01062019 - APC lawmakers move against party

28 — SATURDAY Vanguard, JUNE 1, 2019
Delegation of Parental roles
By Ebunoluwa Sessou,
Florence Amagiya and
Elizabeth Uwandu
WHEN baby Tire was
born three months
ago, there was
enthusiasm. Everybody was
happy. Even the baby herself felt
the joy. Her mother was always
there for her. When she cries, her
mother was there to cuddle her.
From cradle, she could
experience the love. Mummy
was always around to take care
of her and attend to her needs.
For her, the poem, “Who sat
and watched my infant head
When sleeping on my cradle
bed, And tears of sweet affection
shed? My Mother”, comes freely
as the day goes by.
Unfortunately, baby Tire could
no longer get the attention of her
mother. It is because; her mother
had to resume work after three
months of her maternity leave.
Tire was now left in the care of
the crèche manager and the
house help. She stays in the
crèche for nine hours and then in
the hands of the house help for
six hours. So, between 7 am and
9 pm, baby Tire is never with her
mother.
She lives her life depending on
external forces. She only feels
the touch of her mother between
10pm and 6am. This is the story
of an average Nigerian child.
This scenario simply pictured
that a Nigerian child suffers
quality parenting care.
Whereas the relationship that
is supposed to exist between the
child and the mother as
described by Child Protection
Specialist, UNICEF, Nigeria
Sharon Oladiji, is such that is
embeded with love and care.
Speaking in a phone interview
with WW, Oladiji explained that,
“There are mothers and there are
mothers. There are mothers who
give birth to children and
abandon them. There are
mothers that give birth to
children and do not care for the
child. There are mothers that do
not have the capacity to take care
of the child. And there are
mothers who are from very poor
community that are illiterate that
do not know what it takes to take
care of a child and we have good
mothers, kind mothers who will
do anything to raise their
children and everything we are
talking about start from the
beginning.
“For me, we have seen lots of
mothers who are less concerned
about their children. I have a
mother that taught me
everything as a child. Every
mother should ensure that she
becomes good mother to her
child. Every mother should
aspire to be a role model to her
child.
“Although, we know that every
mother cannot total care due to
the situation at hand. Or, how do
you explain a woman who gives
birth to a child and yet throw the
her away not knowing what
would happen to that child?
Unfortunately, children are not
given quality time and care and
it is a big issue. This affected the
up bring of the child. Today,
there are cases of suicide
attempts, depression, drug
abuse, and irrational behaviour
among children.
Perhaps, from cradle, the life of
a child is dependent on whether
she is raised in a conducive or
unconducive environment. It
also depends on whether the
child is raised within a loving or
hostile environment.
According to the Child
Protection Specialist, whatever
children see affect them. “Some
of the things around affect the
child. Some of the things that
happen in the family are
generational”, she said
She explained that, a child that
is raised by a single parent
already made up his or her mind
that it is not necessary to have
both parents around you.
“What children are faced with
has a longtime effect in making
up that they would become
tomorrow. Any child from a
loving family cannot behave
irrational and any child from a
dysfunctional family cannot
behave otherwise. The best thing
to do is to make sure we raise
our children in a loving and
conducive environment.
“As mother, we must ensure
that we are re-oriented to be
able to take care of our children.
We should make up our minds to
raise these children better. We
must understand our children.
Today’s children should be
empowered. Every woman
should be empowered.
“Women should empower
themselves. Women have all the
capacity, potentials therefore
they must make use of their
potentials and bring the best out
of their children. We should not
emotionally abuse them.
“We must be able to
understand each child. Some
mothers abuse their children
emotionally. Some mother
transfer aggression on their
children, it is very wrong. I am
talking to women and every
caregiver. How you will rise your
children depend on your
environment. Some of us leave
our children in the care of the so
called god-pastors. No one
should be able to correct our
children more than us”, she
advised.
One of the keynotes for this
year children’s day is the ability
to nurture of our children very
well and make the best out of
them. This assertion was
supported by the child specialist.
Millions of children, many of
whom are unaccompanied or
separated from their families are
being displaced by armed
conflict. These children are at a
high risk of grave violations in
their environment.
Violence against
children
According to the United
Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, “The right of
As mother, we must
ensure that we are
re-oriented to be
able to take care of
our children. We
should make up
our minds to raise
these children
better. We must
understand our
children
children to protection from
violence is enshrined in the
Convention on the Rights of the
Child and yet still one billion
children experience some form
of emotional, physical or sexual
violence every year; and one
child dies from violence every
five minutes.
Violence against children
knows no boundaries of culture,
class or education. It takes place
against children in institutions,
in schools, and at home. Peer
violence is also a concern, as is
the growth in cyber-bullying.
Children exposed to violence
live in isolation, loneliness and
fear, not knowing where to turn
for help, especially when the
perpetrator is someone close.
Children’s gender, disability,
poverty, nationality or religious
origin may all increase the risk
of violence with the youngest
being especially vulnerable as
they are less able to speak up
and seek support.
State of the
World’s Children
Every child has the right to
health, education and protection,
and every society has a stake in
expanding children’s
opportunities in life. Yet, around
the world, millions of children
are denied a fair chance for no
reason other than the country,
gender or circumstances into
which they are born.
The four core principles of the
Convention are nondiscrimination;
devotion to the
best interests of the child; the
right to life, survival and
development; and respect for the
views of the child. Every right
spelled out in the CRC is
inherent to human dignity and
harmonious development of
every child.
Children’s rights includes their
right to association with both
parents, human identity as well
as the basic needs for physical
protection, food, universal statepaid
education, health care, and
criminal laws appropriate for the
age and development of the
child, equal protection of the
child’s civil rights, and freedom.
The Right to a Stable, Loving
and Nurturing Environment. The
Right to Healthcare and
Nutrition. The Right to Clean
Water, Electrical Power, and Safe
Environment. The Right to a
Quality Education. The Right to
Equal Opportunities. The Right
to Guidance from a Caring Adult
are all what the child should
enjoy.
In Nigeria signed the
Convention on the Rights of the
Child in 1991, and with support
from the UNICEF, took steps to
domesticate the UNCRC into a
national law, the Child Rights
Act 2003. The Act consolidated
all laws (including national and
international laws) relating to
children into a single piece of
legislation that specified the
rights and responsibilities of
children, as well as the duties
and obligations of government,
parents and other authorities,
organizations and bodies
towards children. The Act
defines a child as one who has
not attained the age of 18 years,
and the best interests of such a
child shall remain paramount in
all considerations. The Act also
provides that a child shall be
given such protection and care
as is necessary for his or her
wellbeing, and retain the right to
survival and development and to
a name and nationality at birth.
“While celebrating Children’s
Day, we must look ahead to the
future of childhood in this
country, and re-commit to
urgent, specific actions to protect
the rights of every child, now,
and in future generations.”
For founder, Children and the
Environment, CATE foundation,
Adesola Alamutun, said “that it
does not matter if both parents
were working class, provided
both are able to manage their
time.
Her words, “Both of my parents
worked full time and I don’t
believe that it had any negative
effect on me. Children must go to
school and get good education.
“I also grew up having 2
maids, a cook and steward at any
point in time which was very
helpful for my parents. And at no
point in time did I feel neglected
by my parents.
“It’s up to the parents to make
time out for their children -they
might need to get home early for
homework and lunch and go
back to work and take time out
at weekends to spend time
together. Sometimes my father
came home early and then went
back to work.” She said.
The child advocate added that
rather than have a home without
adequate capacity, parents
should make out time to visit
their children schools.
According to environmentalist,
“Parents should find time to go
to schools of their children and
discuss their wellbeing and
welfare issues with their
teachers
“Teachers can also check up
homes of children that are not
performing properly or have
behavioural problems.
She noted that no parent
should be idle. I don’t believe
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