By Odeh Favour Adiya
As Nigeria marks Children’s Day on Wednesday, grief and outrage dominated conversations across social media, with many citizens demanding urgent government action over the continued abduction of children across the country.
The latest wave of anger followed the May 15 kidnapping of dozens of pupils and teachers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, barely 12 days before the national celebration.
Rather than celebrate, many Nigerians used the occasion to call attention to the growing insecurity facing children and to demand the safe return of kidnapped victims still in captivity.
Among the strongest voices was former Minister of Education and co-founder of Transparency International, Obiageli Ezekwesili, who issued a strongly worded open letter to President Bola Tinubu, state governors and members of the National Assembly.
In a post shared on X, Ezekwesili urged political leaders not to issue what she described as “ghost-written platitudes” to Nigerian children.
“Do not dare open your mouths on May 27 to wish Nigerian children a ‘Happy Children’s Day,’” she wrote.
“Do not dare stand in front of cameras, surrounded by carefully arranged children in matching uniforms, to perform a tenderness you have never extended to the millions of Nigerian children you have abandoned, betrayed, and condemned to lives of suffering.”
She referenced several cases of school abductions, including the recent kidnapping in Oyo State and previous attacks carried out by bandits across the country.
According to her, at least 1,799 students have been abducted in major school attacks since the Chibok incident, while about 670 children have been affected by at least 10 school kidnappings within the last two years.
Ezekwesili further claimed that the figures were largely compiled by international human rights organisations rather than Nigerian authorities.
She also lamented that nearly 19 million Nigerian children remain out of school due to insecurity, poverty and other social factors.
The former minister accused the political class of failing children affected by illiteracy, malnutrition, poor healthcare and forced displacement caused by insecurity and demolitions.
Her comments quickly gained support online, with several public figures and ordinary Nigerians expressing frustration over the state of child safety in the country.
Popular broadcaster Oseni Rufai wrote: “Children’s Day and children are in kidnappers’ den.”
Social media influencer Enioluwa Adeoluwa also dedicated the day to missing children across Nigeria.
“Today, Children’s Day is dedicated to the Ogbomoso Children. To the children in the forests. To the children without safety, without protection. To the children who now fear the same classrooms that should have held their dreams,” he wrote.
Enioluwa added that children deserve safety, care and protection, insisting that insecurity should never become normal in Nigeria.
Another X user, Nnaemeka, posted: “Today is Children’s Day, and somewhere in Nigeria, a mother is staring at an empty bed that used to hold her child.”
Medical influencer OurFavOnlineDoc also criticised the government, saying political leaders appeared too distracted by politics to pay attention to the growing crisis affecting children.
Meanwhile, Dipo Awojide expressed sympathy to families affected by the Oyo kidnapping and called on the Nigerian military to intensify rescue operations.
He prayed for the safe return of all kidnapped children, noting that while many Nigerians marked Children’s Day in celebration, others were mourning children who remain missing or trapped in fear.
Awojide concluded by urging Nigerians to remember children still being held by kidnappers across the country and expressed that peace and security would return for families nationwide.
