By DAMILOLA ADEMAKINWA

The air was filled with the booming and buzzing of the excited voices and faces of students, most of who were adorned in their traditional attires as people gathered for the annual children festival. It was fun watching the happy looking children expressing themselves in divers creative ways through singing, dancing, drama, motivational talks, presentation of awards, essay competition, African king and queen pageant, etc.

A scene from last year’s edition of Children Creative command performance

The occasion was the annual children festival which held recently at National Stadium, Surulere Lagos. The event which featured an essay and series of competitions with judges, students and teachers in attendance was directed by the executive director at Click Global Limited, Mensah Paul.

The Day of the African Child was held in commemoration of the African heritage through culture, beliefs and values of the African child. The day which was set aside to awaken the lost culture of Africans dates back to 16th June 1991 when it was first initiated by the Organisation of the African Unity (now African Union). In 1976 some students of Soweto, South Africa marched to fight for their rights to retain their culture and be taught in their own language, in the process some were killed. So, this day was set aside to celebrate all those that were killed. It is also a medium for children from different schools to interact with each other and learn from each other.

The theme of this year’s festival was “Accelerating our collective efforts to end child marriage in Africa”. Schools present were Princeton College, Abraham Children’s School, Bimstar College, Fountain of life, Unique Comprehensive College, Tonie International College and many more.

Speaking during the festival, one of the judges Mr Nweke said he believed the festival had the capability to eradicate child marriage in the country, adding that with the dramas acted, “The children were able to portray the dangers of early marriage. The perception of the children can be changed by the parents since they are the ones that can help mould the children and guide them into living out their dreams”. He advised parents to educate, inform and expose their kids to opportunities that will help them acquire useful knowledge.

On what the day and the theme meant to them, Amarachi Orie of Tonie International College said ‘’The celebration was about bringing children from different schools to exhibit culture and moral standards.”