OU Journal: Children’s Score Card

Time is 11.25AM on Wednesday 21^st March 2012, 12 year-old Suliyat from Oyo State is hawking yam tubers in Ajegunle. Her little frame shakes under the heaviness of the load as she calls on a passerby to help offload her burden to enable her take a rest away from the scorching sun. On this same day and time at Pinefield School in Lekki, 12 year-old Teniola is receiving instruction from a certified teacher in a well lit, adequately aired, beautifully arranged classroom overlooking a beautiful garden. On this same day and time in far away Minna, 12 year-old Aliyu armed with a dirty bowl in the midst of his friends - labeled as Almanjeris by the society, walks the street in worn out bathroom slippers, looking to survive the day on the kindness of Good Samaritans who find him worthy of their hard earned Naira.

Three children with stories that thousands of children can relate to depending on what spoon economic privileges have put at our disposal to feed them with. It is a fact that all children should have basic rights - prevention, protection, participation and provision as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (based on the 4 fundamental rights: non-discrimination; best interests of the child; right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child). Unfortunately the interpretation of the law has been forced into the hands of adults who may not be in a situation to support these rights.

It’s another Children’s Day and as a Child Rights Advocate the question on my mind is, is there scorecards for child rights?

Mooted by Rubab Mansoor, a child in 8^th grade, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954, Children’s Day became a globally recognised observance. Nigeria, in respect of the UN’s call for member states to have a day to promote mutual exchange and understanding among children, initiate action to benefit, and promote world’s children and celebrate childhood, chose May 27. May 27 also marks the creation of Lagos State by Decree 14 of 1967 which restructured Nigeria into 12 States.

For children who are fortunate to be in school, at the end of each term, a report sheet is given. This helps the child to see green and grey areas which results in celebration of success or criticism and plan for better outcomes. The report card has become an audit tool for parents as it helps them to determine the subjects children need help with and how to better channel children’s abilities.

Last year, as usual, there were news articles, documentaries, advocacy campaigns as we celebrated the Children’s Day. Again we have come full circle with many more initiatives but are there report sheets or scorecards to measure our projects and programmes for children? Who issues or reviews the scorecard to keep us in line and enable us chart a course in the best interest of children?

The Lagos State Government and a number of organisations have commendable initiatives and projects in the area of education, approved schools and training centres, recreation, institutional care and support to welfare organisations. Yet there have been many unfulfilled promises especially by the government. We have come to a point where we need dedicated and proactive referees to keep our leaders and stakeholders, especially the government and NGOs that receive huge grants on behalf of children, in line with performance scorecards which can be publicly issued at reasonable intervals.

There are a number of awesome initiatives for and about children e.g. The Yellow Card and Red Card which is aimed at ensuring children are in school during school hours and advocate for zero tolerance for child abuse but how well are these initiatives implemented, if implemented at all?

After calling the hotlines for the Yellow Card to no avail, I contacted a member of the Implementation Committee to report a case of hawking by a child during school hours and his response after three weeks of trying to get an active feedback was, “It is only God that will save our government. With all the noise they are making, I called them but have not gotten any positive answer… I will raise [the issue during the next meeting] that there is no machinery for any implementation in Lagos State based on the evidence I have.”

In the United States, where I am presently understudying a system that provides advocacy for abused children, response to issues of child abuse or removal of an abused child is done within 24 hours after which the situation is reviewed. Thereafter, a decision based on the best interest of the child is arrived at within one month and a permanent humane placement, where required, is found for the child within 12 months.

In Nigeria, we have a long list of expectations from children; we remind them they are the leaders of tomorrow, we counsel them on the ills of vices, we sermonise about the virtues of excellence at school and at play, we brandish the Child Rights Act etched on colourful papers; we make endless promises. But while we are still at it, millions walk farther away from education into ignorance, thousands die daily from parental and national neglect, thousands roam our streets having taken flight from hunger, abuse, deprivation, exploitation and dehumanisation, thousands are remanded in homes due to abandonment, thousands are whisked to prison for offences that are the result of a failed society and gradually children’s expectations are beginning to dwindle as they take their future in their hands.

With the help of children, Cares Global Network, publisher of Willows Magazine, drafted the letter below. It was adapted from the UNICEF 1994 Columbia Campaign. Unfortunately we did not have the resources to promote it in the media but it remains a good advocacy tool to call our leaders to action:

Dear Elected Officer,

I am Anike, you do not know me, but I know you. I know you are a very important person who is well liked and respected by our people. I know you are going to be our leader. My mother said that you have promised to do a lot of things for us, and that Nigeria has a lot of money you only need to use the money well. I hope you have me and other children like me in your plan. I would like you to know that we need good schools, clean water, neat environment, nourishing food, quality health care and of course safe places to play. We also need laws to make sure our parents that bring us to this world and adults who adopt or teach us take good care of us and not abuse us. Our problems are many but there are easy solutions that don’t need plenty money, only that you want to do them. I couldn’t vote for you because I am a child. I couldn’t give you my support but you, yes you, can give me yours. Will you?

Thank you!!!

Anike

The Children's Ward of General Hospital, Abeokuta which was in a deplorable state until a 25 years old corps member, Oluwadamilola Olusola, got it renovated in October 2010.

Herbert Hoover who is credited for saying, “Children are our most valuable natural resource”, also made a statement we must guide against, "Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt".

If we school our children on the debris of the quality education we had or leave debts for our children, they will strike back by disrespecting our laws, liquidating our priced resources as they tow the line of corrupt leaders and abandon us when we are too weak to speak for ourselves.

To forestall a breakdown, we need to proactively implement our promises. To ensure implementation, we need honest, objective, fact-based lay reports on the state of our children especially in areas of safety, health and education. This will provide a tool for effective collaboration to ensure that our children's needs are being met. The scorecard will provide a practical foundation on which to track implementation, build initiatives and plan strategies as we work towards the goals of improving our national agenda for children.

This year’s Children’s Day falls on a Sunday; it gives parents, guardians and mentors an opportunity to spend time with and truly participate in the celebration and appreciation of our priceless children.