By; Abdullahi Inuwa
A leading youth advocacy group, the Youth Enlightenment and Social Justice Foundation, has raised the alarm over the alarming presence of street children across Katsina metropolis.
The organization accused local and state authorities of gross negligence and failure to uphold child rights.
In a stinging public statement signed by State Chairman Mohammed Idris Ruma, the organization condemned the “sordid spectacle” of boys and girls, some as young as three, left to fend for themselves in the city’s most vulnerable spaces.
“ We are outraged by the sight of these little ones roaming Katsina’s streets as urchins, exposed to every manner of danger and criminal activity,” the statement reads.
According to the Foundation’s preliminary findings, many of these children—aged between 3 and 14 year sleep in makeshift shelters at motor parks, unfinished buildings, and shop balconies.
While some orphans and other other vulnerable children have single parents or families who allegedly send them out to beg in order to supplement meager household incomes.
The Foundation singled out a host of government agencies—Girl-Child Education, Women Affairs, IDPs, Hisba Board, and other for their inaction on the menace.
“Despite substantial state funding aimed at poverty alleviation, these agencies remain silent, allowing vulnerable children to slip through the cracks,”
“This neglected attitude raises critical concerns about the safeguarding of weaker members of our populace.” the statement charged.
A Call for Accountability
The Youth Enlightenment and Social Justice Foundation demands immediate, concrete steps from Governor Dikko Umaru Radda’s administration:
1. Evacuation and Rehabilitation: Promptly remove children from the streets, placing them in safe shelters and rehabilitation centers with access to health care and counseling.
2. Legal Enforcement: Identify and punish individuals or families who exploit children as street beggars or laborers, in accordance with state and federal child protection laws.
3. Educational Reintegration: Ensure every rescued child has access to formal education by collaborating with local schools, non-profits, and community leaders.
4. Agency Accountability: Mandate all relevant boards and ministries to present quarterly reports on street-child interventions, with clear performance metrics.
5. Community Engagement: Mobilize civil society, religious scholars, youth organizations, and political actors to drive grassroots advocacy and monitoring.
Rights Under Threat
The organization’s statement noted that Nigeria is a signatory to international conventions guaranteeing children’s rights, as well as domestic statutes under Islamic and customary law.
“The state must recommit to its obligations under local and international frameworks to protect vulnerable children,” the Foundation urged, warning that failure to act would erode public trust in democratic governance.
Voices from the Street
In interviews conducted by the Foundation, some children said they spend nights hidden behind shops or under parked trucks, scavenging for food the next day.
Others confessed to being coerced by adults promising small stipends. “We do not want to stay here, but we have no choice,” one 10-year-old boy confessed.
A Shared Responsibility
In closing, Chairman Mohammed Idris Ruma appealed to all Katsina residents: “Protecting the well-being of our children is not only a legal duty but a moral imperative.
” As citizens and civic actors, we must remain vigilant and tirelessly advocate for children’s rights, urging our government to uphold the principles of justice and humanity.” he said.
With this clarion call, the Youth Enlightenment and Social Justice Foundation has placed the spotlight firmly on a crisis many feared was invisible.
The ball now lies in the court of Governor Radda’s administration and the wider Katsina community to translate outrage into action.
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