The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Foundation

  • Foundation launches sickle cell awareness campaign

    The Jennifer Okorie Foundation has begun a nationwide outreach on genotype education to sensitise pupils on the essence of knowing their genotype and the consequences of ignorance.

    The campaign began in Ebonyi State, where the foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education gathered over 300 pupils from more than 31 secondary schools for the programme, which had as theme “Genotype Before Yes”.

    The event organised to mark this year’s World Sickle Cell Day held at the Ebonyi State Women Development Centre.

    Resource persons counselled the pupils to know their genotype before accepting any relationship proposal.

    Prominent on the list of resource persons were Aisha Edward, the National Coordinator of Association of Persons Living with Sickle Cell Disorder, who said knowing their genotype before marriage, would reduce the number of children born with sickle cell.

    In her remark, Jennifer Nkiruka Okorie, CEO and founder of the Foundation, said it was her desire to see that every African child achieves her goals and dreams in life.

    Governor David Umahi, represented by the Commissioner of Education, Prof John Eke, thanked the foundation for choosing to kick off the campaign in the state.

    Ekeh noted that the governor would be glad to partner the foundation to ensure that the message cuts across the society.

    Track Media Enterprise, the  management company for the project, would run the campaign until June, with possibility of an next extension depending on the level of success attained.

    Highlights of the event was the presentation of Jennifer Okorie Humanitarian Service Award to Aisha Edward, Sen. Sam Egwu, Mrs. Rachel Umahi, wife of the Ebonyi State Governor and others that have contributed immensely in the fight against sickle cell anaemia in the country.

     

  • ‘Nigeria needs new foundation’

    ‘Nigeria needs new foundation’

    Renowned scientist and Ohaneze elder statesman, Prof Anya o. Anya, speaks with Sunday Oguntola on the kind of restructuring Nigeria needs. Excerpts:  

    THE hottest political slogan in the country is restructuring. What does it mean to you?  You see Nigerians like to complicate simple things. Restructuring simply means there is an existing structure; if you make adjustment to it, it is restructuring. It doesn’t need any special definition. All those people saying they don’t know what restructuring is are just speaking from both sides of the mouth.

    You hear terms like devolution, decentralisation, federalism and others mean restructuring. It means you are changing an existing structure to something slightly different from what you have. So, there is no point over flogging it.

    I am of the view, as other people are that the current structure has not served the country well. And the least we can do is to take a good, hard look at it and make necessary adjustments. I don’t want to say it has to be this way or that way. It is a decision for the Nigerian people to take.

    And it makes some constitutional adjustments. For example, if you take the present constitution, it says ‘we the people…’ It is not true. It was not the Nigerian people that decided on the constitution; the military gave it to us. So, from the beginning, it is a fraud.

    However, the 2014 National Conference looked at all the problems in the country; nothing was excluded. At the end, they came up with 607 decisions, many of them of constitutional implications. They then gathered the relevant parts of the current constitution affecting the issues and you have the marrying of the constitution with the decisions of the conference. That you can now bring out as one document. That document is where to start from.

    But some people argue the decisions of the confab couldn’t have stood since we have the National Assembly in place for constitutional amendments?

    That is a simplistic, self-interested argument. The National Assembly members are saying that because they are the ones there now. But they forget we the people sent them there. It is what we want that they must follow. It is what we say that will hold.

    A lot has been made about the delegates to the national conference but I believe it is the most representative collection of Nigerians. There were people that the ethnic associations such as Afenifere, Ohanaeze and Arewa sent to the conference.

    The State Governments had their own delegates, including All Progressive Congress (APC) states. Many of the NGOs, civil societies sent representatives. The federal government had its own delegates.  In addition, there were elder statesmen there. The professional bodies had their representatives picked by them, not the governments.

    What could be more representative? They were not all chosen by governments but by the various stakeholders in the interest groups. Then, they finally came up with decisions and those decisions were very representative. But people pretend it is not because it suits them to. Many pretend they are speaking from ignorance when in fact they are speaking from self-interests.

    But the truth of the matter is that Nigeria has to face itself now. The system we are running cannot work and has not worked. We cannot run away from that fact. I don’t think anybody can be satisfied with the way the country is running. We need to adjust the system we are running.

    What are the necessary adjustments you think Nigeria need now?

    Well, if you take the structure of the government, right now you have the federal government, 36 state governments and 774 local governments. First of all, the federal government has no business with local governments and the reason is very simple.

    Secondly, the military did what has no rationality. Kano, for example, has 44 local governments despite having lesser population than Lagos, which has less than 30 local councils. You can see the disparity. The person who was doing it had something in mind. They were thinking the local governments will always collect from the federal, which is against the principles of federalism.

    Federalism is run in such a way that it is the federating units that take all the decisions. They only take what they cannot do to the federal level. The centre is run from monies given by the local government, not the other way round. What we have is a complete distortion and reversal of federalism.

    The important thing is there is self-determination at the local level and they contribute to the centre. The Nigerian situation is upside down. We are called a federation in name but we are not in practice.

    Successive governments have always campaigned on the basis of true federalism. What keeps them from practising it when they get into power?

    Even the APC said so. It is sad my friend, Oyegun, is denying they didn’t say so. I think it is just that if it suits us, you allow it be. You look away. In some ways, we are living in denial because we don’t want to face what the real problems are.

    The quit notice by the Arewa Youths to Igbo residents in the North to leave has been causing ripples. What’s reaction to it?

    Listen, we have a bunch of misguided youths. Whether it is from my people calling secession or those giving quit notice, the truth is they are all misguided. They don’t even know the history of this country. They don’t even know the fact of the things they are taking about. Unfortunately, they can do that because we the elders have failed.

    When Nigeria took history out of its curriculum, it is almost committing national suicide. If you don’t know about you past, how can you shape the present and determine your future? So, it is fundamental but somebody decided that history was not important.

    The harvest of it is what we have now. We have a bunch of youths who do not know their right from the left. For example, a 38-year-old is the President of France. But he can do that because the system has trained him and he knows enough about the country.

    The party he is running was not there two years ago. He defeated the parties that have been in existence for over 100 years. He came and convinced the people and they gave him the mandate because ultimately power and sovereignty reside in the people.

    France is now on a new pedestal. Where can you talk about well-informed and educated Nigerian youths? They are exceptional young people in the country but they are not the ones on the streets shouting Biafra or giving quit notice.

    That is why some of us are saying we recognise the problems of the youths and we must tackle them by getting back to the basics. It is not the politicians who can tackle it but elders who have enough knowledge of this country where we are coming from and enough love for the country to know where we ought to be going to.

    And they must be elders who are not looking for money, names, positions or anything else but the good of the nation. You must get such a group and they exist in this country. The truth of the matter is Nigeria needs new foundations and we must build those foundations.

  • Foundation donates books to college

    The Sir Emeka Offor Foundation has donated over 1,000 books to the Federal College of Education (FCE) in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State.

    Presenting the books to the institution on behalf of the Foundation, the College’s Governing Council Chairman, Dr Anthony Obi, said they would assist both the teachers and students in their studies and research.

    Obi said the council approached the foundation for assistance in view of the scarcity of teaching and reading materials and the need to boost the quality of education.

    He said the books were in different fields including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English and Mathematics.

    He said colleges of education across the country are the foundation for those aspiring to make a career in teaching, and emphasised the urgent need to provide teaching materials and other learning aids.

    He urged the management to make adequate use of the books and explore ways of attracting more.

    Receiving the books, the Provost of the College, Dr James Bassey Ejue, praised Obi for making the contact with the Foundation, which led to the donation.

    “This is the first time the college has got this kind of gesture of partnering with non-governmental organisation towards achieving its core mandate. We will utilise it maximally for the benefit of staff and students,” Ejue said.

    He said the efforts of the currentt administration had paid off with the donation, adding that there are plans to reach out to other agencies and organisations for further assistance.

    “The policy thrust of the administration is to encourage mutually beneficial partnership with agencies, organisations and individuals with a view to accelerating development as well as achieving the institution’s mandate,” he said.

    The books were handed over to the librarian, Mr. Godwin Angianting.

  • Foundation trains, rewards teachers

    Last Saturday was learning and rewards day for public school teachers in Lagos State as the Chairos Foundation held its sixth Teachers’ Conference at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island.

    Hundreds of teachers learnt from experts in education and other fields who made presentations on various topics including: “Curriculum Developers: A compliment to nation building”, “Global Etiquettes: Necessity for teachers”, “The teacher’s health with respect to work-life balance” among others.

    The first paper on “Building Structure and bridging the gap between the school and the home” underscored the need for the schools and homes to be partners in progress.

    Its presenter, Tochi Opara said: “There must be cooperation between the school system and the home that is devoid of competition and power play.  Parents should not berate the teachers in the presence of their children.

    On his part, Mr. Ayokunle Fagbemi, Executive Director, Centre for Peacebuilding and Socio-Economic Resources Development (CePSERD), said it was necessary for teachers to understand child psychology.  If they do, he explained that they would have better relationship with the pupils in their care.

    To get the attention of their learners and ensure they are learning well, Fagbemi told the teachers to learn to listen, ask questions in ways that reflect what the pupils have learnt.  For instance, asking open-ended and probing questions would help pupils think and talk more about what they learn.

    Underscoring the need for teachers to develop new skills as they progress in their careers, Mr. Ferguson Uzomah, Project Manager, QPMC Abuja, said doing so would prepare them for future opportunities.

    “There is need to move from learning to professional development. The time for change has come. There should competition even among the teachers which will be of benefit to them in future,” he said.

    In her etiquette paper, Mrs Ada Osuagwu, advised teachers to ensure that their interactions leave others with their self-esteem intact.

    To this end, she counseled the teachers to learn to speak softly and politely, respect people’s personal space, ensure written communication is devoid of errors, and communicate in languages acceptable to whoever they seek to communicate with.

    In an interview, Mrs Boumo’a Sagay, the Executive Secretary, Charios Foundation, said the conference was one of the Foundation’s programme to enhance Nigeria’s cultural heritage.  She added that the programme was a capacity development opportunity for public school teachers who may otherwise have been unable to afford it.

    “We want a situation where we adopt what is obtainable abroad. Abroad teachers have one development every term.  But we noticed that here it is an elitist thing.  We want to make it available for every teacher. For the foundation if all that is discussed here is followed up effectively in the school, then we have promoted the Nigerian cultural heritage,” she stressed

    Awards were presented to teachers who distinguished themselves in their subject areas.

    Mrs Olufunmilayo Odeleye of Education District IV, nominated in the Art Category, won the grand prize of a return ticket to the United Kingdom on British Airways.  For placing second, vocational teacher, Onojade Oghenenowho, also of District IV, won a trophy in addition to a prize for fortitude and strength; while Hakeem Olanrewaju, who came third, also got a trophy and a prize for Innovation.

    Other nominees were presented with medals of honour.

  • Foundation takes drug abuse campaign to schools

    Foundation takes drug abuse campaign to schools

    Perhaps, many in her situation would have given up hope and easily indulged in social vices such as drug abuse and stealing in order to eke out a living. she would have been excused if she had chosen to do everything detrimental to her future if she had done otherwise. But she resisted the temptation of bringing shame to herself and her family.

    Today, she is not only celebrated, she also established a life-saving foundation. She evolved the Social Awareness Campaign against Drug Abuse (ASACADA).

    Founder and President Adorable Foundation International (AFI) and Adorable Social Club of Nigeria, Princess Ada Okeke-Amam said the dream was borne out of love and charity. She maintained it was a dream to restore hope to the lost at heart and those who were abandoned to the vicissitudes of life.

    Amam-Okeke said she was left to the mercy of strangers as she walked the straight and narrow paths of the world. According to her, she came to understand the sorrows and pain that life could throw at a person in like situation and the consequent psychological effects.

    “My upbringing was not too good as a youth and I saw a lot of things when growing up, and there might be some youths who might not be able to handle it the way I did. At the end, they might end up in drug abuse and other social vices. Having lost my mother, the major key player in the family, it was taxing,” she said.

    Continuing, she said: “Nothing stopped me from being forced to do one or two abnormal things in the midst of harrowing hardship I found myself in, but I didn’t. I felt going into those things could lead one into a terrible trouble.

    “In the circumstances, I decided to evolve a means of telling the youth my own experiences and how I surmounted them so that they, in turn, will also surmount any unsavoury situation they may find themselves in.

    I decided to evolve this programme, the wake-up call came and I saw it was a good thing. It is a very good thing to fight drug abuse. So, I decided to go into it, and got into it very well.” She added that the healing power of love brought about the birth of Adorable Foundation International and Adorable Social Club.

    The event whose theme was “if you abuse drug, drug will abuse you” was a ‘Talk Show’ designed to give students the opportunity to talk about the harmful effects of drug abuse in the society.

    “It is a talk through which we seek to discover the school that can give us the best, it is how we are going to tackle the menace of hard drugs among the youth”, Amam-Okeke added.

    Out of the 16 secondary schools that registered, about 13 were in attendance; giving a total of about 250 students that would do the talk about drug abuse. Their performances were judged by a panel. Trophies would be awarded to the best schools. In addition, every participating school had a prize to go home with.

    “The adorable foundation was on the streets of Lagos and Abuja during the 2016 campaign but this time around, it decided to bring schools together to have a talk show on how to eradicate drug menace in our society”, she stated.

    Amam-Okeke added that Adorable Foundation has built a strong hold in Lagos, Abuja and Benue, even as she revealed plans to expand the programme to the Southeast. Meanwhile, the Anambra chapter was inaugurated last year.

    There are more to be achieved on the drug issue, though there are challenges. “We have to move on in life. After this, we will be going to schools to ensure we cover more schools in Lagos, East and the FCT”, she said. The event was also to commemorate United Nations International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

    The United Nations’ (UN) International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking falls on June 26 each year to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs present to society. The day is supported by individuals, communities and various organisations all over the world including Nigeria.

    The Project Officer, United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, Harshet Virk who represented the United Nations Organisation (UNO) commended the efforts put in place by the foundation to get the young people to talk about drug issues. She assured the United Nations would continue to lend its support

    “There is a lot of work going on, the government is doing a lot, AFI is also doing a lot, and they should try and engage with the scientific knowledge, and broaden their knowledge. “It is good to see young people involved in this issue, discussing and debating it and getting the right responses. What we really need to do is to talk more about it, the government should try and evolve more programmes”, she stated.

    On whether Nigeria is getting the fight against drug abuse right, Virk said it is hard to say which country is getting it right. She, however, observed there were concerted efforts on the part of the government to really fight the menace.

    Also, the Ministry of Health has done a lot of capacity building. The will is there, the government is making the right efforts to do it but it is a big country, a complicated country. So, these efforts have to continue. Hopefully, we will certainly get it right soon she said.

    The Deputy Superintendent of Narcotics, Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Chizoba Etuka who spoke on behalf of the Commander of Narcotics NDLEA, Lagos State, Adeyemi Kayode said the fight against drug abuse is a fight not for NDLEA alone, adding that it is meant for everybody including the youth, religious leaders, the government, traditional rulers, and everybody in the society.

    According to him, all hands must be on deck to fight drug abuse. He noted that drug abuse had caused a lot of harm to some members of the society but one of the strategies NDLEA has adopted is to go to schools to create awareness on the issue. We have programmes where we go to various schools in Lagos State and even outside the state, enlighten the people, create more awareness on the consequences of drug abuse to the society.

    The method I have discovered today is that we let the students proffer solutions to the problem, rather than imposing it on them.

    “For the youth to tell us about the dangers of drug abuse and what to do to eradicate it is a good move. It is a very good example we have to copy. When the youth say let’s do it this way, it means there is a lot of hope for the society. We have to adopt this method. Once in a while we are going to organise this kind of forum where we will have the students to come and talk and proffer solutions to the problem of drug abuse,” the NDLEA chief said.

    While commending the founder of Adorable Foundation International, Tosin Owolabi, an SS2 student of the Dynamic Landmark College, who was one the participants in the Talk Show, said the foundation had given the students the opportunity to express their views on the matter and also made it possible for the public to be enlightened on what drug abuse is all about.

    “I have learnt a lot about the dangers of drug abuse. I learnt that we should never allow drugs to be our master; it should always be our servant; it should only take care of us, and we should not abuse it,” he said.

    Drug abuse is not only about the hard drugs alone, the licit ones such as alcohol, equally cause severe harm to those who indulge in it excessively. I believe people will desist from it because nobody wants to die early; everybody wants to live long.

    Owolabi said he tried to reach out to the public more so that they would understand what they are into or what it is all about. Those missing things that people usually overlook are very important.

  • Foundation begins talent hunt to promote reading culture

    TOMA Foundation has begun a talent hunt for its literary/poetry show.

    According to the organiser, the show is tagged: ‘Wake up the giant, Edo youths got talent Season 1″.

    Its Founder Mrs Stella Ebuetse, said the hunt, which is being conjunction with the state Ministry of Education, is to promote reading culture among pupils.

    Speaking at the auditioning of participants in Auchi in Etsako West Local Government, Mrs Ebuetse said the exercise is restricted to participants between 11 and 18.

    ‘’The show is aimed at boosting pupils’ confidence in communication and delivery skills,’’ she added.

    She added that the show is meant to awake among pupils a sense of pride in the nation’s culture and urged youths that activities on education could be favourably rewarded beyond beauty contest, music and dance.

    Mrs Ebuetse said 10 pupils would be picked from each senatorial district to contest at the final stage in Benin, the state capital, where three pupils would be picked to represent the state at the regional level in September.

    She said: “The audition is open to   both public and private secondary schools. The first stage, which is the screening/audition, will take place in three zones and 10 each will be  selected from the zones.

    “The 30 contestants will be camped for two weeks in Benin during this period. They will receive the best professional training from seasoned literary gurus in speech delivery, tips in writing short story and poetry composition.

    “There will be daily tasks on poetry recitation and compositions and elimination of various stages of presentation,” she said.

    “There is no doubt that reading culture is dead among our youths. Literary activities and exercise are abhorred among pupils.

    “As an English/Literature teacher for almost 30 years, the dwindling number of pupils offering literature is heart breaking.”

  • FOUNDATION CELEBRATES CHILDREN’S DAY

    IYANIWURA Children Care Foundation, recently celebrated its fourth edition of Children’s Day at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    Welcoming guests at the occasion, CEO of the Foundation, Mrs. Otitoloju said “Iyaniwura Children Care Foundation (ICCF) is committed to actively raising the quality of life for every child. We want all children, regardless of ethnicity, creeds or circumstances to achieve their full potentials. Our task is to make it possible. Our mission is to provide practical step-by-step assistance.”

    She further implored schools in Lagos to key into their programmes as students performed in activities like cultural dance, music and debates.

    Some of the children who participated in the debate discussed Digital Technology Development among kids.

    “Children are natural artists; they sing, dance, play, paint, draw, run, write and read. Instead of believing that our adult purpose is to instruct children, we should be open enough to learn from them and to be inspired by them and to work alongside them. Their energy creativity, their imagination are the beating heart of our culture. This grows from an understanding and celebration of the fact that our children are in the process of exploring and creating a better world,” Otitoloju added.

    Schools present at the celebration include Kinihun Ifa Nursery and Primary School, as well as Federal Government College Oworonshoki, among others.

  • Foundation holds summit for future leaders

    Foundation holds summit for future leaders

    In response to the challenges of leadership bedeviling Nigeria and the decline in value-based leadership, a group, Royal Foundation International, has held a National Leadership Summit (NLS) for young leaders.

    With the theme, Nigeria’s Future: The Role of Exceptional Leadership, the programme, which was held at Covenant University Secondary School, Ota, was a platform to equip students with leadership skills.

    According to the convener, Femi Royal Aliu, leadership skills are necessary for young ones to succeed in private and public sectors in their adult lives, and also as students in their respective schools.

    He said:“It was a platform to learn about exceptional and value-based leadership and how they can model it. Also students from different schools also compete for the debater of the year award on the topic to work for someone else or build one’s business; which is better?”

    NLS brought together about 20 schools to a single venue as a gathering of eagles. This year’s edition featured top-notch speakers including, Precious Ajoonu, Leap Africa; Jimoh Oluwasegun, NGOPodcast; Rahmah Aderinoye, UNICEF Global Ambassador; Lanre Olokunde, Snapnet Nigeria; Alexander Tosin, MTN Nigeria; Doyin Ajayi, Sweet FM; Oyekanmi Ayoyemi, Wikimedia Group; Moremi Kedirsmeia, from Botswana on an amazing panel to enlighten these young minds.

    The maiden edition of NLS was hosted in November 2016 and featured over 10 schools, including  Dalos College, Ambassadors College, ECOWAS College and Iganmode Grammer School (who are the defending champions that produced the debater of the year and got the foundation’s award for it).

    “Royal Foundation International is a youth-led organisation that utilises amazing innovation and cutting edge technologies to package fellowship programmes, internships, summits, bootcamps for young people to promote individual effectiveness, wealth creation and leadership skills,” he said.

    The event was in partnership with Covenant University Secondary School, Global Shapers Community Ibadan of the World Economic Forum, Lead Resources, Next Gen Africa, AREAi Africa, Hearts Connect Initiative, Allfor Development Foundation, Thriving Teens and sponsored by NerdyGram Consulting, Parle G Biscuits & Sweetco Plc.

    It has as media partners Ogun State Television, The Nation, Hebron FM, The Guardian, UNILAG FM, TVC, among others.

  • Foundation holds summit for future leaders

    In response to the challenges of leadership bedeviling Nigeria and the decline in value-based leadership, a group, Royal Foundation International, has held a National Leadership Summit (NLS) for young leaders.

    With the theme, Nigeria’s Future: The Role of Exceptional Leadership, the programme, which was held at Covenant University Secondary School, Ota, was a platform to equip students with leadership skills.

    According to the convener, Femi Royal Aliu, leadership skills are necessary for young ones to succeed in private and public sectors in their adult lives, and also as students in their respective schools.

    He said:“It was a platform to learn about exceptional and value-based leadership and how they can model it. Also students from different schools also compete for the debater of the year award on the topic to work for someone else or build one’s business; which is better?”

    NLS brought together about 20 schools to a single venue as a gathering of eagles. This year’s edition featured top-notch speakers including, Precious Ajoonu, Leap Africa; Jimoh Oluwasegun, NGOPodcast; Rahmah Aderinoye, UNICEF Global Ambassador; Lanre Olokunde, Snapnet Nigeria; Alexander Tosin, MTN Nigeria; Doyin Ajayi, Sweet FM; Oyekanmi Ayoyemi, Wikimedia Group; Moremi Kedirsmeia, from Botswana on an amazing panel to enlighten these young minds.

    The maiden edition of NLS was hosted in November 2016 and featured over 10 schools, including  Dalos College, Ambassadors College, ECOWAS College and Iganmode Grammer School (who are the defending champion that produced the debater of the year and got the foundation’s award for it).

    “Royal Foundation International is a youth-led organisation that utilises amazing innovation and cutting edge technologies to package fellowship programs, internships, summits, bootcamps for young people to promote individual effectiveness, wealth creation and leadership skills,” he said.

    The event was in partnership with Covenant University Secondary School, Global Shapers Community Ibadan of the World Economic Forum, Lead Resources, Next Gen Africa, AREAi Africa, Hearts Connect Initiative, Allfor Development Foundation, Thriving Teens and sponsored by NerdyGram Consulting, Parle G Biscuits & Sweetco Plc.

    It has as media partners Ogun State Television, The Nation, Hebron FM, The Guardian, UNILAG FM, TVC, among others.

     

     

  • Foundation tackles child exploitation

    Child sexual exploitation is not alien to Nigeria; it is rooted in culture, tradition and, in some cases, fetish and ungodly religious beliefs with children and vulnerable women as victims. WALE AJETUNMOBI writes that Jose Foundation and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development have joined forces to curb the phenomenon. 

    September, 2015 findings from the Nigeria Violence against Children Survey carried out by the National Population Commission (NPC), with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, discovered high prevalence of violence against children in Nigeria.

    The population-based study revealed that approximately six out of every 10 Nigerian children under the age of 18 years, experience some form of physical, emotional and sexual violence before the age of 18 years.

    One out of two children experience physical violence, one in four girls and one in 10 boys experience sexual violence, and one in six girls and one in five boys experience emotional violence.

    The majority of children never tell anyone about their experience and less than 5 per cent of children who experience violence ever receive the support they need to recover.

    The survey found out that childhood violence has a long-term impact that lasts well into adulthood, including poorer mental and physical health outcomes. Individuals who experienced physical and sexual violence in childhood were also significantly more likely to perpetrate intimate partner violence.

    The shocking rape of a six-month-old baby in Kano of late that left the nation in shock further reinforced the call by experts to tighten security around minors to avoid child sexual exploitation against them.

    The defilement of the baby, no doubt, touched the heart of Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari and the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II both of whom visited the victim in hospital and expressed shock at the incident.

    Recall that Jose Foundation, last year, wrote a letter to the wife of the President, the Inspector- General of Police and wife of the Senate President, informing them of the growing trend of abuse of minors and women in the country.

    In the letter it called for a pragmatic action from highly placed individuals in authority to step up action against violence on children and vulnerable women in IDP camps and other parts of Nigeria.

    Although, child sexual exploitation (CSE) may not actually be a ‘Nigerian phenomenon’ the prevalence of abuse of minors in the country has become ‘alarming’.

    Unfortunately, several reported cases of child sexual exploitation have close family members as the ‘usual culprits’ pushing experts to redraw plans on how to deal with the monster that has continued to gain ground in the country of recent.

    Not even the Child Rights Act (2003) has been able to deter the evil doers from crying out heinous crimes against innocent minors, worse is that some states are finding hard to domesticate the Act due to factors centred around religion, culture and lack of political will.

    The situation has not only affected many psychologically, but has also threatened the future of millions of children.

    An international non-governmental organisation, Jose Foundation, since 2003, has continued to champion the fight against child sexual exploitation in Nigeria.

    To address the issue, Jose Foundation has been carrying out series of public awareness on how parents can protect their children from falling into the hands of sexual exploiters.

    This includes advocacy, creating awareness, trainings and international diplomacy to draw attention of leaders worldwide to the plights of the vulnerable in the society.

    The promotion of CSE campaigns necessitated the need to organise a workshop for all stakeholders in the protection of minors in Nigeria.

    The foundation, through the Nigerian mission in the United Kingdom, submitted a training proposal to several ministries in Nigeria; including the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social development.

    Reports have it that the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development responded to the foundation’s request by asking for the details of the proposed programme.

    Details of the proposed workshop which has been delivered to the Nigerian High Commission in London to be transmitted to Abuja, it was learnt, will bring the crème de la crème in the Nigerian society under one roof to discuss child sexual exploitation, it’s implications to Nigeria and how it can be tackled.

    Between August 15 and 21, this year, some members of the Federal Executive Council, lawmakers, the military and the internally displaced persons (IDPs), parents, care givers, family members and community leaders will have to listen to a group of experts from the United Kingdom fighting CSE on how to curb the menace in Nigeria.

    Others to attend the workshop are: religious leaders; development workers; heads of schools; and other officers including law enforcement agents and social care educators.

    Speaking on the planned workshop, President, Jose Foundation, Prince Martins Abhulimhen told journalists that the time has come for Nigeria to join other nations who are showing commitment to the protection of minors and women from sexual abuse.

    “We have taken responsibility to work with the Nigerian government to tackle CSE and that is why we chose to submit our programme details for government scrutiny and full participation”, he said.

    He noted that the foundation planned to launch a book on child sexual exploitation written in three of Nigeria’s major languages and the setting up of a Jose Foundation Therapy Centre in Nigeria to be managed by UK experts to train Nigerians on how to handle victims.

    The book is to act as a day-to-day guideline that children must read to checkmate any kind of abuse from perpetrators.

    He said the seven-member team of experts from the UK on CSE will be led by Jayne Senior, a Councillor in Rotherham. She was credited for revealing a pattern of exploitation in the town that saw large numbers of children and young people groomed, gang-raped and tortured by groups of men.

    At least 1,400 children were subjected to appalling sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

    Children as young as 11 were raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated.

    Consequently, to further fight the scourge in the United Kingdom, the government is spending about 40 million pounds this year alone. Amount considered too low by some critics while Nigeria, with a rising cases of CSE, is lagging behind.

    Meanwhile, lawmakers and ministers will be the first to be briefed on the topic. Personal experiences and skills around tackling CSE will share and why CSE is a global issue and the short-term and long-term effects of CSE on victims and families.

    The military and officials of IDP camps will learn different types of exploitation. This will include the impact of victims both short-term and long-term and moral and legal issues.

    Religious leaders will be thought on how to spot the signs of CSE, their role in protecting children from harm, while law enforcement agents and social care educators are to learn issue of awareness within local economy, indicators of a child at risk, long and short-term impact of abuse on children, and reporting and referring concerns to relevant agencies.

    Meanwhile, working with families and communities in this regard has been identified as a measure to fencing the child against people with the intention to sexually-exploit minors.

    Monitoring and engaging children is said to make minors and their parents have a sense of what constitutes child abuse and what it is not.