The 36 states’ Houses of Assembly have been called upon to ensure the adoption of the 2003 Child Rights Act passed by the National Assembly and to further introduce other stronger legislations to compel Parents to enroll their girl children to primary and secondary schools under the federal Government’s Universal Basic and compulsory education [UBE] as a way of curbing early child marriage.
The National Assembly was also tasked to immediately expunge the nebulous and controversial anti-child provision in the ongoing amendments of the 1999 constitution on citizenship which appeared to support early child marriage as passed by the Senate of the Federal Republic. The human rights bodies say the recognition of child early marriage if carried through by the National Assembly through constitutional amendments will criminally deny the Nigerian girl children of their universally recognized fundamental human right to education and quality human capital development.
At a town hall dialogue session convened at the weekend in Abuja by the Democracy friendly Non-Governmental Organization- Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and attended by 40 other registered civil society groups, the Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike briefed the leadership of the Nigerian human rights community on the Almajiri [out-of-school children] Education Programme of the Federal Government.
Federal Government was also tasked to ensure that all the over ten million out- of -school children in all corners of Nigeria are adequately and equitably educated and covered under the current programme tagged Almajiri Education Programme to ensure equity; social justice and promotion of the fundamental right to education of all the Nigerian children irrespective of status, religion or tribal affiliations. The groups reminded the Nigerian Government to be mindful of the secular nature of Nigeria and deliver quality education equitably for all Nigerian Children.
Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of the HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko who applauded the federal Government for introducing what he described as pro-poor educational revolution to positively reshape the future of the ten million out -of- school Nigerian Children through the Almajiri education programme however expressed doubt that the essence of the educational empowerment project for the poor street children may be defeated if the state Houses of Assembly fail to make law compelling parents and guardians to enroll their children to primary and post-primary education and also discourage early child marriage.
The human rights coalition condemned Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima for championing the inclusion of a provision in the ongoing amendment of the 1999 constitution which appears to support early child marriage. The groups described early child marriage as grave violations of the fundamental human rights inherent to every child under the international human rights conventions like the Universal Declarations of Human Rights; the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and chapter four of the 1999 constitution as amended which are sacrosanct and inviolable.
HURIWA stated thus; ” On behalf of the over 100 participants here drawn from over 40 registered Non-Governmental Organizations, we want to add our collective voices to the clarion call on the National Assembly to expunge before the passage of the amended version of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic, the nebulous and offensive provision in the citizenship chapter which appears to support early child marriage.
We also wish to appeal to all the 36 states and especially the many that have so far failed to domesticate the Child Rights Act of 2003 passed into law by the National Assembly since the year 2003 to quickly adopt this beautiful piece of legislation to protect the Nigerian children and to also ensure that their states Houses of Assembly make law that will compel the Parents to enroll their children to primary and secondary schools so as to discourage and outlaw early child marriage as a way of safeguarding the fundamental human rights of the Nigerian children”.
The groups further stated thus; “We recognize the great effort by the current federal government put into the introduction of the Almajiri education programme but it will come to a nullity if legislations and legal frameworks at the state level are not put in place to compel compliance by parents most of whom would rather that their girl children are given out to marriage to older male adults than see them through primary and post-primary educational institutions”.
Speaking earlier, the minister of state for education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike said the federal Government under the president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration introduced the almajiri educational scheme to cover the wide gap noticed among ten million out -of -school children especially those in the Northern Nigerian states just as he stated that the project was kick started to meet up with the two strategic component of the transformation agenda of government under the educational sector which are to provide access to all Nigerian Children to qualitative and functional knowledge and human capital development.
Commending the conveners of the dialogue session which attracted over one hundred participants drawn from 40 civil society groups spread all over the country, the Minister of state for Education Mr. Wike who spoke on the theme; ‘improving access and inclusive education in Nigeria’, also stated thus; ” There is high occurrence of out-of-school children in Nigeria estimated at 10.5 million. Government is concerned about the security implication of having this large number of uneducated children therefore it introduced the Almajiri [itinerant Qur’anic school pupils] education system to integrate it to the larger national educational programme. The Northern Nigeria contributes over 9 million out of the 10.5 million out of school children in Nigeria and this is the reason why this programme was kicked off in the North with the inauguration by President Jonathan in Sokoto. These huge number of out-of-school children pose a challenge to Nigeria’s attainment of education for all [EFA] and the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] and other international conventions and protocols”.
