By Amos Tauna
Kaduna State House of Assembly has been implored to speed up the passage of the Child Right Act in the state.
The bill is meant to protect millions of children in the state who are vulnerable to child abuse, trafficking, labour and other social vices.
The Committee on Defence of Children, CDC, Kaduna State, has team up with National Human Right Commission, NHRC, and students to push for the passage and demonstration of child rights acts in Kaduna State.
The CDC President, Abubakar Sani, on Sunday in an interview with journalists in Kaduna, said he has met the State Coordinator of NHRC to intervene in the process in ensuring that the state consider the passage of the acts through the State House of Assembly.
He noted that the none passage of the bill would not be in the interest of the children, the future leaders of the country that needed the right due to them to be able to grow as responsible citizens ready to take over the mantle of leadership of the country in years to come.
He added, “Any attempt to deny the young Nigerians to fully explore their potentials will be to the detriment of the state and the country as a whole.”
According to him, CDC was set up as a committee to advocate for the quick intervention on passage of the child right bill in Kaduna State, pointing out that the committee was also formed under the international NGO (Aflatoun) Child Rights Cooperative Project funded by European Union and implemented by Linking the Youth of Nigeria through Exchange (LYNX-NIGERIA) and its partners.
He lamented failure of Kaduna State House of Assembly to pass and domesticate the Child Rights Act passed since 2003 by the National Assembly.
The State Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission, Kaduna Chapter, Christopher Oshishi Eneji, stated that what is called vulnerability of children is adult irresponsibility.
Eneji expressed dismay that Kaduna, the historical centre of the north was yet to domesticate the Child Rights Act ,when 24 states have done so.
He observed that work was in progress to ensure that the Act is passed and domesticated in Kaduna, while assuring that the grey areas that needed to be resolved for the Assembly to pass it would be looked into without delay.
“Some persons are not satisfied with some parts of the Acts, but the Human Rights Commission is working closely with the Ministry of Women Affairs to ensure that the law is passed once those grey areas have been addressed.
“If passed the children will not only know their rights, but will also report to the appropriate authorities when such rights are infringed upon,” he observed.
