Abuchi Ejinkonye, a seven year old boy, whose two hands were chopped off by his kinsman last year, has just returned to Nigeria from a German hospital with artificial limbs amid the joyful sorrow of several sympathizers who thronged the airport to welcome him. Ostensibly because of the pathetic circumstances surrounding the chopping off of his hands, the return of Abuchi to Nigeria has been attracting wide media publicity.
The tragedy that befell Abuchi last year, is heart-rending. Briefly, the young boy was living with his parents- his blind father and his poor mother- in Owerri last year. One day his kinsman, a 20 year old man, who had been living abroad, came to their house and complained that Abuchi was too heady and had to be taught a lesson. Thereafter he took Abuchi to a nearby bush and chopped off his hands. Ordinarily, this sounds incredible. How could a so-called relation treat such a young boy with such brutality? After the tragedy, boy Abuchi was admitted into the Orthopaedic hospital, Enugu where he received treatment for a while. The doctors there felt that he needed to be flown to Germany to be given artificial limbs. Given his poor background, Abuchi had nobody to assist him in footing the hospital bills in Germany. But when the MTN authorities heard his travail, they quickly rallied round to rescue him. They flew him to a German hospital where artificial limbs were fixed on him at the expense of MTN. Today, Abuchi has returned to Nigeria with two hands ready to be re-integrated into his community.
Undoubtedly, the authorities of MTN deserve our congratulations for this uncommon humanitarianism. It is worthy of emulation by other corporate bodies. MTN has demonstrated that beyond making profit corporate bodies have social responsibility in the society. Nobody is a single verse. Our common humanity dictates that we should be concerned about the sufferings and predicament of our fellow men especially our children who are vulnerable to all sorts of atrocities these days. The doctors at the Orthopaedic hospital, Enugu, who have been treating Abuchi and who accompanied him to Germany equally deserve kudos.
That said, we demand for justice for Abuchi. We are disappointed that as at today the kinsman who chopped off Abuchi’s hand last year has not been arrested let alone prosecuted. This is sad, very sad indeed. We insist that the man who committed this heinous crime must be arrested immediately and brought to justice. He should also be made to pay for incapacitating him.
On a larger note, government should devise concrete ways of protecting the Nigerian child. We reiterate that every society owes the child the best it can give, and that any society which fails or neglects to protect its young-the leaders of tomorrow- is obviously heading for extinction.
There is need to begin to enforce the Child’s Rights Act in all the 36 States of the federation. Certainly, if those who molest or abuse children know that they will face the wrath of the law if caught, they will be deterred from doing so. The National Assembly should also create a legal framework for the invigoration of the existing child welfare services and trusts in the country.
No group is more vulnerable to the complex social problems caused by rapid urbanization and technological advancement than children. They need protection.
