Mrs. Obaseki Calls For Establishment Of Remand Homes For Abusive Adults, Parents
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Loading ...Jethro Ibileke/Benin
Wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, has called for the establishment of remand homes for the confinement of abusive adults and parents across the country.
Mrs. Obaseki who made the call Thursday at the official launch of the Edo State Priority Response Plan to End Violence Against Children in Benin City, suggested that the remand home be named Home of Shame.
This is as she called on relevant stakeholders to join in the fight to end violence against children, noting that the fight to end violence against children must not be the sole responsibility of the government alone.
She said all hands must be on deck to put a halt to its rise without minding whose horse is gorged provided the children are free from the hands of the abusers.
“This is a fight not just for the government but for everyone in the society. We should all look out for our children.
“There is no normal parent, except that the parent is abnormal and in that case, he should be confined to an asylum and be treated. No normal parent will have a child and even dare to see that the child is abused in any form, even for a second.
“So, we must do everything that we need to do in this State to make sure this does not happen anymore, that our children are no longer abused, even if means setting up remand homes for abusive adults in this State, we will set it up and call it the Home of Shame, so that there will be no hiding place for abusive parents in this State,” she said.
Mrs. Obaseki said effort would be made to ensure that those who are abused are given priority attention at government-owned hospitals across the State, adding that any health worker who demand for, or extort money from victims before attending to them be reported and would be sanctioned severely.
“I was discussing with the Head of Service and the things that are needed to be corrected in our State to ensure the success of this programme will be done.
“We will speak to our husbands, the Governor and the Deputy Governor, to ensure that in government-owned hospitals across this State, it must be free and any health officials who is caught asking for amount of money from anyone so abused and needing support, will have serious recourse to face from henceforth. I am making that promise and I am sure the Governor will back us up,” she said.
Mrs. Obaseki said the State Government is poised to make the State a benchmark for others to emulate in its fight to end violence against children, just as it has done in its fight against malaria in the recent time, that has made it received commendation from the Federal Minister of Health.
“We mean this course from the depth of our beings. We are set to ensure that the incident of violence against children in Edo State reduces to the barest minimum and by the grace of God, the result here will become a benchmark for the people of this country.
Earlier, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who was represented by his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, blamed poverty as one of the factors leading to the rise of violence against children in the country.
He said the current administration has made effort to improve the living condition of the people by creating a conducive evironment for businesses to thrive in the State.
