The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Barrister (Mrs) Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye has advocated for stiff penalties for perpetrators of child abuse with a view to serving as deterrent to potential offenders.
The Minister made the call Thursday in Abuja at Nigeria’s National Preparatory Meeting for the 1st Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children scheduled to hold in Begota, Colombia from 7th – 8th November, 2024.
She stated that until swift legal actions are taken against child abusers, the present outcry by Nigerians against maltreatment of children will not be taken seriously by those who practice it.
Justice is the major thing you can use to curb this violence against children. When we have justice, that means we have consequences, whoever that commits, whoever that maltreats a child will go in for it legally, as is the practise in the western world.
Now I have a mobile court which has been approved by the Nigerian Governors Forum. Part of the funds raised from the Nigeria For Women Empowerment Programme held on Tuesday this week will be used to buy a bus that will be converted to a court. It will move around to serve justice to the people. This time around, the court will come to you, you won’t need to go to the court, she said.
Kennedy-Ohanenye who explained that the mobile court is meant to ensure that justice is served quicker for the maintenance of law and order, especially on issues that concern women and children, noted that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration recognises children as the future of the nation and is therefore totally committed to creating a secure environment that will enable them develop and exhibit their potentials in all fields of human endeavour, in line with contemporary global realities.
Our children are the pride of the nation’s future and as such, every attempt to endanger their well-being physically, mentally and psychologically is totally unacceptable because it is capable of truncating the present administration’s goal of ensuring a new lease of life for all Nigerians, especially, the children, women and the vulnerable in society, the Minister stressed.
In his presentation, the Honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu stated that concerted efforts must be made by both the public and private sectors against all forms of deprivation of the rights of children in order to ensure a peaceful nation.
Let us confront our reality, we are not growing at the rate we want to grow, we are not investing at the rate we want to invest, we’re not generating opportunities for our children, so let’s deny ourselves, let’s embrace, even if it is a temporary choice that will cause hardship so that our children will have a better future that will make them proud about us, he said.
Senator Bagugu added that the present administration was totally committed to the upliftment of the lives of children as is reflected in its budget on education and health, sports, among others.
While emphasizing on the need for society to create a sense of belonging for children living with disabilities, he added that any act that is capable of making them unable to achieve their goals is also violence.
Also speaking, the Speaker of the FCT Children’s Parliament, Rt. Hon. Rahama Waziri stated that avenues should be created for children to lodge their complaints without punishment.
She added that Nigerian children are all counting on the government and society, not only for child centred developmental policies but also for the creation of an enabling environment for the physical, mental and psychological advancement of every Nigerian child.
Highlights of the meeting include panel discussions from relevant MDAs on their story and perspectives on progress towards the achievement of SDG 16.2 and goodwill messages from Non-Governmental Organisations and Development Partners, among others.
Signed
Mrs. Grace Njoku
Head, Information and Public Relations
