Some groups under the aegis of Civil Society Organisations have staged a solemn walk in Lagos state demanding #justice for Obinna.
The groups expressed sadness over the death of Obinna, a 19-month-old toddler who was allegedly flogged to death by his teacher, Mr Emeka Nwogbo at Arise and Shine Nursery and Primary School, Asaba, Delta state.
The National Coordinator, Ambassadors For Peace & Enlightenment Foundation (NGO), Prince Saviour Iche said they are demanding for justice for Obinna whose father has been held hostage in Sambisa forest for two years now.
Iche warned that Obinna’s case should not be like other ones being swept under the carpet, but that the government should ensure that justice is done as #Justice for Obinna is justice for all children in Nigeria.
“Obinna was a promising child sent to school but his life was cut short because of the actions of the untrained teacher. It was horrible for a teacher to brutalise a toddler who did not know his right from his left.
“I call on Delta state government to get justice for Obinna because his parents cannot pursue the case, but with God on their side Obinna will get justice. This is one among the thousands of cases that have happened before. Many have died or been brutalized and some have even received permanent scars”.
Iche stressed the need for government to regulate schools, to go round the schools and be sure schools played by the rules.
“We are not saying that private schools should be closed down, but before they are set up, the concerned sector should check if the teachers in those schools have the qualifications with teaching practices.
“Also, I will advise government to organize quarterly training for private school teachers to give them both moral and basic training as is being done in the public schools”, he added.
He said that private schools are all around the nooks and crannies of the states because governments are not building schools. “Let them build schools with the modern technologies as what we have now are not enough.”
Mr Ebenezer Omejalile, the Chief Operating Officer of Advocates for Children and Vulnerable People’s Network described Obinna’s case as a very unfortunate incident.
Omejalile pointed out that Arise and Shine Nursery and Primary School is not far from the government house.
“If I may ask, where are the ministry of education, government agencies and CSOs? What kind of monitoring and supervision are put in place for schools? If you see the school, a mushroom school, and there are so many schools like that in Delta state, what type of teachers are they employing?
“These are the questions we should be asking ourselves. This dear boy did not deserve to die. For the fact that the proprietress, who is a grandmother, would descend so low to allow her son tie the toddler’s hands and feet and flog him into a coma is wickedness on its own.”
He said, “We want to see what the government, ministers of justice and education will do; they should all rise up and ensure that justice is done.
“I urge the government to take drastic action on this. It is a wakeup call for everybody. These mushroom schools must be closed down. Enough is enough. Justice we call for and justice must be served for Obinna.”
Comrade Muritala Kazeem noted that the issue of students and teachers in our society was very bad and the society was not happy about it. When parents left their children to their guardians they presumed that their wards were in safe hands.
“Every parent believes that teachers are there to protect their children but the reverse is the case now. The issue of Obinna is very ridiculous because the child was still a toddler.
“Teachers are to pass knowledge to everyone which includes children. The brutalization of children should not be accepted or welcome in the society any longer. It is stipulated in the constitution that we have freedom of life but where is that constitution today?”
Almost on a daily basis we hear the sad news that a teacher had beaten a child to death, this evil act is taking place in private schools, it is not like that in public schools because the public sector has rules and regulations that guide them”.
According to him, public schools have qualified and well-trained teachers. Owners of these mushroom private schools are not employing qualified teachers due to greed. We are calling on our government to look into this problem speedily to avoid further occurrence.
“I will want the Association of Proprietors of private schools to educate and re-orient their teachers to enable them know the various ways of handling the children.
“Government should know that education is very important. Nigeria should, according to UNICEF standard, allocate about 23% of its budget for education but today hardly can the government allocate 5% of the budget on education and this is why the standard of education in Nigeria is low.
“We are pleading to the government to do the needful and make adequate provision towards education in this country”.
Comrade Bethel Chukwu, a representative of Inclusive Social Welfare on Government Foundation, said the case of Obinna shows that there are a lot of lapses in our private schools across the nation.
“I will suggest that all proprietors and proprietress should make sure that before a teacher can be employed, he or she must have passed through Child Abuse course for them to understand the stages and behaviors of children, it will help them to understand how to handle the children.
He pointed out that another problem noticed is that a lot of graduates just decide to jump into teaching because government has made it impossible for them to get a better job so the only opportunity they have is to start teaching which they have no passion for.
“I implore all proprietors and proprietresses to place rules and regulations to guide their teachers and introduce awareness programmes.
“Parents should check their children unannounced; don’t assume that your children are in good hands. We need a better Nigeria. There are other ways to punish a child (and) not by hitting them with sticks. Use of cane is called child abuse. Say no to it! They are not animals”, he added.
