Reflections on Children’s Day

May 27 of every year is the official date chosen by Nigerian government to celebrate Children’s Day. This is in keeping with the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s resolution in 1954 that all countries institute a Universal Children’s Day to be observed as a day to dwell on issues and activities that promote the welfare of children globally.

It is also a day set aside to appraise the progress made in respect of the nation’s children with a view to addressing their problems. In 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which covers in its 54 articles all the rights of children on healthcare, education, freedom from exploitation and the right to hold opinion, amongst others.

Though Nigeria is a signatory to all these conventions, most of these lofty goals are more often breached than observed.

Every year, Children’s Day is marked with great pomp and ceremony, often with less thought on those things that would enhance the promotion of children’s rights and well-being. At best, the event has been reduced to a mere ritual of ceremonies where government officials mouth slogans and intentions that are never fulfilled.

As Nigerian children mark this year’s event today, let us use the occasion to direct our attention to those practices– private and official– that militate against the realization of children’s rights in the country. Nigerian children are still subjected to physical and mental violence, sexual abuse, neglect and maltreatment while with parents or guardians.

Apart from child labour, many Nigerian children are victims of human trafficking. A recent study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) showed that Nigeria lost about 4,000 children to traffickers. Thousands of them were recently labelled as witches in Akwa Ibom State, and exposed to demeaning and inhuman acts, including premature death.

Educationally, Nigerian children have a bleak future. Recent statistics indicate that about 45 percent of school age children are out of school in the country. Those lucky to be in school are put in shanties and non-conducive environments that pass as classrooms. Some of them still go to school without food and in tattered clothing. In these schools, both the quantity and quality of instruction are far below expected standard.

Right now, all available indices point to the fact that there is indeed a bleak future for Nigerian children. At birth, not many of them are lucky enough to survive the first few months due to the parlous health care system that engenders high level of infant mortality. Unfortunately, 25 percent of them die before they can reach five years of age from avoidable causes. In spite of availability of preventive measures against child-killer diseases, Nigeria is still one of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the greatest figure of child deaths.

Even children that survive this level face the problem of malnutrition and stunted growth. They live in an unfriendly environment with little hope of attaining their aspirations in life. In most families, children’s opinions do not count, as they are not tolerated. The female child suffers most deprivations due to inherent discrimination in the family in favour of the male child.

One noticeable area the government has not been forthcoming is the implementation of the Child Rights Act. Though the National Assembly passed the Act in 2003, only about 18 states out of the 36 in the federation have passed the Act into law after domesticating it to suit their peculiar needs and circumstances. Passing the Act is one thing, implementing the provisions of the Act is another. Non-implementation of the Act would amount to mortgaging the future of Nigerian children.

Beyond passing the Act, all the tiers of government must take more than a passing interest in the welfare of our children. As the leaders of tomorrow, Nigerian children deserve to be offered the best in terms of education, health, environment and other indices that impinge on their overall well being. Nigerian children should be well catered for and their opinions heard and respected on issues that affect them. The present deplorable state is unacceptable.

It calls for a drastic and fundamental change for the better. That is the only way the celebration of Children’s Day can be meaningful in the country.

The Sun News Online

WHO steps up polio war in Nigeria, others

ALTHOUGH Nigeria still has over half of the global number for new polio cases so far this year, according to the United Nations, the world body has stated that there is progress in the effort of the international community to reach and vaccinate more Nigerian children in the northern states of the country.

A UN statement based on a World Health Organisation (WHO) report issued over the weekend said that mass vaccination campaigns are reaching more children than ever in polio-prone states of northern Nigeria.

Nigeria is among the four countries, along with Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, where the disease is still endemic, but the UN agency is now praising state governors from northern Nigeria whose involvement in the immunisation campaigns is getting more. The UN Special Envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was also dispatched to states in northern Nigeria a few years ago and he mobilised northern leaders and people to actively participate in the immunisation campaigns of UN agencies which had been met with resistance in some northern states even by political leaders at that time.

Specifically, WHO stated that Kano State recorded the most progress "where in ongoing tests this year, evaluators have found 12 per cent of children who had never been immunised, compared to 50 per cent in 2008."

A UN statement added that "the number of children in Nigeria who have never been immunised against the disease - which is contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces and mainly affects children under five - has decreased since last year to 8 per cent from 16 per cent."

According to WHO's latest figures," 243 people in Nigeria had been diagnosed with polio from the start of 2009 to 12 May, up from 167 confirmed cases during the same period in 2008. Nearly 800 people were infected with polio in Nigeria last year."

Altogether this year, 417 polio cases have been reported globally so far, according to the WHO.

Earlier this year in February, another UN agency, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced that some 53 million children under the age of five, including every girl and boy in Nigeria, have been targeted by a mass polio immunisation campaign across West Africa.

Under that mass campaign, UNICEF said a door-to-door polio eradication drive is planned to sweep through eight countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, C�te d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo, and Nigeria, aiming to reach every child even in the remotest of areas and employing 162,000 trained immunisers.

Indeed, a good number of the immunisers worked to stop last year's polio outbreak which hit northern Nigeria and spread to six countries in West Africa after the wild polio virus had already re-infected Niger in 2007, as well as Chad and Cameroun in Central Africa.

The total cost of the campaign was put at $29 million for the seven countries, with an additional $38 million for Nigeria, including the cost of the vaccine, operational costs, social mobilisation and surveillance.

The campaign had a working coalition of the health ministries of all the countries, as well as support from UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and Rotary International, among others, representing what is now known in the international community as an integral part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Polio is a highly infectious and incurable viral disease contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces. It mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralysed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilised.

The Guardian

NIGERIA: Bishop charged with killing ‘witch children’ after TV confession

CHILDREN TARGETTED: Over hundred kids may have been killed by crazed ‘bishop’

Torture and murder claims involving 110 kids made in Channel 4 documentary

A self-styled ‘bishop’ who confessed to allegedly killing 110 ‘witch’ children in a Channel 4 documentary last year, is to again face court on murder charges next month.

Sunday Okon Williams and four others will face a court on June 8, ThisDay newspaper reported.

They are facing torture and murder charges over claims they made in the Channel 4

documentary, Saving Africa’s Witch Children, which was broadcast on November 12, 2008.

In the documentary, Williams claimed he had the power to exorcise witchcraft spirits from children. He also claimed he allegedly killed 110 children in Akwa Ibom State while trying to exorcise witchcraft from them.

Williams, founder of a spiritual healing home at Ibaka, Mbo Local Government area, and the four others last appeared before an Oron High Court on May 14.

The other accused persons include Pastor Samuel Excellence, Udeme Okon William, Ezekiel Bassey Oforkudok and Akpe Alfred Akpe.

They have all pleaded not guilty, with newswire, Reuters, reporting that Williams has since recanted his statement, saying he only killed the "witchcraft spirit" in the children.

They were arrested by embarrassed Nigerian government officials shortly after the documentary was aired.

Presiding Judge, Justice Archibong Archibong, denied them bail so they will remain at Eket Prison until the next court date.

Reuters said rights campaigners have long lamented the damage done to children by fraudulent pastors or "witchdoctors" in some parts of Nigeria.

Many convince parents that their children are possessed and will bring misfortune such as divorce or disease, in order to extort money to perform exorcisms, Reuters said.

Gary Foxcroft, program director of Stepping Stones Nigeria, a nonprofit that helps alleged witch children in the region told CNN recently that states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River have about 15,000 children branded as witches. Most of them end up abandoned and abused on the streets, he added.

Voice Online

Let God of justice arise in Niger Delta

As you read this, thousands of innocent persons, especially women, children and the aged have been massacred in Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta State in the Nigeria's oil belt. About 20,000 persons are displaced and trapped in the creeks, mangrove swamps and bushes of Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State in Nigeria.

The onslaught by the Joint Task Force on the orders of the Federal Government started on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 and has progressed from house to house to burning of persons and property in Okerenkoko and Oporoza communities. Other communities affected are Kokodiagbene, Kurutie and Kunukunuma, all Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu clan of Delta State.

This action by the federal government and its JTF is cruel, appalling, barbaric, inhuman and sinful. Gbaramatu may be the starting point, but if we all remain silent the whole region will be engulfed in the inferno. Deploying four helicopter gun ships, 24 gunboats and over 7,000 military men to communities in peace time and in the name of hunting out criminals is a declaration of war on peaceful communities of innocent and harmless citizens. The militants live in the camps not in the communities.

Why has the federal government decided to give the children of the Niger Delta stone instead of bread? ìWhy should the Gentiles say, so where is their Godî - Psalm 115:2; and Psalm 82:3 says, ìdefend the poor and the fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked.î We therefore urge Niger Deltans to call upon God to deliver them from the hand of the wicked. The endless war and killing of Christians in some parts of Nigeria is gradually being brought down to our domain. We must not allow this to continue.

We want to use this medium to call on the Christian community to intervene in the Niger Delta crisis to find a lasting solution to the nagging incidents of genocide that have recurred over the years in several communities such as the sacking of Umuechem in 1990 in Rivers State; invasion of Ogoni communities in the early 1990s and the subsequent killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995; the sacking of Iko community in Akwa Ibom State in 1997; the razing down of Odi, Opia and Ikenyan communities in 1999 in Bayelsa State; Odioma community in Bayelsa State, 2005; Agge community in Bayelsa State, 2008, and now Gbaramatu clan in Delta State, 2009.

It is time the churches at the national and international levels took decisive steps toward the resolution of the crisis to forestall further loss of lives and properties.
We are anguished, pained and shocked beyond description that a government that has vowed and pledged a total commitment to the rule of law could suddenly become so lawless to attack and destroy unarmed, oppressed, afflicted citizens of Gbaramatu kingdom, especially vulnerable populations, including women, children, the aged, and physically challenged among others. The Federal Government has rolled out ammunition and all its armoury against harmless women and children, bombing and killing them in their thousands, rendering them homeless and leaving them at the mercy of the rampaging genocidal Nigerian military.

As a matter of urgency, men of God and the churches in the Niger Delta region need to rise in support of the people to protect their common heritage by faith.

• Emem Okon, Annkio Briggs & Hilda Dokubo ,
Gender Coalition Against Genocide (GAG).

The Sun News On-line

Child Witches: Accused in the Name of Jesus

This promises to be an interesting Nightline. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some evangelical pastors have been accusing some unruly children of witchcraft and holding exorcisms.

WARNING: This clip footage from Nightline is disturbing.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7619753

Here's the release:

In a special edition of "Nightline," ABC News anchor Dan Harris documents a new and growing phenomenon in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where children are accused of witchcraft by Evangelical pastors and subjected to often abusive "exorcisms" held at churches throughout the Congolese capital। Harris, who covers faith issues for the network, and a team of producers recently traveled to the region to see first-hand how this new breed of Evangelical pastor profits from this activity, which regularly leads to children being banished from their homes by their own families. As Harris reports, decades of war and poverty in the region have contributed to a virtual epidemic of exorcisms, performed with the cooperation of the children's own parents. A preview of the story will air on "World News with Charles Gibson" on May 21st at 6:30pm ET.

A stepmother tells Mr। Harris that she believes her two stepsons, ages 6 and 8, are witches because they "have been stealing their step sister's blood to fly at night."

Harris visited several Evangelical churches in the capital city of Kinshasa to witness pastors denounce these helpless and traumatized children as witches in the name of God before large crowds। Some pastors are paid to perform abusive "deliverance ceremonies" or exorcisms that can involve starving, beating and sometimes killing the children. In one ceremony, a boy is held down as hot wax is poured on his stomach. The parents in this case and others seem to embrace the exorcism. As one man says about his accused daughter, "I believe she is a witch because the pastor told me," and explains that there can be no other reason for his money and health problems. According to Save the Children in 2005, approximately 2,000 churches performed "deliverance ceremonies" in Mbuji-Mayi and an even larger number operate in Kinshasa.

A Congolese social worker, Arnold Mushiete, who works with children accused of witchcraft tells Mr। Harris that even after the "exorcisms" have allegedly been performed, most of these children end up on the streets, with no hope of reuniting with their families. REEJER estimates that over 70% of Kinshasa's fifteen thousand plus street children were kicked out of their homes after being accused of witchcraft. Harris meets many homeless teenage girls forced into prostitution. Some leave their babies on the side of the road while they turn tricks.

Mr. Harris took the evidence he gathered to a government official in charge of a special commission to protect accused child witches. The official himself expressed his belief that children could in fact be witches, and went on to say that if a child has a "bulging tummy and big black eyes" he or she may be a witch.
This special edition of ABC News "Nightline"-- Child Witches: Accused in the Name of Jesus airs Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 11:35pm

StarNewsOnline

Abuse of child 'witches' on rise, aid group says

(CNN) -- Christian Eshiett was a rambunctious pre-teen who spent a lot of time cavorting with his friends in southern Nigeria. He would skip school and run away from home for days, frustrating his grandfather, who oversaw the boy's care.

Children branded as witches protest on February 26, 2009, in the southern Nigerian city of Eket.

"I beat him severely with canes until they broke, yet he never shed a tear," said Eshiett Nelson Eshiett, 76. "One day, I took a broom to hit him and he started crying. Then I knew he was possessed by demons. ... Nigerian witches are terrified of brooms."

From that day two years ago, Christian, now 14, was branded a witch. The abuse intensified.

"They would take my clothes off, tie me up and beat me," he told CNN in a telephone interview.

The teen is one of the so-called witch children in Eket, a city in oil-rich Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria.

They are blamed for causing illness, death and destruction, prompting some communities to put them through harrowing punishments to "cleanse" them of their supposed magical powers.

"Children accused of witchcraft are often incarcerated in churches for weeks on end and beaten, starved and tortured in order to extract a confession," said Gary Foxcroft, program director of Stepping Stones Nigeria, a nonprofit that helps alleged witch children in the region.

Many of those targeted have traits that make them stand out, including learning disabilities, stubbornness and ailments such as epilepsy, he added.

The issue of "child witches" is soaring in Nigeria and other parts of the world, Foxcroft said.

The states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River have about 15,000 children branded as witches, and most of them end up abandoned and abused on the streets, he said.

Christian ran away from home and wandered around for two years with other children similarly accused. He said they stole, begged for food and performed menial jobs to survive.

The plight of "child witches" is raising concern among aid organizations, including the United Nations.

"It is a growing issue worldwide, among not just African communities, but in countries such as Nepal as well," said Jeff Crisp, head of policy development and evaluation for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "We are trying to see whether it is a neglected protected issue."

Belief in witchcraft thrives worldwide. About 1,000 people accused of being witches in Gambia were locked in detention centers in March and forced to drink a dangerous hallucinogenic potion, human rights organization Amnesty International said.

In 2005, relatives of an 8-year-old Angolan girl living in England were convicted of torturing her for being a "witch," according to the Times Online.

Pastors have been accused of worsening the problem by claiming to have powers to recognize and exorcise "child witches," sometimes for a fee, aid workers said.

But some are true believers, such as one minister in Lagos, Nigeria. He pinpoints children affected by witchcraft for free, he said.

"Sometimes, we get a dream that shows us a certain person is suffering from witchcraft," said the Rev. Albert Aina, a senior pastor at Four Square Gospel Church. "Sometimes, you have a child who has inexplicable body marks because of struggling in the night. They are easy to identify, but why charge when you have been given a gift by God?" Aina said.

Once a child is branded a witch, the stigma can last forever.

Christian was reunited with his grandfather, a former theater instructor at a university in Nigeria. Eshiett said he let his son's child return home because he loves him and he advocates for youth education.

But, he added, he does not think Christian has been or can be freed from witchcraft.

"When you are possessed, you are possessed; no one can deliver you from Satan," Eshiett said, adding that his grandson is a witch because he still exhibits unruly behavior and does not take education seriously.

Aid organizations acknowledge that the belief is acceptable and popular in some communities.

"It is not the belief in witchcraft that we are concerned about," Foxcroft said. "We acknowledge people's right to hold this belief on the condition that this does not lead to child abuse."

Foxcroft, whose documentary, "Saving Africa's Witch Children," was broadcast last year, spoke to a U.N. panel on the issue in April.

The aid worker said he is planning a global conference in 2010 and public awareness campaigns, including addressing the issue in Nigerian movies. The nation's film industry, dubbed Nollywood, is a popular form of entertainment in African countries.

Government officials also have joined the fight.

Akwa Ibom recently added a clause into the Child Rights Act, saying that anyone found guilty of branding a child a witch would get up to 12 years in prison.

"This is groundbreaking, and Stepping Stones Nigeria applauds the Akwa Ibom state government for this," Foxcroft said.

But, he added, there is more work to be done, and other groups, especially churches, have to team up to resolve the problem.

"The role of the international Christian community in this cannot be underestimated," Foxcroft said. "Unfortunately, the fact remains that this belief system is being spread by so-called Christians."

CNN's attempts to reach Akwa Ibom state officials through phone calls and e-mails were unsuccessful। A Nigerian federal communications official declined to comment.

CNN.com

Child Witch - Bishop, Four Others Arraigned

Uyo — Self-styled Bishop, Sunday Okon Williams, who allegedly killed 110 children in Akwa Ibom State, in an attempt to exorcise witchcraft from them, was yesterday arraigned before an Oron High Court, along with four others. They are facing torture and murder charges.

Williams, founder of a spiritual healing home at Ibaka, Mbo Local Government area, was arrested November last year, following a documentary: Saving Africa's Witch Children," broadcast by the United Kingdom (UK) Channel 4 station on November 12, 2008.

In the documentary, the accused, during an interview, allegedly admitted killing more than 110 children in Akwa Ibom State, as he claimed to possess the power to exorcise witchcraft spirits from children.

Embarrassed by the documentary, the state government, in conjunction with security operatives, moved swiftly to arrest and charged them to Court.

Although the accused persons pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out to them, the Presiding Judge, Justice Archibong Archibong, ordered that they be remanded at the Eket Prison.

The other accused persons include Pastor Samuel Excellence, Udeme Okon William, Ezekiel Bassey Oforkudok and Akpe Alfred Akpe.

Justice Archibong maintained that the accused could not be granted bail because of the serious nature of the case. He indicated that such application or order for bail should be made more formal before the court

In an interview, Commissioner for Information and Social Re-orientation, Mr Aniekan Umanah, said the appearance of the accused in court was a practical demonstration of the government's determination to safeguard rights of children of Akwa Ibom State, as enshrined in the Child Rights Act 2008.

The suit number HOR/3C/2009, State vs Bishop Sunday Okon William and Four others, was adjourned till June 8, 2009, for continuation of hearing.

AllAfrica