Buhari calls for end to ‘unacceptable’ violence against children

President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged security agencies, families, traditional and religious leaders to rise up and take decisive actions to stem the unacceptable rising cases of violence against children.

The president made the call in a message to mark Children’s Day in Abuja.

He said the theme for this year’s celebration ‘Creating Safe Spaces for Children: Our Collective Responsibility’ was an opportunity to promote the safety and security of the children.

He said all stakeholders, including the civil society organisations, human rights activists, and the society at large, must ensure the safety of the children in homes, schools, markets, worship centres, on the streets and everywhere at all times.

According to him, this year’s event affords him another opportunity to re-affirm his administration’s commitment to the protection of children.

Buhari said: “This is a day to reflect on our roles and responsibilities as parents and leaders towards our children, and also assessing how far we have fared in this regard.

“As you may recall, one of the cardinal objectives of this administration is the provision of quality education to our children as a fundamental foundation of economic and social development.

“In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that this administration has recorded measurable success in the homegrown school feeding programme as it has continued to expand.”

The president maintained children were the future of the nation, and “the initiatives that come from them give confidence that Nigeria has a bright future”.

He said: “I am very impressed by what our children have been able to do, and what the future holds for them.

“That is one reason why we are committed to the school feeding programme, to prepare a future generation of physically and intellectually robust children.”

He said at the last count, over 8.2 million children in 24 states were being given free meals daily, adding that this happened in 45,000 schools around the country.

The president, therefore, called on all stakeholders to support the programme to ensure that all the 36 states and FCT were covered.

He said this would promote substantially higher enrolment levels in schools across the country.

He also appealed to parents not to relent in their efforts to send their wards to school, especially the girl child “as her education reduces infant and maternal mortality as well as prevents child marriages.

“It also increases literacy and reduces poverty. The saying that to educate a woman is to educate the nation is very apt in this regard”.

He noted that since the inception of his administration in May 2015, the federal government had focused attention on addressing issues of child protection, participation and survival.