Rep. Stella Ngwu (Enugu-PDP), the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, said the committee would engage state Houses of Assembly towards domestication of Child Rights Act.
Ngwu spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at a two-day Conference on Plight of Street Children in Nigeria,’’ organised by Iykon Global Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
The lawmaker said that the committee would partner Chairmen of Women Affairs and Social Development Committees in the 36 states Houses of Assembly in order to achieve the goal.
According to her, the synergy would ensure modalities for domestication of the Child Rights Act in all the states in the country.
Ngwu also said that the committee would partner with a gender-based NGO, Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL) to drive the implementation of Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act as well as the Child Rights Act.
However, Sen. Magnus Abe, who spoke, said that the issue of street children be taken beyond domestication of Act.
Abe argued that even without an Act, Nigerians knew what was good for the children.
“The focus on which states have passed and which states have not domesticated the Child Rights Act is important but not the most important issue in dealing with rights of children in this country.
“I think the first thing is for the nations where the law has been passed, and states that have domesticated the law to begin proper implementation of the law.
“So that it begins to have positive effects on the lives of the children.
“From the states that have passed the law, we can easily show the difference on the lives of children in those states, as against what those who are in the states that have not passed it are suffering.
“But currently, there is no real difference in the lives of children in the states that have passed the law and those that have not passed it,’’ Abe stated.
Also, wife of Taraba governor, Mrs Ann Darius Ishaku said the lives of street children in the country are vulnerable to danger.
She urged stakeholders to do everything possible to save them and give them a brighter future like other children living in their respective homes.
According to her, Taraba domesticated the Child Rights Act since 2005.
National Coordinator of Iykon Global Foundation, Chief Ikechukwu Nwonu said the conference was aimed at sensitising governments at all levels on the need to evolve a national policy on reclaiming and rehabilitating street children.
Nwonu said the foundation was committed to partnering with state governments to establish reclamation centres for street children across the country.
He said that the NGO was targeting two categories of street children, and listed them as on the street children and in the street children.
“On the street children-those who are on the street but might have very poor parents and go home after their vending for the day.
“In the street children-those children who don’t have parents and even where to go after vending.
So, we intend to reclaim them, cater and rehabilitate them.
But you know as NGO we have our limitations; ours is to facilitate and drive the process; we expect state governments to get well involved.
We are also working out how to get the reclaimed children properly engaged in agricultural activities,’’ Nwonu stressed.
He pointed out that the NGO would soon ascertain the number of street children in all the states through a nation-wide survey.
In a paper titled “The vulnerability of street children and its effects on national development”, Prof. Franklin Nwagbara, stressed that “every child is entitled to a meaningful childhood.’’
Nwagbara of the University of Abuja, said that, sadly many children do not have that opportunity.
“On the streets, children lose their rights to emotional, physical and social development.
They lack quality healthcare, sound education and positive uplifting recreation.
Without the security and comfort of a home, they are exposed to cruelty, abuse and exploitation,’’ he added.
(NAN)
