INTRODUCTION
Sophia is a five years old girl who is constantly maltreated, malnourished, and tortured by her guardians. The neighbors are eyewitnesses and do feel pity for her. They wish to help but are afraid of having a rancor with her guardians.
Okon was accused of witchcraft and thrown out of the house after being subjected to fetish cleansing which involved interrogation, torture and the taking in of unhealthy concoctions. He roams the street naked, hungry and disheveled. People empathize with him and wish to assist but are afraid the accusations might be true.
Aisha was 16 when she was deflowered by the man she has grown up to accept as her life partner. Now at the age of forty, all she has to brag of is the man she has been married to since 16. She admires the classy lady who reads news on the national TV and the lady who speaks so fluently at the bank. She wishes to be like them but her destiny had been diverted early in life into a very rough path. One she is to endure for the rest of her life.
CHILD RIGHTS ACT
Human rights are fundamental inalienable rights that a person has just by virtue of the fact that he is a living being; irrespective of nationality, place of residence, sex, skin colour, religion, language, or any other status. Paramount amongst these is rights such as right to life, franchise, education, practice of religion, etc. But the world has diverted focus from just rights that protect lives to rights that procreate life; the right of a child.
For decades past, children have been victims of so many social vices due to their vulnerability. They have been used as a dumping ground for cruel and inhuman treatments. In some parts of the world, children are trafficked and used for prostitution or as child soldier. Narrowing it down to the Nigerian scene, children face even more severe trauma resulting from child marriage, accusation of witchcraft, harmful traditional practices, female genital mutilation, and child labour.
In other to curb this global problem, special attention had to be paid to securing the future of these vulnerable ones through a special enactment known as the Child Rights Act. The Child Rights Act is a special law enacted to protect and defend children from every condition they may be subjected to in Nigeria. This law was passed in 2003 and has been adopted as a domestic law by many states of the federation owing to its importance. The act over the years has yielded tremendous benefits to the country. It is worthy to note that the enactment of the act in Akwa Ibom State assisted in eradicating the practice of torturing children accused of witchcraft which was not just a matter of national but international concern. This shows how effective act is, but it also has major setbacks.
Although the Child Rights Act serves as a barb wire, protecting children from the external abuse of the world, the act can only function if enacted by state assembles. But sad to say, some states of the federation are yet to domesticate this law and at such are not under its umbrella. With the act not being in force in such states, we still have reports of children being traded as commodities in the stock market. Children are still used for forced labour, denied access to basic education and most pathetic of all is child marriage prevalent in some parts of Nigeria.
Like Aisha mentioned earlier, many girls are denied a life of their own as they are put up in the marriage market at a tender age of 15, bargained, sold and made to live with a man probably old enough to be called Daddy; but she calls him My Husband.
Some time ago, it was believed that this practice was perpetrated due to ignorance, poverty, and illiteracy, but sadly, the elites and wealthy are actually the champion of this barbaric course today. Granted, education plays a key role in determining whether a girl will marry as a child or not. In the northern part of Nigeria where quality of education is poor and expensive for the children roaming the street, marriage has been seen as a perfect alternative. But despite that, traditions and religious practices have stood out as a driving force of this menace.
The Federal Government has made child protection easily accessible by creating departments for it in security agencies like the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Police Force. On regular basis, the Nigeria Immigration Service rescue teenagers who are about being trafficked across the Nigerian border and assist them in getting their life back. This is an applaudable initiative by the Nigerian Government as these security agencies are available in every locality of the country and can easily be accessed by the citizens but most people are not even aware that they render such services. The Federal Government went ahead to launch the African Union campaign to end child marriage in 2016 and a national strategy by the ministry of women affairs to end child marriage with a view to reducing it by 40% in 2020 and ending the practice in 2030. But despite these efforts, child marriage seems to be on the increase.
Looking at northern Nigeria where the practice is rampant, the tradition of betrothing female children to mature males is still prevalent in this digital generation. Child marriage in this region has become a normal practice due to the influence of Islamic religion and sharia law. Recent statistics shows that in northern Nigeria, 43% of girls are married off before they turn 18 and 17% are given to marriage before their 15th birthday with figures as high as 76% in the Northeast region of the country and just 10% in the southeast region. But why is this menace still prevalent in a country with a strong constitution and a law like the Child Right Act?
The Nigerian constitution has no prescribed minimum age of marriage. The Child Rights Act which is supposed to fill this void has set the minimum age of marriage at 18. But the Child Right Act has to be passed in state assemblies before it becomes enforceable and so far, some of the states perpetrating this evil act have refused to domesticate this law. Also, the marriage age set by the Child Rights Act conflicts with that set by Islam. While the Child Rights Act sets the minimum age for marriage at 18, Islam has no specific age limit to mark childhood. Once a girl shows signs of puberty, she is seemed ripe for harvesting. No wonder among the 12 states yet to adopt the Child Rights Act, 11 are northern states that practice Islam.
CONCLUSION
Human Right is said to be inalienable and fundamental but a discussion of the child marriage menace has led us to wonder how true that claim is as many female children are denied the right to live a normal life; a life of choice. Despite Nigeria having a strong constitution, adopting the Child Right Act and various programs put in place to protect children, our girls are still married off before the age of 18 as the constitution does not stipulate a minimum age for marriage and the Child Right Act is not adopted in all the states of the federation. It is therefore necessary to look back at the constitution which is an umbrella over the whole nation and have a minimum age for marriage fixed.
Security agencies like the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Police Force who have department that handle child right related issues should take time to inform and sensitize the children on how to access the quickest and easiest aid in times of abuse. States who are yet to domesticate the Child Right Act should be compelled not just to pass the bill but also enforce it. It is time to end this problem before it becomes a nationwide epidemic.
References
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