Children: Our future and our responsibility

As someone born on May 27, the very day Nigeria sets aside to celebrate its children, this day holds a personal and profound meaning for me. Growing up, I often felt a deep connection to the joy, hope, and promise that Children’s Day represents. But beyond the balloons, marching parades and cheerful performances, the 2025 theme, “Children: Our Future and Our Responsibility”, challenges all of us to look deeper and act more intentionally.

Nigerian children represent over 40 per cent of the country’s population and each carry limitless potential. Their laughter lights up our homes, their curiosity inspires invention and their dreams, if nurtured, can rebuild our nation.

Walk through any Nigerian schoolyard, and you will encounter brilliance in its rawest form: children dreaming of becoming doctors, engineers, artists, and change makers. These dreams, however, often contend with the stark reality of limited access to quality education, healthcare, nutrition and protection from abuse and exploitation.

Nigerian children are not just passive inheritors of the future; they are active architects of it. When we invest in their holistic development, we lay the groundwork for a society that is stronger, fairer and more sustainable. However, this investment cannot be left to parents or governments alone; it must be a collective effort involving communities, private sector stakeholders, civil society, and even the children themselves.

Our future walks in little shoes—some on their way to school, others selling goods in traffic. They sit behind makeshift stalls instead of classroom desks and carry dreams too heavy for small shoulders. To protect that future, we must see every child not just as a dependent but as a destiny in motion.

Responsibility is a heavy word, but a beautiful one when shared. It belongs to parents, teachers, carers, governments, religious bodies, NGOs and even children themselves. It includes safeguarding a child’s mental well-being in a rapidly digitalised world, protecting them from abuse, and ensuring no child is left behind in accessing quality learning opportunities.

As we speak of national development, it is time we place children at the centre of our plans, not at the margins.

This year’s Children’s Day must not stop at celebration; it must drive action. We need deeper investments in child-centred healthcare, inclusive education, nutrition, digital literacy and recreational spaces. We need stronger laws and enforcement around child rights and protection. And we need everyday citizens to show kindness, mentorship, and advocacy for the young people around them.

Every child we lift today becomes a leader, innovator and nurturer tomorrow.

Being born on Children’s Day has been more than a coincidence for me; it has been a reminder of purpose. I reflect often on the kind of world I would have wanted as a child. That world, safe, empowering, and nurturing, is what we should now commit to helping build for others.

As Nigeria celebrates Children’s Day this year, let it also recommit to safeguarding every child’s right to learn, play, dream, and thrive. Because in every child, there is a seed of potential waiting to bloom, and what becomes of them is not just a reflection of who they are but of who we are as a nation.

After all, they are not just the future. They are our responsibility today.

Barnabas Akindele is a Public Relations Consultant and Communications Expert.