By Chidimma C Okeke
As Nigeria marks the 2025 Children’s Day today, which is a day set aside to raise awareness for issues that affect children and help to appreciate the children as the future of society, some children have called on leaders to hear their voices and address challenges faced by children across the country.
The students, who spoke under the year’s theme: “Children Our Future, Our Responsibility” said they are the future of tomorrow and need their rights to be protected.
Children’s Day in Nigeria is celebrated every 27th of May to raise awareness on the light and rights of children as well as bringing new ideas and perspectives that can help shape a better future for the children.
Teen Trust explores messages from Nigerian children who are raising their voices for a better Nigeria on this year’s Children’s Day.
A student of Pennielville, Emmanuel Awhen, urged the Nigerian leaders and adults to hear their voice.
In a message tagged “HEAR OUR VOICE, Emmanuel said: “I want you to truly listen to us not just with your ears, but with your hearts. We need you to speak out against the things that make childhood harder: violence, child labour, abuse, and poor access to education and healthcare.
“Leadership isn’t just about making decisions; it’s about valuing our ideas and working with us to create a better world. We expect leaders to prioritise our rights, safety, and well-being.”
Speaking on their rights as children, Emmanuel said: “To protect our rights and build a better world, we need you to listen to us and involve us in decision-making. Keep us safe and support our well-being.
Provide us with quality education and opportunities and advocate for our rights and interests.
“We promise to be responsible, respectful, and proactive in shaping our own futures. Let’s work together to create a world where every child can grow, learn, and shine in a world where children are not afraid, but feel loved and supported.
“We are not just the future. We are also the present. Include us in decisions that affect us, give us the space to speak, and the tools to make a difference. Together, we can build a better world for every child.”
Another student, Dorika Shisham Shekari of Lordswill Academy, lamented that children around the world face a vast range of issues that deeply impact their lives and future development.
While pointing out that an estimated 50 per cent of children globally, roughly 1 billion children, need some form of humanitarian aid, she said these issues spring up from neglect or harmful societal norms.
She listed some of the key issues affecting Children to include poverty and lack of basic needs, lack of access to quality education, violence and abuse,
insecurity and conflict, neglect of mental health, lack of expression and voice as well as child labour.
Dorika however said they expect the leaders and adults to ensure their protection and safety, provide quality education and empowerment, good healthcare system, give the children listening ears, equality and inclusion as well as justice.
“Parents, leaders and adults, please treat us with dignity, respect our rights, show us good examples to follow and work towards a world where we can grow, learn and thrive in safety. My fellow children, let us obey our elders and follow their guidelines on this journey called life knowing fully well that someday we will be guiding the younger ones as well. By doing so, we build a just and sustainable future for everyone. Happy Children’s Day!” she said.
Another student from a government college, Uche Blessing, also maintained that leaders and adults should listen to children more and stop trampling on their rights.
She said so many children are suffering today and are not allowed to express their rights as children.
She said: “Children are being abused on a daily basis; raped, killed, subjected to child labour and violence and nothing is being done to put an end to it.
“They say we are the future but so many parents and leaders do not listen to the children and do not look at our rights, so how can we take care of the future?”
Blessing called on leaders to hear the voice of the children, grant them their rights to basic needs and the right to live, protection, good education and stop the violence against children.
“If leaders listen to us and ensure we have all it takes to strive as children, no child will be a housemaid, or subjected to child labour and no man will be allowed to abuse them. So we need a voice to speak for ourselves,” she said
For Victor Thomas, Nigerian children have been facing a lot of challenges and it’s high time the government paid attention to those challenges and make a better place for children to strive.
“We need to be heard, we need a safe environment to live and grow happily, we need good education, we need good opportunities to show our talents and rights to make our choices,” he said.
He said: “Some of us are privileged to have some of the good things of life but there are so many children suffering on the streets without parental care or good education, so leaders should use the Children’s Day celebration to hear their pain and help them so they can be good future leaders and members of society.”
Another student, Glory Ejeh, said Children’s Day should go beyond fun activities for children to allowing children to take their place as future leaders.
“Children should be protected and allowed to speak out and also have every necessary thing they require to strive for the better. We have many children on the streets who are becoming a nuisance because they lack the good things of life and no one hears their story of pain.
“I want our leaders and adults to forget about sharing biscuits and drinks with children and start listening to them. Many of us are smarter than we appear. It should be their responsibility to protect and give us room to strive,” she added.
