Opinion
What Future For The Nigerian Child?
Children are the gift from God. This expression aptly explains why couples who are yet to get this blessing from God in their marriage constantly besiege God for the gift. They can go extra mile to have children. Children are the gift from God.
In the old African communal setting, a child may be born to a particular family, but the child belongs to the entire community as every member of that community is bound in conscience to ensure the social, physical, economic, and spiritual well being, growth and development of the child.
For the Igbo people in south eastern Nigeria, the importance of the child is expressed in the kind of names like Nwadiuto meaning child is sweet, Nwabueze meaning child is king etc.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI says, “Children are gift from God to humanity, and they must be the object of particular concern on the part of their families, the church, society and governments, for they are source of renewed life”
In trying to safeguard the future of the children often referred to as the leaders of tomorrow, Nigerian leaders adopted and ratified the United Nations conventions on the rights of the child, as well as the African Union Charter on the rights and welfare of the child.
The Act states that children have rights and that their confidence and self esteem are to be restored and improved upon. It provides that children with some form of disability should enjoy the same rights and privileges as other children and also ensures that they are adequately protected in order to boost their self confidence. These are what ought to be.
The Child’s Right Act which was passed into law in 2003 would have provided all that is needed to put the Nigerian child in a comparative advantage over their fellow children from other parts of the world, but it has continued to suffer from poor education and enlightenment of the rural populace where majority of the children are found. It is predicted that even at the end of 2012, nine years after the passage of the Child’s Right Act into law, the 36 States may not have passed the act. What this portends is that children are being harassed, molested, abused by adults without knowing that they have rights to be protected and without any form of molestation.
It is a common feature on the major streets of our cities, how children are used for all kinds of dehumanising activities including hawking in the traffic during school hours, street begging, etc. Other children are used as house-helps in many homes and in such homes; they are not only denied formal education, they are also made to work so hard and eat very little and in some cases, they are subjected to sexual molestation by their supposed boss.
Given the high level of poverty in the land, an estimated one million Nigerian children are on the streets across the country,and government provision for the homeless children has remained grossly inadequate.
Before now, child abuse and child labour was majorly associated with children who are not living with their biological parents, but today, with the constant sky- rocketing cost of living and most parents not been able to meet their daily needs, children are now been co-opted to enhance the chances of putting food on the table for the family.
Another aspect of what the Nigerian child faces is the illicit exposure to the recent developments in the information technology. Many parents saturate their homes with internet enabled phones and computers. All these are illicit because many of the contents are not suitable for children, and if the children must use the internet, they should be supervised by their parents to ensure that their morality is not destroyed as that is the greatest form of child abuse.
Meanwhile, many Nigerian children whose parents live in the city, and are civil servants, workers in the private sector as well as individual business owners, are constantly abusing their children by leaving the nurturing of their children in the hands of house-helps and computers in search of “better life for the children”.
The question is, what is the government’s plan for the thousands of children of school age roaming about in many cities especially in the northern part of Nigeria? How can parents and guardians who use children for all sorts of economic activities be brought to book? What can the government do to ensure that the moral foundation of the children are adequately taken care of as it is the only way to ensure a better future for the society?
Kingsley is of the Communication Dept, Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt
Izejiobi Kingsley
From all indications, Nigeria possesses enough human and material resources to become a true economic powerhouse in Africa. According to the National Population Commission (NPC, 2023), the country’s population has grown steadily within the last decade, presently standing at about 220 million people—mostly young, vibrant, and innovative. Nigeria also remains the sixth-largest oil producer in the world, with enormous reserves of gas, fertile agricultural land, and human capital.
Yet, despite this enormous potential, the country continues to grapple with underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment, and insecurity. Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, 2023) show that about 129 million Nigerians currently live below the poverty line. Most families can no longer afford basic necessities, even as the government continues to project a rosy economic picture.
The Subsidy Question
The removal of fuel subsidy in 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been one of the most controversial policy decisions in Nigeria’s recent history. According to the president, subsidy removal was designed to reduce fiscal burden, unify the foreign exchange rate, attract investment, curb inflation, and discourage excessive government borrowing.
While these objectives are theoretically sound, the reality for ordinary Nigerians has been severe hardship. Fuel prices more than tripled, transportation costs surged, and food inflation—already high—rose above 30% (NBS, 2023). The World Bank (2023) estimates that an additional 7.1 million Nigerians were pushed into poverty after subsidy removal.
A Critical Economic View
As an economist, I argue that the problem was not subsidy removal itself—which was inevitable—but the timing, sequencing, and structural gaps in Nigeria’s implementation.
- Structural Miscalculation
Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries remain nonfunctional. By removing subsidies without local refining capacity, the government exposed the economy to import-price pass-through effects—where global oil price shocks translate directly into domestic inflation. This was not just a timing issue but a fundamental policy miscalculation.
- Neglect of Social Safety Nets
Countries like Indonesia (2005) and Ghana (2005) removed subsidies successfully only after introducing cash transfers, transport vouchers, and food subsidies for the poor (World Bank, 2005). Nigeria, however, implemented removal abruptly, shifting the fiscal burden directly onto households without protection.
- Failure to Secure Food and Energy Alternatives
Fuel subsidy removal amplified existing weaknesses in agriculture and energy. Instead of sequencing reforms, government left Nigerians without refinery capacity, renewable energy alternatives, or mechanized agricultural productivity—all of which could have cushioned the shock.
Political and Public Concerns
Prominent leaders have echoed these concerns. Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, described the subsidy removal as “good but wrongly timed.” Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party also faulted the government’s hasty approach. Human rights activists like Obodoekwe Stive stressed that refineries should have been made functional first, to reduce the suffering of citizens.
This is not just political rhetoric—it reflects a widespread economic reality. When inflation climbs above 30%, when purchasing power collapses, and when households cannot meet basic needs, the promise of reform becomes overshadowed by social pain.
Broader Implications
The consequences of this policy are multidimensional:
- Inflationary Pressures – Food inflation above 30% has made nutrition unaffordable for many households.
- Rising Poverty – 7.1 million Nigerians have been newly pushed into poverty (World Bank, 2023).
- Middle-Class Erosion – Rising transport, rent, and healthcare costs are squeezing household incomes.
- Debt Concerns – Despite promises, government borrowing has continued, raising sustainability questions.
- Public Distrust – When government promises savings but citizens feel only pain, trust in leadership erodes.
In effect, subsidy removal without structural readiness has widened inequality and eroded social stability.
Missed Opportunities
Nigeria’s leaders had the chance to approach subsidy removal differently:
- Refinery Rehabilitation – Ensuring local refining to reduce exposure to global oil price shocks.
- Renewable Energy Investment – Diversifying energy through solar, hydro, and wind to reduce reliance on imported petroleum.
- Agricultural Productivity – Mechanization, irrigation, and smallholder financing could have boosted food supply and stabilized prices.
- Social Safety Nets – Conditional cash transfers, food vouchers, and transport subsidies could have protected the most vulnerable.
Instead, reform came abruptly, leaving citizens to absorb all the pain while waiting for theoretical long-term benefits.
Conclusion: Reform With a Human Face
Fuel subsidy removal was inevitable, but Nigeria’s approach has worsened hardship for millions. True reform must go beyond fiscal savings to protect citizens.
Economic policy is not judged only by its efficiency but by its humanity. A well-sequenced reform could have balanced fiscal responsibility with equity, ensuring that ordinary Nigerians were not crushed under the weight of sudden change.
Nigeria has the resources, population, and resilience to lead Africa’s economy. But leadership requires foresight. It requires policies that are inclusive, humane, and strategically sequenced.
Reform without equity is displacement of poverty, not development. If Nigeria truly seeks progress, its policies must wear a human face.
References
- National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). (2023). Poverty and Inequality Report. Abuja.
- National Population Commission (NPC). (2023). Population Estimates. Abuja.
- World Bank. (2023). Nigeria Development Update. Washington, DC.
- World Bank. (2005). Fuel Subsidy Reforms: Lessons from Indonesia and Ghana. Washington, DC.
- OPEC. (2023). Annual Statistical Bulletin. Vienna.
By: Amarachi Amaugo