The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., GCON, in a remarkable manner, celebrated young Nigerians on the occasion of this year’s Children’s Day by vacating his seat for a student, who presided as a ‘Shadow Speaker.’
It is the second time the Speaker of the 10th House would so honour young Nigerians. On October 10, 2024, he vacated his seat for a 16-year-old gender advocate, Isabel Anani, who served as ‘Shadow Speaker’ in commemoration of the International Day for the Girl Child.
On Tuesday, in celebration of the Children’s Day, Speaker Abbas allowed Lawal Haruna Saliu, a student of Government Secondary School, Kuje, to preside over the ceremonial session that lasted about 15 minutes.
Saliu, who said he was “very excited to preside over today’s plenary,” thanked Speaker Abbas for the opportunity.
The theme for this year’s Children’s Day is “Stand up, speak up: Building a Bullying-Free Generation.”
During the brief session, the Chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, moved a motion of urgent public importance in commemoration of International Children’s Day.
Adopting the motion, the House urged the Federal Government to “prioritise policies that support children’s health, education, and welfare, while improving investment in ICT infrastructure, particularly in rural communities to ensure equitable access for all our children, and review the Child’s Rights Act.”
The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Education to implement comprehensive programmes aimed at enhancing digital literacy among students and teachers. The lawmakers equally enjoined the National Assembly to “expedite action on the passage of the establishment of a National Child (Rights) Protection and Enforcement Agency Bill.”
Furthermore, the House mandated its Committees on Women Affairs, Digital Information Technology, and Basic Education and Services to ensure compliance with the resolutions.
Later in the day, Speaker Abbas had an interactive session with the students invited from 10 secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory – six public schools and four private schools.
At the session, the Speaker emphasized the need to implement and enforce existing laws against physical and cyberbullying amongst school children.
Responding to questions from some of the students, Speaker Abbas bemoaned the incidence of child labour and trafficking, saying relevant government agencies at all levels must perform their enforcement roles with a view to tackling the menace.
“There are laws against bullying in schools and the schools’ authorities must take advantage of same to protect those who speak out. If actions are not taken by the schools, the matter should be escalated to parents and relevant security agencies. The government stands against bullying and victims should learn to speak out more to curb it.
“It also behooves on the relevant agencies to implement and enforce the laws against child labour and trafficking in Nigeria. Nigerians have the habit of keeping quiet when they see people violating laws,” Speaker Abbas said, adding that “almost everyone knows one or two underage children working as domestic servants either in their homes or their neighbours.”
He also called on Nigerians relocating outside the country to have a rethink, as things are not that rosy elsewhere.
The Speaker noted that with the policies of the current administration and the gains being recorded, the expansion of the private sector participation to create more jobs is imminent. He, therefore, urged the youth to take advantage of the government’s policies.
The 10 schools invited for the session with the Speaker were GSS, Bwari; GGSS, Abaji; GSS, Kwali; GSS, Gwagwalada; GSS, Kagini; GSS, Kuje; Kingsville School, Jabi; Africa Community School, Asokoro; International Community School, Jabi, and Britarch School, Lugbe.
Signed:
Musa Abdullahi Krishi
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
