• Nigerian child paying for bureaucracy, ineptitude
• UBEC boss laments unutilised intervention funds
• Demand stronger action against bullying in schools
• Foundation advocates free cancer treatment for children
As Nigeria joins in the celebration of this year’s Children’s Day, stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to prioritise the rights and welfare of children in the country.
They emphasised the need to create a safe environment, devoid of violence and bullying, for children to evolve into resourceful, creative and patriotic adults.
The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Little Footsteps, Big future’. Nigeria has a young population. About 42 per cent of the 223 million is under 15 years old, while 70 per cent is under 30, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Worried over the continued inability of states to access funding from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which is intended to improve public schools, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, expressed worry over states’ failure to provide matching funds, causing billions of naira to remain unclaimed and contributing to infrastructure shortages in schools despite government’s plan to facilitate the release of a five-year backlog in unused basic education grants.
As of December 2024, 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had yet to access N263 billion in UBE matching grants for 2024. Speaking yesterday at the 26th Quarterly Review Meeting with the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Makurdi, Benue State, Garba emphasised the urgency of addressing unutilised and unaccessed UBEC intervention funds.
“Are we doing enough?” she asked, not as a rhetorical question, but as a direct call to action. She insisted that the Nigerian child could not continue to pay the price for institutional delays and inefficiencies.
“This meeting is not just another routine engagement,” she said. “We are confronting the real barriers to access and equity in basic education.”
A major highlight of the meeting was the unveiling of a new template for accessing UBEC intervention funds by states.
According to Aisha Garba, this framework aims to improve efficiency, accountability, and transparency in how education funds are accessed and deployed.She urged all stakeholders to commit to transforming every naira allocated into visible and measurable outcomes that benefit Nigerian children.
This was as Save the Children International (SCI) sought urgent and coordinated efforts to tackle bullying in schools. Country Director of the non-governmental organisation, Duncan Harvey, noted that bullying poses a serious threat to child protection and development.
Harvey urged government institutions, schools, parents and communities to strengthen prevention and response strategies that safeguard children from violence.
He emphasised the need for schools to establish and enforce anti-bullying policies, foster cultures of empathy and inclusion, and ensure teachers are trained in conflict resolution, respectful communication and positive discipline.
The director also called on parents to maintain open communication with their children, model respectful behaviour, and actively collaborate with schools to address bullying incidents.
Similarly, Mrs Abimbola Bankole, while urging the government to prioritise children’s welfare, said, “This is imperative to drive the country’s progress.”
Bankole, who is the Convener of Child for Hope, pointed out that children were the country’s most valuable asset, and should be treated with care.
She identified poverty, lack of access to quality education, and inadequate healthcare as some of the obstacles hindering children’s development.
“Many are forced into child labour, while others are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. These challenges can have long-lasting impacts on their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.” To address these challenges, Bankole called for a collective effort from policymakers, community leaders, parents, and individuals.
Meanwhile, United Capital Asset Management Limited (UCAML), a subsidiary of United Capital Plc, has officially unveiled its latest offering, the Children Investment Fund (CIF). The launch is a reflection of the company’s commitment to supporting long-term financial planning for Nigerian families.
CIF is a naira-denominated, open-ended mutual fund specifically tailored to help parents and guardians plan for essential milestones in a child’s life, such as education, healthcare, and other future capital needs. It provides a professionally managed and disciplined investment structure, aimed at building lasting financial security for the next generation.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of United Capital Asset Management, Dr Odiri Oginni, stressed the importance of early financial planning for children. She explained that the fund was designed to give every child a strong financial foundation, with the flexibility to grow steadily towards a range of future needs.
Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, Peter Ashade, noted that the fund aligned with the group’s broader objectives of promoting financial inclusion, fostering inter-generational wealth, and driving sustainable economic impact.
In the same vein, a delegation from the Nigerian Children’s Parliament also called on the Federal Government to prioritise the protection of the Nigerian child from traffickers and other societal vices.
The group, at a meeting with the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, highlighted the challenges confronting Nigerian children to include poverty, abuse, exploitation, lack of access to education and healthcare, stigma and social exclusion, and called for collective action to safeguard children’s rights
Led by the Speaker of the Parliament, Progress Friday-Umoh, the group said “it is time” to move away from mere promises and give them protection, platforms and power.
Also, the Head of Management at Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, Dr Ozy Okonokhua, called on the Nigerian government to prioritise childhood cancer by making treatment completely free, or at least highly subsidised for all diagnosed children.
Okonokhua emphasised that the financial burden on families, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, is one of the greatest obstacles in managing childhood cancer in Nigeria.
