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Nigeria Pledges Full Domestication Of Child Rights Act
The Federal Government yesterday in Abuja pledged full domestication of the Child Right Act to eliminate child labour in the country.
President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said this when the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Director to Nigeria, Mr Dennis Zulu, visited him to commemorate the 2017 World Day Against Child Labour.
“We want to assure you that the Senate would stand against any form of child labour in the country.
“This is something that we all have agreed that we will reduce to the barest minimum.
“We are all aware of the challenges, which are lack of advocacy and better understanding of issues and we would not be deterred of our responsibilities.
“The Senate as part of the Children Day celebration, had a round table discussion with members of States Assembly across the country looking at where we are at the Child Right Act of 2003.
“Some states are yet to domesticate it, but we got some commitment and we are working very hard to see that before next year the act will be fully domesticated in the states,” according to him.
He noted that during the meeting, innovative observations were made in order for the States Assembly to implement taking into cognisance the peculiarity of the different environments to meet their own social culture issues.
Saraki said the federal government was confident that this would go a long way to promote the need for universal compulsory education and would play the role of reducing child labour.
He added that Nigeria would also ensure ratification of all existing conventions it signed and the Senate would work very closely in doing that.
“I want to assure you that the 8th Senate is very committed to the issues concerning the Child Rights Act, Violence Against Children and most importantly the issue of child labour as well.
“We will support UN, ILO plan on child labour and also policies that concern children, and we will see if we have legislations that would bring stability and dignity in their lives,’’ he said.
The president of the senate also assured the ILO that the outdated labour laws (bill) before the National Assembly would be given speedily consideration.
He pledged continuous support and partnership in improvement in areas that would be beneficial to the Nigerian government.
The ILO country director said the World Day Against Child Labour provides an opportunity to gain further support of governments, among others, in the campaign to tackle child labour.
Zulu said Nigeria as a country does not have recent statistics on the prevalence of child labour but that the rate was high.
“In 2003, a Child Labour Survey was conducted in Nigeria that estimated that more than 15 million children are engaged in economic activities in Nigeria while West Africa has 25 million.
“Nearly 60 per cent of these children going to school in parallel with work and about 6.1 million of these were classified as child labourers.
Over the years, through the support of ILO, Nigeria as a country has implemented several programmes targeted at eliminating the worst forms of child labour but yet there are still gaps,” he said.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.