President Bola Tinubu should extend the national school feeding programme to secondary schools because of the rising poverty level and hunger in the country.
The Founder of a non-governmental organisation, Amazing Grace Children Right Foundation (AGCRF) Mrs Grace Omoye Adeyemi, made the call during the 2024 Children’s Day celebration on Monday when she hosted about 2,000 children at her yearly, “Be Bold Programme.”
The event was held at Msquare hall, Ijegun Road, Lagos.
Adeyemi also noted that the continued suspension of the school feeding programme because of corruption and misdeeds of certain individuals will have negative impact on the primary schools pupils that were already enjoying a meal per day programme of the government.
She, however, urged the government to commence the programme as soon as possible.
Mrs Adeyemi noted that Nigeria, as a country of young population should invest more on the youths, noting that the poverty level in the country is discouraging many secondary students from regularly attending the schools. She said that those who are still attending classes do not concentrate very well because of hunger.
She said, “According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 42 per cent of the 223 million is under 15 years old, while 70 per cent is under 30. So, if we have huge percentage of Nigerians at under 15 and they are mostly in secondary schools, then we must do more as a country to attend to their challenges, which is hunger.
“We are calling on the state governments to partner the Federal Government on this school feeding programme and ensure it is resuscitated without further delay.”
The founder of AGCRF said that it is unfortunate to note that child abuse is still on the increase in Nigeria, she however, advised parents to build confidence on their children to “be bold and speak up” against any form of abuse or infringement on their right.
Disclosing that it is heart-breaking that statistics shows that “over 19 million Nigerian children experience sexual violence before the age of 18.”
Mrs Adeyemi also called on the 36 state governments and local councils to build more public secondary and primary schools noting that, “we have observed that it is only private entrepreneurs that are building primary and secondary schools now and they are too expensive to attend by the children of average Nigerians. We challenge them to list new secondary and primary schools they have established in the last 10 years.”
