Abuja – Miss Splendour King, a 10-year old, on Tuesday urged stakeholders to pay adequate attention to children to avoid them being used by terrorists.
King made this known during the launch of her book titled: “Effects of Terrorism on Children’’ in Abuja, at the International conference Centre.
She said that for children to contribute in winning the war against terrorism, they must be properly informed on the subject matter, hence the campaign for child education on the dangers and effects of terrorism.
“To achieve this, adequate attention should be paid to children, because that child ignored on the street today could be useful in the fight against terrorism.
“This is why I feel strongly that this book should be widely circulated to children whether in school or out of school through the support of every peace lover.
“Children should live free from fear and where threats of terrorists’ attacks do not define their daily lives,’’ she said.
She said that the inspiration to write the book came from her passion for children, especially those of them who were victims of terrorism.
“I thought that I would be fair to my fellow children, born and yet unborn by seizing this opportunity to write this book for their study and as a reference material.
“When we change a child today, a generation could be changed, since those who become terrorists today were once children like us.
“I strongly believe that permanent records like this could serve as a good source of information for children’s education in the future.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
“We are all aware of the need to build a safe society, a society that is free of terrorism, a society that recognises that human life is a valuable asset and that no individual or group has the right to take life.
She said that terrorism was a virus with grave consequences on our society, especially “we the young ones whose future needed to be safeguarded.’’
“ We must never underestimate the dangers of the virus but should make concerted efforts to protect children who constitute the most vulnerable group.
“This is not just president Buhar’s fight, what is at stake is the peace and unity of Nigeria as a nation, it is the fight for all who believe in the unity, peace and progress of the country.
“I would like the government to address the root causes of terrorism, such as injustice, unemployment, poverty and insufficient education on the dangers of terrorism among others,’’ she said.
She said that, her foundation, Splendor Child Empowerment Foundation was established to assist children who were out of school, victims of terrorism and unfortunate occurrence.
“My overall objective is to give children’s life a meaning by complementing the efforts of government and will also promote gifted children regardless of their background.
She therefore called on government, international organisations and individuals to assist in seeing the book “is circulated around the world for children to read’’.
“I also want the president to appoint a child ambassador so as to connect us directly to your government.
The Chairman of the occasion, Mr Ndah Isaiah, who launched the book said that children should be encouraged to be involved in the fight against terrorism.
The Ghana High Commission to Nigeria, Amb. William Awinador-Kanyirige said that gifted children should be encouraged to expressed their God-given talents. (NAN)