The Emir of Lafia and Chairman of the Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd), has called for criminal prosecution of parents and guardians who deny their children access to basic education.
The royal father made the declaration on Thursday in Lafia during a Basic Education Summit organised by the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), aimed at repositioning basic education and restoring public confidence in the system.
Describing the current state of basic education in Nigeria as “sick,” the former Supreme Court Justice urged federal, state, and local governments to take decisive measures to revive the sector and ensure that every child receives quality foundational learning.
According to him, Nigeria once had a globally competitive basic education system when it was supervised by traditional rulers in the pre- and post-colonial eras, stressing that the decline witnessed today requires urgent and collective intervention.
“Criminalise Parents Who Abandon Their Children on the Streets” — Emir
The Emir expressed strong concern over the alarming number of children roaming the streets, particularly in Northern Nigeria, blaming parental negligence as a major cause.
“If anyone here pretends that Basic Education is well, we are not being sincere. Basic Education is sick.
Any parent whose child is roaming the streets should be treated as a criminal. Those causing this problem must be dealt with decisively,” he said.
He warned that abandoning children without education only produces future societal threats, insisting that harsh penalties would deter irresponsible parenting and help return out-of-school children to classrooms.
