South West states battle to implement Child Rights Act, in spite of challenges

Tue, Jun 19, 2018 | By publisher


Women

MANY state governments in the South West are now putting in place measures to ensure the domestication and effective implementation of the Child Rights Act although challenges persist.
In Oyo State, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Government had already domesticated the Child Rights Act of 2003 as the Child Rights Law.
Mrs Folake Ajayi, a lawyer and former Chairperson of the Oyo State Federation of Women Lawyers, said she was impressed with the domestication of the Act in the state.
Ajayi, who commended the Abiola Ajimobi-led administration for domesticating the Act, noted that the girl-child in Nigeria is facing several challenges as the level of implementation is still low.
The lawyer said certain practices are still in vogue in spite of the law being in place in the state.
These, she said, include female genital mutilation, harmful traditional practices, child marriage, indecent assault, prostitution, sexual abuse and domestic violence.
“All these practices are still prevalent in the state even though people are aware of an established law against violation of these rights,’’ she said.
Ajayi advised that the government should concentrate more on advocacy and sensitisation drive in places like schools and markets across the state.
Similarly, Dr Funmilola Lola-Dare, a social community health expert, disclosed that many challenges are obstructing the full implementation of the law in the state.
According to Lola-Dare, some societies in Oke Ogun part of the state still carry out scarification of the body parts as well as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Cutting ©.
Their action, she said, is born out of the fact that it is a taboo not to perform FGM/C on the girl child.

She regretted that in spite of the prohibition of FGM/C, some mothers still submit their girls for mutilation of their genitals.
Dr Christy Omidiji, a social worker, said government needs to devote resources and personnel for the enforcement of the law.
“For instance rape prevalence in Oyo is still high, everyday, an average of 32 girls and women are raped.
“This does not include the figure of rape cases that are not reported, so implementation and enforcement of the law is still very paramount,’’ she said.
The social worker also identified poverty as a major challenge to the implementation of the law.
“A lot of parents cannot afford to keep their children in school due to lack of jobs or as a result of unpaid salaries and pensions as the case may be.
“These children become drop outs and eventually turn out as street children; they go into drugs and all sorts of illicit and dangerous relationships and eventually lose their lives.
“A lot of these children, boys and girls are on the streets daily, hawking and begging for food and money, the situation is becoming worrisome by the day,’’ she said.
Also commenting, Mr Wasiu Omotunde-Young, the Osun Commissioner of Education, said that the Child Rights Act had been domesticated and implemented in state.
Omotunde –Young said the implementation of the law had started yielding the expected results due to strategies put in place by the state government.
According to him, government has put in place a programme -Responsible Parenting in Parental Responsibilities (REPAIRS) aimed at sensitising parents on the benefits of good parenting and the advantages of educating their children.
Omotunde-Young also said the number of children out of school had reduced significantly due to measures put in place to implement the Act.
Also speaking, Alhaja Latifat Giwa, the state’s Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, said government had invested billions of naira in its quest to minimise the rate of school dropout in the state.
In Ekiti, the Commissioner of Information and Youth Development, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi , warned that parents and guardians who infringe on the rights of children would be prosecuted in line with provisions of the Child Rights Law of 2006.

He affirmed that the state’s Child Rights Law (2006) prohibits all forms of child abuse including child labour, trafficking, rape and prostitution, adding that parents must not molest, intimidate or frustrate their children.

According to him, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) and the state’s Child Rights Implementation Committee (SCRIC) were monitoring cases of child abuse in the state for action.

He noted that NAPTIP and SCRIC comprised of representatives of the Police, Nigeria Immigration Service, Department of State Services as well as Child Development Desk Officers in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Social Development and Gender Empowerment.
Ogunsuyi said they would refer cases of violations to the family court where cases are determined and offenders punished accordingly.

The commissioner acknowledged the efforts of Gov. Ayo Fayose and his wife, Feyisetan, on their quick response to issues affecting children welfare in the state.

He also urged parents and other stakeholders to partner with government to protect the rights of the children.

NAN reports that the Child Rights Act of 2003 was domesticated in Ekiti in 2006 and no fewer than 73 persons had been convicted for contravening the law.
A case worthy of note is that of Mr Taiwo Ajayi, a former Vice-Principal of St. Mary Girls Grammar School, Ikole –Ekiti, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a 12-year old pupil.
Also speaking, Mr Oluwaniyi Ogunleye, the Director of Child Development in the Ondo State Ministry of Woman Affairs and Social Development, believe that full implementation of the Child Rights Act would go a long way in protecting every child against all manner of unlawful activities.
Ogunleye, who said that violence against children include sexual abuse, child labour and molestation, disclosed that a major problem in the implementation of the Act is the fact that many people do not know where to seek redress in case of an infringement.
“Fortunately, the Child Rights Act has been domesticated in most of our states, so we have that law as extant and as existing although the problem now is that of how effective it is.
“The effectiveness of a law is dependent on how much of it you know and how much of it you resort to,” he said.
But in Kwara, Mrs Anthonia Oshiniwe, the Coordinator of Child Protection Network a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), lamented that due to ineffective implementation of the Act in the state, children hawkers are back on the streets across the state.

Oshiniwe said that there was a point in time when there were no children hawkers in the state because of the commitment of the government towards implementing the law.
She blamed such retrogression to lack of commitment toward full implementation of the Act protecting the children and providing them free education.
Oshiniwe, a legal practitioner said the Child Right Act was facilitated in 2006 by Mrs Toyin Saraki, the wife of the then governor of the state, Dr Bukola Saraki.
She noted that the Act also established a Family Court as required by law to protect children from any kind of physical, mental or emotional abuse.
The lawyer, however, expressed regret that the Family Court was subsequently merged with Magistrate Court which appeared retrogressive.
She also faulted the 17 years age limit for minors to be considered under the Child Rights Act in the state, saying that the national level was put at 18.
According to her, a case of rape involving a 17 years old girl that was defiled was dismissed from being considered a defilement of a minor because she was 17 years.
She also observed that even law enforcement agents do not handle cases of minors with sensitivity, citing cases of 11-year old children being remanded in prison.

According to her, not all juveniles should be remanded in juvenile homes as most homes are not child friendly.
Oshiniwe also noted that as long as there is no free education in Kwara, there would always be cases of child hawkers who abscond from school to provide for the family.
She therefore advised the state government to prevent schools from collecting Parents Teachers Association (PTA) money, adding that this could prevent children from going to school.
Also speaking, Mr Kehinde Egbeolowo, the Director of Child Development Services in Ogun Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, said the state was the first to domesticate the Child Right Law in 2004.

Egbeolowo, however, said the Juvenile Justice System Administration addendum of the law was omitted but later sent to the state House of Assembly for passage into law.

According to him, although the addendum had been passed and assented to by the governor it is yet to be gazetted.

“The Child Right Law is fully being implemented in the state through the Children and Young Persons Law of the state.

“We don’t want to implement an incomplete law because of some flaws that is why it was amended and assented to by the governor and waiting to be gazetted.

“Pending the time it will be gazetted by the Ministry of Justice, we are still using the Children and Young Persons Law since it is in the public domain,” he said.

The director also said the state has zero tolerance for children roaming the streets during school hours.

He said a resolution had been passed at the state’s Children’s Parliament to ensure that children were always in school at the appropriate time, adding: “It is being conscientiously enforced.”

“We have been able to sensitise parents in one of the three senatorial districts and plans are underway to replicate same in the remaining two.

“We have made arrests on several occasions over the issue of children who were found hawking during school hours.

“We have the yellow and the red cards and if a child is found on the street during school hours and arrested three times, he or she will be handed the yellow card.

“Subsequently, the child will be issued a red card and the parents will be arrested and prosecuted,” he added. (NAN)

– Jun. 19, 2018 @ 15:59 GMT |

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