Emeka and the Brain: Can FG’s 40m reflective jackets for ‘trekking school children’ prevent accidents? | #YNaijaCover

For anyone who is a great fan of online comedy (skits) in Nigeria, chances are high that you would have seen the comment “this country suppose be YouTube channel.”

Yes, we have been described on countless occasion as a people ‘suffering and smiling;’ which holds a great deal of truth -perhaps a coping mechanism. What is unacceptable however is that the level of jokes that come from the corridors of power dwarfs those ‘cracked’ by citizens. Worse still, they choose the most serious of issues to ‘entertain themselves.’

Otherwise, how can one describe the report that the federal government plans the distribution of reflective jackets to 40 million school children within the ages of 4 to 14 years across the country, in a bid to prevent accidents? A rib cracking joke!

READ ALSO: Children’s Day: Taking stock of how Nigeria fails children caught in conflict

According to the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who tagged the accident prevention initiative, ‘Go to School… Be Seen… Be Safe,’ the idea is to prevent children from sustaining injuries while trekking to and from neighbouring schools.

He adds that “it is in pursuant of the good health and well-being of schoolchildren and realisation of quality education.” And for the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq, who had glowing praises for the ministry for its Children Accident Prevention Initiative (CAPI), everyone must fully support what she described as a desired programme, whose benefits are evidently of immeasurable value to the lives of our children and families.

But what calibre of parent prioritises equipping school children who go to school during the day with reflective jackets ahead of providing them with a school bus that not only houses them from unfavourable weather condition but greatly enhances accident prevention?

The benefits of providing buses for school children are numerous to mention and this definitely includes encouraging enrolment in school especially in areas where that has been a huge issue.

Equally worrisome is the fact that thousands of schools across the country are far from safe as bandits and terrorists have now turned attention to these school children as soft targets in the quest to make brisk cash in the kidnapping industry. This is evident in the reports of over five high profile abduction of school students in different states of the country since the infamous Chibok Girls kidnap in 2014. Thanks to the failure of government to perform its most important constitutional duty to the people.

The ministry under the leadership of Hon. Nwajuiba must therefore be kind enough to taxpayers whose monies would be use to fund the initiative how this idea will stop marauding bandits and other criminal elements from abducting innocent and underprivileged children as they walk to school; many times in fear.

We must be quick to state that any well-thought out plan to “aid the protection of schoolchildren from road accidents associated with motor vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles while crossing our busy network of roads to and from their respective schools” deserves commendation.

It will however remain unforgivable that such a ministry saddled with enormous responsibilities connected with training the future of the country would fail to see a a phased kitting of school children with free customised reflective jackets and armbands in the 36 states, and the FCT as backward thinking.

There’s enough time to retrace these steps now.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail