Abandoned babies on Wednesday was ennobling and uplifting. It was that of a cross-section of some of the 497 abandoned babies rescued from various streets in the last one year by the Lagos State Government. They were being fed at an orphanage. The food was evidently nutritious and well prepared. The environment was decent and dignified. The children looked healthy and content. These babies had no choice as regards their being brought into the world. But those responsible for their birth abandoned these helpless infants to an uncertain fate.

They were unwanted, denied of love and ordinarily would have little hope of survival in an environment like ours already beset by several life-threatening challenges. But amidst the glut of depressing news about current existential realities in Nigeria, it is heart-warming that the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development rescued these babies and has given them love and care. This is an example of respect for the value of human life and dignity that should be emulated by others in both the public and private spheres of our society.

Of course, the number of unwanted babies rescued from death within one year in the state, as the special adviser to the governor on youth and sports, Dr. Dolapo Badru, rightly noted, indicates a disturbing trend that requires urgent attention. One reason for the increase in this phenomenon is obviously the protracted economic crisis in the country and the attendant widespread poverty. The pervasive level of unemployment in particular has negative implications for positive family values, exacerbating the incidence of single mothers, unwanted pregnancies, high divorce rates, teenage delinquency, prostitution as well as alcohol and drug abuse that result, among other causes, in abandoned babies. This is a sad commentary on the weakening of the moral fabric necessary for a wholesome and healthy society.

It is instructive that within the same period, the state government recorded 383 cases of rape with 11 suspects prosecuted and convicted. There is most likely a link between the high incidence of rape and that of abandoned babies since rape victims may be simply too poor or ashamed to keep babies born in such circumstances. The Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development must be commended for keeping and making public these vital statistics. Such information allows for an appreciation of the magnitude of the problems and the necessary corrective steps to be taken. It is important that other states also keep adequate records of such social trends to aid effective policy formulation and implementation.

Of course, governments at all levels must be at the vanguard of efforts to address the root causes of this problem through mass job creation, poverty alleviation, public education and enlightenment as well as better security to tackle social and moral delinquency. Equally critical, again as noted by Dr. Badru, is the creation by the state of the requisite legal framework for suitable persons to legally adopt children “in need of permanent home in a loving environment”. It is encouraging in this respect that in the last one year, the Lagos State Government received 753 applications from prospective adopters. This is a practice that should be encouraged to enable abandoned children lead normal lives and achieve their potential