Access Holdings transforms waste tyres into sustainable sandals for 10,450 Nigerian children - ITREALMS

Demonstrating a powerful convergence of environmental sustainability and social impact, Access Holdings Plc has successfully upcycled discarded waste tyres into eco-friendly school sandals, providing essential footwear for 10,450 underprivileged school children across Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

The innovative corporate social responsibility initiative addresses two critical challenges simultaneously: severe environmental degradation caused by non-biodegradable tyre waste and the stark reality of educational exclusion driven by basic poverty, where lack of proper footwear often prevents children from attending school.

Complex or Lunacy: Children suing parents for giving birth to them, asks Remmy Nweke - ITREALMS

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Children suing parents for giving birth to them nowadays sounds like a recipe for family drama and existential angst! Raphael Samuel's move has sparked a heated debate about responsibility, ethics, and the role of government. Is it complex or just plain lunacy, asks REMMY NWEKE in this edition of Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS.

Intense debate:
The notion of children suing their parents for giving birth to them has sparked intense debate, raising questions about responsibility, ethics, and the role of government in generation Z era.

COWA celebrates children's day, fostering creativity and innovation @Onne Command - ITREALMS

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The Chairperson of the Customs Officers Wives Association (COWA), Onne Area 11 Command, Hajia Amina Babandede, has emphasized the organization's dedication to nurturing children's creativity and innovative potential during the 2025 Children's Day celebration, reports ITREALMS.

The event took place at the command's staff quarters in Ebubu, Eleme Local Government Area, Rivers State.

UNICEF says 2024, worst year for children in conflict zones - ITREALMS

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The United Nations agency for children, UNICEF, has lamented the rising attacks on children globally, describing 2024 as the worst year, especially for children living in conflict zones, reports ITREALMS.

UNICEF, ITREALMS gathered, works to protect the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and those hardest to reach in some 190 countries and territories where it has presence to help children survive, thrive and fulfil their potential.

Aftermath of Christmas stampede: Rachel weeps for Nigerian children - ITREALMS

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In the aftermath of the tragic stampede in Nigeria that took the lives of many, including children, the words from the Bible in Jeremiah 31:15 feel so real: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more.” This verse paints a vivid picture of a mother’s deep sorrow, symbolizing the collective grief of a nation losing its children. This sorrow should remind us of the urgent need for unity and compassion in the face of such profound loss. For Nigeria, grappling with hardship and heartbreak, this moment must become a lesson—not an opportunity for political games, but a time for true leadership and healing.

The reference to Ramah is significant. According to biblical commentaries like those in Matthew 2:18, Ramah was a location tied to immense sorrow—a place where Jewish captives were gathered before being taken into exile. In the New Testament, this verse is echoed to describe the anguish of mothers during King Herod’s massacre of the innocents. Rachel’s weeping transcends individual grief, symbolizing a communal mourning for lost innocence and life. As Christmas approaches, the resonance of this story deepens. Just as mothers mourned during the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, we too, as Nigerians, must share in the pain of grieving families affected by this tragedy. Their sorrow is a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the need for compassion.

Children advised to focus on studies, shun laziness - ITREALMS

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Children all over the country have been advised to face their studies, shun any acts of laziness, conform with good character and brace up for a brighter future, reports ITREALMS.

This assertion was made by the organiser and program coordinator, In Da House Entertainment, Mr. Adeniyi Ayandokun while welcoming the children, parents and teachers to this year's Children's Day Celebration with the theme "The Future" held at A3 Gardens, opposite Ventura Mall, Sango, Ibadan.

Tinubu @72: Dedicates birthday to freed children, killed security personnel - ITREALMS

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... Donate to charity, he tells friends, associates

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed joy over the freeing of school children kidnapped in Kaduna and Sokoto States, saying their return was sufficient birthday gift for him as he would mark 72 on Friday, March 29, 2024, reports ITREALMS.

This is coming as lamented the recent killing of some soldiers and members of security agencies in Delta State, and recent spate of security breaches by criminal elements in different parts of Nigeria.

IWD'24: NIPR chairperson, Nwankwo, tasks policymakers to prioritise investment in women, children - ITREALMS

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The Chairperson, Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Mrs. Comfort Obot Nwankwo, has tasked policymakers to heed to this year's theme "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress" on the commemoration of the 2024 International Women's Day by prioritising investment in women and children, reports ITREALMS.

In a press statement available to ITREALMS by the Public Relations Executive, Lagos NIPR, Mr. Samuel O. Adeyemi, the chapter extended heartfelt congratulations to women across the state for their unwavering resilience, remarkable achievements, and invaluable contributions to society.

Nigeria: Out-of-school children worries Falana - ITREALMS

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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana has described as worrisome the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria to the tune of 20.2 million, reports ITREALMS.

Reacting to the recent findings by the UNICEF that some 20.2 million out of school children exist in Nigeria at fundraising flagship event by Ibironke Adeagbo (IA)-Foundation in Lagos at the weekend, Mr. Falana decried the figure and said that there is need to intensify efforts in bringing these children back to the classrooms.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa leads dignitaries to raise funds for out-of-school children - ITREALMS

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All is set for Saturday's fundraising in aid of out-of-school children as Chairman/CEO, Nigerian in Diaspora Commission, Hon.Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Founder, IA Foundation, Lagos, Pastor Otuah Ighodalo lead other dignitaries' to Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos by 4pm, reports ITREALMS.

This is coming as the royal father of the day, Orangun of Oke-Ila, His Royal Majesty (HRM). Oba (Dr.) Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin, has been confirmed to chair the event, being hosted by IA Foundation.

Speaking ahead of the event, the founder and chief executive officer, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo disclosed that her desire was to see the vulnerable children being able to acquire qualitative education cum relevance in the society not minding their status.

1m vaccine doses administered to African children @IDPs - ITREALMS

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Some one million doses of life-saving vaccines have been administered to children living across Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, thanks to the Zero-Dose Immunization Programme (ZIP), reports ITREALMS.

Funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the Horn of Africa, ZIP is responding to the humanitarian challenge of identifying and vaccinating zero-dose children living in fragile settings that are beyond the reach of government health services. More than half of the 2.71 million children in the region aged under five years have never received a vaccine in their lives.

Olori Afolabi hosts celebrates children on May 27 - ITREALMS

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Estimated 1000 children resident at Apomu and environ were hosted recently by the Queen of Apomu, Olori Janet Afolabi in celebration of the May 27 children day, 2023, reports ITREALMS.

The children, ITREALMS gathered were at the Alapomu Palace, Apomu, headquarters of Isokan local government area of Osun State.

Olori Afolabi who hosted the children said it was part of her contribution to put smiles on the faces of children who are the inevitable future of the community.

The event began with a march past from 15 primary schools. Thereafter, there were quizzes, cultural dance display and dance competitions.

Winners were presented with prizes. St Barnabas won the first prize Trophy in marching. Sunday Odewale, a pupil of the school won first prize dance competition.

The various activities at the event gave the children a chance to showcase their hidden abilities. They effectively took part in the activities and expressed great enthusiasm.

The children had fun and also went home with books, food, cakes, biscuits and soft drinks.

Among those who attended were Apomu Women Leaders, FRSC officials, Teachers and Youth Corps members.

Uj. N. Dominic/Editor

How to protect, monitor your children on Internet using Google Parental Controls - Part 1 - ITREALMS

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In the wake of underage children getting unduly exposed to the Internet, there are ways parents could help to protect and monitor their children from anywhere in the world, reports ITREALMS.

One of these is to set up parental controls on any devices, especially mobile devices which they, the children could take along beyond the parent sight.

Children Online Safety: Aniekan prescribes 15 steps to Google Family Link - ITREALMS

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Acclaimed Nigerian computer Software Analyst, Comrade Friday Aniekan has elucidated that parents be guided moving forward by drawing inspiration from Chrisland School saga, reports ITREALMS.

According to him, Android devices are naturally not for kids under the proverbial parental guidance, but if parents must buy one for them, he prescribed some 15 steps to safeguard their usage.

Northern youths: Afenifere must call their children to order - ITREALMS

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The Chairman of the Coalition of Northern Youths, Alhaji Mai Turere Abubakar, has advised Afenifere and others to call their children to order, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement personally endorsed by Alhaji Turere and made available to ITREALMS, read in part:

Northern government lacks commitment to protect children, women - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Stakeholders have decried the fact that governments across all states in the northern part of Nigeria lack the commitment to protect children and women, reports ITREALMS.

This was the highlights of the One-Day Consultative Meeting on Women and Countering Violent Extremism in the North East organised by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) in Abuja with the support of Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation (NORAD).

Speaking, a consultant on the matter, Prof. Patricia Donli, lamented that some children in the Northeast have known nothing but violence, explaining that the lack of implementation of relevant laws that protects that protects the rights of children has given rise to varying degrees of abuses.

"Rape cases are on the increase in the North East. We have four cases in Maiduguri IDPs alone last week. Just recently two sisters were raped by a teacher, a little boy was nailed on his head. General hospitals smell so bad because of girls suffering from VVF due to child marriage," Donli said.

She regrets that 11 northern states are yet to domesticate the Child Rights Act (CRA) enacted in 2003 and the VAPP Act and even in states which have, implementations have been very slow due to lack of coordination among actors and political will from government.

Donli urged states government not to see these policies as acts that promotes child rights but see it as policies that will he used to protect their children and place priority on them. She also called for increased awareness on the law among the populace.

Speaking further on the state of violence and conflicts across the country, Donli bemoaned the poor participation of women in Countering Violent Extremism, despite the unique role they play in restoring peace.

She recalled that Nigeria launched its second National Action Plan for the Implementation of UNSC1235 and related resolutions on 9 May 2017, for the period between 2017 and 2020. NAP being one of the most powerful tools governments, multilateral organizations, and civil society have to increase the inclusion of women in politics and peacebuilding, and the protection of women and girls in times of war, was domesticated to State level State Action Plan (SAP) she said.

She however said only four states in the North East has the SAP to include Boronu, Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa. This according to is due to a lack of political will in the part of government.

Donli also noted that the awareness level of SAP is very low hence the need for sensitisation. "even if this places have SAP, the implementation is very poor, you find out that people are not even aware of its existence."

She also highlighted a lack of planned budget as a constraint in the domestication and implementation of the law.

Speaking, the National Coordinator, WANEP-Nigeria, Ms. Bridget Osakwe, regrets that women and girls bear most of the brunt of violence, yet are excluded in the peacebuilding and conflict resolution processes.

Osakwe explained that, in the North East geo-political zone, violent extremism has increased in tenacity from unabated attacks from the violent extremist group Boko Haram.

"Since the inception of this Islamic extremist group in 1995, it has continued to intensify attacks in the North-Eastern States and other parts of Nigeria. Over 40,000 Nigerians have been killed in more than 2,300 incidents reflecting a wide range of ethnic, religious, political and economic tensions across large portions of the country.

"This accounts for almost 40% of the total deaths more than any other source of social violence in the country," she said.

The head of programmes, WANEP, Ms. Patience Obaulo, however informed that the project seeks to promote women’s participation in countering violent extremism to advance the implementation of Nigeria National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 at the local level in North East Nigeria.

She stressed that the role of women relating to countering violent extremism (CVE) is a critical security issue that directly relates to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the eight supporting resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, most notably UNSCR 2242 and 2349.


Uju N. Dominic/Editor

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Nigerian, Kenyan children to benefit from Google’s Digital Skills - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

Children in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are billed to benefit from the Google’s Digital Skills for Africa programme, reports ITREALMS.

Google, ITREALMS gathered, is engaging local organisations via its partnership with the Cape Town Science Centre to train 200,000 students in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa within 1 year.

CS First is a Google program aimed at children aged 9 to 16. Created by educators and computer scientists, CS First introduces coding and computer science to students in a collaborative and creative club environment. CS First club members build projects in Scratch (scratch.mit.edu), a blocks-based programming language. The training will be delivered through 26 collaborating organisations across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. For areas with limited access to the internet and limited devices, CS First may be delivered through CS Unplugged.

In addition, Google also aims to reach students through an Online Safety Roadshow project building on itś work with the Web Rangers program. This project will reach parents, teachers and students in all three countries.

Google is once again joining forces with SAP and UNESCO as part of Africa Code Week 2019 to engage community-focused organisations across Africa to enable them to host coding workshops for children (aged 11-18) in their local communities during Africa Code Week this month. Some 55 organisations have been identified across the continent.

These activities form part of Google’s commitment to train 10 million Africans in digital skills by 2022.

“The training programmes promise to improve the children’s confidence in interacting with computers and their overall confidence and willingness to try new things,” says Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, Head of Brand and Reputation, SSA. 

“With growing internet penetration across Africa, and the increasing trend of kids interacting online, Google believes it is important to provide helpful information to children and parents to enable children to take appropriate measures to stay safe online while exploring the internet with confidence. The training takes learnings from Google ́s Be Internet Awesome campaign and the content is carefully drafted to provide helpful tips to kids and parents, and information on useful tools like Google’s Family Link,” Makind said.

Chuks Egbuna/Editor

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True cost of violence against children - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The high economic cost of violence against children in Nigeria was been revealed in an unprecedented report, launched jointly by UNICEF and the Federal Government, under the leadership of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, reports ITREALMS.

According to the report, the economic impact of the violence against children in Nigeria is estimated to be about USD$6.1 billion, which is equivalent to about 1.07 percent of the country’s GDP.

This financial loss is from the cumulative loss of earnings due to loss of productivity, stemming from suffering associated with different degrees of violence, over time.

“The cost of inaction is high, when it comes to violence against children,” said Mrs. Ifeoma Anagbogu, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. “Violence affects children’s health, education, and productivity. It is clear that we need to eliminate any form of violence against children – both from a moral perspective and an economic perspective.”

The report revealed that about half of the Nigerian children surveyed experienced physical violence by parents, adult relatives, direct or indirect caregivers or community members, before they reached 18.

“The findings of this study point to the strong need for increased funding of interventions by government to reduce violence against children in Nigeria,” said Mr Olajide S. Odewale, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

It was noted that the study may actually underestimate the economic burden of violence against children, as several serious consequences of such violence were not included, due to a current lack of data.

The evidence presented in the report indicates an urgent need to provide child protection services in Nigeria and prioritize the elimination of violence against children, which can ensure the country’s human capital has the mental, physical, and emotional stability needed to boost its social and economic development.

“This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, giving us an opportunity to join our collective efforts to protecting children from violence, abuse and neglect. This includes a re-commitment to increase investment in child protection services,” said Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF’s Country Representative in Nigeria.

The research on violence against children was led by the Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with UNICEF, and with funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through USAID, the EU and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Fayemi visits family of slain policeman, promises education support for children - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has commiserated with the Ekiti State Police Command and the family of the policeman that was killed by armed robbers last Thursday in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, reports ITREALMS.

It was an emotion laden visit at the home of late Kamoru Momoh, a CID operatives by Governor Fayemi, who was almost moved to tears sighting the wife and young children of the deceased. He promised the family that government would sponsor the education and other needs of the children.

Describing the incident as unfortunate, the Governor assured the family of the police officer of government support especially in the area of collecting Death certificate and carrying out of post mortem of the deceased because they said they don’t have money to do that.

Kamoru’s widow, Fatimah broke down in tears uncontrollably on sighting the governor and his team as she kept on shouting that her husband was a very hardworking officer who died in active service.

Governor Fayemi promised to ensure that security of lives and properties continues to be his top priorities.

He assured the people of the state that his government would remain focused and ensure that the perpetrators are tracked down and prosecuted.

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HIIT dangles N5m scholarship on children, strike ICT deal with PSIN - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) is collaborating with HIIT Plc to expand its ICT scope in line with global best standards of ICT  in the Public Service, just as HiiT dangles N5m worth of scholarship on children, reports ITRealms.

The collaboration is in acknowledgement of the pivotal role of Information Technology in driving the present day economy which is reflected in the introduction of process for Ease of Doing Business, e-Government, Cashless Economy and Paperless System Of Government.

PSIN is a Management Development Institute (MDI) with a mandate to provide competency-based and demand driven training to Public Servants, using information and cutting-edge technology services in order to enhance their professional, technical, managerial and leadership capabilities.

A press statement by the Head (Press and Public Relations Unit) in PSIN, Ekaete Umo, said the Administrator of the agency, Dr. Abdul-Ganiyu Obatoyinbo, would be establishing collaborative partnerships with relevant organisations to promote organisational excellence and long-life learning in the Public Service. 

According to her, HIIT PLC, an Information Technology Company that offers IT Training/Education, Solution Development and Services, Publishing, Outsourcing and e-Learning Solution Development and Implementation would be partnering with the PSIN to provide defined ICT services.

“As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, HIIT PLC is offering Free Tuition And Training in Digital Literacy Course worth N5 million to children and wards of PSIN staff. The scholarship covers 160 participants.

“By this gesture, HIIT is ‘catching them young’ and helping to build the capacity of participants in Information Technology to enable them have a solid base to launch them into the technology driven age.  With a foundation like this, the new generation will smoothly key into the e-government policy of the Federal Government”, Umoh stated.

She said that Obatoyinbo is currently repositioning the PSIN to key into the transformation process and play a leading role in the achievement of the Strategic Plan of the Head of Service.

The repositioning is line with the transformation process of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation as contained in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP).

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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