International Day of the African Child: ‘Skolombo’ children still live on streets in Calabar
The initiative of the Day of the African Child was muted by the organization of African Unity, now African Union, and declared on June 16, 1991, to remember among others, children killed during June 16, 1976, Soweto massacre in South Africa.
The growing number of children living on the streets in Calabar is alarming. These children popularly called skolombo in the bracket of nursery and primary school age are a nuisance because of their nefarious activities aside endangering their lives and truncating their future.
The theme of the event which harps on harmful practices affecting children in Africa recognises the danger these children are exposed to every day. The Cross River State government and some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have made efforts to take them off the streets by providing alternatives but the impact is little.
It would be recalled that Governor Ben Ayade at the inception of his administration established a security outfit known as “OPERATION SKOLOMBO” to rid the streets of nomad children but the effort has not yielded the desired results as the situation has festered.
The National Human Rights Commission has called on all levels of government and NGOs to renew ongoing engagements toward the protection of the children and should address key factors aggravating it.
Some factors have been identified as reasons why children abandon their homes to live on the streets. These include among others, forced marriages, female genital mutilation, trafficking, , and stigmatization by family members who accuse delinquent children of being witches and wizards. These tendencies from families have devastating effects on the lives of the children.
While fielding questions from a LENS Reporter at Atekong Drive Junction in Calabar, a parent who spoke on condition of anonymity said the main reason is the attitude of stepmothers and fathers who see nothing good in their non-biological children and hence portray them as deviants which forces the children to flee their homes.
By: Archibong Emmanuel
Snr. Reporter.