The Association of Nursery and Primary Education Instructors in Nigeria (ANPEIN) on Friday urged Nigerians to be more intentional about the discipline and guidance of the African child in order for them to grow into responsible adults.
The National President of the association, Mr Simeon Fowowe, made this plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, while commemorating The Day of the African Child (DAC).
NAN reports that DAC is celebrated every year on June 16, for the world to reflect on the progress made toward children’s rights, as well as the barriers children continue to face.
Fowowe said that as much as the home was the smallest unit where children are bred and released into the society, everyone had a role to play in ensuring that African children are safe from harm.
“Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that African children have access to discipline, attention and guidance which can help them to grow into responsible adults.
“Remember, children in every society are regarded as leaders or pillars of tomorrow but if the foundation is destroyed, what can they do?
“The society in which our children are growing keeps deteriorating and the quicker certain practices are eliminated, the more significant adults are reduced,” he said.
Fowowe added that some of the practices which adversely affect children and should be eliminated included child trafficking, exploitation, hawking, drug abuse, emotional and psychological abuse.
“Some adults purposely deprive them of compulsory education at least at basic education level.
“More caregivers, child therapists and counsellors should be trained to ensure that children have a safe haven to express themselves whether in words or through therapeutic techniques.
“One of the aims of the Day of the African Child is to highlight harmful practices such as female genital mutilation.
“Thirty million girls in Africa are in danger of undergoing female genital mutilation in the next decade,” he added.
ANPEIN, established in 2016, is a national, not for profit generation, but professional association, supporting nursery and basic education instructors at all levels in their teaching and learning, and protection of the rights of the children in Nigeria. (NAN)
