The Federal Government has been urged to closely monitor ministries and agencies responsible for the implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme, to ensure that funds earmarked for it is utilised for the benefit of children, especially the indigent ones.
Gift Chiamaka Ogbonna, the executive director/founder, The Eden Oasis Humanitarian Foundation (TEOHF), made the call during a “Feed the Child” project, organised by the foundation to reach out to indigent families in Abia State, to mark the 2023 Children’s Day.
She also called on government at all levels to pay serious attention to all interventionist programmes, targeted at children, to ensure that the purposes of such programmes are realised.
The celebration of children’s day can be traced back to the United States of America in 1857, where a certain Charles Leonard, a pastor, held a service for children at his church. Locally, the service became known as children’s day.
After then, similar events to celebrate children began in different parts of the world, and in Nigeria, children’s day is celebrated on May 27 of every year.
Ogbonna said that activities of interventionist agencies like the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) with a mission to operate as an intervention, coordinating and monitoring agency, to progressively improve the capacity of state and local governmental agencies and communities in the provision of unfettered access to qualitative basic education in Nigeria need to be monitored properly.
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“I expect the government to monitor how funds released for UBEC programme is being used. There’s a huge possibility that the government is properly funding that programme, but in some states, children that it was set up for are not benefiting from it. They should follow the money”, she said.
Ogbonna explained that the “Feed a Child, Feed the Future” programme, made her to realise the level of poverty in the country and called on well-meaning individuals to leave their comfort zones and support indigent children to be successful in life and get their families out of poverty.
“Feed a Child, Feed the Future,” programme of The Eden Oasis Humanitarian Foundation, touched some designated areas in Aba South, Aba North and Osisioma Local Government Areas of Abia State, where over 300 children were fed. They were also given exercise books, while 20 selected poor families were given rice, noodles, veritable oil, salt, seasoning cubes and cash to attend to their needs.
“I don’t usually do outings, but I decided to come out publicly this year to get to more people and equally get more hands to help me on this move, because a whole lot of Nigerian families, especially children are suffering. One just needs to go out there and render help.
“It’s easier to sit in our mansions and claim that all is well, but by the time you go out and see where some families and their children are residing in makeshift shelters, you’ll cry.
“We need to support these children with food and basic education and I am happy that marked this year’s children’s day with indigent ones in our society.
“I feel fulfilled, because I gave the items I had today, to the people that needs them. I believe you saw the children and the families we reached out to today in Aba and you will agree with me that we didn’t misplace the food items we gave out.”
