As Nigeria marks the 2026 Children’s Day celebration on Wednesday, many citizens rejected goodwill messages of the federal government and demanded action over the abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State.
Pupils and teachers of three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were kidnapped on May 15.
Several Nigerians, including activists, media personalities and social media users, took to X and Facebook to condemn what they described as insensitive celebrations amid growing insecurity affecting children.
Among those who reacted was former Minister of Education and co-founder of Transparency International, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, who addressed an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, state governors and members of the National Assembly.
In the letter posted on X, Ezekwesili urged political leaders not to issue “ghost-written platitudes” while many Nigerian children remained victims of insecurity and neglect.
“Do not dare open your mouths on May 27 to wish Nigerian children a ‘Happy Children’s Day.
“Do not dare stand in front of cameras, surrounded by carefully arranged children in matching uniforms, to perform a tenderness you have never extended to the millions of Nigerian children you have abandoned, betrayed, and condemned to lives of suffering,” she wrote.
She said government officials would be “dishonouring” abducted schoolchildren and millions of vulnerable Nigerian children by celebrating the occasion without addressing their plight.
“You are wishing ‘Happy Children’s Day’ to at least 1,799 students seized in a dozen of the largest abductions since Chibok, and to the 670 children affected by at least 10 school kidnappings in less than two years – a litany of horror compiled not by your security agencies, but by international human rights organisations doing the work your government refuses to do.
“You are wishing ‘Happy Children’s Day’ to around 19 million Nigerian children – 27 per cent- who do not attend school due to the threat of kidnappings, poverty and cultural factors, one of the highest numbers in the world,” she wrote.
Ezekwesili slammed the political class for what she called “hypocritical” messages to children affected by poverty, poor healthcare, illiteracy and displacement.
Broadcaster Oseni Rufai wrote on X, “Children’s Day and children are in kidnappers’ den.”
Similarly, social media personality Enioluwa Adeoluwa, said, “Today, Children’s Day is dedicated to the Ogbomoso Children. To the children in the forests. To the children without safety, without protection. To the children who now fear the same classrooms that should have held their dreams.”
“Children deserve safety. They deserve care. They deserve love from the country they call home. This can never become our new normal,” he added.
An X user, @Nwamininnaemeka, wrote, “You don’t get to celebrate children while abandoning them. Today is Children’s Day, and somewhere in Nigeria, a mother is staring at an empty bed that used to hold her child.”
Another X user, @OurFavOnlineDoc urged Nigerians to speak up for missing children.
“Today is Children’s Day. The Nigerian government is busy with politics. We must dedicate today’s Children’s Day to these missing little children. Please kindly lend your voice,” he posted.
Also reacting, Dr Dipo Awojide, known on X as @OgbeniDipo, sympathised with affected families and called for intensified military operations against kidnappers.
“I urge the Armed Forces to continue wiping out these terrorists from within our communities,” he wrote.
On Facebook, a health advocate, Oluyinka Adebanjo-Shokunbi, wrote, “While other children celebrate today, the children of Ahoro Esinele are in the forest — hungry, scared, and held captive.
“Children’s Day 2026 is void for them. Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this is the time to prove that every Nigerian child’s life matters. Secure their release now! #OURCHILDRENLIVESMATTER #securetheirrelease #ChildrensDay2026.”
