Emotions ran high on Tuesday at the Ilorin Metropolitan Square venue of this year's Children's Day celebration. Tears floured down the chins of not a few of the scores of school children who converged on the venue in Ilorin, the state capital, to seek God's intervention for the safe return of over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, by the Islamist Boko Haram sect.

This year's anniversary was without the usual fanfare that attended previous celebrations. Despite the prevailing peace and security in the state, not many of the schools in the state sent in their representatives to the event that was held under watchful eyes of security agents. For about an hour, students from some of the few schools that participated in the event, were called out one by one to pray for the safe release of the girls who had spent 43 days in captivity of Boko haram insurgents. They also prayed for peace and unity to reign in the country.

Some placards wielded by the students had such inscriptions as '#Bring Back Our Girls: Act now!' 'Nurture a child to create a better tomorrow.'

Speaker of the Kwara State Children's Parliament, Yusuf Abdulmalik, appealed to the Federal Government to do all it could to rescue the abducted girls safely from the kidnappers' den. "Since the abduction of these girls, things are no longer at ease. We can no longer concentrate on our studies in schools,"he said.

The prayers were said in both Christianity and Islam. Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, represented Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed at the event. Wife of the Governor, Omolewa, who had last week convoked similar prayers of both Christians and Muslim women, was also instrumental to the yesterday's prayers. Alhaji Gold, who read President Goodluck Jonathan's address, urged parents not to be deterred by the Boko Haram activities in sending their children to schools.