The National President of the Waste Management Association of Nigeria (WAMASON), Chief Akpabio Ndarake Essien, AmbGW, JP, has called for the protection of children against violence, abuse, and child labour, as well as exposure to any form of environmental pollution that could impair their health.

In a goodwill message to mark this year’s International Children’s Day celebration, Chief Essien decried the various inhuman treatment children have been subjected to by people who should protect, provide, and care for them.

He particularly stressed the need for a clean and safe environment that guarantees the health of children, pointing out that proper sanitation and disposal of waste materials is key in achieving this.

He noted that the high cost of living in the country has not helped the situation as it has added to the woes of the Nigerian child, many of whom now double as co-breadwinners for their families.

Chief Essien was until October 2023, the Corporate Health, Safety and Environment Manager at the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), and currently, Manager Process Strategy, Policy and Reporting, at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

He called on government at all levels, individuals, and the corporate world to do more to protect the rights of Nigerian children, especially, their physical wellbeing by ensuring a clean, safe and secure environment.

“It is a very disheartening situation to see children who should be preparing themselves for the future involved in all manner of jobs to earn a living. This should not be so. There must be a concerted effort on the part of government to protect and enforce the rights of the Nigerian child”.

On the theme of the 2024 Children’s Day celebration, which is “Protecting the Child Against Online Technology”, Chief Essien described it as “timely”, emphasizing that unchecked access to the internet can harm the child thereby destroying his glorious future.

The WAMASON President, however, commended some state governments in Nigeria that have taken the bold step in domesticating the Child Right law as well as make access to education cheap and affordable to address the issue of out of school problem in the country.

“Some states are implementing free education policy. To me, this is commendable and more states should join as this will reduce the percentage of out of school children and eradicate illiteracy in the near future.”