Bringing up children from the family unit to the larger society no doubt places enermous responsibilities on the parents and guardians.
One of such vital parental duty is the providion of necessaries of life to a child.
A child according to Children and young Persons’ Law, is a person under the age of fourteen years.
Generally, children are regarded as precious gifts from God to adored, cherished and nurtured by parents, guardians.
Such Children are entitled to care, protection of their interests and indeed provision of necessaries according to the capacities of the parents.
They are entitled to food, shelter, clothing, basic education health and security provided by parents or guardians or whoever has the duty of nuturing them.
In nuturing the child, the wellbeing and interest should always be given prominence. This has been adumbrated in section one of the Childs Right Act thus “ In every action concerning a child whether by an individual public or patebody, institution or service court of law or administrative or legislative authority, the best interest of the child shall be primary consideration”
Failure to provide such maintenance for the child, in appropriate circumstance, the child has a right to encforce the right in a family court.
Indeed, section 14 (2) of the Child’s Right Act “Every Child has a right to maintenance by his parents or guardians in accordance with the extent of their means and the child has the right in appropriate circumstances to enforce this right in the family court”
Section 339 of the criminal code also in clear and unambigous terms imposes a three-year jail term on any person who charged with the duty of providing necessaries of life to another but without any lawful justification, fails to carry out this duty.
For the avoidance of doubt, the section states”Any person who being charged with the duty of providing for another the necessaries of life, without lawful excuse, fails to do so, whereby the life of that otherperdon is or is likel to be endangered, or his health is or is likely to be permanently unjured, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years” The offender cannot be arrested without warrant.
From the foregoings, it is clear that a child is legally entitled to the best form of care and maintenance comensurate with the means of the parents or guardians.
It is equally an offence for parents or guardians to abandon or expose a child to harm, especially one under seven years as such a parent or guardian on conviction is liable to imprisonment for five years. See section 341 of the criminal code Act.
These laws among others are targeted to a large extent at ensuring proper and adequate care, maintenance and protection of the interest of the child.
In reality however, it is disgusting that not many parents or guardians adhere to the provisions of the law and worse still, hardly is any brought to court for abdicating from the legal duties of providing necessaries to children
Today, many children are abandoned to roam the street, hawk wares, subjected to mal-nutrition, poor or even no health care services and hard labour as well being denied of basic education.
Many are forced into being employed as domestic servants under very cruel conditions riddled with abuse of fundamental rights manifesting in torture, aggravated and deliberate inhuman or degrading treatment at the hands of their employers.
Let it be clearly stated that such deliberate, neglect, failure or refusal to provide neccessaries for the child and the resort by parents or guardians to comprise the well-being of the child but rather expose him to jeopardy remains preposterous and a flagrant violation of the child.
Can neglected children truly become future leaders? Certainly not children should be accorded their protection care and needs and other obligations that parents and guardians owe them.
Parents or guardians who fail to live up to legal expectations in the supply of necessaries to their children or wards should know that the law frowns heir neglect, failure or refusal to meet up the needs of the children and wards
Even if parents and guardians are ignorant, they should also not forget that ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Granted that there is hardship in the land it does not justify child abandonment or failure to provide necessaries to the extent of their means.
Wisdom therefore indicates that that all material times, parents and guardians should do all within their means to cater for children. This does not however mean the provision of luxuries.
