The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Child Safety

  • International Academies to discuss child safety at webinar

    International Academies to discuss child safety at webinar

    A webinar to discuss safety measures at home and online, as well as travel tips during the Yuletide has been scheduled for December 22.

    Organised by Bridge International Academies, the interactive programme will also create learning curves for parents to navigate online security and the tools needed to create a secure atmosphere for their children.

    A statement  by the Communications  Manager, Olamide Oni, the interactive session is part of commitment to fostering a safe and informed community. He added that the programme will contribute to the collective goal of nurturing a generation of empowered and secure individuals

     According to him, the webinar aims to empower parents with knowledge and resources to create a secure environment for their children during the Yuletide.

    Resource persons include Chinua Agbasi, a Leadership and Development expert with years of experience in child safety. She will lead the conversation, providing valuable insights and practical tips on ensuring the safety of children during the festive season.

    Oni said: “The webinar aims to empower parents with knowledge and resources to create a secure environment for their children during the Yuletide. Topics will cover a range of safety measures, from home and travel safety to online security, ensuring that parents are well-equipped to navigate potential challenges.

    “The webinar will include freebies for attendees and special announcements for non-Bridge parents interested in exploring the educational opportunities offered by Bridge International Academies.

    “Parents will also have the opportunity to share live testimonials about their experiences with Bridge International Academies, offering firsthand accounts of the positive impact the school has had on their children’s academic and personal development.”

    In a related development,  the school  has received widespread praise from parents across the country  for  providing quality education  as a leader in the educational landscape.

    Read Also: ‘Maternal, child safety improve in Adamawa’

    The parents  lauded Bridge International Academies for its exceptional academic results, pioneering teaching approaches, and the overall enriching experience it offers to students.

     They said Bridge International Academies stands out as a beacon of educational empowerment, ensuring that quality education is accessible to all.

    Recounting his experience ,  Mr. Mahmud a parent at an Academy in Abaranje, Lagos said “My children were attending a school at Iyana Ejigbo before now but they kept on increasing their fees to a point that I wasn’t comfortable with anymore. Although the standard was good, I couldn’t afford it and that was when I found Bridge International Academies where I even got more quality than I bargained for at a cheaper rate”

    Another parent , Mrs Adewusi,  from a Bridge International Academies school in Ikorodu whose child is now on scholarship courtesy of Bridge International Academies’ post-primary scholarship initiative added: “Thanks to Bridge, my son got a scholarship to study at Rainbow College, one of the best schools in Lagos and he is doing very well over there. My daughter who is still at Bridge International Academies can compete with children who are paying huge amounts of money on school fees.”

  • Child Safety: When to spare the rod

    While growing up if you dared to come to school late, you were flogged like a criminal that committed a heinous offence by your teacher, I hated going to school because any slight mistake you make as a child was corrected with flogging.

    It was as if the teacher enjoyed flogging students. I remember my
    childhood friend then from a poor home, they could barely eat one square meal talk less of two. She was so skinny and obviously looked malnourished but she was bright and did very well in school despite her poor background.
    She was always flogged for paying her school fees late. I remember our
    mathematics teacher flogging her like a deranged man, when she couldn’t pay her lesson fees and after beating her, she was sent home.

    My friend cried bitterly, her screams and pleas pierced my heart, even as a grownup I still shudder each time I remember it, I will never forget how hurt and helpless she was, as a child I knew it was so unfair, I hated witnessing such brutality, it was not her fault that her parents could not afford her school fees, why met out such cruelty on a vulnerable child who was facing her own challenges, my friend went to school without food most times and suffered so much hardship at home, her parents struggled to make ends meet.

    It was so sad seeing our crazy teachers then beating malnourished, hungry, nervous and sad children whose parents couldn’t pay their school fees. Was it their fault? Is this the right punishment to give to children who we hope would compete with other children in the world?

    These were helpless children who did nothing wrong to warrant such inhumane treatment.

    This happened while growing up and it still happens today, this is
    senseless. Nigerian teachers still think the appropriate way of correcting children is through cane. They believe that it is the best form of discipline. It is very common in schools especially public schools to see teachers flogging children like animals, these children are left with horrible marks and scars on their body.

    There have been cases of corporal punishment that has gone drastically wrong, so many children have either lost their sight, ear impaired or even died as a result of extreme flogging.

    Most teachers are ignorant of the fundamental rights of children which are violated by corporal punishment. The child’s right act clearly forbids battery, physical assault and abuse in any form. This law should be properly enforced in schools. Children must be protected and corrected with love especially by their teachers who are there to mould their character.
    There are so many ways of disciplining a child without flogging. By brutalizing children in the name of discipline, a teacher is doing more
    harm than good, that child’s self esteem and cognitive development is being killed. The child feels worthless becomes aggressive, rugged, and very timid.

    Majority of Nigerian parents ignorantly support corporal punishment,
    I have heard parents encourage teachers to flog their children without
    knowing the adverse effect of such punishment and without thinking of the possibility of the child getting seriously injured.

    It is my opinion that flogging should be banned in schools; no research has proven that children who are beaten excessively turn out good. Corporal punishment has yielded unsuccessful result, with all the beatings given for
    late coming in Nigerian schools, we are still known for coming late to
    events, even schools start their events late, I have never attended any
    event hosted by a Nigerian school where they started early and they are so
    unapologetic about it while in other countries where children are not
    beaten for coming to school late are known for keeping to time. It is time
    schools live up to the examples they try to enforce on their learners.

    Njideka Obi, Child safety Advocate, 08060424282

    safersmarterchildren@gmail.com

  • Child safety: Policy against Tradition

    Child safety: Policy against Tradition

    Like many Nigerians, I believe our challenge as a nation is not the lack of requisite laws, regulations or policies. But most of these laws fail at the point of implementation.  One of the reasons I believe this happens is the poor knowledge of the law by the implementing arm of government.

    Have you ever wondered why the national assembly would refuse to openly disclose its spending? Sounds like a complex irony. It was the same national assembly that passed the freedom of information bill, yet they would not comply with the provision of a law they enacted. My focus is not the national assembly; I only wanted to buttress the fact that as a nation we are weak implementers of law.

    The case in point is the child rights Acts.  If you test this Act for instance with the Nigerian Police who are supposed to enforce the law, you will meet a brick wall.  The average police desk officer sometimes ignorantly argues against the law. Again my focus is not the Police; my opinion is that the government must enforce a minimum degree qualification for entry into the police, because you cannot enforce a law you do not have the intellectual capacity to comprehend.

    Now let’s hit home with the point.  I was elated when the Ministry of Women affairs recently announced its readiness to work with development agencies to end child marriage. I felt happy as one who works with children across the country to empower themselves against sexual abuses, but sniffing through all the challenges that may confront that decision, I began to wonder how the ministry will confront and challenge all intractable traditions and cultural systems that may challenge that decision.

    Child marriage is a very disturbing trend.  It happens around us, we see it almost everywhere, it even resides in the national assembly.  One lawmaker married a 13 year old Egyptian girl.  When asked, he points to the privilege of his religion.  So child marriage is real with us, it lives with us and so the ministry would have to do more than rhetoric to end it.

    This is the 13th year of the enforcement of the Child Right Acts; there has really not been an enforcement of the law. Only 23 states have domesticated the law, none have tested the law, no arrest have been made, although there are glaring evidence of defaulters.

    Section 21 defines a child as a person below the age of 18 and frowns at early marriage. This Acts goes further to provide for punishment in section 24 of the Act for violators of section 22 and 23.  These questions the potency of our laws. Are laws just made and not implemented?, what is the use of the law anyway when it cannot be enforced? This where the ministry of women affairs must first address in the case of the child rights Acts.

    The Acts provides too that there should be institutions created for children living in difficult conditions.  I have not seen one institution addressing the needs of children living under difficult conditions. A few weeks ago, a United Nations agency raised a disturbing alarm over the devastation malnutrition is causing in the North-East, according to the report more than 270, 000 children could die of malnutrition.

    Where the child rights Acts is enforced, there will be response from institutions created to address difficult conditions of children as provided by the acts itself, but this was not addressed at the level of enforcing the content of the child rights Acts. It’s up to you to judge if our laws are truly potent.

    If the ministry pushes for the implementation of the full content of the child rights act, it must be ready to whip traditions aside.  I do not know what strategies or actions the ministry of women affairs would implore, but am glad anyway for the courage to dive into the trouble water. I think there should be some seminar of sort to discuss how tradition affects temporary legislation and find a common ground. There are still a lot of traditions and culture that cuts at variance with existing laws. These traditions sometimes even affects health and well being.

    For instance, female genital mutilation and the obstetric fistula, a condition caused by early marriage, these are traditions that society must review against its attendant damage to the health of children. Traditions like laws cannot be dogmatic; they have to be reviewed under prevailing advancement in knowledge.

    As much as it is laudable for the ministry of women affairs to want to end child’s marriage, we must view this action beyond trying to score political points; it must thoroughly engage the traditional institutions in a bid to reviewing traditional or cultural knots that will make a rubbish of the lofty goal to end child marriage.

    I think the minister should review her strategies.  It is my opinion that she should call for a high stakeholders delegate to first discuss a plan of action for complete compliance of the child rights acts.  At full compliance with the act, there will be no need to end child marriage, the act already took care of that in details.

    Njideka Obi, lawyer and a child safety advocate.

    1. safersmarterchildren@gmail.com
  • Child Safety: Empower your children and give them a voice

    Child Safety: Empower your children and give them a voice

    Last week, I tried to show you how the mind of pedophiles work, I am sure by now you can identify the signal of a potential pedophile and get them off the back of your children or wards.
    This week, I shall focus more on how to prevent the incidence of child molestation. in the end, you will be able to arm your children with the skills to take charge of their safety.
    During one of my child safety workshops in a private secondary school in Lagos, I asked the students to write down any experience of sexual molestation or any questions they wanted me to discuss, a sizeable number of the students have stories of attempted sexual molestation.
    One student shared how she has been constantly sexually molested by her uncle, although she wasn’t detailed in her explanation. Nobody knew what she was going through, not even her mother. Child body safety education is extremely important in empowering children to recognize sexual abuse, react to it and to report it.
    An average parent spends only a quarter of the 24hours with their children, a lot more spend less than that. They believe everything the child requires to be sound and responsible are taught in the schools. Most schools do not have this extracurricular where children or students are empowered to ward off sexual predators; I believe it is an essential learning that has been left out from school curriculum.
    As I move from school to school, teaching children and students how to grow up to be a whole adult with the capacity to make right choices concerning their sexual reproductive health and rights, I find enormous ignorance from teachers themselves. I believe there should be a balance in curriculum and where the school fails to prepare children to make informed decisions on their sexuality, parents must as a matter of top priority empower their children from an early age to become aware of themselves and how to cherish and preserve their sexuality.
    I have heard parents tell me they don’t know how to relate with their children when it comes to the issues of discussing sexuality. The problem is that if you don’t teach them, they will be tricked by outsiders and their innocence stolen at a very young age.
    At this point, it may be too late to make corrections. I strongly believe that quality parenting will reflect in the kind of society that we have. If parents themselves are poorly trained or ill prepared to be parents, then we will have a society of confused adults who will also mutate unbalanced children.
    If you think discussing sexual rights with your children in early age is not something you want to do, wait for this statistics. Studies have shown that one in every four girls is sexually molested before the age of 18 and one in every six boys is sexually molested before they turn eighteen. 90% of sexual abuses are perpetrated by persons known to the children.
    I have seen children from disciplined homes becoming sexually exposed at younger age. At a closer insight, you will discover that they have failed to teach the child the discipline of early sexual orientation that makes him or her responsible in making the right choices.
    Let’s get the facts straight, a child who has been molested will have an abnormal adulthood. The psychological impact is far reaching, it could result in some form of mental illness, lack of concentration at home or at school, promiscuity, chronic illness, trauma and a lot more.
    An empowered child however, grows to become responsible, confident and self effacing adult capable of making informed decisions with little supervisions.
    Parents should be mindful of red flags in a sexual predator so as to minimize the risk and opportunity of their children being exposed to pedophiles. It is the parent’s job and that of the children too to learn some safety rules and inappropriate behavior in other people so that they can recognize when something is not quite right.
    In my child safety workshops for schools, children are taught that they are the boss of their body which means that they are in charge of their body. They are in control of their body and their body belongs to them and if anyone tries to mess with them, they should act like the boss of their body. They are taught the private part rule which is that no one should touch their private part. No one should tell them to touch their private part. No one should talk about private part to them, or show them picture of private part. We let them know that it is unsafe and that if anyone tries to touch their private part, they should stretch their hands out in defensive manner and yell NO!! DON’T TOUCH MY PRIVATE PART like the boss of their body without fear.

     

    Njideka Obi

    Now this is so empowering, it builds their confidence and gives them a voice and trust me, nobody will mess with a child that has been empowered. A sexual predators greatest fear is getting caught and once he/she finds out that a child has been empowered, they leave the child alone and target voiceless weak children.
    Here are preventive actions parents must arm themselves with:
    1. Pay attention to anyone who is excessively admiring your child. Nothing is wrong with admiring a child but it could be a red flag, no matter who they are keep a close watch on your child’s admirers. If you notice any red flag in a person’s relationship with your child, STOP that person immediately from spending time alone with your child.
    2. Trust your instinct: always listen to your instinct as a parent. Your instinct is the best barometer for when something is not quite right.
    3. Make sure you teach your children the ASK FIRST rule, whether they’re four years old or sixteen years old they should know that before they go into someone’s house, car, or go for a walk with anyone, they have to ask you first. This rule is extremely important.
    4. Listen and communicate effectively with your child. Ask them for details after they have spent some time away from you. When they are narrating how their day went, you listen carefully for any red flag that needs an urgent action.
    5. Talk to your child about child body safety and arm them with knowledge.
    Njideka Obi, lawyer and a safety Advocate
    Phone no: 08060424282. safersmarterchildren@gmail.com

  • CHILD SAFETY: Watch those who pamper your child

    CHILD SAFETY: Watch those who pamper your child

    Laura Odinka, not real name, is six years old. She is everything you can call a smart child, she is top in her class, she is bold, confident and outspoken. Ngozi her mother brags about her daughter to any listening ears. ‘My little girl is smart and brilliant’ she boasts.

    Laura’s life took a twist when her uncle visited for a short stay. Uncle Timothy looked calm and unassuming.  He looks lovable and you can take a bet that he will not hurt a fly. It turned out that Timothy had hidden in his gentle looks a debauching pedophilic savor that will one day change the life of the little girl forever. And it did in a just a little over a month. Laura’s most admired uncle who buys her gifts and ‘fights’ for her was the prey that molested her and stole her childhood.

    Laura was abused. Her uncle warned her not to tell anyone and like most parents, Ngozi wasn’t paying enough attention to the changes in Laura’s mood. She became fearful, secretive and began to grow timid, and her packs of confidence began to drop too.

    Although there are no consistent surveys on child molestation rate in Nigeria, but occasional polls suggest that one in every five children are molested or have had an experience of attempted sexual molestation. That is staggering but that is not our focus in this piece. It is  how parents can recognize sexual predators. The first step is recognising dispassionately that anyone could molest, even the most trusted person in the family because a larger chunk of child molestation cases are committed by those familiar with the child.

    Let me walk you through the mind of a potential pedophilia, one who has sexual desire for little girls or boys.

    1. They work really hard to gain your trust: They put up the vibe that they are nice. They come at you with a nice smile, very friendly and before you know it, they have warmed their way into your life and your routine. They usually take their time to win your trust; it can take months or years to win you over. But they don’t ever give up.
    2. They buy your child gifts/treats and favors: once a predator has gotten your trust, he takes it a step further by buying gifts and yummy treats for your child. They offer to do you favors. They try to be helpful as much as they can. In fact, they appear too good to be true. They are overly playful with your children but they try as much as possible not to be too attentive to them when you are around. Don’t forget that last punch liner – ‘they try as much as possible not to be too attentive to them when you are around.’
    3. They try to gain more access and private time with your child: At this stage, the predator has won your trust 100%. Your child trusts him because she knows that you trust him as well. Now, at this point, the predator’s goal is to gain more privacy with your child. They might offer to babysit your child, give your child free extra lessons, offer to take your child out. They work really hard to gain a child’s trust and to develop a special bond with your child.
    4. They desensitise your child: At this point you have gotten very comfortable with the predator and you don’t mind leaving your child with him/her. Your child is fond of them as well and always looks forward to seeing them; your child enjoys his or her company and is eager to go out with him or her. Your child might be experiencing some sort of defilement at this stage, it could be a tickling game, it usually begins from the tickling game, and where the predator accidentally touches the child’s private part and it will keep progressing till the act is done.
    5. They compel the child to keep their activities secret: The trick that predators use on children is the secret trick. The children may not know they are sexually abused. The predator tells them that it is a secret game or that they love them so much and it’s their special secret. Some will tell them that no one will believe them if they speak and they will even punish them.

    Follow this article next week, as I explore further on the preventive actions parents must arm themselves with in order to keep their children away from cougars and pedophilic predators.

    Njideka Obi, lawyer and a child safety advocate.

    08060424282,safersmarterchildren@gmail