The fate of Africa’s children, going into 2011
By Azubike Aliche
As the year 2010 comes to an end, today, I could not resist sparing a thought for the African child. After many months of not keeping up with writing my blog, I thought it was imperative that I do one today as an opportunity to reflect on the social condition of the African child, particularly the majority of Africa’s children that are poor and live, mostly, in the rural areas. Unable to write a full blown blog article, today, this would just be a case of a few random thoughts and cut-and-paste materials from other sources.
My first thought goes to the children of Cote de ‘voire (Ivory Coast), a West African country now on the verge of armed conflict, as its leaders squabble over who won the last election in that country and ECOWAS, the regional governmental body there, threatens to use force to install the internationally recognized winner. Reports show that about 173 people have already died from post-election violence. It can be assumed that some children have been orphaned as a result of this. Reports further say that hundreds of thousands of women and children have already fled to neighbouring countries, as armed conflict becomes imminent. There’s no question in my mind that school has been disrupted for thousands of children who are forced to assume refugee status in other countries.
My heart also goes to Nigeria’s children, thousands of them, reportedly working as prostitutes in Mali. A recent report says that a two-year effort to bring them back from Mali has not been productive, as authorities there fail to cooperate with the agents of Nigeria. The children were promised various kinds of legitimate employment when they left Nigeria, according to reports. Once in Mali, their traffickers are forcing them to work as prostitutes to make the money to repay the cost of their transportation or the cost to the agents who secured them. The face beating and torture when the refuse to sell their bodies to profit their abductors. Reports say that these are school age children, some as young as 12 years old. It is really a shame that children as young as that will, under any pretext, be lured into sexual slavery in another country. That the Malian authorities are not cooperating in getting these children from brothels already identified is a bigger shame and a blot on the image of that country.
Now, some cut-and-paste materials from Nigerian newspapers. There’s also a touching story below of a woman who is battling with raising six young children born within 18 months. The story was culled from the EaglenStyle magazine. It is safe to assume that children who are starting life as beggars will have little or no chance of getting formal education. Yet child begging is very common in Nigeria and many other African countries.
“... perennial high failure rate in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in the last five years, which had been between 75 and 80 per cent. Last September, the low performance of candidates in 2010 WAEC and NECO examinations compelled President Goodluck Jonathan to call a Stakeholders’ Summit on the state of education in the country.”
“... recommended, among others, that poverty alleviation in the country should begin with increasing access to quality education by all children, irrespective of their gender, location or socio-economic status.”
“IT is certain that the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has an uphill task in getting all school age children across the country, estimated to be in the region of 10 million, into the classes.”
“Teachers are required in quantity, quality and specialty based on policy dictates and curriculum offerings of a particular school and level of education. However, reports indicate that teachers have never been sufficiently supplied in schools because of the high manpower demand, the comprehensive and diversified nature of the curriculum at all levels, huge financial demand for payment of teachers, high attrition rate, brain drain syndrome, lack of motivation, inadequate training facilities, low morale on the part of students to opt for a teaching profession, low rating of teaching profession, and low quality of those available for training.”
- Dr Nosa Aladeselu, the Executive Director of the African Women Empowerment Guild (AWEG)
Woman Gives Birth To 6 Kids In 18 Months
Donations flowed freely from passersby into the coffers of a destitute with six children begging for alms at Ikeja area of Lagos State Southwest Nigeria.
The woman with her six children
The woman, Mrs. Aisha Ibrahim, 30, from Kano State, it was gathered, gave birth to quadruplets in 2008 and a set of twins in June 2010 in her village in Kano and came to Lagos to beg for alms when she and her husband could not cope with the feeding of the children.
The woman was seen on Awolowo Way, Ikeja where a crowd gathered around her and six children (three boys and three girls).
Many passersby pitied her and gave her money freely. They called on the Lagos State Government to come to her aid by providing for the children.
Speaking with reporters, Aisha said she left Kano for Lagos when the suffering became unbearable and there was nobody to run to.
She gave the age of the quadruplets as two years old while the twins are six months old.
She described her husband, Ibrahim, as a peasant farmer who cannot cope with the upkeep of the children.
Aisha was accompanied by a woman and her sister, who help to carry some of the children while she begs for alms.
She received money ranging from N10 to N500 and even more from passersby.
Aisha who stays at the Lagos Central Mosque, Lagos Island, appealed to Governor Babatunde Fashola to come to her aid by providing her accommodation and job to take care of her children.
She also appealed to Nigerians to assist her take care of her malnourished children who are living on the benevolence of the public.
