BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Osogbo, the Osun State capital, is fast becoming an eyesore with increasing cases of child dumping. Homeless children engaging in begging to make ends meet are seen wandering major streets.
Checks by our correspondent have shown that while some of the children ran away from home as a result of lack of good parental care, some parents, mostly mothers, abandoned the children to face life on the streets, giving varying excuses.
Oke-Fia, Olaiya, Igbonna, Oja Oba and Orita Ayetoro, are common destinations where homeless children, between ages five and 15, take shelters and eke out survival for themselves amid dangerous circumstances. Many of them live by hook and crook for survival.
Dauda is one of the hapless children wandering the streets aimlessly without any shelter. The 15-year-old boy lives on alms by the roadside in Oja-Oba community, in Osogbo.
Rough, lousy and unkempt, Dauda was left with his grandmother, as his parents do not live in Osogbo. “My daddy and mummy are not in Osogbo; they live in Lagos. I stay with my grandma. I need money to buy food. I am hungry. I have not eaten since morning,” the boy told our correspondent.
Another boy, who simply identified himself as Seye, begs for alms around Oke-Baale, Osogbo. At the approach of our correspondent, he begged for money to buy what he could eat. He claimed that he had not eaten anything since morning on the fateful day. He alleged that he was being starved by his parents.
“Please sir, I am hungry; I need money for food. God will not make you suffer,” Seye said.
While some children beg on the streets, many of them are made to hawk. Majority of those engaging in hawking are also found to be involved in begging.
Experts have noted that, usually, teenagers who give birth to babies as a result of unwanted pregnancies end up dumping their babies soon after they are delivered of them.
The General Coordinator, Justice, Development and Peace Makers Centre, Catholic Diocese of Osogbo, Rev. Fr. Peter Akinkunmi, has called for urgent intervention against the rising cases of child abandonment in the state, suggesting that the Osun State House of Assembly should evolve a law against Violence Against Person Prohibition Act.
“The point where we have very strong interest is the issue of the care of the family. You can see the proliferation of street children in Osun State today. We think that the Violence Against Persons Act, if passed into law, will assist in dealing with this issue,” he said.
A parent, Isaiah Fayemi, said, “Child abandonment is totally immoral and disrespectful to God and humanity. If one is not ready for child rearing or not ripe for parenting, then one should not venture into it. This act should be totally discouraged by families, religious organisations, traditional institutions and the government.
“I want to call on government to provide employment opportunities for residents so that parents can secure means of livelihood and cater for their children.”
The Executive Director, Value Female Network, Costly Aderibigbe-Saba, urged government and other stakeholders to put in place measures that would prevent children from turning to beggars.
“We are worried because of the dangers of undue child proliferation on the society. That is why we sensitise members of the public on sex education and family planning. Unfortunately, parents, especially the poor ones, give birth to more number of children than they can cater ford,” she said.
