Shortly after the disturbing video emerged, on the Nigerian social media space, of a teacher at Christ Mitots School beating a child in her charge in the Ikorodu town of Lagos State, the Nigeria police identified, traced and then subsequently arrested the violator.

The police personnel of Owutu Ikorodu divisional headquarters went on to charge the offending educationist, 45-year-old Stella Nwadigo, for the crime, at the Magistrate Court in Ogba, Lagos.

Unpalatable and widely condemned as the acts witnessed in the video are, they are actually not unusual or strange, as corporal punishment meted out to children in the home and in the learning space, remains common practice in all parts of the country. This particular occurrence serves as a stirring stick in the foul smelling broth of a widespread system of child abandonment by the state.

International standards on child rights have advanced dramatically over the past century, but gaps remain in meeting those ideals, particularly in countries like Nigeria where child rights and protection laws are not followed by state regulation. In states where regulations do exist, issues of monitoring, enforcement, supervision, restrictions and inspection are widespread.  

Ministries of Education personnel are often incompetent, negligent, lethargic, corrupt or grossly irresponsible. The same goes for other relevant ministries and state parastatals.  

Countless international protocol as well as country legislation provide legal frameworks against corporal punishment for children. In 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted a general comment recognising  

the obligation of all state parties to quickly prohibit and eliminate all  corporal punishment and all other cruel and degrading forms of punishment of  children.  

Similarly, Section 221 of the Child Rights Act prohibits corporal punishment in judicial settings, recommending that all Nigerian legislations that endorse corporal punishment should be amended.

UNESCO, in agreement with dozens of other global bodies, alleges that it is a violation of human rights as  well as counterproductive, ineffective, dangerous and harmful to children.

Article 4 (1) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of a Child, further  

provides that “in all actions concerning the child undertaken by any person or authority, the best interests of the child shall be primary consideration”.  This provision has been entrenched by Section 1 of the Child Rights Act in our law. A replica of the provision is also found in Article 3 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Ikorodu police and the Lagos State government must be commended for their swift and effective handling so far, of this particular case.

But beyond corporal punishment, a very controversial subject, arbitrary and indiscriminate physical violations of children such as the one meted by Teacher Stella Nwadigo on her minor pupil, is all too common and is justified by the Nigerian society under various considerations, particularly cultural and religious.    

Equally arbitrary are rules guiding education in the country, especially at pre-tertiary levels. They are subject to the whims and caprices of the individuals in charge of their administration at any given moment. Many grey areas exist, particularly as it pertains to the age of beginning formal education in Nigeria.    Teachers at all levels, including in tertiary institutions, should be obligated to undergo regular, free and compulsory training and re-training on child protection rights and as a condition for the issuance of teacher training certifications.  

The future of our children and our nation’s leadership cannot be left to chance and the vagaries of inconsistent policies.