Rev. Bosco Bangura, a Sierra Leonean studying in Belgium, is concerned about the poor treatment of some of Africa's girls.

This revelation by Human Rights Watch that many girls in Guinea are forced to work up to 18 hours a day and are often physically abused by their employers is appalling.

These girls, who are often denied education, food and decent living conditions in their enslaved homes, deserve to be liberated from these circumstances.

And with tomorrow, June 16th, being designated as 'Day of the African Child', Bosco thinks it's high time some priorities were adjusted.

If the continent can unite to celebrate the fight against the cost of apartheid on the lives of children, then certainly the continent can do more to criminalise such abuse as that of these girls.

Children deserve a secure place to grow up in and they need to have their rights protected by elected officials.

Wednesday 13th June

In recognition of his life-long work, the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has been awarded the Man Booker International Prize. An award that Dak Marial Buot in Kampala, Uganda, feels is very well deserved.

The great Chinua Achebe has so many words he can be described with. He is a man of importance; a man full of wisdom; a man who has committed his wisdom to making generations of Africans aware of their literature and culture.

He is a man from whom I came to learn so much about African ways of life and how our corrupt leaders misuse our resources. Mr Achebe really deserves any trophy offered to him for his works of literature.

Keep on doing it Mr Achebe. You are really a father of African literature.

Tuesday 12th June

Today has been designated as World Day Against Child Labour - a subject close to the heart of Chris Ogbebor in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

The issue of child labour in Africa is a result of the nonchalant attitude of our leaders.

Able-bodied people are unemployed; those who are employed are paid salaries that cannot adequately take care of their own needs, let alone that of their dependants.

In Nigeria, for example, the senior citizens who spent their prime working for the country are denied their gratuities and pensions. Many of them die without receiving the fruits of their labour. Health care is so expensive that people watch helplessly as their loved ones die from curable ailments.

In order for families to keep body and soul together, the children are sent to the farms and streets to earn a living for their families. And a visit to our big towns will reveal that the frustrated youths are the ones called area boys.

If our leaders feel concerned, they will not waste billions of naira on incredible elections and inaugurations when the vast majority of citizens cannot boast of one good meal a day.

Monday 11th June

The blast that tore through a restaurant in Nairobi city centre in Kenya has upset Mabor Muorwel Makhur who lives there

The explosion here in Nairobi this morning is a disgrace. It suggests a lack of security, especially as we have in the past come up against attacks by unknown groups.

The security ministry as well as the police should take the necessary measures to reassure victims and protect innocent lives.