ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

By Gloria Ikibah

Civil society organisations have called on the National Assembly to scrutinise legislation, educational frameworks and government programmes affecting Nigerian children amid concerns over what they described as the growing influence of foreign interests in domestic policy.

The groups, led by the Centre for African Policy Research and Advice (CAFPRA), made the demand in Abuja during a media engagement on children, family values, education and public policy.

They urged lawmakers to look beyond individual bills and examine the wider policy frameworks, funding arrangements, partnerships and educational materials behind programmes targeted at children and young people.

The group argued that policies affecting children deserved closer scrutiny because decisions taken today could have lasting consequences for families, communities and future generations.

Speaking at the engagement, CAFPRA Executive Director, Dr Segun Adebayo, said African governments must ensure that policies adopted in their countries reflected their own social realities.

“We are dedicated to policies of the land, to be sure that the policies of government in Africa are consistent with the realities of Africa,” Adebayo said.

He expressed concern over the adoption of policy frameworks without adequate consultation with Nigerians who would ultimately be affected.

Adebayo called on the National Assembly to provide meaningful opportunities for parents, educators, civil society organisations, child-rights advocates, community leaders and other stakeholders to contribute to policies and programmes concerning children.

He said Nigeria should not adopt international policy frameworks wholesale without first examining their relevance to the country’s cultural, social and institutional environment.

CAFPRA particularly called for closer scrutiny of concepts contained in some international frameworks relating to children’s education, reproductive health, personal autonomy and gender.

The organisation said terms such as “bodily autonomy”, “sexual rights” and “gender identity” should be clearly defined and their implications carefully examined before being incorporated into legislation, government policies or educational materials for children.

It maintained that the debate should go beyond ideological arguments and focus on what is appropriate, age-sensitive and consistent with Nigeria’s laws, culture and family structures.

Human rights lawyer and public affairs analyst, Sonnie Ekwowusi, said public opinion was becoming increasingly important in determining whether controversial policies eventually receive legislative backing.

“Public opinion change is currently where they are going, because if public opinion does not change, it will never be passed as a law,” Ekwowusi said.

He said policy advocacy was increasingly extending beyond government offices and legislative chambers to the wider public, where acceptance or resistance could determine the fate of proposed laws and policies.

CAFPRA disclosed that it had formally written to the Presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly to raise its concerns.

The organisation said it would also engage relevant legislative committees and circulate policy recommendations among lawmakers as it intensifies its advocacy.

Policy researcher and media personality, Gold Boms, said the organisation was reviewing proposed legislation and government policies to determine whether they were consistent with Nigeria’s social environment.

“We are making sure that all the bills being passed, we are looking at them and saying, look, this is not aligned with our social reality,” Boms said.

He said such scrutiny was necessary to ensure that legislation was not only technically sound but also responsive to the realities of Nigerian families and communities.

The group also demanded greater transparency in the development, funding and implementation of programmes affecting children.

They called on government agencies and development partners to disclose the objectives, sources of funding, content and implementation arrangements of programmes introduced in schools and communities.

A representative of CYFPRA, Chris Iyama, said the subject required wider public attention because of its potential implications for families and future generations.

“It is a very important conversation. It is on a topic that affects your children and your grandchildren. It is comprehensive sexuality education,” Iyama said.

He called for greater involvement of parents and communities in decisions concerning educational programmes targeted at children.
Child protection must reflect realities of vulnerable children
A child-rights advocate with InnerCity Missions for Children, Jane Chukwu, brought the discussion to the challenges facing vulnerable children across Nigeria.

Chukwu said her organisation’s work with children living in difficult circumstances had demonstrated the need for policies to reflect the realities of poverty, family breakdown, poor access to education and inadequate child protection.

“We are a solution-based organisation. We don’t theorise about child protection. We believe it is every day; our team walks to the streets of Nigerian cities. We pick up children who already lost what today’s briefing is talking about,” Chukwu said.

She disclosed that the organisation was establishing a free school in Abuja for children from vulnerable backgrounds, alongside educational and vocational initiatives designed to help young people rebuild their lives.

Chukwu stressed that protecting children required more than policy pronouncements, saying government and other stakeholders must also address the social and economic conditions that leave children exposed to vulnerability.

CAFPRA also referred to developments in countries including Liberia and Zimbabwe, alleging that some programmes concerning education, reproductive health and family issues had received external support.

The organisation urged Nigerian lawmakers to examine the origins, funding arrangements, partnerships and implementation structures of similar programmes operating in the country.

As part of its wider advocacy campaign, CAFPRA disclosed plans to present an African Charter on Family Values and Sovereignty to the National Assembly.

Adebayo said the proposed charter would provide an additional framework for discussions around family values, national sovereignty and policies reflecting African circumstances.

“We are going to bring that charter to our National Assembly,” Adebayo said.

The organisation said it will continue engaging lawmakers, government institutions, civil society groups, parents, educators and other stakeholders on the policy debate.

The CSOs also urged the media to intensify investigative reporting on policies and programmes affecting children, particularly by examining their origins, funding sources, objectives and implementation.

They maintained that Nigerians deserved sufficient information to understand who develops, funds and implements programmes directly affecting children and families.

The organisations ultimately called on the National Assembly to subject policies affecting Nigerian children to broader consultation, greater transparency and rigorous legislative scrutiny, insisting that the country’s social and cultural realities must remain central to decisions concerning its children.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), led by President Bola Tinubu, has approved road projects and several trailer park concessions nationwide.

The approvals were given during the FEC meeting held on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, who disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, the government approved about ₦438 billion in road projects and several trailer park concessions nationwide.

Below are the road construction and rehabilitation projects.

1. Reconstruction of the Ado-Ekiti–Iyin–Aramoko–Itawure–Osun border road (Ekiti State) – ₦159.83 billion (awarded to CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Nigeria Ltd.)

2. Variation order for rehabilitation of the Abeokuta–Iboro–Ilaro Road (Ogun State) – ₦54.12 billion

3. Reconstruction of the 15 km Port Harcourt–Eleme Junction–Onne Port Junction section of the East-West Road (Rivers State) – ₦74.51 billion (awarded to RCC Nigeria Ltd., nine-month completion)

4. Phase II rehabilitation of the Ado-Ekiti–Afe Babalola University Road (Ekiti State, part of Ado–Ijan–Iluomobi–Imesi–Ondo border route) – ₦54.52 billion

5. Construction of the Ilara–Iselu Road, Phases II–V (Ogun State) – ₦94.24 billion (awarded to JRB Construction Company Ltd., 24-month completion)

Highway and trailer park concessions (public-private partnership)

6. Development of the 7.9 km Dikko–Maje section of the Suleja–Minna Road (Niger State) – ₦56.75 billion (40-year concession, Graciatech Engineering Nigeria Ltd.)

7. Operation and maintenance of the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway – ₦96.43 billion (25-year concession, LIB Concession Group)

8. Development of a greenfield trailer park at Aro-Ngwa (Abia State) – ₦19.70 billion (50-year concession, Greg Jane International Ltd.)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared two directors of Oasis Vivacity Global Limited wanted over alleged conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and fraudulent diversion of funds.

The suspects are identified as 31-year-old Victoria Chidinma Nwachukwu and 32-year-old Oluwatosin Osasona Adekunle.
The Commission announced their wanted status in separate notices issued on Wednesday and signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.

According to the EFCC, Nwachukwu, a native of Imo State, is wanted in connection with an alleged case of conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and fraudulent diversion of funds.

Her last known address was given as House No. 3, Millennium Estate, Alhaji Gbenga Ashafa Street, Gbagada, Lagos State.

Adekunle, who is from Ekiti State and is also linked to Oasis Vivacity Global Limited, was declared wanted over the same alleged offences.
The EFCC said his last known address is also House No. 3, Millennium Estate, Alhaji Gbenga Ashafa Street, Gbagada, Lagos State.

The anti-graft agency urged anyone with information that could assist in locating either of the suspects to report to the Commission at its offices in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja.

The Commission also provided the telephone number 08093322644 for members of the public who may have useful information about the whereabouts of the two suspects.

The EFCC did not disclose further details of the alleged fraud in the notices announcing their wanted status.