The 2025 Children’s Day was marred by the ongoing impasse between teachers and local council chairmen which led to the public primary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja being closed for over six weeks.
On Tuesday, May 27, many children in public primary school who were supposed to celebrate with other children across the globe were stuck at home as their teachers are on strike and their schools under lock and keys.
Children’s Day, a day meant to celebrate the innocence, joy, and boundless potential of young ones, was rather a sad memory for many children in Nigeria’s capital city.
Abdulsalam Haruna, a teacher decried the disarray in the FCT’s education sector as a result of misplacement of priorities by the area council chairmen which has resulted in losing many weeks of academic activities, and left the children roaming the streets like a sheep without shepherds.
“We’re not celebrating Children’s Day because there’s nothing to celebrate when our children have been at home for months without any hope of resuming school soon.
“It’s, in fact, a tragic moment for us the teachers, the children, and parents,” he said.
Stakeholders and well-meaning Nigerians called on the authorities to restore the children’s right to education, wondering how long this systematic impunity would last.
One of the parents who spoke with BusinessDay, asked, “What is there to celebrate when countless children across the FCT are stuck at home due to the ongoing strike by public primary school teachers?”
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Another parent urged President Bola Tinubu and Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister to use the window of Children’s Day, to leave their legacy by being accountable and action-oriented leaders.
“Resolve this crisis now, and give our children the future they deserve,” she counseled.
In the face of the lingering impasse, many are worried, wondering when how many more months the children would remain out of school, and what plans the authorities are putting in place to recover the lost academic calendar?
“We demand more than silence, we demand answers and action. Our children’s education is a right, not a privilege, and it is non-negotiable,” they said.
The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Abuja branch had directed its members in the six FCT Area councils to embark on strike since March 24, over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage and other outstanding demands.
The teachers as well as workers of the six area councils have refused to call off the strike over the non-implementation of the N70,000 new minimum wage by the councils’ chairmen, until their demands were met.
The non-payment of teachers’ arrears has crippled our education system, and the consequences are grave. As we mark this day, we are confronted with a painful irony: the very children we are meant to celebrate are being neglected, victims of leadership failure and misplaced priorities.
Every year, on May 27th, the world observes World Children’s Day, a global day of action for children, by children. Established by the United Nations in 1954, this day marks the adoption of the declaration of the rights of the child in 1959 and the convention on the rights of the child in 1989.
It serves as a reminder of the commitments made to uphold children’s rights and a call to action for governments, civil society, and private sector players to invest in initiatives that build a safer, more inclusive, and sustainable world for the next generation.
The theme for the 2025 national Children’s Day is “Stand up, Speak up; Building a Bullying-free Generation”.
