President Muhammadu Buhari has facilitated with Nigerian children, and stressed the need for parents and school proprietors to prioritise their safety. In a message to mark this year’s Children’s Day, yesterday, the President reiterated federal government’s commitment to the protection of children. He said 8.2 million children were currently being fed by the federal government in schools across the country. 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 we are committed to the school feeding programme, to prepare a future generation of physically and intellectually robust children. At the last count, over 8.2 million children in 24 states of the federation are being given free meals daily. “This happens in 45,000 schools round the country. I, therefore, call on all stakeholders to support this programme to ensure that all the 36 States of the Federation and FCT are covered. This will promote substantially higher enrolment levels in our schools “Since its inception in May, 2015, this Administration has also focused attention on addressing issues of child protection, participation and survival. In 2015, the campaign to end violence against children was launched which was commemorated in 2016.
In November 2016, the Campaign to End Child Marriage was also launched to ensure that as many children as possible are able to fully enjoy their childhood and be protected from all the challenges associated with this phenomenon. These campaigns have been reinforced with sensitisation campaigns in some States of the Federation.”
The President said the present administration has made giant strides in the protection of the rights of the Nigerian child “and as a result of such efforts, Nigeria has been declared a Pathfinding Country on Ending Violence Against Children.” He said in an effort to protect children from abuse, exploitation and trafficking as well as provide safe, nonviolent inclusive and effective learning environment, the present administration has directed the management of all Federal Government Colleges and advised all stateowned schools across the country to provide adequate measures of safety and security of their students.
