By Glory Ekwenuya

In its determined effort to provide a platform to put an end to child marriage and ensure that all stakeholders work relentlessly to make sure that negative social practices imposed by culture on children are eliminated, Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund, formerly United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has hosted school students in Lagos State at the Women Development Centre, Agege, Lagos to celebrate the Day of the African Child.

Speaking at the occasion, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Omobolanle Ogunmola said this is the era where parents need to be committed to the welfare of their children to eliminate the negative social practices militating against their growth and development, as she added that they must stand up against the inhuman treatment of children and all harmful traditional practices.

Her words: ‘’Child marriage should be discouraged and before a child is given out to marriage, they should be 18 years old and fully developed. To put an end to child marriage, there should be awareness; letting the public know that it is an abuse. Parents should let their children have their rights to education. The Permanent Secretary of WAPA in her address said “Never shall the blood of innocent African Children be spilled for demanding their rights”.

Similarly, the Child Protection Specialist UNICEF, Mrs Roselyn Akinroye said, ‘’UNICEF is about protecting children’s rights as regards education, ensuring that children have access to learning materials, quality teachers and also ensuring that the state government does what is right to promote the right of the child, as such child marriage is unacceptable”.

Meanwhile, the Director Public Defender Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Mrs Omotola Rotimi, who emphasized on the protection of children said; “There are various laws that protects the rights of a child and ensure that in any matter, the interest of the child is paramount”.