 national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) campaign at the State House,  in Abuja on Monday.

The President who was represented by the Secretary General of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, said with the Sustainable Development Goals’ call on every nation to end violence against children by 2030,”Nigeria has a global obligation to sustain its resolve.”

According to him, the SDGs would not be achieved without effectively ending the scourge of violence against children.

While expressing the Federal Government’s commitment to being a pathfinder country for the new global partnership to ‘End VAC’, he called for a concrete national plan of action and strategy to achieve the goal in 2030.

He noted that the launch of Year of Action to End Violence Against Children, which started in 2015 has since gathered momentum.

To this end, he stressed that “the initiative must be sustained because we have clear moral, legal and economic imperatives to end the suffering of children who live under the shadow of violence.

“Nigeria is also proud to be a world leader on this issue being the first country in the region and the eighth in the world to publish a national survey on Violence Against Children.”

Earlier, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan commended efforts of all ministries, departments and agencies and development partners on their roles in the campaign to end the menace in the country.

She urged them to ensure that:”these priority actions are not empty commitments, as we cannot afford to fail our children.

“We must do all we can to ensure that our society is rid of all forms of violence especially against children by 2030. I therefore implore all present here today to realise the importance of the task ahead, especially the need to address the current situation of violence against children caused by the insurgency in our country,” she added.