The Federal Government in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other stakeholders have disclosed of plans to review the National Policy and National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour.
Country Director of the ILO Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Dr. Vanessa Phala disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday while speaking at the commemoration of the 2025 World Day Against Child Labour (WOACL).
Phala said that the policy review would include a list of hazardous work, aimed at providing the necessary policy and regulatory framework for the elimination of child labour.
She added that the ILO has supported research to provide data that guides policy actions in the country.
The Nigeria Child Labour Survey 2022 and the Nigeria Forced Labour Survey 2022 were launched by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in April 2024.
The National Steering Committee on the Elimination of Child Labour in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and ILO developed a National Child Labour website and mobile reporting application to provide a veritable platform that will strengthen and improve the system for tracking, monitoring and reporting child labour cases across communities and states in the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, said: “Progress is clear, but there’s more to do: Let’s speed up efforts!’ as the theme of the 2025 edition of Child Labour commemoration is a sharp reminder to stakeholders of the need to further intensify efforts aimed at stemming the tide.”
Dingyadi lamented that children are denied the opportunity to learn, play and grow in a loving and safe environment.
He insisted that every child has the right to go to school and not to work in dangerous jobs.
“You have the right to play, not to carry heavy loads. You have the right to dream, not to be forced to work long hours,” the minister added.
Though the number of children trapped in child labour has dropped globally from 160 million to 138 million, the minister noted that Nigeria is part of the progress that has been made.
He added: “But even one child in child labour is one too many. Imagine a Nigeria where every child is in school, learning and becoming the best version of themselves. Imagine a country where no child is working on the streets or farms under harsh conditions. This is the Nigeria we are working towards. This is Nigeria and the future you deserve.”
He declared that the voices of children matter and are worthy of listening to, saying, “And we are listening, listening to understand and carry your message and translate it into the visions you envisage and to build a world you aspire to live in. What you say here today will help shape how we move forward.”
He stated that the government believes in the ideas of Nigerian children and hopes to use these ideas to improve policies and programmes, giving them a legacy they will be proud of.
The minister said: “President Bola Tinubu is determined to make life better for all Nigerians through his Renewed Hope Agenda. You can become scientists, teachers, doctors, footballers, writers, engineers, presidents – anything you want to be – but you must have the time and the support to grow and learn.”
He noted that the time has come to protect every child’s right to education, health, and dignity.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero called on the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to resolve the ongoing strike by teachers.
Ajaero identified poverty, inequality, weak enforcement of labour laws, and underfunded public education as practices that deepen child labour.
While the country has recorded successes in policy formulations, increased awareness, and successful interventions, Ajaero pointed out that the rate of interventions and policy evolution lags behind the rate of exacerbation of the issues surrounding child labour.
He maintained that the gaps, most of the time, give the wrong impression that nothing is being done.
Ajaero submitted that as trade unions, the movement understands that child labour is both a labour issue and a social justice issue.
He added: “We cannot build decent work in Nigeria while children are forced to work and not just work but to work under inhumane and unsafe conditions.”
The NLC President called on government at all levels to implement and enforce the Child Rights Act, ensure that no child is denied access to free and quality basic education, and expand social protection programmes to shield families from the economic pressures that drive child labour.
First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu has called for the acceleration of national efforts to eradicate child labour in all its forms, describing it as a moral and social scourge that robs millions of Nigerian children of their future.
“Let us speed up efforts to end child labour in all ramifications by strengthening our laws, supporting families, and investing in quality education for every child,” the First Lady declared in a statement on Thursday to commemorate the day.
The 2025 global theme is “Let’s speed up efforts! End child labour!”
Senator Tinubu emphasised that it is “unacceptable” that in today’s Nigeria, countless children are still being subjected to work that deprives them of the chance to attend school, grow in safe environments, and pursue their dreams.
“Today, we raise our voices for millions of children whose dreams are stolen by the harsh reality of child labour,” she said.
Her message underscores a growing national and global consensus that child labour remains a major barrier to development and human capital growth, especially in low- and middle-income countries where poverty and weak social systems continue to push vulnerable families into harmful coping mechanisms.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), over 160 million children are still engaged in child labour globally, with Africa accounting for the highest number.
In Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimates that nearly 26.4 million children are engaged in various forms of labour, often in unsafe conditions and without access to education.
Senator Tinubu called for a multi-pronged national response that includes stronger law enforcement, expanded educational access, and comprehensive family support programs that reduce the economic incentives for child labour.
She urged citizens, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to act in concert to protect Nigeria’s future.
“I urge us to work towards building a country where every child is free to thrive, dream, and reach their God-given potential,” the First Lady appealed .
In a survey, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has shown how child labour affects school attendance and also poses health threat to children in Nigeria, TOBA AGBOOLA reports
The Nigeria Child Labour Survey by ILO 2022/23 has made a landmark on the true situation of the menace in the country.
The survey shows that on the streets across Nigeria, child labour is a menace that goes beyond depriving children the enjoyment of childhood to posing a great threat to their life and future.
This was corroborated by the recently published Nigeria Child Labour Survey. The survey was produced through the collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, ILO, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), with the support of the Government of the Netherlands and United States Department of Labour (USDOL).
Among many prominent data-backed findings of the survey, how child labour hinders victims from schooling and limits their chances of living a sane and fulfilled life as adults speaks volume.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala, child labour casts a long shadow across human communities especially in Africa.
“Child labour affects the ability to attend school and the prospects of benefiting from schooling. Children who spend many hours in child labour may not be able to attend school or take full advantage of the time they are in class,” the survey stated.
It noted: “The relationship between child labour and children’s education cannot be over-emphasised. Findings show a significant difference in the school attendance rate of children in child labour and those not in child labour. A total of 81.4 per cent of children six to 14 years old not engaged in child labour attend school, while school attendance falls to 75.1 percent for children in that age group in child labour.
“This situation is common for both male and female children in the country. A total of 81.5 per cent of girls six to 14 years old not in child labour attend school, while 76 per cent of those in child labour attend school. For male children, the gap is slightly larger, where 81.2 percent of boys out of child labour attend school, while only 74.3 of those in child labour attend school.
“The school attendance gap between children in child labour and those not in child labour is of a similar magnitude in urban and rural areas, but children in rural areas are much less likely to attend school in general. A total of 88.9 per cent of children six to 14 years old in child labour who live in urban areas attend school, whereas only 69.7 per cent for the same population living in rural areas attend school.”
On child labour intensity versus school attendance, the survey said: “The results further reveal that not only the state of being in child labour is related to school attendance, but the time spent engaged in child labour also influences school attendance. The findings clearly indicate that the number of hours children spend working affects their ability to attend school. While 80.3 percent of children six to 14 years old in child labour who work one to seven hours per week in economic activities attend school, the percentage of children attending school reduces to 75.1 percent for children who spend between eight and 14 hours a week in economic activities weekly, 72.0 percent for children who work 15 to 21 hours and 69.9 percent for children who work 22 hours or more.”
The survey also provides information on the reasons children have never attended school or are not in school.
“Common reasons for never attending school among children six to 14 years old in child labour point to the lack of access to quality and affordable education, with 24.6 per cent of children reporting that there are no schools, the school is too far or there are no teachers and 12.6 per cent of children indicating that school is too costly.
“Differences exist between female and male children. The most common reason for girls six to 14 years old in child labour to have never attended school is that the family does not allow it, the case for 22.3 per cent of families.”
The survey further stated that children in child labour in rural areas are more likely to have never attended school than in urban areas due to a lack of schools in the community.
“A total of 26.5 per cent of children six to 14 years old in child labour in rural areas never attended school because of the lack of school in the community compared to only 7.1 per cent in urban areas. For children in urban areas in child labour, the most cited reason for never attending school is that schooling is too costly
“Of the children in child labour not attending school, 30.2 per cent report that they finished school, 15.3 per cent report they are not interested in school, 10 per cent report it is too costly or they cannot afford it and 8.5 per cent report that no school exists, it is too far or there are no teachers.”
On child labour impacts on the health of children, the survey stated: “The involvement of children in child labour exposes them to hazards and risks of injury or illness that cause harm.
“Children five to 17 years old who are in child labour are generally exposed to hazards and risks. The most common hazard or risk affecting 36.0 per cent of children in child labour relates to using sharp tools, such as axes, knives and machetes, followed by carrying heavy loads relevant for 22.6 per cent of children.
“Overall, 53.3 per cent of children in child labour are exposed to at least one workplace hazard, with male and female children almost equally exposed (53.3 per cent of boys and 53.2 per cent of girls).
“However, children in child labour living in rural areas are more likely to be exposed to at least one workplace hazard (55.4 per cent) than those living in urban areas (48.1 per cent). Notably, 89.7 per cent of children in the 15 to 17 age group in child labour are exposed to at least one workplace hazard compared to 45.0 per cent of children in the five to 14 age group.
“Children five to 17 years old engaged in child labour can experience certain injuries and illnesses that jeopardise their health and safety. A total of 16.3 per cent of children in child labour have experienced at least one injury at work. As many as 6.1 per cent of children five to 17 years old in child labour (nearly 1.5 million children) were badly bruised on at least one occasion and 6.0 per cent (also about 1.5 million) had a deep cut.”
Overall, the survey findings reveal that 39.2 per cent of children five to 17 years old in Nigeria are involved in child labour: four of every 10 children.
“Notably, the prevalence of child labour is higher in rural areas, where 44.8 per cent of children are engaged in this activity compared to 30.0 per cent in urban areas. This is an important point as 62.4 per cent of children five to 17 years old in Nigeria live in rural areas.”
The survey also states that the South-East and North-East regions have the highest incidence of child labour: 49.9 percent and 49.4 percent of children in child labour, respectively. It noted also that findings indicate that child labour is more common in poorer households and in those in which the household head is less educated. And understanding where child labour is most prevalent is a crucial consideration when planning interventions to mitigate it.
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to eradicate child labour by 2025, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It has pledged to align its efforts with the globally adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, joining 193 United Nations (UN) member states in a commitment to combat modern slavery, human trafficking and the worst forms of child labour, including the use of child soldiers.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyeajeocha stated this at the third National Children’s Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Abuja.
The minister expressed appreciation for the support of international partners, including the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Government of the Netherlands and the United States Government, in the fight against child labour and forced labour.
She said despite the challenges, Nigeria has made significant progress in addressing child labour, including the ratification of ILO conventions and the establishment of the National Steering Committee on child labour.
The minister acknowledged the alarming global statistics on child labour and forced labour but expressed optimism that with collective efforts, Nigeria can achieve its goal of ending child labour by 2025.
She said: “It is a global menace that has proven to potentially hinder the development of children, leading to a lifelong physical and psychological damage and keeping the children out-of- school, thereby perpetuating poverty across generations. To address this challenge, Nigeria has made giant strides, including the ratification of the ILO conventions 138 on the minimum age for work, 182 on the worst forms of child labour, Conventions 29 and 105 on the abolition of forced labour.
“In line with the conventions, Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended prohibits forced and compulsory labour for any employer, which also defines penalty fees, fines, imprisonment, or a combination of these sanctions for any employer found guilty.
“The review and validation of all relevant laws, regulations and policies that are key and instrumental to the elimination of child labour: the National Policy on Child Labour and the National Action Plan for the elimination of Child Labour for an implementation period of five years; the Compendium of Legal Framework on the elimination of Child Labour and Protection of children in Nigeria; the review of the labour standard bill to mainstream child labour, with special consideration on the adoption of 15 years as the minimum age for work/employment; the establishment and coordination of the National Steering Committee on Child Labour and the State Steering Committee on Child Labour across the 36 states.
“Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment is a Pathfinder Country of Alliance 8.7, committed to achieve the sustainable Development Goals, target 8.7, to end child labour in all its forms by 2025 and forced labour and human trafficking by 2030.”
The conference with the theme, ‘Let’s Act on Our Commitment: End Child Labour,’ brought together stakeholders from across the country to strategise and renew their commitment to combating child labour.
She said with the support of all, Nigeria is determined to ensure that every child has access to education and a safe and secure environment, free from exploitation and labour.
The ILO Country Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison for ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala, praised Nigeria for taking steps toward the elimination of child labour.
“One good thing is that Nigeria is actively combating child labour. In 2003, Nigeria adopted the Child Rights Act to domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The country also launched the National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour in 2021 and provided legal frameworks and roadmaps for its,’’ he said.
“Nigeria has ratified ILO Conventions 138 (Minimum Age) and 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour), demonstrating its commitment to international standards in protecting children’s rights.
“Additionally, Nigeria collaborates internationally with organisations like the ILO and the US Department of Labour through programmes like ACLAWA (Action against Child Labour in Agriculture in West Africa), ACCEL and GALAB, to tackle the root causes of child labour through education and social protection initiatives.”
However, she said that significant challenges remain at the global, national, state, local government areas and community level.
The 2021 Global child labour report released by ILO and UNICEF indicated a global increased of child labour prevalence by 8.4 million to reach a staggering 160 million. This marks the first slowdown in global efforts against child labor in two decades, with Sub-Saharan Africa facing particularly daunting challenges.
“Of particular concern is the significant increase in child labour among children aged five to 11 years, now comprising over half of the global total. Additionally, the number of children aged five to 17 years engaged in hazardous work has risen. Globally, the agriculture sector accounts for 70 per cent of child labourers, shockingly, nearly 28 percent of children aged five to 11 years and 35 percent aged 12 to 14 years in child labour are out of school,” she said.
As Nigerians struggle with the harsh economic realities, families, most especially low-income earners, find it difficult to survive. As a result, many have deployed their young children to assist the family, thereby leading to a significant increase in child and forced labour, TOBA AGBOOLA writes
Under the bridge at the popular Cele Bus stop, along Oshodi/Apapa Expressway sat nine-year-old Kehinde Adeoye. In front of him was a tray of groundnuts. Daily, Kehinde defies either the rain, or scorching sun and risks of either being kidnapped or run over by careless bus drivers to ply her trade at the spot.
As the first child in a family of five, he had to drop out of school because her mother, a widow, could not afford to feed, clothe, or send him and his siblings to school since they lost their father a few years ago.
“On a daily basis, I come here to help my mother because she is a widow. I want to go to school but my mother alone cannot afford it. Many of my friends only come to sell when they are back from school but my situation is far worse than theirs.
“I have to do this every day to help my mother. I lost my father four years ago and there is no one to look after us. Our lives depend solely on this. My mother also hawks cooked food to earn a living,” he said.
No fewer than seven underage children were seen hawking various items ranging from sachet water,oranges, bottled water and bread at the spot as they pace the road, hastening up to attend to bus passengers and commuters who beckoned at them.
There are similar sights at the various traffic points along Apapa/Oshodi Expressway as under-age children slug it out with their counterparts to make ends meet through sales from hawking. These are just a few out of many in Lagos and other parts of the country.
A report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) stated that child and forced labour in the private economy generates about $236 billion in illegal profits yearly.
The report added that the total amount of illegal profits from forced labour had risen by $64 billion (37 per cent) since 2014, a dramatic increase that has been fuelled by a growth in the number of people forced into labour, as well as higher profits generated from the exploitation of victims.
In Nigeria, there is a phenomenal rise in the propensity on the part of families to exploit children they engage as house maids.
Recently, there was a report of a disturbing plight of children given away by their parents into what could easily pass for child slavery. This practice, which has been on for quite a while, reflects all that is wrong with certain aspects of the social system.
The report recounted tales of young Nigerian children between 10 and 13, who were subjected to some of the most demeaning conditions and treatments even as they provide indispensable domestic services to their perceptibly ungrateful employers, in some cases, at laughable pecuniary terms.
According to this report, some of these maids, children in their rights, who need taking care of, but engaged ostensibly as housemaids, are soon turned into sex toys by the male members of the family. In a particular instance, a maid was rendered blind in one eye by her supposed employers for failing to meet set standards in washing a kettle.
There are instances of such cruelty some of which are not reported. However, in what could easily pass for child slavery, parents of the young children collected money from persons in exchange for the services of their children as domestic help. The parents hinge their action on poverty and inability to cater for the family. And so, they sell their children into slavery, without knowing it, and turn a blind eye to the criminal acts of those who soon begin to act in a manner that suggests that they bought the children
The strength and future of any society lies in its ability to promote the health and well-being of its next generation. It has to do with the saying that ‘children are the future leaders’, which means, tomorrow, the children, today, will become parents, citizens and workers.
Sadly, it is no longer news that many children have become breadwinners of their families instead of their parents and guardians being the breadwinners. In the country, and this is pervasive, millions of children are sent out by their parents and guardians to do any job or trade in the name of making money. While it is the responsibility of the country to protect children anywhere in Nigeria, the children have been left on their own.
Child labour has become the order of the day with over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s children involved, according to the ILO.
Corroborating, the Federal Government, through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mrs Kachollom Daju, few months ago, said over 43 per cent of children were engaged in child labour. She said this represents between five and 11 years and that they are involved in economic activities, including the worst forms of child labour.
She described child labour as a grave concern that affects millions of children worldwide, denying them of their fundamental rights to education, health, mental and moral development and a childhood free from exploitation.
The PS, however, listed some of the challenges in the elimination of child labour in Nigeria to include poverty, cultural/religious factors, poor educational system, inadequate social protection systems and wrong perception of the negative effects of child labour.
Experts speak
Executive Secretary, Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr. Tony Ojukwu (SAN), described child labour as any work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and dignity and also harmful to their physical, mental growth and development.
He said child labour perpetuates a cycle of deprivation, depriving children of their right to education, play and a nurturing childhood. It is, therefore, imperative that we recognise the urgent need to dismantle this cycle and create a world where no child is forced to sacrifice their potential for the sake of survival.
According to him, “Data reveals the harsh reality we must confront. The ILO has lamented that about 160 million children are actively engaged in child labour globally. Approximately, 72.1 million African children are estimated to be engaged in child labour and 31.5 million in hazardous work while 15 million child workers are in Nigeria’’.
President, National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees of Nigeria (NUFBTE), Comrade Ibrahim Garuba, notes that the government has not done enough in checkmating child labour that is increasing daily because of harsh economy, which has pushed many families into poverty level.
Garuba said: “As the ILO Convention spelt out what decent work means which includes ability to provide dignity, fair wages, and safe conditions for workers, the Federal Government must work towards giving workers a living wage.”
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, said the state had been at the forefront of promoting the rights of children in the state.
Omotoso added that the state government has a law against street trading and hawking, and “we have been arresting people and taking them to court”. He, however, noted that some of them were out on the streets because the state population kept increasing everyday.
He said: “If people come into Lagos, they come in droves. That is why we said we would like to have data on the number of people we have in the state so that we can be able to prepare for anybody. But those coming into the state don’t buy the idea because they have the erroneous impression that it is all about taxation, whereas it is not about that. We need data on everybody in Lagos for us to be able to make provisions for everybody in the budget. All these we take out of the streets, some of them have left their home state and some find their way back to the street.
“There is also a criminal angle to it as some use these kids to go and beg and at the end of the day, they collect the proceeds from them. Last year, a lot of such people were jailed, but the thing is that when you’re trying to enforce the law, some of them hide under the umbrella of human rights activists, but in a civilised country it is not allowed for you to use children to beg. We are also encumbered by lack of space, where to keep them because they keep on coming into Lagos. The state is also at the forefront of implementing the child rights law. In Lagos State, anyone who violates the law won’t go unpunished.’’
An Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Lagos State University, Dr Samuel Oluranti, said policymakers must look down and see what they can do to solve the problem of child labour.
He noted the state of the economy is responsible for the increasing rate of children hawking on the streets.
A Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr Charles Umeh, said children of school age who were subjected to child labour lacked emotional growth.
Umeh noted that the children were deprived of some opportunities that affected their development.
He said: “We have emotional development and as children develop, we have some stage theories like cognition, there is a way a child should be handled so that they can develop well in terms of cognition and emotional development. Now when we deprive these children of this opportunity, that means there is going to be some impairment in their development.
“In the case of children hawking the streets, these are children of school age who are supposed to be in school but their parents or principal sent them to the streets to go and hawk for financial purposes. How would that child grow emotionally? They are going to feel detached.That is the beginning of low self-esteem.They start to see something different like they are missing something that makes them not to be like the other person. And low self-esteem is a mediator to so many emotions and mental health issues because a gap has been created in their psyche and that gap must be filled. They look around for someone who is missing such privileges and they meet themselves on the street and develop the street culture. Then that could lead to some of these aberrant behaviours you see in some of them.”
Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said the lack of proper mechanisms and resources were not put in place by the government to ensure that children were protected.
Effiong explained that the government did not care about the children or young people in the country with the passage of the Child Rights Act which has been domesticated in every state.
He said: “One would have thought that the proper mechanism and resources would be put in place to ensure that children are protected but that is not the case. What has to happen is for the government to realise its responsibilities to the citizens, particularly children in the state and ensure that they are protected and that their rights are equally respected and enforced. The Child Rights Act needs to be fully implemented. If you look at the acts and laws in various states, there are provisions for enforcement committees and so on that are supposed to be constituted to ensure implementation, but that has not happened. Ministries of welfare and social welfare are supposed to look into this kind of matter but poor implementation, poor funding and lack of political will are what have impeded the implementation of the Child Rights Act.
In commemoration of last year’s World Day Against Child Labour, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) also called for policies that would bridge the economic inequality gap to address the increasing rate of child labour across the globe.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who made this known this at the 111th Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, said some factors mitigating the issue of child labour in Nigeria include parents not working and some state governments failure to pay the minimum wage
The two words, ‘child labour’ embody two striking paradoxes given that their semantic imports must put them apart. Their appearing in the same sentence or being seen as contextually appropriate is an aberration. A child as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child is anyone under the age of 18. Subsequently, parents, family and the state each has vital roles to play in the general well-being of the child.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a legally-binding international agreement setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities.
About 190 countries signed and ratified the Child Rights Law as stipulated by the United Nations. However, the fact that 218m children aged 5-17 are employed and 152m are victims of child labour, many of who work in hazardous work environments is evidence that many countries, especially the developing ones, have failed to play by the UN rules.
The resolution highlights the member- states’ commitments “to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour significantly.”
The declaration by the UN making 2021 International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour is a very welcome development given the very many disadvantages of child labour and child trafficking. Most children who are forced into labour miss out on all the progressive steps of development. They miss out on schooling, their physical and mental developments are often impaired, they are exposed to all forms of mental, physical and sexual abuses and often initiated into many criminal activities that haunt the society perennially.
We commend the United Nations for being at the forefront of child protection and for this extra push to possibly eliminate all forms of child labour by 2021. However, our concern for developing countries like Nigeria is for the government to make child labour very unattractive through the implementation of the relevant laws and having a strict punishment and reward system in ways that loudly speak to the protection of the future embodied by the children.
In more developed countries, ages 5 – 17 are almost sacrosanct ,as there are laws that compel both the state and families to build capacity and ensure development through education of all children, in which case children between such ages are required to be in school.
There are basic reasons why adults surreptitiously or overtly exploit children through child labour. Poverty in families make parents use children as street vendors, domestic servants to wealthy families, farm hands and some odd jobs, while some even traffic the children in the guise of giving them a better future. Some are engaged in sundry menial jobs like shoe shining, begging for a living and to augment family income.
The fact that 23 out of 36 states in Nigeria have passed the Child Rights Law is evidence of the governments’ unwillingness to protect a tomorrow that children represent. Even the states that signed the law have no stringent implementation of the laws and ultimately, it is the children that suffer and the whole country becomes a worse victim.
There must be an attempt by governments to check population explosion so that parents can have fewer children. There must be more emphasis on the development of the rural areas to help stem rural/urban migration, and more investment in infrastructure to create more jobs for the adult population so they can fully cater for their children. Governments must be seen to have the political will to sustain policies without any partisanship or political expediencies in view. There must be the political will by all tiers of government to see the full and productive development of all children in ways that make child labour the crime it ought to be.
A country like Nigeria with more than 13 million out-of-school children must not wait till 2021 to implement the relevant anti-child labour laws. Even though we recognise some peculiar cultural values that might be different from country to country, there must be recognition of the global dependence on education, technology and ideas for development. Only education guarantees these. Time is almost running out and the UN has blown the global whistle to end child labour by 2021. We cannot afford to toy with our future.
Participants and delegates at the ongoing Centenary International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva have demanded stronger actions from major players and world leaders to end child labour.
They said the world of work is facing major challenges resulting from the major transformations occurring globally.
Youth advocate and trainer Molly Namirembe, who set the stage for the discussion, recalled how she and her sister worked on a tea plantation in Uganda as kids after their parents died.
According to him: “We would work for 12 hours, sometimes on an empty stomach.”
The forum titled “Together for a brighter future without child labour” also focused on accelerating action towards SDG Target 8.7 that calls for “immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.”
ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said since the creation of the International Labour Organization, the elimination of child labour has been a top priority adding that he expected the ILO would soon achieve the universal ratification of convention 182 on the worst forma of Child Labour.
Secretary-General, Amnesty International, Kumaran Shanmugam Naidoo, , called for a holistic approach “where we not only view the phenomenon of child labour but also the very systems that drive children to work at such a high cost.”
Sue Longley, General-Secretary, International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Association, said, “The key question, the key accelerator will be addressing the fundamental power imbalance in rural areas – we really still do have feudal landlords and slavery.”
Juneia Martins Batista, Women’s Secretary, Single Confederation of Workers (CUT), Brazil, spoke of the need to improve the situation of women who make a living as domestic workers and rural workers.
“The idea is that we can empower these adults, mostly women, to have a decent life. With decent work, we may be able to eliminate child labour.”
Assefa Bequele, Founder and former Executive Director, African Child Policy Forum, said: “The big question … is what needs to be done to initiate the kind of policy we need to narrow the gap between rhetoric and action and that would put children at the heart of public policy.”
Jacqueline Mugo, Executive Director, Federation of Kenya Employers, stressed the need “to address the root causes and systemic issues. These are poverty, informality and the lack of educational opportunities for young people.”
Nollywood has seen a high turnout of cinema movies in recent times but almost none is focused on the issue of child labour and literacy as a new movie, ‘Street Kid’ does.
The movie which recently concluded production and is getting ready to hit the cinemas soon, according to its makers, will advocate on the need for child literacy while making a statement on child labour as well.
The movie tells the story of a street kid who was forced to drop out of school to sell on the street and how he helped a rich kid to win a national spelling competition in our Nigerian indigenous languages.
The ‘Street Kid’ is a film that projects the “Ooni of Ife National Schools Spelling Competition in Nigerian Indigenous Language” and helps promote the preservation of our indigenous languages and cultures.
The stars of the movie cut across both the English genre and Yoruba genre, with the likes of Chioma Akpotha, Kalu Ikeagwu, Toyin Abraham, Jibola Dabo, Rachel Oniga, Patrick Doyle, Femi Durojaiye and others. The movie was directed by Tony Dudu, produced by Wale Muraina and Executive Produced by Dickson Edward.
“Street Kid is not your regular movie and that is obvious in the kind of story we choose to tell,” said Muraina as he talked of the revolutionary nature of the movie.
“It was not about financial returns for us but about bringing to the front page of discussion issues that pertains to child labour and literacy for the child. Education is a fundamental human right of every child but we have seen a consistent decline in the number of children in school. A certain report even indicated that we have the largest number of out of school children in the world. This is sad and terrible and this is why we believe our movie, Street Kid will drive the necessary discussions we need to have in order to find lasting solutions to these problems.
“We are calling on everyone to come out as soon as the movie gets to the cinemas, see the movie and start a discussion from there. Let’s stop child labour and get every child into school.”
The ‘Street Kid’ movie has enjoyed support from the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and will be in cinemas nationwide soon.
Edo Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) rescued 12 human trafficking and child labour victims in the last five months, Commandant Makinde Ayinla said at the weekend.
He spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during a one-day workshop on the menace of human trafficking and illegal migration in Benin City.
NAN reports that the workshop, with the theme: “Sensitisation of Students on the Menace of Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration”, was organised by the command.
Ayinla said the corps needed to sensitise students on the ills of human trafficking because of the danger victims were exposed to.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has said that the was doing everything possible to effectively eradicate forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and secure prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour by the year 2025.
NGIGE said the Government was commitment to accelerating action in achieving alliance 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goal [SDG] that seeks immediate and effective measures to eradicate
Speaking at the 2018 World day against Child Labour 2018, the Minister said child Labour deprived children the opportunity of being educated, while being subjected to physical and emotional abuses that hamper the development.
He said the campaign against child Labour Is aimed at accelerating action to achieve target 8.7/alliance 8.7 of the sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which seeks among other things to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
He described child Labour as the engagement of children under 18 years of age in any work that deprive them of their childhood and the opportunity to be educated and also hamper their physical and moral development and this has assumed a global dimension and attention.
He said the 2018 theme which is “Generation Safe and Healthy” and sub theme “Elimination of Child Labour and Protection of young workers” is meant to awaken the need to improve the safety and health of young workers and end child labour especially in its worst forms.
According to him, to build a generation of safe and healthy workers, preparation must begin early with parental and community awareness for young people to be aware of risks and able to advocate on their own behalf, education about work hazards and risks as well as about workers’ rights, need to start in school and continues through vocational training and apprenticeship programmes.
He said practical steps must be taken to eliminate the root causes of child labour and ensure that the rights of young workers are protected within the ambits of the law. Noting that the Federal Government under President Buhari’s Administration has done a lot in the fight against child labour and will continue until it is eliminated in Nigeria.
The Minister solicited the collaboration of frontline MDAs, workers and employers union, civil society organizations, (NGOs) and other stakeholders to create time bound child labour programmes and projects and make budgetary provision for them in line with their various mandates as encapsulated in the national action plan (NAP) for elimination of child labour and take such programmes to the communities and involve the community gatekeepers, market women, traditional rulers and children.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Ibukun Odusote said that the World Day against Child Labour (WDACL) is set aside internationally for awareness creation, mass mobilization and activism on prevention of child labour.
She said that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour and Employment has done a lot to ensure that children are not engaged in child labour and young workers are dully protected and operate in safe working conditions.
She said “child labour presents a serious challenge at global and national levels and requires concerted efforts by all stakeholders to overcome the menace”.
She stressed, that the symposium to commemorate the day was very strategic as to create awareness and rub minds on the more effective ways to tackle the menace of child labour and improve the safety and health of young workers in our society.
