I say thank you to the ROTDOW team for the opportunity to speak to this distinguished audience.

Considering our topic, I would start with the definition of a child. A Child according to Convention on the Rights of a child, says childhood is separate from Adulthood and it lasts until the age of eighteen. This Convention has been ratified by Nigeria therefore, the principles enshrined were adopted in Nigeria as the Child’s Rights Act (CRA) in 2003.

Prior to the 2003 Child Rights Act, Nigerian child protection was defined by the Children and Young People’s Act (CYPA), a law relating primarily to juvenile justice.  Therefore, we needed a promotion and protection of the children as only opposed to when they are found on the wrong side of the law.

The Nigerian child is protected under the Child’s Right Act and the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. These laws are put in place to ensure that a child is treated properly and with dignity.

My question to you is do children have rights, especially in Nigeria? Well they do. The aim of this webinar is for us all, to see where we come in the promotion, preservation and protection of the rights of Nigerian children. The rights are numerous we will however discuss as time would permit us.

Best interests of the child:
All decisions regarding the child should be taken in the best interest of that child. This is a right. It’s a child’s right to have his interest, taking into account for any decision to be made. Government, court and parents are responsible for this.

Name and Nationality:
Children must be registered when they are born and given a name which is officially recognized by the government. Children must have a nationality (belong to a country).

Keeping families together:
Children should not be separated from their parents unless they are not being properly looked after – for example, if a parent hurts or does not take care of a child. Children whose parents don’t live together should stay in contact with both parents unless this might harm the child.

Protection from kidnapping: Governments must stop children being taken out of the country when this is against the law – for example, being kidnapped by someone or held abroad by a parent when the other parent does not agree. The law provides penalty against this right.

Right to survival and development: Survival can be ensuring the child has a roof over his head, food to eat, and also protected from danger at all times. Development includes education, every child has the right to an education so as to develop him\her mentally.

Right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly: every child is entitled to free association and peaceful assembly. This right is however subject to guidance from parents or guardians. A parent may dictate the association of a child where it is in the best interest of the child.

Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion: a child is entitled to his own thought, conscience and religion, but this is also subject to guidance from parents.

Right to freedom of movement: This right is also subject to supervision from parents and guardians which is in the best interest of the child.

Right to freedom from discrimination: every child has a right to be free from discrimination, be it the circumstances of his birth, his legitimacy, his race, social status. In the southern part of Nigeria, some persons are tagged ‘OSU’ or outcast and are not allowed to mix with the normal citizens or buy or sell to them, or even marry from within them. This tradition has been upheld as repugnant to natural justice and good conscience and it is illegal to deny any person his rights as a human being by virtue of this tradition. This right also covers traditions that discriminate against female children and deny them the property of their parents after the demise of their parents.

Right to dignity of the child: every child is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person and no child should be subjected to:

• Physical, mental and emotional abuse, neglect, maltreatment including sexual abuse. Defilement of a child carries a strict penalty.
• Subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This can include punishments like inserting pepper in the private parts of children, burning them with hot water or fire, cutting of their fingers to teach them a lesson.
• Subjected to attacks upon his honor or reputation.
• Held in slavery or servitude while in the care of the parents, legal guardian or school authority having the care of the child. This includes sending the child of a school age to hawk on major roads, using a child under 18 years as domestic help which is very popular in these parts, using the child to beg for alms, prostitution, for pornographic purposes.

Right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities: every child is entitled to rest and leisure as these help the development of the child. Yes, children should play.

Right to health and health services: every child is entitled to enjoy the best attainable state of physical, mental and spiritual health. The government must provide medical assistance, reduce infant mortality rate, and ensure provision of adequate nutrition and drinking water. Sadly, today, the government has failed in providing these basic amenities, irrespective of the promises they make during election campaigns.

Right to parental care, protection and maintenance
Right to free, compulsory and universal primary education.

Rights of the unborn child to protection against harm: a child may bring an action for damages against a person for harm of injury caused to the child willfully or recklessly, negligently or through neglect. This can apply to persons born with sickle cell anemia who wish to sue their parents for willfully producing him/her knowing fully well that the product of their marriage will be Sickle cell anemia. Also person who are born with defects caused by neglect or negligence on the part of the parents.

Respect for children’s views:
Children have the right to give their opinions freely on issues that affect them. Adults should listen and take children seriously.

Sharing thoughts freely:
Children have the right to share freely with others what they learn, think and feel, by talking, drawing, writing or in any other way unless it harms other people.

Protection of privacy:
Every child has the right to privacy. The law must protect children’s privacy, family, home, communications and reputation (or good name) from any attack. No blogger or person is allowed to tarnish the reputation of children.

Access to information:
Children have the right to get information from the Internet, radio, television, newspapers, books and other sources. Adults should make sure the information they are getting is not harmful. Governments should encourage the media to share information from lots of different sources, in languages that all children can understand.

Protection from violence:
Children have a right to be protected from violence, abuse and being neglected by anyone who looks after them. The Government is to see to the actualization of this right.

Refugee children:
Children who move from their home country to another country as refugees (because it was not safe for them to stay there) should get help and protection and have the same rights as children born in that country.

Children with disabilities:
Every child with a disability should enjoy the best possible life in society. Governments should remove all obstacles for children with disabilities to become independent and to participate actively in the community.

Health, water, food, environment:
Children have the right to the best health care possible, clean water to drink, healthy food and a clean and safe environment to live in. All adults and children should have information about how to stay safe and healthy.

Food, clothing, a safe home:
Children have the right to food, clothing and a safe place to live so they can develop in the best possible way. The government should help families and children who cannot afford this.

Minority culture, language and religion:
Children have the right to use their own language, culture and religion – even if these are not shared by most people in the country where they live.

Protection from harmful work:
Children have the right to be protected from doing work that is dangerous or bad for their education, health or development. If children work, they have the right to be safe and paid fairly.

Protection from harmful drugs:
Governments must protect children from taking, making, carrying or selling harmful drugs.

Protection from sexual abuse/ child marriage and betrothal:
The government should protect children from sexual exploitation (being taken advantage of) and sexual abuse, including by people forcing children to have sex for money, or making sexual pictures or films of them, and also protect them from marriage and betrothal which is adult engagements.

Children in detention:
Children who are accused of breaking the law should not be killed, tortured, treated cruelly, put in prison forever, or put in prison with adults. Prison should always be the last choice and only for the shortest possible time. Children in prison should have legal help and be able to stay in contact with their family.

Protection in war: Children have the right to be protected during war. No child under 15 can join the army or take part in war.

Right to their own a clean body:
It is against the law to tattoo or mark the skin of a child, any person who tattoos or makes a skin mark on a child commits an offence under the Act and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand naira or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Exposing a child to the use or trafficking of narcotics is a serious crime and any person found guilty is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life. Employing a child for the facilitation of criminal acts is also an offence under the Act and any person found guilty is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of fourteen years.

Why CRA must be domesticated in all states
Following the adoption of the Child Right Act, though the legislation was put in place by the federal government, states are meant to adopt and pass the Act into state laws before it can take effect. It is sad that in Nigeria, not all states have done this. In fact, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 11 northern states in Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have not domesticated the Child Rights Act (CRA)

Let us reflect on the recent case of Ese Oruru. Ese was in the news in 2015 after the story of her abduction by Yinusa was widely reported. Yinusa had met the 14 -year-old Ese at her mother’s shop where he and his peers go to buy food. He abducted and took her to Kano on August 12th, 2015 where he forcefully married her and had her name changed to Aisha after she was converted to a Muslim. After months of outcry from her parents and Human rights activists, she was returned to Bayelsa in March 2016, pregnant with a child. She was delivered of her baby girl on May 26th, 2016.

In the above scenario, let me list some of the rights that were violated. 1. Her best interest was not put into consideration here by Yinusa and even the Emir who had tried to resolve the case while at Kano. 2, she was abducted contrary to section 47 of the CRA which made her abductor liable to a fine of seventy thousand naira, and or three years imprisonment or both. 3, child marriage contrary to section 23 of CRA. He is liable to either pay a fine of 500k or spend five years in imprisonment or both. 4, unlawful sexual intercourse, because it’s a minor, it amounts to rape. This is found in section 31 of the Act and punishment is imprisonment for life. 5. Forceful change of religion, etc. the rights infringed were numerous.

Yinusa was arrested and arraigned in court on charges bordering on child trafficking, child abuse, rape, kidnap, infringement of right of religion, and holding a person against their will. After four years of litigation, he was convicted and sentenced him to 26 years in prison.  This may be a major victory however many cases go unnoticed. Think about all the children that have been reported missing.

In conclusion
“The rights of the child must be made known to everyone in order to ensure full protection and adoption of the Act, as laws because

Children are individuals. Children are neither the possessions of parents nor of the state, nor are they mere people-in-the-making; they have equal status as members of the human family.

Children are dependent beings. Children must rely on adults for the nurture and guidance they need to grow towards independence. Such nurture is ideally found from adults in children’s families, but when primary adult caregivers cannot meet children’s needs, it is up to the State as the primary duty bearer to find an alternative in the best interests of the child.

Many changes in society are having a disproportionate, and often negative, impact on children Transformation of the family structure, globalization, climate change, digitization, mass migration, shifting employment patterns and a shrinking social welfare net in many countries all have strong impacts on children. The impact of these changes can be particularly devastating in situations of armed conflict and other emergencies.

The healthy development of children is crucial to the future well-being of any society because they are still developing, children are especially vulnerable – more so than adults – to poor living conditions such as poverty, inadequate health care, nutrition, safe water, housing and environmental pollution. The effects of disease, malnutrition and poverty threaten the future of children and therefore the future of the societies in which they live.

The costs to society of failing its children are huge. Social research findings show that children’s earliest experiences significantly influence their future development. The course of their development determines their contribution, or cost, to society over the course of their lives.

The rights of children can be easily enforced in states that have domesticated the Act into its state’s laws. However, the good thing about the right of children is that, even if a state does not domesticate it, it can be enforced as Fundamental Human Rights. Therefore, child right activists, the ball is in your court. Go promote, protect and preserve the rights of children.

Thank you all for the opportunity.

Facilitated by Barr. Oluwabukola Omolona.