A non-governmental organisation, Save the Children International, has advocated the establishment of a children’s parliament in Kaduna State to guarantee the future of the children.

Farouk Abdulkadir of SCI, Kaduna Field Office, made the call in an interview at the sideline of the last day of a three-day training and review meeting for Kaduna SCI media working group on Wednesday in Kano.

Mr Abdulkadir said that according to statistics, Kaduna State has a dependency rate of about 49 per cent.

He explained that the statistics meant that many children were dependent on their parents for survival.

Mr Abdulkadir said that the establishment of the parliament would ensure that children were part of the discussion to shape their future.

He added that, oftentimes, in some African cultures, children do not have perspectives or say in what affects them.

“In SCI, we think children have and should have a say in what affects them. We believe in a world in which all children survive, have the chance to learn, and are protected from abuse, neglect and exploitation,” he said.

Speaking further, Mr Abdulkadir expressed delight over the performance of children in some states that have such parliaments, adding, ‘‘they were able to shape some of the decisions of the government that affect their lives in the long run.

He said, “This is what we want in Kaduna State, we want a formal structure that will amplify the voice of the children in terms of policy and decision-making. We want them to be part of every discussion that will shape their lives.”

Mr Abdulkadir recalled that during the previous administration in the state, SCI made the same advocacy and provided the needed technical support.

“We will bring all the knowledge and experience to be adopted in Kaduna. State There is also so much impact to share with the government. Already, there are bright children in Kaduna schools, but for them to exercise and showcase their knowledge, they need a platform which is the children’s parliament,” he said.

The official restated SCI’s commitment to support the state government in actualising the dream of establishing a children’s parliament in the state.

Also, the immediate past Chairman of the media working group of SCI in the state, Philip Yatai, said the training was aimed at finding the connection between climate change and how it affects children.

He added that the training was also aimed at reawakening the role of the media in sensitising and reporting climate change and its impact on the children.

Mr Yatai stressed, “When journalists talk about the environment, they look at the effects on environment and community, forgetting the children who suffer the most in cases of disaster resulting from climate change.”

He called on the journalists to begin research around the issues of climate change and to see the roles they can play to create the needed change around climate change mitigation and action.

(NAN)