As the world mark International Day of African Child, Nigeria Children and Africa at large have been tasked to use the internet to improve their lives positively rather than engaging in online trivialities that will distract them from their studies.
The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who gave the charge in Abuja in commemoration of the Day of the African Child 2023 with theme “the Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment”, implored them to use the internet to acquire the right knowledge.
Mr Ojukwu said marking the day a reminder for the initiation and implementation of the right policies that will protect the child in the digital sphere.
He noted that though internet was not created particularly for children but it has become essential features and must be positioned at the heart of any process involving children as a tool for their development, he added that millions of students are increasingly spending time online for learning purposes and to derive personal development or social lives.
Ojukwu added that, the digital environment has a plethora of benefits such as enhancing innovative and inclusive education, free access to information and opportunities for self-expression, wider horizons of awareness and a radically extended scope for social interaction as well as exposing children to risk and challenges including harmful information.
According to him, “there is time for everything, don’t jump into what you don’t need at this stage, use the internet for the right knowledge, use it for positive knowledge not negative knowledge”, ‘Mr Ojukwu boss advised.
The Chairperson of the African committee of experts on the rights and welfare of child, Honourable Joseph Ndayisenga, said that, in 2022, about 590 million internet users in Africa and the figures include children who represent a third of all internet users in the world and increasingly exposed to virtual environment.
She noted that, the lives of children are impacted by the digital environment which means online need to be considered in the context of rights set forth under the African children’s charter.
Ndayisenga informed the students that, the committee acknowledges that internet has provided invaluable opportunities for the realization of children’s fundamental rights and freedoms such as right to education, freedom of expression and freedom of association among others.
Every year on 16th June, people across Africa observe the Day of the African Child.
The purpose is to promote the rights of African children and increase awareness of the difficulties they encounter.
The day was established in 1991 by the African Union, to remember the Soweto Uprising in South Africa in 16th June, 1976.
The Soweto Uprising was a student-led protest against the apartheid government’s decision to impose Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools.
The protest was met with brutal force, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of students.
The Day of the African Child also serves as a reminder of the costs paid by those students and the ongoing fight in Africa for the rights of children.
On the Day of the African Child, it is commemorated to highlight both the achievements and the difficulties in the fight for children’s rights in Africa.
Another purpose of the day is to honour the tenacity and fortitude of African children and to reaffirm our commitment to advancing their rights and welfare.
Hauwa M.
