By EricJames Ochigbo
Some stakeholders in the education sector have canvassed platforms to groom children to contribute to public policy development and implementation in the country.
They made the call in Abuja on the sideline of Student Public Policy Forum organised by the Not Forgotten Initiative (NFI) School in collaboration with Agora Policy and MacArthur Foundation.
They explained that directing children’ interest early to state affairs was the best way to guarantee the future of democracy in the country saying that children also have capacity to contribute to nation building.
The Abstract Communication Specialist for Policy Innovation Center (PIC) Mrs. Agharite Omofuoma said that if children can be a part of the solution.
She said they have capacity to study and pass exams as well as engage parents and teachers to change domestic policies at home and in schools.
“No words to really rate how important this is, it is really getting the young ones to start thinking the way they should think about changes in society.
“The problem is that we wait for people to grow up, and then try to now force them to change behaviours and change thinking patterns.
“But if we start now, if we catch them early and start telling them you are not disadvantaged for being a child, you do not have to wait to grow up before you start thinking in certain kind of way.
“Then we are indeed building a nation that has hope. If we can catch children at this young age and show them and tell them that you can think and bring about solutions that we may not be thinking of because life has happened to us, you know.
“So I cannot rate how important this is, other than it is incredibly necessary for where we are as a nation and for any nation that is future thinking,” she said.
Also speaking, the Registrar of Baze University, Prof. Abiodun Adeniyi said that if children are tidied up at the level of the individual and are properly supported hone their skills and capacities, they soon be ready to impact on the system.
“It is a very important forum because we are talking about the next generation, we are talking about the future of Nigeria, and we’re talking about improving things in where we have had lapses in how we manage things at the moment.
“And of course, if you are bringing young ones to begin to think in a line of policy formulation, police implementation, what it means is that, you are preparing for the future.
In her remarks, the founder of NFI school, Mrs Oluwatosin Adeniyi, said that the forum featured children from 17 secondary schools in Abuja.
She explained that the essence was to have children from underserved communities come together, understand the importance of their voices and to challenge them, to begin to think critically about solutions to problems around them.
“It is to also let them know that there is a part they can play, because it is important that they understand what they are supposed to enjoy as children, access to education, good health, and also to know that it is not enough to know the problem but they can be part of the solution.
“And they should begin to think about how to proffer solutions, and also to know how to communicate the solutions, because there could be opportunities where they might be in a forum, maybe like this or somewhere, and they will be given opportunities to share their thoughts.
“If they have been thinking about it, that would be a good way, that would be a good place to express solutions to problems they face every day,” she said.
Some of the students who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shared their excitements and the knowledge gained at the forum.
Master Noel Iwualla an S.S 2 student at the OCAC College, Guzapw has this to say that he has come to understand found a public policy are like laws and rules that guide the public.
He said that one of the challenges in Nigeria, as that most citizens learned just to identify problems about public policy, but do not try to proffer solutions to those problems.
“It is not only about thinking and preferring solutions. You should also know the right way to communicate with the respected personnel that will help in amending those policies.
“Because if you cannot give out your idea, you cannot speak up, you cannot talk well, then you wont be able to prefer those solutions to the general public.
“And as students, we learned that it is not just you, do not think personally. We think of the majority of the public in general, if you think for yourself, you are putting others at risk,” he said.
Miss Success Francis, a J.S.S 3 student at the Junior Secondary School, Kpaduma said; “I’m very excited to be here. I really learned a lot, I learned that whatever I am facing in my school I should scout and I should make sure that they do something about it.
“I should not just keep silent, but I should speak out if I see something wrong, and I should ensure that public policies that are not in good shape, we should ensure that we speak out so that the government can do something about it.
“Thank you, organisers. I want to tell them, thank you for putting efforts to see that this day come to pass. May God reward them mightily in Jesus name,” she said. (NAN)