Child Rights advocate and Convener,OperationSaveNigerianChildrenCampaign, Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho, has called on President Bola Tinubu-led government to declare child protection a national security priority.
He also called the government to implement concrete policies to rehabilitate street children, abolish exploitative systems such as the unregulated almajiri structure, and invest in inclusive education, shelter, healthcare, and psychosocial support for every Nigerian child.
In a statement released in Uyo on Tuesday during the Children Day Celebration, Aghogho expressed disappointment over the neglect of children, especially the almajiri who roam the streets unattended.
He warned that children abandoned by society and the very institutions that are supposed to cater for them are daily exposed to recruitment by terrorist groups in the country.
“Across the streets of Northern Nigeria, thousands of almajiri children roam untended, unfed, unschooled, and uncared for. These children—abandoned by society and the very institutions meant to protect them—are daily exposed to recruitment by terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and bandit networks.
“They are indoctrinated, exploited, and transformed into instruments of violence, becoming what I describe as “soldiers of the devil.”
This reality is not a northern issue—it is a national emergency. The failure to protect our children is not only a violation of their rights under the Child Rights Act 2003, but a direct threat to Nigeria’s peace, stability, and future.
When we ignore the plight of these vulnerable children, we fertilize the soil from which terrorism and criminality grow.” He said.
He added” Let it be known: a nation that abandons its children abandons its future.Our children’s voices—especially those unheard and unseen—are crying out.
Their pain reverberates through the soul of the nation, and nature itself is responding. Floods, famine, insecurity, and instability are signs that the land is groaning under the weight of injustice against its most innocent.
Until we rise to protect the Nigerian child, peace will remain a distant dream.
On this symbolic day, I call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, the National Human Rights Commission, and all stakeholders to act now.
Declare child protection a national security priority. Implement concrete policies to rehabilitate street children, abolish exploitative systems like the unregulated almajiri structure, and invest in inclusive education, shelter, healthcare, and psychosocial support for every Nigerian child.” He said.
Aghogho emphasized that if the Federal Government is willing, the organization is ready to collaborate noting that the organization is equipped with grassroots knowledge, policy alternatives, and human rights frameworks that can support the restoration of dignity, hope, and purpose to the Nigerian child.
He warned “Let us not wait for another insurgency or disaster before we act. The time to protect our children and secure our nation is now.”
