…four year old twins beaten for not writing well

When men who are expected to lead by example do the opposite, people feel disappointed. When men of God act out the opposite of God’s nature, shock and disillusionment set in.

And so it was that an Anglican priest was left in utter confusion when some pastors of the popular Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) Madalla (a border town between Abuja and Niger State) attacked and nearly lynched him for daring to report an incident regarding his four year old twins to the police.

A badly shaken Rev. Kingsley Nwachukwu of the Anglican Communion would not stop thanking God for sparing his life while recounting his escape from death in the hands of a senior pastor (Victor Greatman) and over 20 student pastors when he arrived a school owned by the church with a cop. The school is located within the church premises.

A police report on the occurrence obtained by Law & Society established Rev. Nwachukwu’s story, even putting the number of his attackers at over 30. On being alerted about the incident, the police said a team of operatives was detailed to arrest the head teacher, senior pastor and others involved in the assault.

However, when Law & Society visited Kingdom Heritage Model Schools, Madalla to ascertain these allegations, an assistant pastor, Chriswealth Onwuzuruike said the head teacher, Mrs Bolarinwa was busy and would not see us. He, however, took one of our editor’s telephone numbers assuring she would call.

His story:

“This is a report on child abuse. The abuse of our children. We have three children attending the Kingdom Heritage Model Schools, Madalla. Two of the three are twins and this abuse climaxed into my very person being assaulted physically.

“It all started at the beginning of 2018/2019 academic session, precisely around November. The girl twin in nursery one came home reporting that one of her teachers, Miss Jennifer, was not allowing her to sit on her seat and that she had to stand throughout the day. We didn’t take that complaint seriously initially but the complaint continued.

“She kept complaining that Miss Jennifer doesn’t allow her to sit on her seat. That other people sit on her seat. I had to go to the headmistress and request that the girl be moved to another class. The request was based on these issues which my baby kept complaining about. I saw that the child was no longer happy being in that class and what I thought about was solution, since there was another nursery one class where the brother is. I demanded that she be moved to that class. She was moved reluctantly.

“Shortly after that, series of complaints began to come in through the children again. There’s another teacher there, Miss Rejoice who, we later understood is a very close friend to the Miss Jennifer. The children began to complain that each time they don’t write well, Miss Rejoice flogs them with a long class board ruler. And that, each time they don’t write well, she’ll not allow them to eat the lunch we packaged for them while other children were eating. Often times they’ll carry the lunch back home. She goes on to threaten that after school, they’ll not go home. They’re little children, four year olds. They won’t understand that once I come for them, they must go home, so they became jittery and began to develop cold feet about going to school. Every morning we have to cajole and encourage them to go to school.

“It continued for a long time that we now began to take several visits to the head teacher again. My wife went up to four times; even explaining to them that beating a child or hitting children on the head is not a teaching method and could cause damage. After she had gone up to four times and nothing happened, I went myself.

 “On one occasion my wife demanded to meet with the teacher, she (head teacher) said, it won’t happen again. I went four times myself after which, I wrote a formal letter indicating that should this abuse continue, I’ll have to take legal steps.

“Thereafter, nothing happened. That was January 2019. Sometime in March; on a Friday, my son came back and said he was having headache. I asked why and he said ‘Miss Rejoice slapped me on the head.’  I tried to downplay it but on Saturday, he complained again. On Sunday when he complained after church service, I rushed him to University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) Gwagwalada, where we have NHIS services. Unfortunately, the GOPD closed at 8.00 a.m. so we went to the emergency section where doctors attended to him, prescribed drugs and asked us to come back the next day (Monday) for proper prescription.

“We went back on Monday 25^th of March and saw a doctor. On our way back, I branched into Madalla Police Station to lodge a complaint. Afterwards, the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) detailed a policeman to go with me to the school to invite the teacher.”

The story now takes a different turn…

“The moment we got into the school premises, I told the policeman, as if I had a premonition – ‘I don’t need to go with you, let me stay outside.’ He said: ‘No, you need to go and show me the headmistress’s office.’ I wish I refused. This whole problem would have been averted. However, I went in with him and met headmistress. The policeman explained he was sent from Madalla Police Station to invite Miss Rejoice who has been reported to have been abusing a particular child.

“The headmistress said: ‘It has not gotten to this.’ I said, Madam, how can you say it has not gotten to this? How many times have I been to you to report? To be fair and sincere, the last time I brought a letter to you and copied the Inspector Crime, you knelt down in your office, asking me not to worry that this thing will not happen again. Nothing changed. So, you cannot say it has not gotten to that. She got up and said: ‘Ok, let me go and tell the senior pastor. Pastor Victor Greatman is the Senior Pastor in Living Faith Madalla. I never met him before. I only bring my children to school there and pay fees. I do not owe them anything.

 “The next thing, I saw was two men that walked in together and some other young men that came out with them from the church. One of them who turned out to be Pastor Greatman said, ‘where is the man’ and I was pointed out to him.  He immediately turned to me and shouted: ‘Are you the only person that has children in this school? Are you the only parent that has children in this school?’ Meanwhile, the policeman, Joseph Achabe was there in uniform. Again, he repeated: ‘Are you the only parent that has children in this school? Did anybody force you to bring your children to the school?’  So, I began to feel that the head teacher must have made certain insinuations. He then added: ‘Why should you bring a policeman into this compound?’

“I tried to say – is that what you are asking me? And said ‘Yes! In fact you are mad’ I responded – you cannot say that. These things you are saying do not justify these children being abused. The next thing I heard was ‘get this man out of this compound.’ Suddenly, the man with him whom I later understood to be the assistant pastor, head butted me on my eyes. It felt like a stone hit my eyes. I wasn’t seeing. I was receiving blows from all corners all over my body. I was even wearing a clerical shirt. I was dragged by my clerical shirt. I could not see anything. They broke my right hand.  The muscles dislocated. I was beaten even with chairs. When they were going to carry iron somewhere, I heard the senior pastor say, ‘block the gate, I’ll kill this man here.’ It was then I heard the policeman say ‘run out of the compound.’ Blindly, I managed to run out of the compound and we rushed back to the station.

“When we got to the station, the policeman reported to his DPO what happened. When the DPO looked at me he was angry. He ordered his surveillance team to move down to the school and arrest everyone they can find. That was how they arrested the head teacher, Miss Rejoice and some of the men. Meanwhile the man that gave the orders to beat me was at large. Throughout this case they have not caught him. He has been hiding but his assistant pastor was also arrested.

“They were detained for two days; after which the police arraigned them in court on FIR for criminal charges. The magistrate after the hearing ordered that they be remanded in prison custody until Monday. They were remanded for two days after which the magistrate started receiving pressure and had to write a note to the court registrar to release them. The case is still in court.

Meanwhile, the headmistress, Mrs Bolarinwa in a recorded telephone chat claimed that it was Rev. Nwachukwu who assaulted the senior pastor. She, nonetheless, confirmed that she, the assistant pastor, Miss Rejoice and one other person were detained for two days at the Madalla Police Station and remanded for one day at the Suleja prison on the orders of a magistrate. But, she could not explain why they were detained while Rev. Nwachukwu who she claimed assaulted her pastor was spared.

Head teacher’s account:

 “Rev. Nwachukwu, is one of my parents. He has been coming to the school to come and disturb. The man has twins in our school. They are in different classes. We have Nursery 1 Grace, and Nursery 1 Glory. The man came to school one day and told me that his girl twin came back and told him that the class teacher told her to stand up from 8 am to 2pm. I told him that this is not true. But the man believed his child. He came to make trouble with the school. He asked that the girl’s class should be changed. We changed the class in order to make peace. But since they have been together, it’s from one problem to another. No parent has come to me to say this is what this teacher did to my child except this man.

“He wrote a letter to the school. He stated there that his child complained to him that her teacher told her she would not go home after school. Another one was he wrote to complain that his child complained that the teacher said she would not eat her lunch if she did not write well in the class. These children are lagging behind in class. What others are doing, they couldn’t do it. And we don’t use cane in this class; whether small or big. You cannot come to the class and find cane.

“This last one that even happened that made him to come to my office was that he came one day and said the child came home and said the class teacher slapped him. This child came and broke one of our key to the door. We had to call a carpenter to come and remove the key and fixed another one. And this child went home and told the father that the class teacher beat him and the father was like, he took the child to Gwagwalada General Hospital for a check-up. The wife came in the morning and I begged her that we’re very sorry for everything. That it will not happen again.

“Before you know it, the husband came in the afternoon towards closing time, with a policeman to the school premises, when the children were learning. And he now said he wants to take the teacher to the police station. I told them that you cannot take her away, that, this thing has not gotten to this area that you are going to; this teacher is trying to help your child and when you say you don’t need it we’ll leave your child alone. You can’t just take the teacher to police station. But he insisted that he must take the teacher away.

“I now told him that I didn’t employ myself; let me inform the people that put me here. I ran to the pastor’s office, called him and on his way out he called his assistant. All of us, we went to the school premises. When my oga was trying to make peace with him, he was just insulting the man of God. I could remember one of the things that my oga asked him that – ‘but you are not the only parent here, why are you doing like this now?’ He was like, telling my oga that you are very stupid for asking me that question, he said all manner of things. Before you know it, he was coming to my oga to beat my oga up. His assistant came in between them just to separate them.

 “Before you know it, he began to remove his shoes, remove his shirt on his body. That’s how he held my assistant pastor’s tie trying to strangle the assistant pastor. That was all.  That was all. We didn’t do anything bad to this man. Just to make peace with him while he was here with a policeman. The policeman was there.  The police cannot do anything. The only thing the man did was to run to the police station to lie that we beat him up. That was all.”

Responding to why a team of policemen came to the school to arrest her and the pastors, she said it was because they were trying to solve the problem. We reminded her that the policeman who accompanied Rev. Nwachukwu to the school reported to his superiors that nearly 30 persons beat up the Reverend before he narrowly escaped. Her reply was: “Everything is a lie. The police will not tell you what happened.”

 In their remand, her response was: “Yes, four of us were taken to the police station and detained in the police station for two days, the third day was spent in prison.”

The kids were bristling with excitement. When they saw the profile of the amusement park from afar, their joy could no longer be contained as some actually stood by the window, peering and wishing the driver could go faster! As their vehicle approached the gates of this enchanted place, their eyes shone with delight!

It was ‘FIDA’s (International Federation of Women Lawyers) Fun Day With Orphans’ and what a magical Saturday it turned out to be! A special Children’s Day gift for 50 orphans of the Vine Heritage Orphanage, Kiyi Village, Kuje, Abuja.

Prior to the arrival of the kids, FIDANs turned out in their numbers at Magic Land, Abuja to have a swell time with them. Chairperson of FIDA Abuja, Mrs Rachel Adejo-Andrew explained the intent behind the event.

“This is about giving back to the society. This is about children who don’t get to go out to fun places like our kids. We chose to make this children’s day memorable for them so we came out in our numbers to give them a special day out.”

Publicity Secretary of the association, Mrs Mojirayo Ogunlana – Nkanga also gave an insight. “The number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Nigeria is estimated at 17.5 million. Among these, are kids who have to be raised in orphanages where there’s barely enough room to grow or having to enjoy some of the benefits our children enjoy. Yes, they may have footballs, skipping ropes, and the likes but we get to expand their world views with other amazing fun games, and not only that, they get the opportunity to interact with mothers and grandmas in a relaxing environment.”

Information on the Home’s website chronicles their Odyssey thus:

“While Nigerian historians have largely credited Mary Slessor, the Scottish Missionary who lived in Nigeria in the 19th century, with helping to eradicate the killing of twins in southern Nigeria, it is heart-breaking to note that infanticide and other dangerous practices are still prevalent within rural communities adjoining the Nigerian Capital.

“The efforts to rescue infants from deliberate killing by tribal Bassa community within the FCT (Federal Capital Territory) started in 1996 when the family of Olusola Stevens, who are missionaries, was called upon by a native woman to help in rescuing her child who was to be killed as a sacrifice to the local deity to ensure a bountiful agricultural harvest. The missionaries indeed intervened, and that child, Aishat Ruth Garba was rescued and is now a 20 year old student at Government Day Secondary School, Gwagwalada, FCT.

“Since that eventful intervention, these missionaries went ahead to establish a rehabilitation centre named Vine Heritage Home in 2004 to take care of such rescued kids. All the rescued children were transferred into the Vine Heritage Home within the age range of a few hours after birth to 5 months old, and have remained in the home with some of them now in their teens.

“There are several reasons why children in those communities stand a chance of being deliberately killed. Within the F.C.T., the native Bassa-komo, Gbariyamma, Ganagana communities have this unusual traditional belief that if a mother dies from child birth or while nursing a baby, the baby is evil and must therefore be killed by being buried (alive) with the deceased mother. Over 70% of the children currently living in Vine Heritage Home were rescued for this very reason.

“Other reasons why some infants are being killed in these communities include the belief that twins and other multiple births are abominations and portend evil and as such all such children are killed shortly after birth by being left to starve, poisoned, or buried alive. Around 97% of the 72 children currently residing at the Vine Heritage Home belong to this category.

“Other traditional bases for infanticide in these native communities include:

• Growth of the upper teeth before the lower teeth in infants.
• Sacrifice of infants unto the local deity so as to have a bountiful agricultural harvest.
• Children born with defects.

Communities Affected

Across Gurara, Abaji Area Council: Kpago, Gulida, Baragada, Kwakwa, Suhoipogokolo, Paiko, Bassa, Gbangede, Shadadi, Baribari, Ruga, Nasarawa, Kutara, Zuhi, Gwaja, Kasha, Adagba, KafakoKpando, Lapaihulohuwo, Shipukamdu

Gwagwalada Area Council: Tsoho-Kaida, Dako, Dawaki, Pete, Kwalita, Ashara, Tsako, Wuranbi, Kuturpo, Jabili, Alonwama, Wuyewuye, Kasanki, Shipipikidi, Balaki

Across River Usman, Kuje Area Council: Dodo, Awana, Tepese, Makana, Gwara I, Gwara II, Deshi, Kalagba, Gwuin, Kulo, Sauka

Kwali Area Council: Tungbudu, Gomani, Fuka, Golo, Lapa, Tsulogwo, Tepese, Gurugi, Sadaba, Keru, Gberegi, Kwala

Sadly, lack of government presence in these places has facilitated the continuance of the barbarous acts. Perhaps, if there were at least health centres or maternity homes, the officials could raise alarm when certain births occur to prevent infanticide. Unfortunately, in spite of an elaborate documentary that spanned two Sundays by Channels Television in 2014 or thereabouts as well as several news reports on this matter, very little change has occurred.

It is then hoped that FIDA and other like-minded organisations would press further to ensure that the FCT administration does the needful.

FIDA, acronym for the Spanish name “Federación Internacional dé Abogadas” which translates to “International Federation of Women Lawyers”, is a Non-Governmental, Non-Profit Organization made up of women lawyers called to  practise Law in Nigeria.

FIDA was formed in 1964 by Mrs (Lady) Aduke Alakija in Nigeria. FIDA Nigeria is a member of FIDA International founded in 1944 in Mexico by a group of women lawyers from Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Unites States of America. It has been in existence for over fifty years and has branches in thirty-three states of the nation.

FIDA envisions: “A just, peaceful and equitable Nigerian society where women and children’s rights, interests are guaranteed, in which they have the freedom to choose and live their own future.’

Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve the rights, interests and well-being of women and children through the use of legal framework to ensure that they live free from all forms of discrimination, violence and abuse in the society.

The callous and unfeeling tendencies of the average today’s Nigerian was again manifest when a man who had almost escaped death aboard an airline nearly slipped away on account of negligent airport officials.

Once deciding on a matter bothering on negligence, Hon. Justice SBA Candide Johnson said: “It is this type of reckless impunity and consciencelessness that makes many people complain about callousness and wickedness in Nigeria.”

A Nigerian doctor, James King, on his Facebook narrated how he helped save the life of a passenger who almost died aboard a flight from Kano to Lagos.

 Hear his remarkable story:

“It’s getting clearer now, …why I was born. I just saved a life who would have possibly died mid-air in the aircraft I was a passenger in.

“I was on seat 14F of BOEING 737-300 of AZMAN AIR from Kano to Lagos.

“Suddenly, his head dropped. A passenger on seat to my far left on the other side of the aisle. The Indian man sitting beside him screamed and called the attention of the air officials.

“The Indian said it seems the man passed out. We were still several miles above sea level. Far from Lagos our destination.

As it is with my nature, I was listening to some music with my earpiece on board this flight. I was rocking myself head forward and backward, my hands slightly moving up to the powerful music of SHOW US MERCY by Will Adiks.

“The movements to the unconscious passenger got my attention. I removed my earpiece.

“In five powerful long strides I got to the dying patient. To the Air Hostesses, ‘I am Dr James King. I want to take over. He is deteriorating fast.’ The Air Hostess said, ‘Ok sir. Go ahead.’ And she gave me way.

“I quickly checked his pulse around his radial artery. It was small volume, irregularly irregular rhythm. I shouted, ‘Any doctor, nurse or paramedic here?’ No response.

“All the other passengers on board were staring at me with a forlorn look. As if there was an impending danger to all of them. I turned to the immaculately dressed three Air Hostess around me. ‘We can save this life together. His life depends on us now.’

“I turned to one of the hostesses, ‘Can you please get us all the medical boxes and kits in this aircraft?’ She responded, ‘Ok sir’ and walked fast away.

“I asked two other male passengers to help me lift the dying man from his seat to the aisle between the airfraft seats, …so I can have more space to start my intervention on him. We placed him on the ground.

“I immediate positioned him supine and also freed his respiratory airways by tilting his head backwards a bit. I again asked, ‘please can I have any cloth or anything to support his neck.’

“The air hostesses removed their top suits clothing and handed them to me. Obviously well trained. Thank you AZMAN Air.

“I was surprised at such empathy by the Air Hostesses. I was truly encouraged and energised. I folded two of them and placed them under the neck the of dying man.

“At this point the dying man was already having rolling up eyes, …all white. I listened to his apex heart-beat. It was very weak and faint.

“I knew in seconds, he would be dead if I don’t do something fast. I commenced CPR (Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) on him.

“He responded. Then he began to convulse uncontrollably. At the top of my voice, I shouted ‘Can someone get me Diazepam please?’

“An air hostess ran somewhere to get it. It was 30 minutes before landing. If nothing was done fast he will die in less than 10mimutes. I repeated CPR again. And again. And again…. I listened to the heart using my stethoscope. Some mild activity commenced.

“I turned to the chief air hostess, ‘please call Murtala Mohammed Airport and tell then to arrange an Ambulance before our landing.’ She said, ‘Right away’ and began to rush toward the cockpit to inform the Pilot to do so.

“When I was sure the patient’s ventilation improved a bit, I quickly withdraw 5mg of Diazepam and gave him straight intramuscular on his buttocks.

“Returned to the supine position again. Commenced CPR. Checked his radial pulse. I then announced to everyone that… ‘I AM buying time. He will survive.’

“I was on the floor of the aircraft kneeling around him. Monitoring every single thing I can pick from his reflexes.

“The chief air hostess came back. I asked her, ‘How many minutes do we have more to land?’ She said, ‘in 5 minutes.’ I again announced to everyone on board, ‘HE will survive.

“Then there was a loud sudden noise in the aircraft. Then we landed on the runway.

“Three men/passengers carried him. We evacuated him very fast out of the plane.

At the foot of the plane there was no ambulance waiting. I was visibly angry and now shouting at the top of my voice to all the airport officials. That the ambulance is at the other side.

“In a rage I said to them, ‘This is wickedness. We did all our best with God’s help to keep this man alive for 30 minutes and you people could not even get an Ambulance to wait here?’

“Someone suggested that he should be taken in one of the Toyota Hilux van. I said ‘No, it will kill him before we get anywhere.’ I screamed, ‘Any clinic in the airport?’ That was when their brains came back to default reset and they chorused, ‘Yes.’

“I said to the good men still carrying him let’s go.

“That was when we rushed him to the clinic you are seeing in the photo of this post. It’s the airport clinic that is close to the Arrivals of the Murtala Mohammmed airport, Lagos.

“I explained everything I did and the medications given to the doctor on call. She took over.

“Then I walked out and looked up to heaven and said, ‘I know You are involved in this. Thank you Lord.’

“I stayed on the case thereafter. He survived. And presently in a government tertiary hospital in Lagos for expert management.

Addendum:
“I actually came to Lagos for a humanitarian programme, an absolutely FREE Medical outreach, poorly funded, meant for the sick and abandoned Prison inmates. We are all born to save lives. Thank you.”

… 2,300 Nigerian children under five die daily

As the world marks another Children’s Day, the plight of the Nigerian child, albeit the girl child has again come under scrutiny.

Earlier in the year, the Ogun State Police Command, announced that its operatives had arrested a 45-year-old man, Idowu Owolabi, for allegedly raping his 21-year-old daughter. Owolabi, who has three wives, was accused of having carnal knowledge of his daughter since last year.

Unfortunately this kind of news no longer generates shock or the type of response a reasonable man would ordinarily express under such circumstances. From tales of a father having carnal knowledge of his three daughters to men defiling months old babies, the media in the last five months, not counting the last few years have been awash with incredible tales of the travails of the Nigerian girl child.

Olawale Fapohunda, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekiti State gave a very incisive Children’s Day message.

“Last week I led the prosecution of a man accused of child defilement. He sexually assaulted a 12-year old girl. No matter how many times one prosecutes sex offenders, nothing can possibly prepare anyone for this experience. The child was the first prosecution witness.

“How do you examine a 13-year old rape victim (she was 12 when she was raped) in a manner that complies with applicable Law and Practice? How do I ask a 13-year old if there was penetration? As if reading my mind, she described in a very matter-of-factly and with the innocence of a child, how the defendant who she frequently referred to as “Daddy” stuck his penis into her vaginal and she bled. 

“I expected the usual Naija exclamation or show of emotions from court personnel. When none came, it struck me that the abnormal in our society has now become the normal. Our collective sense of revulsion has been so abused by the frequency of child defilement, that the revelation of a child that “a daddy” stuck his penis into her vaginal did not as much as get a “haaa”. 

“Girl-child victims of defilement are being let down on multiple fronts in Nigeria -The Law, Family, Society and the State. In Ekiti State, the Fayemi Administration has adopted some of the most stringent punitive measures against child defilement. “Apart from the vigorous prosecution of offenders, we have made sure that convicted sex offenders do not benefit from early release or Mr. Governor’s Powers of Prerogative of Mercy. We have also opened a Register of Sex Offenders to enable us keep proper record of offenders and with a view to seeking tougher punishment for repeat offenders.  

“Recently, following our findings that these measures are not as effective as we envisaged, I announced new measures including compulsory psychiatric tests of sex offenders especially where a minor is a victim, publication of names of convicted sex offenders on the website of the MOJ (Ministry of Justice) and pasting their pictures in their communities with an added advisory to their traditional rulers on their status. 

“Today, I have directed the Solicitor-General to review the relevant provisions of our Criminal Code Law. In particular, we need to ensure that victims of sexual violence including minors are not subjected to re-victimisation by the provisions of our laws. Our response to child defilement cannot be limited to prosecution. We need to ensure that child victims benefit from free counselling, psychological support and medical assistance. We will continue to pursue and with added energy our plan for a One-Stop Sexual Assault Referral Center in Ekiti State. 

“On this day, I assure all the Children in Ekiti State that the MOJ will continue to work for a child defilement free society.”

Ekiti has taken decisive steps.  More is still required by other players in the society.

While it is commendable that the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, other First Ladies, individuals and groups on this day hosted kids to parties and fun fares, it is imperative that more focus be on the general welfare of Nigerian children.

If indeed Nigeria’s future depends on her children, that future will be grim should government fail to confront those pressing concerns affecting them.

Above all, the bothersome state of healthcare delivery at primary level is alarming. Presently, a state of public health concern has been declared on maternal, new born and child deaths as nearly 2,300 children under five die daily and about 145 women die day-to-day in Nigeria from pregnancy and childbirth related matters.

Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib at an event once announced that: “Every day in Nigeria, approximately 145 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, this is equivalent to having 1 Boeing 737-300 series airplane, fully loaded with 145 women crashing every single day in Nigeria, killing everyone on board.

“Every day in Nigeria, approximately 2,300 children under five years die mainly from preventable causes. Similarly, this is equivalent to having 15 Boeing 737-300 series airplanes fully loaded with 145 children under five years old, crashing every single day in Nigeria and killing all the children on board. One out of every eight Nigerian children dies before having a chance to celebrate his or her 5th birthday.” Certainly this calls for concern.

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), whilst the OAU Assembly of Heads of States and Governments adopted the African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CRCW) in July 1990.Nigeria signed both International Instruments and had ratified them in 1991 and 2000 respectively. Both protocols reflect children as human beings and as subjects of their own rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) outlines the human rights to be respected and protected for every child under 18 years and requires that these rights be implemented.

Despite the domestication of the Child Rights Act by many states in the country, the right to health, education and LIFE in itself of Nigerian children is far from assured. More action than rhetoric is required.

Many Nigerians for instance wondered at the choice some government officials to pray for the release of Leah Sharibu and other children in captivity rather than take decisive actions. Leah’s only crime is that she dared to go to school.

As multifaceted as the problems confronting Nigerian kids are, many have overachieved; an indication that under the right setting, they can only soar. All said, the onus beyond talk is now on all concerned to make it right for the Nigerian child.

…as Reps pass bill allowing married women to choose state of origin

On Tuesday May 7, 2019, Nigeria’s House of Representatives passed a bill allowing married Nigerian women to choose their state of origin. The women will have the alternative of choosing either their father’s or husband’s state of origin if passed into law.

Titled: ‘Bill for an act to amend the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, 2010, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, Cap F7 to give married women the option of indigeneship and for related matters,’ married Nigerian women who had always been regarded as indigenes of their husband’s state now have a choice.

At the end of the process, Section 2, Part 11 of the principal act was amended and a new section introduced. The amended Section 2 now provides that: “A married woman shall have the option to lay claim to her State or Local Government of origin for the purpose of implementation of the Federal Character formulae at the National level or State as the case may be.”

Sponsor of the bill Edward Pwajok, SAN, representing Jos South/East Federal Constituency of Plateau State said it was worrisome that women face challenges on account of choosing state of origin in official matters particularly for the purposes of political appointment or election.

More so, Women’s Right Activist, Abiade Olawanle said the move is momentous as it paves way for many more women to take up leadership roles in local politics.

Previously, women were barred from holding political offices in their state of origin when they get married. Mrs. Abiade said she had personally missed out on opportunities in her father’s state because of marriage.

In spite of the still subsisting law, a few Nigerian women have held and still hold positions switching between their father’s or husband’s state. Supreme Court’s Hon. Justice Mary Peter Odili for instance was appointed to the Court of Appeal under Rivers State where she was former 1st Lady. But, at the time of her elevation to the Supreme Court, she elected to choose her birth state which is Imo.

Similarly, Dr. Grace Folashade Bent was in 2007 elected as senator representing Adamawa South Constituency of Adamawa State. Many saw it as novel that the Ilesa, Osun State born politician clinched the senatorial seat in Adamawa State.

There are varied views however. Lady Ngozi Okogbue, an Abuja legal practitioner spoke with Law & Society.

Hear her:

“I do not feel happy about this bill. I’m not comfortable with it at all.

“I must think that our society and its authorities including its lawmakers at times appear to act in ways that undermine the position of our women as normal and legitimate human beings!

“It might thus indeed be safe to hold the view that some people operate under an illusion that we in Nigeria still live in the Stone Age where humans lived no differently from animals, and might was right; where life was lived without decent values and without regard to the higher standards; or that perhaps we still operate under that Hobbesian state of nature where life was said to be brief, brutish, nasty and short!

“It is therefore to be imagined that by giving a married woman in today’s Nigerian society an option to elect to claim either the State of origin/Local Government Area of her father or that of her husband (and therefore, her children) in political matters, they probably think that they are performing wonders of a favour and privilege for the woman!

“On the contrary, I personally feel that such a position is patently and pathetically patronising and infra dignitatem the status of the woman, married or not, as a human being deserving, like her male counterpart, of necessary and due respect of the society of which she is unapologetically part. This is because such a line of action or even of thought would tend to reflect and remain a state of mind of not only the sponsors and framers of such an obnoxious and ill-advised piece of legislation but that of the society at large, the society which the legislators themselves are deemed to represent. I do not think that such a law would be in the best interest of the woman at all.

“Indeed I think that it should be the submission of every thinking, wise human being, the Homo sapiens aptly so-called, to accept  that the human species has long moved on in the ladder of life to higher ideals and values  and even to articulating a charter of rights, both fundamental and inalienable. We must thus accept that certain human attributes and qualities are by their nature completely inalienable and cannot purport to be legislated away by any fellow human. One of such human attributes is the fact of human relationships by blood. Human relationships by blood are powerful. It is sacred.

“By purporting to attempt to pass a piece of legislation that seeks to alienate women from their kith and kin, either their children, or their parents and siblings as the case may come to be, I would strongly hold the view that this penchant for thinking of and regarding our women as mere chattels or cold objects clearly without so much as feelings or emotions, is disdain for the womenfolk taken too far! One wonders whether the full implications of this singularly obnoxious legislation are lost on its proponents with respect to what they would further portend not only to the life and psychological health of the woman already suffering the social deficit, but also to that of her children and relatives on both sides going forward in the near and long term; and therefore on the rest of society willy-nilly.

“Just for daring to get married, a woman suddenly loses her voice in her father’s house as it were, or more subserviently and pathetically, in her children’s house! Unnatural as it might sound, that is what it becomes in real and practical terms. Mute! Siddon look, as it is referred to in local parlance.

“It is therefore my well considered opinion and position that we should not only tread carefully but really slowly on this matter with a view to dispensing with that proposition in its entirety in the clear and unequivocal realization and understanding that a woman is as much a human being as any other and a bona fide member of the Nigerian society, under the protection of its Constitution in all its provisions, letters and intendments.

“I think that we are at that stage of our development in Nigeria where all good hands and minds irrespective of gender and marital status must be on deck to contribute all necessary and possible, to further the fortunes of our dear nation in all appropriate directions. It would therefore be a great disservice to the nation that we continue to labour in the wrong direction. We persist in deploying mundane considerations in cutting our nose to spite our own face. We should not be seen short-changing our common system and heritage on the altar of discrimination against the women, an otherwise potent force and partner in the development process.

“Among the comity of nations, one should be hard put to imagine what such an export would signal. It is an export we as a country can ill-afford. It is common knowledge that many of our women, married or not, in other countries of the world and on the international stage are holding down high profile positions, elected or appointed and doing their utmost to hold up the Nigerian flag and to place their motherland on a high pedestal without undue encumbrance as to their origins, personal performance being the only consideration. What a ridicule would befall such women from among their peers should the Nigerian state pass such a discriminatory law based on marital status as the one under reference!

“May I therefore submit that if Nigeria is indeed our collective patrimony and if it is no crime to become married, the rights of the woman whether as a married citizen or otherwise should never then be alienated, abridged or compromised in any way or form by the instrumentality of the state or by any other.”

…… launched his first program at six!

“Child prodigies evoke awe, wonder and sometimes jealousy: how can such young children display the kinds of musical or mathematical talents that most adults will never master, even with years of dedicated practice? Lucky for these despairing types, the prevailing wisdom suggests that such comparisons are unfair — prodigies are born, not made (mostly). Practice alone isn’t going to turn out the next 6-year-old Mozart.”  Maia Szalavitz, July 10, 2012

His dream is to educate over one Million Nigerians for free on coding! With 25 programming languages under his belt, 14 year old Gerald Maduabuchi Ogbonnaya, tech advisor, Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert, machine learning algorithmist, software/app developer, author and many more, is on his way to becoming the world’s latest discovery in science.

Here is Gerald’s timeline before he turned 13:

• Coding at five
• Launched his first program at six
• Started networking hacking at seven
• First algorithm at eight
• First AI software/Neural network at nine
• First App at ten
• Commenced teaching coding at eleven
• Became world’s first DeepQA assistant chatbot at twelve
• Authored first EBook on coding
• Technology advisor & speaker at thirteen.

Few IT professionals can boast of this manner of curriculum vitae not to talk of a 14 year old.  Boys his age are mostly concerned about amusements, acquiring the coolest gadgets and all the latest fads. In contrast, this student of Community Secondary School, Asokoro (SS1), a school managed by Nigeria’s Department of State Service (DSS) has other interests.

At 13, Gerald who lives in Abuja, Nigeria with his mum and three younger siblings is probably Nigeria’s and perhaps Africa’s youngest AI expert. Believing that AI will change the world, he enthused: “It is a technology that will benefit humanity. Something so powerful that has no restrictions to any economic sector.”

At this age, he already had about 14 whatsapp groups and four Telegram channels. One of his telegram channels had 7,789 subscribers!

When he was 11, he initiated a group called ‘LetsCode,’ and began teaching coding, and computation. This group had 154 members, comprising of Nigerians, Indians, Americans and other nationals. These were experts, specialists and individuals who had been coding for a long time; the oldest participant being in his mid-twenties.

“I launched Gerald Codes at 11. There I taught thousands of aspiring coders, geniuses in the industry, intellectuals and professionals”, quipped the young wiz. When he uploaded tutorials particularly videos on computation, AI and neural networks, members were often left in shock. Above all, the most amazing was that tasks which would take others who were supposedly more versed in these matters weeks to accomplish, took him two days or less to complete, leading to his being addressed as ‘sir!’ With laugher in his voice, Gerald said: “I told them I’m not a sir; that I’m just a boy, but they didn’t believe me.”

By the time he clocked 12, he changed ‘LetsCode,’ to ‘GeraldCodes;’ sent out broadcasts, which people forwarded along with the group link and joined until it was full. He then made a second, third, up to the eleventh which is nearly filled up. There he posted videos, tips, and tutorials on computer science. Participants would often seek his assistance, counsel or even contact him privately. These shockingly include Harvard, MIT undergraduates and PhD students from Ivy League universities.

At age five, the young man was already coding. “I met the computer first when I was four years old. It was a Compaq laptop that had windows vista running as its operating system. It was a really old computer; but with it, I began my coding journey.

“Then at six, I ran my first ever computer program in C. The first was a calculator, and the second a cool game then, but with a poor gaming interface. Then at seven, I had run another program. What was remarkable at this age was, when I took interest in hacking and operating Systems. I furthered my interest in computer science, before writing an Algorithm, in C, which was a recursive algorithm, as a solution to the brahma tower. This I did at eight!”

Likewise at seven, he began teaching himself how to develop apps for Windows that could run on iOS or MacOS. Meanwhile, while playing online games on the internet, he stumbled on a video about flowcharts and algorithms. “After that video, I was just interested in it,” he remarked.

There was a little popular game at that time, which seemed to be the next after chess. The game was the Tower of Hanoi. Playing the game online, he figured out simple ways to win the three disks and rods. “I used recursion to always conquer the game, I never knew about it, till I created the algorithm at age eight.” At eight he designed a flowchart, on MS Paint, and then a week later, he created the recursive algorithm.

But it was after watching the Sci-fi, Iron Man 3 at age nine that he was inspired to explore AI. Gerald recounts: “When I was Nine, I watched a movie, Marvel’s Iron Man 3. Inspired I learnt about an upcoming powerful technology, AI. Immediately, I developed huge interest for Machine Learning and Artificial Neural Networks.  Months later, I developed an intelligent Device Driver, I called FlashIN. My passion for AI is so huge. I want to use AI for good. AI isn’t a destructive technology, but only in the wrong hands.

 “I like computer and video games and when I was seven I hacked and patched in-app purchases, and online game accounts. I was a little menace. Some people tried to lead me into cyber-crime but I refused. Knowing my capacity, I would rather become a white-hat hacker than a black. I swore it’s something I’ll never put my hands into. I’m so passionate about technology, AI and science. Imagine a world that is tech driven, that makes AI its means of economic stability and growth!

“Just a year after, my Windows app, a text-editing tool for programming languages, was accepted and placed in the windows store! I have contributed to Cogntive Computing, and provided solutions by integrating Quantum Computing. This I did at twelve. As a technology advisor, I have advised lots of business owners, technology entrepreneurs, and company owners, on what to integrate in their company at just twelve.

“Discovering IBM Watson, and mostly AI, was one of the best thing that happened to me. My passion drives me into doing unimaginable and esoteric things. I want to teach over 1 million Nigerians coding for free! I will and can as long as I get support!

“I have attended technology driven conferences, at the same time, delivered speeches, advice, to intellectuals and professionals. I am an Algorithmist, and I try my best to enhance various sectors of the economy through AI. Today know about 25 programming languages, AI, Neural Network architecture. I know it sound surprising! AI is a technology that will give women the chance to explore their full potential. I’m trying to work with schools, to make sure girls can code and I am a host of iGirlzCode Online.

“I am determined and aim towards applying my vast knowledge on Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to augment various sectors and concepts such as healthcare and finance. I love to speak and share knowledge and projects to the open-source community and other developers.”

At Treasure House Montessori School, Abuja where he had his primary education and first contact with computer tutorials, he ended up being the school valedictorian; graduating as the highest average scorer.

Using his mother’s data to power these endeavours on his laptop and in fact, on her phone before the laptop arrived, Gerald has also began training women in matters related to technology, and supporting them online. He hopes to work his way up his way to become a champion for Cloud at IBM and Twilio’s Hall of Doers.

Currently, he is working on a project towards heath care, applying nanotechnology and electroencephalograms, for disabled and quadriplegic people. Another is a software that uses machine learning to analyse one’s state of mind.

Hopefully, the world will celebrate Gerald Maduabuchi Ogbonnaya in a short while.