Plight of Nigeria’s children getting worse

PUNCH

A new World Bank report revealing that over 40 million Nigerian children live in extreme poverty, underscores how deep the country has slid into the poverty hole. With over 133 million multidimensionally poor people in the country, an ever-increasing inflation rate, and all-round hardship occasioned by ill-timed policies and misuse of government funds at all levels, the Nigerian child is bearing the brunt. The alarming spread of misery needs to be halted by effective economic and social policies.

Poverty rages more furiously following the petrol subsidy stoppage in June and the crash of the naira at the foreign exchange market. About 7.1 million more persons are consequently joining the extremely poor bracket this year, says the World Bank. Inflation is at an all-time high, hitting 25.8 per cent in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The naira is drowning, trading at over N1,000 to $1. Overall, the economy is in the doldrums while the government of President Bola Tinubu appears increasingly at sea.

Hardship has hit millions of households, and children are bearing the brunt. The federal and state governments need to act quickly to rescue the Nigerian child. In 2022, UNESCO estimated the country’s out-of-school children at 20 million, the second highest in the world. With the recent increments in fees and levies, more children are expected to drop out of school.

The International Labour Organisation said Nigeria contributed over 15 million children to the 160 million children actively engaged in child labour globally. Nigerian children face debilitating conditions as they are engaged in artisanal mining, as domestic workers and as child beggars. An NOI survey revealed that six out of every 10 Nigerian children have experienced a form of violence before reaching 18 years. Experts say poor children are most vulnerable to peer pressure and easily enticed into bad behaviour, from drug to gang violence and terrorism.

The various governments must improve the welfare of Nigerian households so that vulnerable children can have better lives and access to basic social amenities…