Stakeholders advocate priority of child education

From Fred Itua, Abuja

Mother’s Love Initiative, a social change humanitarian organisation, has challenged politicians, particularly aspirants for various political positions across the country, to plan for and prioritise the education of children

It called on all 2023 general elections aspirants to  entrench issues of Nigerian children welfare and education in their overall plans for provision of democracy dividends to the citizens.

Head of external relations of the organisation, Hanatu A. Enwemadu, said: “AMLi hereby calls on all and sundry, and in particular the political stakeholders, to increase children-focused interventions as children are fast becoming endangered species in Nigeria with the spate of abductions in schools and all manner of vices children are exposed to in Nigeria.

“This year, A Mother’s Love Initiative (AMLi – a social change initiative which campaigns for the overall wellbeing of the African child) has taken it upon herself to create awareness on the need to consider the interests and welfare of the Nigerian child in the face of 2023 elections and ongoing electioneering campaigns.

“Children do not have voting rights anywhere in the world, and where proactive steps are not taken, the interests of the child may subtly be relegated in the entire political discuss. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to win the votes and allegiance of the upper demography, while children and their issues of concern are lost in the rush.

“AMLi strongly believes that the manifesto and political persuasion of any political party or candidate should chiefly be influenced by the balance of their proposals toward child welfare and education. The agenda of any government should not exclude or diminish extensive childcare and child-centered policies.

“Children form the core of the family, and family is the core of every society; hence, the welfare and interest of the child must be the fore, core, and center of any political proposition or policy if we will achieve the new Nigeria which we all clamor for.

“To mark the 2022 Children’s day Celebration tagged ‘Celebrating the Nigerian Child’ in an innovative way, A Mother’s Love Initiative will be hosting representatives of the Nigerian child from various schools and institutions across the country, and will provide a platform for the children to interface with key political aspirants in the forthcoming elections to present their cause and demands on the Nigerian government.

“This innovation is predicated on AMLi’s belief that the suitability of any candidate in the forthcoming 2023 elections should be matched with the quality of his/her agenda towards burning issues relating to the Nigerian child and young people.