Last week the video of a young boy went viral. In the video, the boy, not less than 6-year-old, tried to negotiate being spanked for his misdemeanor by his mother who obviously did the recording. The boy cried profusely telling the mother to “calm down” and promising never to engage in the act again. The video eventual turned the young boy to a sudden sensation and inspired the Salah message of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to Lagosians in the face of the current pandemic that has turned the state to the epicenter in Nigeria. In a follow up video the boy cleared that his mother eventually forgave him and he was not spanked.
The drama tells the disciplinary measures and mode adopted by parents in Nigeria, and Africa at large. While such is not alien to the continent, it is rather unfortunate as IMPACT NEWS observed lately how some parents and guardians abuse such disciplinary measures. In 2019 a 47 year-old house wife, Joy Egeonu was arrested in Ogun state for reportedly beating the 11 year old nephew of her husband to death after accusing him of stealing N6,500.
Also a mother, Bisola Olukoya, was arrested in 2017 for allegedly beating her 16 year old son to death. Olukoya, while beating his son hit him on the head with a plank after which the boy fell and died. There are also various accounts of guardians using extreme procedures as disciplinary measures. This, IMPACT NEWS sees as a threat to the safety of today’s child in the country.
To protect the rights of the child, the Federal Government in 2003 adopted the Child Rights Act to domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Act mandates that when a child is concerned, their best interest is to take precedent. The law also stated that the parent or legal guardian is obligated to fulfill the duty to give the child basic protection.
The Act specified that the Article IV of the Nigeria’s constitution as amended and any other federal law which details fundamental rights should be seen as being art of the act. The act goes further to state specific rights for children including the right to survival, a name, family life, private life, dignity, recreation, cultural activities, health services and education. These are few of the provision of the act.
Unfortunately, almost two decades after the adoption of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, 11 states are yet to domesticate the law. Bauchi, Yobe, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Zamfara, Gombe, Katsina, Kebbi and Jigawa are the states that have refused to domesticate the law while Kaduna in 2018 domesticated the law.
It is important that the rights of Nigerian child needs to be protected. The future of Nigeria lies in the comprehensive welfare of today’s child. We therefore call on the government of the 11 states that are yet to domesticate the child right act to do the needful. We submit that the effort of the northern states governors to discourage the indiscriminate almajirai system would only be effective when the rights of the northern child is protected and guaranteed with the domestication of the Childs right law.
We also challenge the various civil society organisations to mount pressure on the erring states governments to ensure the law is domesticated to guarantee the protection and welfare of the Nigerian child.
