How child abuse has affected children’s development in Nigeria

From hawking on the street to being raped at a tender age, a number of children in Nigeria have got a story to tell. So many injustice has been done to the younger population and this is contributing negatively to their development. Below are the five major effects the term ‘child abuse‘ have caused to development of children in Nigeria:

1. Poor academic performance: Children who are forced to hawk goods on the streets, hold-ups and even to households, it is very difficult for them to perform fantastically in their studies. There are cases of young female hawkers who even end up getting raped while hawking goods around the community and some of them are too inexperienced to inform their parents about it. Thinking of all these during classes, it distract them from doing their best academically.

2. Turning out as abusive adults: Many people who were maltreated at a young age has today turn out as an abusive adult. The pain they experienced while being a child has become part of them and doing the same to others is more like a norm to them.

3. Higher rates of chronic conditions: Research has revealed that children who are being abused, be it physical, emotional or sexual, has a higher rate of getting chronic conditions.

4. Joining bad gangs: So many children being abused at home seems to have found the outside world has a safe haven. They get exposed at a young age to bad gangs and develop negative habits as smoking, drinking, as they get older.

5. Short Lifespan: Child abuse in many ways can reduce a child’s lifespan. A child that is being maltreated on a daily basis can easily give up one day. How about the one selling in the middle of the road? So many auto-accidents are reported everyday. Child abuse is a major factor that has lead to early death of many children and nothing is being done to curb it.

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