The founder and executive director of the Adinya Arise Foundation, Mabel Adinya, has urged Nigerians to return to times when being a child was something to celebrate without fear.

Ms Adinya made the call in Abuja during an event to mark the 2026 Children’s Day. She said that Children’s Day was not just an event but a symbol of hope, innocence and the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

“Today, as Nigeria marks Children’s Day, my heart travels back over four decades back to a time when being a child in Nigeria was something to celebrate without fear.

“I remember the anticipation that filled the air in our primary and secondary schools: the excitement of match pasts, the rhythm of cultural dances, the pride of representing our schools, and the joy of being seen, heard, and celebrated. Children’s Day was not just an event; it was a symbol of hope, innocence, and the promise of a brighter tomorrow,” Ms Adinya said.

Ms Adinya also pointed out that societal ills have made childhood a challenge, with insecurity, hardship, and deprivation being experienced in the country.

“We were children, free to dream, to laugh, to learn, and to grow. Today, that memory feels like a distant echo. It is with a heavy heart, burdened by the reality, that I observe that many Nigerian children no longer have the safety, freedom, or environment to simply be children.

“In recent times, and even within this past week, our nation has been confronted with deeply troubling reports of children being taken from their schools and communities. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a growing pattern of insecurity that has turned places of learning into spaces of fear,” she said.

She noted that school abductions, since April 14, 2014, when the world woke up to the shocking abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno, by Boko Haram terrorists, have sadly become frequent.

Ms Adinya also cited the February 19, 2018 abduction of 110 schoolgirls from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, in Yobe. She also mentioned the December 2020 incident, where more than 300 schoolboys were kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina.

“In February 2021, 27 students were also abducted from Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State. And days later, 279 girls were kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State.

“In March 2024, armed bandits abducted over 280 pupils and teachers from Kuriga in Kaduna State, once again reminding the nation that our schools remain dangerously vulnerable. To date over 70 attacks have been made on Nigerian schools, the latest occurring in Oriire in Oyo on May 15, 2026, where 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers were brutally abducted.

“Sadly, behind every number is a child with a name, a future, and a family. Behind every incident is a parent whose world has been shattered, whose pain is beyond words. The anguish of not knowing, the trauma of loss, the silence of unanswered questions—these are burdens no family should ever have to bear,” she said.

(NAN)