Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said 40 per cent of African population live in slums where the rights of the children were not protected.
Osinbajo, who was the guest lecturer at the Dorcas Oke Hope Alive Initiative 12th Foundation Day annual public lecture in Ibadan, Oyo State on Saturday, also said that according to UNICEF record, child marriage is rife in Nigeria with about 39 per cent of Nigerian women between the ages of 20 and 24 being married before they attain 18.
He said, “Those who have studied the trend said 40 per cent of African population live in slum because of poverty. In that situation, you can almost predict that there will be child abuse. Everywhere in Africa, life is a living hell for slum residents. Majority of the children in African slum have lost one or both parents because of diseases that should not have killed them.
“HIV/AIDS kills a record number in African slums, mostly women and children. The slums are reputed as mostly lawless area with no security. Violence happens and people are killed and thrown in a gutter and life continues. This affects African child because they become orphans.”
Osinbajo said nearly two million children less than 14 years old are HIV positive in sub-Saharan Africa, with most of them often abandoned and they die. He also said more than 200,000 child slaves were sold yearly in Africa and an estimated 8,000 girl child sold to slavery every year in West Africa.
He said, “What we don’t know is that certain practices amount to slavery. Statistics show that only 57 per cent of African children are enrolled in primary school and one in three will not finish the school.”
Osinbajo also expressed sadness that only two states in Nigeria enforce the Child Rights Act.
“In Nigeria, we passed the Child Rights Act in 2003 using the UN standard. About 24 states have already passed the law but only Lagos and Akwa Ibom are active in enforcing it. It must be understood that any ill-treatment, neglect, cruelty, violence of any kind meted to a child is child abuse. If your neighbour beats a child constantly and you don’t report to the police, it means you support what is going on. Under the law, you are part of the offence. Abuse could be infliction of tribal mark, tattoo, female genital mutilation, child abduction, child trafficking, child labour, child betrothal, child molestation, child prostitution, deprivation of education, child soldier and so on. These are abuses that can cause permanent damage to a child.”
To tackle the menace, Osinbajo urged an aggressive fight against poverty. He also said that child education must be made compulsory in the country.
“There are legal provisions that protect every child. The African charter takes into consideration the context of the African culture. It aims to protect the private lives of the child and calls for protection against abuses.
“Some of the challenges facing the Child Rights Acts in Nigeria include federalism which states that each state has autonomy in respect of certain matters. Religious interpretations, cultural beliefs and attitudes are some other challenges. We must tackle poverty and promote child education to rectify the problem in our society. An educated child will protect himself,” he added.
END
With due respect sir. 100% of Nigerians live in slums. Nigeria in total is in a decrepit state. No one is protected. Adults and children alike. Our environment speaks for itself.