The Founder of a non-governmental organisation, Amazing Grace Children Right Foundation (AGCRF), Mrs Grace Omoye Adeyemi, has decried rising spate of child abuse. She spoke during the 2024 Children’s Day celebration, where she hosted about 2,000 children at her yearly, “Be Bold Programme.”
The event was held at Msquare hall, Ijegun Road, Lagos suburb. The founder of AGCRF said that it is unfortunate to note that child abuse is still on the increase in Nigeria.
She, however, advised parents to build confidence in their children to “be bold and speak up” against any form of abuse or infringement on their rights.
Disclosing that it is heart-breaking that statistics showed that “over 19 million Nigerian children experience sexual violence before the age of 18.”
Mrs Adeyemi also called on the 36 state governments and local councils to build more public secondary and primary schools, noting that, “we have observed that it is only private entrepreneurs that are building primary and secondary schools now and they are too expensive to attend by the children of average Nigerians.
We challenge them to list new secondary and primary schools they have established in the last 10 years,” she said. She also noted that the continued suspension of the school feeding programme because of corruption and misdeeds of certain individuals will have a negative impact on the primary schools pupils that were already enjoying a meal per day programme of the government.
Mrs Adeyemi also urged President Bola Tinubu to extend the national school feeding programme to secondary schools because of the rising poverty level and hunger in the country, stressing that the government should commence the programme as soon as possible.
She noted that Nigeria, as a country of young population should invest more on the youths, noting that the poverty level in the country is discouraging many secondary school students from regularly attending the schools.
According to her, those who are still attending classes do not concentrate very well because of hunger.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 42 per cent of the 223 million are under 15 years old, while 70 per cent are under 30. “So, if we have a huge percentage of Nigerians under 15 and they are mostly in secondary schools, then we must do more as a country to attend to their challenges, which is hunger.
“We are calling on the state governments to partner the Federal Government on this school feeding programme and ensure it is resuscitated without further delay,” she declared.
