The poem took just two
minutes and 17 seconds
to read. Nobel laureate
Wole Soyinka had written it
to commemorate the 30th
anniversary of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
He titled it “The child before a
mirror of strangers” and dedicated
it to “children of the world and
future generations”.
“As if you were never here
before,” Soyinka begins to read.
It touches on facets of childhood
today-cherished, neglected,
endangered.
The year 2019 is a milestone
for the CRC. Next year is the 30th
anniversary of the African Charter
on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child-and there are only 10 years
left before the world can assess
whether targets of the Sustainable
Development Goals have been
met.
But not many children have
fared well since last year. Nigeria’s
population is growing, and young
people are quickly filling up the
country.
Schools and health facilities are
crowding up, unable to cope with
population growth, and young
people have to fight to find work.
And childhood is bearing the
brunt.
Nigeria still ranks second after
India among countries with the
highest number of children who
die before they turn?????.
Despite response to HIV/AIDs,
some 140,000 children and 120,000
adolescents still live with the virus.
Only 35% of children and 34% of
adolescents are on antiretroviral
treatment.
Just about three in 10 infants are
get breastfeeding initiated early at
birth. Only a quarter of infants are
exclusively fed on breastmilk for
their first six months of their life.
As they grow toward the age
of four, 44 in 100 of them face
moderate to severe stuntingwhere
they are too short for their
age, a condition that impacts
their immediate health, cognitive
development and potential future.
From ages five to 19, almost 10 in
100 children will be thin or severely
thin and eight in 100 overweight
and obese.
Between 2010 and last year, only
36 in 100 children are ever enrolled
in early childhood education.
Three in 10 Nigerian children
are subjected to child labour; 18
in 100 girls are married off before
they turn 15 years; nearly 85 in
100 children face violent discipline
and four in 100 girls suffer sexual
violence.
“There is one common bond
among all of us – and that bond is
childhood,” says Soyinka., at the
reading of his poem.
“We have the responsibility to
protect and preserve the integrity
of that sole common bond, which
is pertinent to all humanity.”
The reading, a collaboration
between UNICEF and the British
Deputy High Commission, also
explores how the private sector
and entertainment industry can
help advance the SDGs and realize
children’s rights.
“Both will only be achieved
if all sectors of business are fully
engaged. Child rights and the SDGs
need to be integrated into business
principles, strategies, and plans,
which, in turn, can contribute
to more robust and inclusive
economic growth and improved
employment of young people,”
said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF
Nigeria Representative.
Artistes Cobhams Asuquo,
Niniola, Timi Dakolo, 2Baba,
Umar Sheriff and Chidinma have
released a music video, “For every
child”-pushing for respect for and
recognition of children’s rights.
Ten more years before the SDGs,
said Harriet Thompson, British
Deputy High Commissioner in
Nigeria, “We must work together
and with urgency to scale-up
solutions in Nigeria that will
improve our planet and all people’s
lives, especially our children.”
Soyinka’s poem begins and ends
with the same words drifting into
silence. “As if, as if.”
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