Children’s voices missing in policies, decisions making- UNICEF
By Ladi Dapson
The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF has lamented that the voices of Nigeria’s children has been missing in decisions making and policies that affect their well-being.
Joseph Senesie
Addressing guests during the unveiling, Joseph Senesie, the UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, said the 4th and 5th edition of “Da Raraffe Yaro Kan Tashi”, a radio program that targets children’s development and child rights campaign in Borno state.
He maintained that since the commencement of the program in 2022, it has been an impactful platform for building the capacity of children and educating them to know their rights.
“And what are these rights? The right to education, right to life, right to health, protection from discrimination and so on. The voices of children have been missing for too long in discourse and the formulation of policies on issues that affect them.
He noted that children who have been part of the program in recent time have been making meaningful impact in the society.
“With support from donors such as Global Partnership Education, over 70 episodes have been produced on different topics reaching at least 5.5 million people in Borno state and beyond,”he said.
Senesie maintained that children can truly become future leaders when their voices on issues concerning their lives are recognized.
“If we want oir children to be the leaders tomorrow, then we have to start listening to them now, recognize their voices when making decision concerning their rights,” he declared.
On the new seasons, Senesie said 23 children affected by conflicts have led the program with their capacity built as radio presenters and child rights champion
“They have benefited from public speaking skills and their knowledge improved on issues that affect children in Borno.” he added
He said the radio programme in Hausa language tagged “Da Rarrafe Yaro Kan Yashi” has been useful in building the capacity of children to know and defend their rights including rights to education.
He said over a million children are still out of school in northeast Borno State largely exacerbated by years of armed conflict.
Also speaking, Hajiya Yabawa Kyari, the Director of Children Affairs in the ministry of women affairs, commended UNICEF and other partners for initiating the radio programme.
She assured that Borno State government will continue to support the promotion of child rights and access to education.
She urged leaders of the state children’s parliament to embrace the initiative and prioritise ideas that reflect the needs of various categories of children in the state.
