IBADAN — Dr. Mutiyat Oladayo, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, University of Ibadan, has advised parents and guardians to stop labeling their children as fetish as a result of superstitious beliefs.
Oladayo, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan on Friday, said such profiling amounted to child abuse and a violation of child’s rights.
Commemorating the 2021 International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, she expressed her sadness over the subjection of innocent children to hash punishment over little mistakes they commit.
She described the maiming and sometimes, the killing of children by guardians, foster parents, and other adults for any form of offence, as barbaric.
“For this celebration to be truly worthwhile, everyone in the society must stop seeing children as objects of labour, conflict and symbol of evil spirit.
“Furthermore, we must constantly introduce mechanisms that will ensure that international protocols that protect the rights of children against violent aggression are complied with,” she said.
She reiterated the importance of the African continent recognising that series of conflicts had erupted in the continent within the last 100 years that had made the children become victims of war and aggression.
Oladayo added that war and violence could go a long way in negatively affecting children’s perception about the development of society.
She, therefore, advocated for a universal master plan for a better future for the children.
According to her, the master plan will include, ending all forms of violence against children across all regions in Africa and preventing them from neglect and exploitation.
The scholar said that there must be proper care from the parents, being the first contact with the children.
She, therefore, urged parents to avoid exposing their children to psychological and physical abuse by not allowing them to beg and hawk around when they should be in school.
At a special convention on August 1982, the United Nations announced that June 4 of every year to observe the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
