Group backs antibullying campaign in schools

FOLLOWING the reactions and reliving of experiences that greeted the recent death of a student of Dowen College, Lagos, Sylvester Oromoni ( Jnr), a charity, Kick Against Child Abuse ( KACA), has backed anti- bullying campaign across secondary schools in the state and beyond.

Its founder and chairman, Jerry Ihensekhien, who recalled his own experience during his days in a boarding school and how he survived it, painted the sad state of being bullied and overcoming the accompanying trauma.

Speaking at an event, organised by his group yesterday at Abule Egba Community High School, Lagos, the philanthropist cum entrepreneur deplored bullying and its related ills in institutions of learning.

Ihensekhien stressed the need for proprietors of schools, parents and guardians to be more attentive to their wards and take more interest in what goes on around them for early detection and resolution of certain behaviours of bullying.

He said: “Most parents see this bad behaviour in their children, but choose to look away, believing their wards would grow out of it or simply thinking it shows strong character, not knowing these are red flags when not adequately checked. Such acts later lead to more serious consequences in the future.”

The KACA chief implored parents to also “listen to their children when they complain about being bullied, and can even go ahead and ask questions when they see bruises on their children.”

He added: “Parents should be observant of their children. Sometimes, it is the little things that give away so much details to what their ward is going through and they should be proactive by taking such issues to the school authorities so as to stamp out the problem once and for all.”