SHE WAS LEFT WITH NO RIGHTS

Nigeria ratified the Child Rights Act in 1993, and it was enacted in 2003, since then out of the thirty six states in Nigeria, twenty three States have enacted this law, amongst these sates are, Abia, Nanmbra, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Kwara, Ebonyi, Imo, Taraba, Ogun, Lagos, Jigawa, Cross Rivers, Rivers, amongst others.

Towards the end of 2008, Lagos State published the simplified version of the Child Rights Law and distributed to the public, among some of the laws is a session that addressed child labor, but we are carried away with hawking and working in factory.

The last week in June awaken us to what some mothers can get involved in, a mother soaked carton of paper in palm oil for days, poured engine oil on it and gentian violet, this she wrapped round her young daughter leg and she put her inside a wheel barrow telling every one that this girl has cancer, passers by will be throwing money on this girl.

The girl is out of school, the father proved his innocence , he is separated from the woman, while the girl who could no longer stand straight due to years of feigned pain, in the long run the state took over the child while mother and father were remanded till further notice. The girl said she had visited her father repeatedly for some money, he will always instruct her to come back the following day, but getting there the father would have ran way, father said it is free education in Lagos, so there should not be any reason for giving her any money, mother said it was wisdom because she was poor, mother and daughter live on sea creek.

Child Right Law is important but real education is equally necessary, the value of a child is inestimable, once there was famine in my town, a woman went to steal some tubers of yam in a farmland, when she heard of footsteps she bolt with tubers of yam and left her child. The child was used to trail her. Children do not beg to be brought to the World.

Child beggars are everywhere in Nigeria one will always feel these ones have rights to attend schools, and most cases, these children beggars are contracted to beg by influential community leaders that must be paid 'returns' when they are not able to hold unto customers, their parent will flog them mercilessly, they have no parents to look up to or the state to cater for them, I think every child belongs to the state. may be children should be left in heaven instead of being left without a right to self esteem here on earth.