The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Children

  • School feeding programme targets 24m children

    The school feeding programme would keep at least 24 million children in schools when fully implemented, the Federal Government has said.

    Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, stated this at the Third Nigeria Education Innovation Summit (NEDIS) organised by The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre in Abuja.

    The minister said the programme would increase enrolment of children in basic education and boost their cognitive performance and effective learning outcomes.

    Adamu, represented by Executive Director, Research and Innovation, National Universities Commission (NUC), Audu Mohammed, added that the Federal Government had developed a strategic plan to address the challenges of out-of-school children.

    He said: “It is in recognition of the critical role education plays in the realisation of sustainable development that the present administration has placed it among its key priorities.

    “To drive this home, the Federal Ministry of Education developed a strategic plan based on 10 pillars of core measureable goals. These include addressing the challenges of out-of-school children, strengthening basic and secondary education, teacher education, capacity building and professional development, adult literacy and special needs education.

    “The Federal Government has embarked on innovative pro-grammes like the Home-Grown School Feeding programme geared towards retaining at least 24 million children in schools upon full implementation. It would increase enrolment of the children in basic education and boost their cognitive performance and effective learning outcomes.”

    According to the minister, the government has also initiated reform in the education sector to reassess the state of education in Nigeria and refocus the sector to meet the challenges of nation building.

    “Nigeria is undergoing monumental changes geared towards unleashing the creative energies of the citizens to drive our national vision and aspiration as a people.

    “To this end, unprecedented reform initiatives are now being implemented in the education sector, with a clear intent on reassessing the state of the education system and strategically refocusing and repositioning the sector to meet the challenges of nation building in the 21st century.

    TEP Centre Managing Director, Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, called for the continuous implementation of education programmes in the country.

    She said: “What we want to do is to provide  support for organisations which are implanting brilliant ideas in the education sector. We want to continue to give them support until they reach a point where their innovations and the programmes they are implementing are able to reach more children that were originally excluded.”

  • Gombe tackles violence against children

    Gombe tackles violence against children

    Gombe is the second state in the North, and fifth in the country to have a plan against violence targeting children, reports VINCENT OHONBAMU

    On September 15, 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari urged state governments to end violence against children; on October 25, 2016 he renewed the call. Few states have heeded the call, Gombe recently becoming the second in the North and fifth in the country to respond to the President’s appeal.

    Why the hesitation across the country? It is because society largely dismisses violence against children as a hoax. But the vice is real, occurring in physical, sexual or emotional forms. It is mostly perpetrated in the name of culture, tradition and norms; thus it is seen as disciplining the child, especially the physical form of it, which is why people hardly believe its existence. Where some reluctantly admit it, they are quick to associate it with the poor. But it transcends the socio-economic status of homes–meaning it could take place in rich, poor or middleclass homes.

    Perpetrators are mostly people the children know–parents, guardians, relatives, househelps and teachers, neighbours and schoolmates, and it normally occurs in places where victims ought to be safe like home and school for instance.

    Therefore, it is mindboggling, the large number of children experiencing violence on daily bases or would have experienced violence at a given point in their lives.

    According to the Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey, children in Nigeria suffer violence in millions yearly – approximately six out of every 10 children experience some form of physical, emotional or sexual violence before the age of 18. One in every two children experience physical violence (smacking, whipping, burning, choking, trying to drown); one in four girls and one in 10 boys experience sexual violence; one in six girls and one in five boys experience emotional violence.

    For example, a four-year-old girl was repeatedly raped by her teacher; a nine-year-old boy was thoroughly beaten up and then chained and locked up in seclusion by her father and step-mother, denied food or water for days; kids are bullied or even physically assaulted by others at school. How about 12- and 14-year-old female siblings who were continually raped and threatened by their father? House-helps in some cases vent their frustration on children, even babies and beat them up frequently. In some cases, little boys or girls are regularly put down by parent(s) or guardians with words like – “you are useless, I regret giving birth to you, you will never succeed; you will die in poverty like your parents; you are a never do well,” etc.

    While over 60% of Nigerian children are affected, less than only 5% ever receive the service they need to recover because they mostly do not speak out about their sufferings.

    Violence against children leads to mental distress, thought of suicide, low self-esteem, alcoholism, depression, inferiority complex, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, among other effects.

    Children who experience sexual and physical violence in childhood are much more likely to perpetrate intimate partner violence in adulthood or see nothing wrong in doing same to their children or wards.

    Failure to invest in checking violence against children leads to substantial socio-economic losses estimated at 2 – 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    “When we think about the fact that children make up tomorrow and children grow into adulthood, then we begin to wonder the effect and the cost of VAC to the society. If 60% of our children are undergoing this, then we need to start asking ourselves what kind of adults are we hoping to produce, what kind of society are we hoping to produce,” queried Alabi, a Child Protection Specialist in UNICEF Bauchi Field Office.

    Aside the President’s call, the statistics coupled with the ugly consequences of VAC on the individual and national development compelled Gombe State’s undertaking to protect the rights of her children with the support by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

    Speaking at the event, Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo warned that any individual or group of persons found perpetrating VAC would be made to face the wrath of the law. He called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), human rights activities, United Nations Agencies and other partners to redouble efforts towards stemming out the rising unacceptable cases of VAC.

    “Children are the most important asset for the sustainable development of any society. I therefore call on parents, families, communities and the society at large to rise up to our responsibilities as regards to our children.”

    “I would like to assure you that government would work assiduously towards implementing policies and programmes aimed at ending violence against children.

    “This is an obligation we all owe our children in line with the rights guaranteed them in the 1999 constitution and other international treaties to which Nigeria is a signatory,” Governor Dankwambo affirmed.

    Rabi Daniel, Commissioner, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare said the launch of the campaign underscored the importance Gombe State government attaches to the protection, survival, participation and development of children.

    She said her Ministry on its part would continue to articulate programmes to build protective services and empower families to prevent as well as respond to any issue of VAC.

    She made a passionate plea for the cooperation of the media, saying: “The campaign on ending violence against children must be consistent, continuous and carried out with passion for it to elicit action.”

    Also pledging commitment, Gombe state Commissioner of Police, Austin Iwar vowed the Police preparedness to ensure that perpetrators of VAC are adequately punished according to the dictates of the law.

    He said the Command was looking to collaborate with community and religious leaders, relevant state and Federal Governments agencies as well as the judiciary towards ensuring the success of the campaign.

    Justice Hakeela Heman, Chief Judge of Gombe state who was represented by Justice Beatrice Iliya described the campaign as timely because of the high rate of violence against children in the state and country at large.

    “Children are subjected to inhuman treatment and degradation like kidnapping, adoption, rape, sex slavery among others and they have no way of getting help. Unfortunately, most of these heinous crimes are committed in the name of culture and religion,” he said.

    Ironically, Gombe State is yet to domesticate the Child Right Act, a development which many believe could hamper the fight against violence targeting children in the state.

     

  • Sokoto donates N20m items to indigent women, children

    The Sokoto State Government has donated N20 million worth of food items and clothing materials to indigent women and children in the state.

    Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Hajiya Kulu Sifawa, said the items included 200 bags each of rice, sugar and millet, as well as 2,000 women wrappers.

    She added that additional N1 million was also disbursed to women receiving treatment at various hospitals across Sokoto metropolis and its environs.

    According to her: “The target groups included mainly vulnerable women and children focused groups, widows, orphans, women patients, women living with HIV/AIDS, diabetic women and other physically-challenged women, among others.

    “The gesture was aimed at alleviating the suffering of the beneficiaries during the ongoing Ramadan fast.

  • 168m children engaged in child labour globally, says ILO

    168m children engaged in child labour globally, says ILO

    Majority of the over 168 million children involved in child Labour across the world live in areas affected by conflict and disaster, and often pay the heaviest price during conflicts according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

    The ILO has therefore decided to dedicate the 2017 World Day Against Child Labour scheduled for Monday, 12 June to focus on the impact of conflicts and disasters on child labour globally.

    The world body of Labour asked world leaders and member states  to take measure to combat and prevent child Labour, adding that “in times of conflict, in times of disaster, when livelihoods are disrupted, basic services are lost and people can be forced from their homes, entire families become more vulnerable. But it is children who often pay the heaviest price.”

    It added that the  proposed ILO Recommendation concerning Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience (Revision of the Transition from War to Peace Recommendation, 1944, No. 71 ), being discussed during the 106th Session of the International Labour Conference  (ILC) calls for specific action against child labour arising from or exacerbated by conflicts or disasters. 

    “In countries affected by conflicts and disaster, the ILO, governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations and humanitarian actors work together to prevent and withdraw children from child labour, and enrol them in education. Using an integrated approach to promote fundamental principles and rights at work, the ILO has developed specific tools to prevent child labour and provide economic reintegration in post-conflict situations, with a particular focus on children formerly associated with armed forces and groups. 

    “The ILO works closely with partners to tackle child labour in emergencies. In 2016, the Child Labour Task Force of the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action , co-chaired by the ILO and Plan International, launched its Inter-agency Guidance: Supporting the Protection Needs of Child Labourers in Emergencies . This toolkit provides guidance to humanitarian workers on protecting children from child labour. 

    “The ILO is part of Alliance 8.7 , the global strategic partnership committed to achieving SDG Target 8.7, which calls on the world to end forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, and, by 2025 to end child labour in all its forms. One of its six Action Groups is dedicated to addressing these issues in situations of crisis,” ILO stated.

    It argued that Child labour violates international laws and the UN Conventions, including the ILO child labour Conventions and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adding that the ILO’s Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)  and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)  have now been ratified by 169 and 180 member States respectively. 

    The 2017  world day against child Labour is part of activities lined up for the ongoing 106th session of the international Labour Organisation.

  • ‘Right foods good for children’s growth’

    Toyin Onigbajo is the founder of August Secrets Nigeria which is about giving the child the right foods. She reveals that the aim was to provide healthy recipe from locally made foods for the Nigerian children from six months to five years. In this interview with OLATUNDE ODEBIYI, she said the major target was busy mothers who wish to feed their children healthy foods but do not have the time. The recipes have broken it down to make the foods half-made. Excerpts:

    What kind of foods are you looking at?

    Our foods are made from guinea corn, yellow corn, soya and potatoes. We have a way of mixing them into cereals and we have five of them which include crayfish, fish, nutty meal which contains soya and groundnut. We have maize and grains which contain rice and potatoes, we have vegebeans which is blended with vegetables. If you look at all of these, you would realise that the key things mothers need to feed their children are these. But a mother is already tired when she gets home, so having to do all of these to feed their children is not possible, So, they end up having to give their children adult food which is not good.  We formulated all of these for the children.

    Our foods have so many health benefits, because a growing child needs iron the most and vitamins. But they also need everything in the right proportion and they also need all of these foods to be well prepared. But most mothers are confused; they put beans on fire not knowing that they are meant to peel it. When you don’t peel the beans, all the things from the insecticide would go into the food which is not good for the baby. That is what August Secrets does. All our foods have the complete nutrients; just add one or two things, including oil, crayfish and fish.

     

    Are all your products locally made?

     

    Yes we have 98 per cent of our raw materials locally sourced for; it is only the plastics that are imported.

    Most developed world that we copy always encourage that all our foods, the closer the foods are to you, where it is grown, the healthier, if guinea corn, soya and groundnut is grown here in Nigeria, it is the best for us. A lot of people are looking inward and realising that locally-made food is the best.

    The only thing I need from government is to give me a factory and I will pay back in three months. Give us a factory to produce, give us clusters, the cost of setting up a standard factory is expensive, just give me the factory and I will provide the raw materials.

     

    What is your business model?

     

    Our business model is to reproduce. We rent a factory to produce, we package into manual, we pour into container and label. Once we are done, we have an online platform and we have been able to make headway.

    We encourage people to pay first, and this makes it less likely for our distributors to be attacked. The risks are not too much for us because we deal with women.

     

    Unique selling point

     

    It is our creativity. If you see the food, you will want to eat it. If you see how it is prepared, it looks nice and beautiful.

     

    How did you start?

     

    I started alone.

     

    What is the growth stage like?

     

    We have five members of staff and 11 distributors in Nigeria, one in Ghana, one in the United Kingdom (UK) and one in US. We have indirect employment, delivery men, we have about 11 from the headquarters and we have delivery men in all the states.

     

    Did you grow the business?

     

    There is the God factor, hard work and quality. If you insist on quality, your brand will sell. Hard work means research, openness to learning and good accounting skills.

     

    About the book launch

     

    The book is a document of all our recipes, for children who do not eat well, mothers who are worried about what their children are going to eat, we have lots of recipes contained in the book, which is like a keep safe for the children. It is a complete guide for the Nigerian mother to save her children of food.

    We made them short and it comes with pictures. Some mothers may be confused and not know what recipe to mix. This has been explained in the book and it is detailed. People call us for consultation. The book is to answer the many questions people may ask.

    From six months to five years, you don’t need to bother on what your child would eat, adults can also take it, even beyond five years.

     

    Your message to the Nigerian youths

     

    Learn to work harder and be more productive. We say government, if  you can think of what to do or the value you can add to people, you will earn from it. Don’t sit looking for job. Do something and you will be able to live your life.

     

  • Photos: Amazing pictures of Buhari and children

    Photos: Amazing pictures of Buhari and children

    File photos of President Muhammadu Buhari and children to commemorate Children’s Day 2017. “Let little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God.”
    Pictures of the jolly grandfather and the little ones were taken at the Presidential Villa, Abuja

    Femi Adesina

    Buhari and children . Photos: Femi Adesina, Aso Rock

  • Oando: How we plan to integrate 60000 out-of-school children

    Oando Foundation has reiterated its commitment to ensuring 60,000 of the 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, are integrated back into the school system by 2018.

    Already, the foundation said it had attained 16,000 of the said target in a scheme it commenced last year, it is, nonetheless, optimistic that it would have substantially achieved its objective by the time the scheme will be rounded off.

    Head, Corporate Communications OANDO Plc, Alero Balogun, announced this at the firm’s corporate head office on Ajose Adeogun, Victoria Island.

    Balogun said the foundation’s inspiration towards the initiative is derived from the fact that Nigeria has 10.5 of the 38 million out-of-school children globally, which is the highest in the world based on UNESCO’s statistics.To further worsen the scenario, the country also could not attain UNESCO EFA Goal by 2015.

    “When we started this thing last year, we didn’t pretend that the figure of out-of-school children in Nigeria alone is 10.5 million.  For us however, it was how to get them back into the school. I said earlier that about 2000 children came back to a particular school in Northern Nigeria because the school feeding programme started there. So the bottom line is, children would come back once you start the school feeding programme, but you have to make concerted efforts for them to remain and also monitor and document, and this will even help the government to profile the 16000 children.”

    According to her, the foundation, which began in 1991 as a corporate social responsibility arm of Oando Plc, focuses ICT, Early Childhood Care Education, capacity building of teachers and scholarships, as well as special attention for girls in northern Nigeria, among others.

    She said the foundation already has strong presence in 23 states, adding that the choice of which state to concentrate its energy on is largely dependent on poor performances of WASSCE in such state, and other needs such as gaps in infrastructural human capacity development, ICT, availability of good toilet, and portable water among other things.

    Already, 13000 trained teachers nationwide have undergone training under the foundation’s human capacity development scheme.

    To ensure teachers under the exercise are fully available while the exercise lasts, she said the foundation first seeks the state government’s nod that those involved are not transferred from their duty post for three years.

    To ensure project integration, Balogun added that the foundation train and worked with school management based Committee (SMBC) who according to her, ensure they prod government to constantly provide budget for maintaining projects that the foundation has already completed and handed over.

    According to her, the foundation also bore the brunt of recession. Nonetheless   she said Oando Pls has continued to ensure consistent funding despite the harsh economic climate. According to her, the foundation engaged in some cost-cutting measure without compromising standard.

    “When we started, contractors were doing the work; but now it’s the communities that build and roof the houses, and it’s easier to get the SMBC to say the school can be built for N4 million for a project that could have cost about N40 million before. So in the end we get value for money.”

    Programme Coordinator, Oando Foundation Tonia Uduimoh, said the foundation, ensures quality by involving SUBEB of the states.

    “We also ensure quality by engaging state SUBEB to look at the quality of work done. The board gets their engineers from the work department to appraise the project because we do not want to compromise standard even though the projects are carried out at lower price,” she said.

    After carrying out needs assessment to determine where the gaps are, Uduimoh said the Foundation always complements each of its programme component with strict monitoring so as to track progress.

    “Let’s say we organise a teacher training, following the needs assessment to determine where the gaps are and design the trainings that will serve those needs, there are levels of monitoring and evaluation officers who ensure the training that have been received, results into knowledge transfer to the children. It helps track improvement year on year. Across all platforms, the totality of our work is to improve learning outcomes in schools,” she added.

  • ‘We need 21st century teachers for 21 century children’

    ‘We need 21st century teachers for 21 century children’

    Principal Consultant of Edumark Consult, an education solution provider firm Mrs Yinka Ogunde,  has said Nigeria needs to improve on her method of passing knowledge to the child 21st century through training and retraining of teachers.

    Ogunde expressed the fear that an average Nigerian child, nay the world is ‘adventurous and curious’, while many of them ‘know what their teachers don’t’. What remains the only gap is availability of competent teachers that will consolidate on those new-found traits

    Ogunde spoke during a briefing at the firm’s Surulere, Lagos office last week to announce the 9th edition of the Total School Support Seminar and Exhibition (TOSSE). Ogunde, who is also the convener of TOSSE, said: “What we have today is a generation of curious children. The world today breeds children who are mentally and emotionally advanced even at a much younger age. Many of them are technology-savvy and know more than us their parents as well as their teachers.

    “Unfortunately, the nation is not training teachers that will address the new traits.”

    She described TOSSE as a value-driven educational event which began nine years ago with 30 exhibitors and 500 educators. She is nonetheless happy that TOSSE has grown in leaps and bounds

    Like in previous editions, Ogunde said the two day event which would hold at Ten Degrees Event Centre Oregun, Lagos, between June 1and 2, would feature over 100 seminars by seasoned educationists, in addition to 18 free train-the trainer seminars.  According to her, TOSSE has been strategically planned to cover a wide range of topics based on recent happenings in the sector.

    “There are organisations that have simplified solutions and processes for the sector and packaged them into products. The thought behind this is, if you plan to start a great school from scratch or you see that your school needs to be reformed, you can walk into TOSSE and get everything you need from books to computers, laboratory equipment, learning aids, special education solutions and equipment, curriculum, uniforms, stationery and every other thing,” she added.

    According to her, some of the topics to be deliberated upon would include:  ‘The Art of being a brilliant teache; Quality Assurance in Education models; and Maximising the early years for a successful future.

    Others include: ‘Methods and metrics that work; Strategies for innovative curriculum delivery better than Google; Creating processes for (Sexual) abuse prevention; Understanding taxation for private schools in Nigeria; and  Learning through travel: Enhancing students’ learning experience.

    Though government is not partnering with her, Ogunde hoped government could mobilise  their key officers to the venue.

    “I wished government would bring in their key officers to come and see, and learn because when you expose someone’s’ mind you get the better part of the job done.

    “We are not asking them to bring money; but when you allow them listen to experienced people within and outside Nigeria, it automatically opens their mind to things around them. Its all about learning and inspiring people to be better teachers and administrators, “she said.

  • Children urged on reading

    Children should imbibe the culture of reading to have a secured future, experts have said.

    They spoke at the maiden edition of the community reading programme organised by Renaissance Africa in Lagos.

    Some of the books read to the children include: ‘Without a silver spoon’ by Eddie Iroh and ‘Finding purpose for kids’ by Abayomi Oyelami.

    One of the guests, who read from the books, Dupe Noma, said the gesture was to teach children how to read, get them impacted and made them understand the need to read for future purpose asides examination.

    She said: “You don’t just read when you have exams; you could also read for future purposes. When you imbibe the reading culture, you would be able to impact others.”

    She urged the government to encourage, support and sponsor the programme.

    Its convener, Mr. Abayomi Oyelami, said the gesture was borne out of the desire for children to develop hunger for reading. This, he said, was critical to building a well-rounded life and career.

    He noted that the disposition of children that reading was a thing to be done in the school should stop.

    “Children must not read with the idea that they don’t want to fail. They must read in and out of exams; that is the only way the future of our community could be guaranteed,” he said.

    Oyelami called for sponsorship from individuals, corporate organisations and government agencies.

    The Baale of Keke-Agege, High Chief Liadi Idowu Ajagunna, advised children to emphasise  education.

  • Cleric recalls losing five children, three wives at 60

    Cleric recalls losing five children, three wives at 60

    Lagos cleric, Prophet Lai Bamidele, has recalled his travails in the service of God, saying it was only perseverance that had kept him in the vineyard.

    Specifically, he said he lost three wives in succession and five children with all his life savings in Kano lost to ethno-religious crisis.

    Bamidele, General Overseer of Glorious Christ End-time Envangelical Church, a church with headquarters in Lagos, spoke on the occasion of his 60th birthday penultimate weekend.

    “It was as if I would never get out of those disasters when they kept happening, and like the Biblical Job.

    “I lost three wives in quick succession during which five children also passed on. I was virtually stretched to my wits’ end but I kept on in the faith.

    “But I have been undeterred because I know the devil, having caused those losses, had forgotten that the Lord is faithful. And by the grace of God, I have been enjoying divine blessings and increase.

    “To the glory of God, I have five other glorious children, who are doing well along with my beautiful wife,” a visibly moved Bamidele said.

    He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently raise a think-tank of credible economic experts to lead the country out of socio-economic crisis.

    According to him, rising cases of suicide were clear indications that all is not well with the Nigerian economy.

    “That people are now committing suicide owing to hunger, joblessness and social neglect is an indictment on whatever economic policy that might have been put in place and it is now time for the Buhari administration to re-strategise by forming a committee of credible economic experts, who will help lead the country out of these doldrums,” he counselled.