By

Tolulope Oguntimehin

 A U.S.-based child right and abuse advocate, Atim Tolbert, has called on the Government to provide free basic education for all children across schools in every state, especially in under-developed Communities.
She made the call on Monday, during a virtual meeting, organised by the Reach out Africa Charity Initiative (ROACI), a Non-Govermental Organisation,
Tolbert, who is also a domestic violence expert, said that education is the bedrock of every nation capable of plugging poverty gaps and giving equal opportunities to children across every group and strata
“Education is paramount in closing poverty gaps and a plug for social capital development. With free education, there is equal opportunities for every child which brings about togetherness and a peaceful co-existence.
“This automatically means all children have the same opportunities and the poverty cycles in most families in Nigeria will drastically be reduced,” she added.
She further stressed that if children can be given quality education in their formative stages, the society no longer needs to worry about societal vices like banditry, armed robbery and internet crimes.
“Am speaking from experience in my time, the then Governor of Lagos State, Tunde Jakande, gave us free education. We didn’t have to worry about anything; we also had food in school, everything was provided, you just go and learn.
“If we set them up in their early stages, we would have positively empowered them to channel their knowledge into good quality lifestyles and moral standards.
“Then again, when kids are not in school, it opens the door for exploitation, for sex trafficking in underage girls, early/forced marriages, extremist groups, and social instability breeding societal unrest .
“I urge the Government to look into some policies that would correct menaces surrounding our children. Nigeria is our country and we need to come back home,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was held ahead of the United for change summit.
The Summit themed “Unite for Change”, will hold in Lagos and Abuja, designed to serve as a bridge to continents, uniting global influencers to address pressing societal issues in Nigeria.