In its renewed determination towards ensuring the protection of the rights and privileges of children across the country, the Federal Government has warned that it will severely sanction any form of maltreatment, molestation or abuse of any child, either by an individual or institution caught in the act.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, gave the warning yesterday when she visited the Junior Secondary School, Kagini in Kubwa, FCT, Abuja.
She stated that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Administration is totally committed to ensuring the psychological and physical well-being of children in the country and, as such, it will leave no stone unturned in the realization of this policy objective.
The Minister explained that every Nigerian child has the right to grow and function effectively in the society and that is why she said that the “Federal Government has henceforth declared zero tolerance for all forms of maltreatment and abuse against them in the country”.
She explained further that “children are undoubtedly the future of every nation and hence, need to grow, read and learn in a healthy environment that meets their social, emotional and educational demands as this will prepare them to become the responsible adults that the nation needs”.
Barrister Kennedy-Ohanenye observed that “children who have been victims of maltreatment have been shown to display non-academic problem behaviours like aggression, off-task behaviours as well as poor social skills at higher proportions, compared to their non-maltreated counterparts”.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says that all Nigerians should be allowed to breathe, this includes the children because without them, no nation will have a future”, the Minister said.
She therefore called on Management and Staff of Primary and Secondary Schools in the country to be guided with love and compassion even as they administer discipline on their wards, noting that government will not sit back and watch anyone maltreat its future leaders.
Barrister Kennedy-Ohanenye also called on children and students in secondary schools in particular, to eschew all forms of negative tendencies, capable of truncating their future while also embracing the culture of determination, hardwork as well as obedience to constituted authorities with a view to ensuring that they reach their pinnacle in life.
