•Obiageli Ezekwesili
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has issued a strongly worded message to President Bola Tinubu and Nigeria’s political leadership, urging them not to issue Children’s Day messages while, according to her, millions of children remain exposed to insecurity, poverty and poor access to education.
In a statement released today , Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Ezekwesili accused the government and political class of failing Nigerian children and lacking the moral authority to celebrate them.
“Do not dare open your mouths on May 27 to wish Nigerian children a ‘Happy Children’s Day’,” she said.
“Do not dare stand in front of cameras… to perform a tenderness you have never extended to the millions of Nigerian children you have abandoned, betrayed, and condemned to lives of suffering.”
The former minister referenced a series of school abductions and insecurity incidents across the country, including the Chibok, Dapchi, Kuriga and Kankara cases, arguing that many affected children remain unaccounted for years later.
She also cited recent reports of attacks and kidnappings affecting schools in Oyo, Kebbi and Niger states, saying the trend reflected a worsening security situation for children.
“You are wishing ‘Happy Children’s Day’ to the Chibok girls — over 90 of whom are still missing, twelve years after April 14, 2014,” she stated.
“The reality is not a ‘Happy Children’s Day’. The reality is a National Day of Shame.”
Ezekwesili further criticised the country’s education and social welfare indicators, pointing to out-of-school children, learning poverty, hunger and child health challenges.
She called on government officials to provide details on children still in captivity and publish updated data on education and child welfare outcomes.
“If you must dare speak on this May 27, then for once, speak the truth of your failures,” she said.
“Tell us the names and current locations of every single child still in captivity… Publish the audited figures on out-of-school children, on stunting, on learning poverty, and on child mortality.”
The former minister argued that political leaders should focus on measurable actions to improve child protection, education and welfare rather than ceremonial statements.
“A government that cannot protect its children has forfeited the right to celebrate them,” she added.
Addressing Nigerian children directly, Ezekwesili said, “Some of us see you. The Nigeria you deserve is a country in which you are safe, educated, fed, healed, free to dream and work hard to be the best of anything you choose to become.”
