Post by Làgídìgbò (@aHeritager)

THEY ARE NIGERIA’S CHILDREN TOO-A Cry for Action, Compassion and National Responsibility

#aHeritager

Three weeks and one day.

For many people, that may simply be twenty-two days on a calendar. For the families of the children reportedly abducted in Oyo State, however, it has been twenty-two days of sleepless nights, unanswered questions, silent tears, and unending anxiety.

Every passing day raises a painful question: *How long must innocent children remain in captivity before a nation rises with one voice to demand their safe return?*

The faces of little Christianah Akanbi and Sikiru Salami represent more than individual tragedies. They symbolize the vulnerability of thousands of Nigerian children who deserve protection, security, education, and the opportunity to dream about tomorrow. Instead, these children have become unwilling victims of a security crisis they neither created nor understand.

A child does not know politics. A child does not understand government budgets, security strategies, or jurisdictional debates. A child only knows the comfort of home, the embrace of parents, and the innocence of play. Yet, in many parts of Nigeria today, childhood itself has become endangered.

The continued captivity of children anywhere in Nigeria should never be treated as a local issue affecting only one family or one community. It is a national emergency. When a child is kidnapped, the nation loses a measure of its humanity. When the rescue of that child is delayed, public confidence in institutions is weakened. And when citizens begin to accept such incidents as normal, society risks becoming indifferent to suffering.

The primary responsibility for protecting lives rests with the government at all levels. Security agencies must deploy every lawful resource available to locate and rescue kidnapped victims. Intelligence gathering must be strengthened, coordination among agencies improved, and communities engaged as partners in security. Families of victims should not be left to navigate their pain alone while waiting endlessly for answers.

However, the responsibility does not belong to the government alone. The rest of us also have a role to play. Citizens must remain vigilant, report suspicious activities, support affected families, reject misinformation, and continue to raise awareness responsibly. Religious bodies, community leaders, civil society organizations, and the media must keep attention focused on the welfare of victims without turning their suffering into a spectacle.

The measure of a nation is often revealed in how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable members. Few are more vulnerable than children separated from their families and held against their will.

Christianah, Sikiru, and every other kidnapped child across Nigeria deserve more than sympathy. They deserve urgency. They deserve action. They deserve a country that refuses to forget them.

Until every child is safely returned home, the question remains before all of us: *If these were our own children, would we be satisfied with silence?*

Nigeria must answer not merely with words, but with determined action. Every child matters. Every day matters. And every moment of delay matters.

#BringThemHome #WorldEnvironmentDay #ClimateAction #SafeCommunities #Nigeria #ProtectOurFuture #BringBackOurChildren #aHeritager

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