Ezekwesili Blasts President Tinubu Over Children's Day Celebration Amidst Insecurity

Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education, has strongly condemned the idea of President Bola Tinubu and other Nigerian leaders celebrating Children's Day while the nation's children continue to face widespread insecurity and abductions. In a statement released on Tuesday, Ezekwesili warned the President, state governors, and lawmakers against issuing customary messages on Children's Day, stating that they have no moral right to do so given the current state of affairs. "Do not dare wish our children a 'Happy Children's Day' today," she said, addressing the President, the national assembly, and the entire political class. Ezekwesili accused the government of normalising terror attacks on schools, citing multiple cases of mass abductions of schoolchildren across the country. She mentioned the recent abduction of 39 students and 7 teachers from a secondary school and two primary schools in Oyo State, as well as the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from a school in Kebbi State. Ezekwesili also referenced the Chibok girls, over 90 of whom are still missing 12 years after their abduction, and the many other victims of similar incidents in Dapchi, Kankara, Kagara, Jangebe, Afaka, Greenfield, Bethel Baptist, and Tegina. She argued that Nigeria has become numb to repeated tragedies involving children and that the government has failed to protect them. According to Ezekwesili, the government's lack of action and empathy towards the affected families is a clear indication of their moral bankruptcy. "You have no moral standing to wish anything to Nigerian children. None. Consider what you are dishonourably wishing them," she stated.