As Nigeria commemorates Children’s Day, Archbishop Josef Bassey, the Archbishop of Calabar and Spiritual Leader of God’s Heritage Nation, has issued a stark warning about the dire condition of Nigerian children, describing them as “a people under siege” in a nation he says is rapidly turning its back on its future.

In a statement released from his Calabar office, the archbishop decried what he called the systemic neglect of the country’s youngest citizens, highlighting a host of challenges ranging from mass poverty and moral collapse to insecurity and the breakdown of governance.

“Across our land, from the rural hamlets of Zamfara to the urban slums of Lagos, millions of children wake up daily in hunger, go to bed in fear, and live each moment under the weight of a future that is fast slipping out of their reach,” he said.

Citing Nigeria’s estimated 18.5 million out-of-school children, Archbishop Bassey described the statistic as more than a national embarrassment—it is, he said, a damning indictment of the country’s failure to safeguard its future.

“The Nigerian child is endangered—by poverty that strips them of hope, by moral decay, and by institutional failure that offers them neither protection nor opportunity,” he declared.

Archbishop Bassey, who also serves as President of the Cross River Christian Leaders Forum, used the occasion to issue a nationwide and international call to action. He urged the President of Nigeria to declare a National Emergency on Child Welfare and Protection, proposing the immediate launch of what he termed a National Child Rescue Agenda.

“We need a rescue agenda—not tomorrow, but today,” he emphasised.

He also called on state governors, legislators, traditional rulers, religious leaders and international development partners to go beyond ceremonial rhetoric and take measurable action.

“This is not the time to celebrate with balloons and branded T-shirts while ignoring the reality. Children’s Day must not become a ceremonial distraction. It must become a national conscience day,” he said.

Addressing the role of parents and families, Archbishop Bassey lamented the spiritual and moral void being left in the lives of many young people, pointing to the damaging influence of unregulated media content and the breakdown of the traditional family structure.

“The child you fail today will become the crisis you cannot cure tomorrow,” he warned.

He concluded with a call for collective responsibility across all sectors of society, describing the situation as a test of the nation’s conscience.

“Let it be said that we awoke in time to save the seed. Let Nigeria not be remembered as the nation that buried her best before they ever blossomed,” he said.

Archbishop Bassey is widely known for his prophetic leadership, humanitarian interventions and education advocacy. His Children’s Day message adds to the growing chorus of voices calling for urgent reform and renewed national focus on the plight of Nigerian children.