Child Labour: Any Hope For Nigerian Child?

Two weeks ago, I lis-tened to a conversation between two women at a bus stop where we were all taking shelter from the rain. One of them was assuring the other that she would supply the “goods”, but warned that upon the delivery of the “goods” her money must be available, otherwise the “goods” would be taken to a more ready customer.

Initially, I was not interested in the discussion as other peoples’ conversation shouldn’t be my business. However, I became curious when the first woman, once again  warned the other “not to ever give the salary to the goods at the end of the month, you pay to me,”

I wondered how a commodity could be entitled to a monthly salary. But the picture became clearer when the other woman who appeared well to do, promised to keep to the agreement but insisted that the “goods” must be of high quality and ready to work. I paid more attention and was shocked to realise that the “goods” being referred to all along in the conversation was a house servant.

The goods supplier was in the business of getting children from villages and supplying them to house- holds in cities who were in need of them. While the house helps worked for their employers, the woman who brought them from villages, receive their salaries at the end of the month, takes her percentage and gives the remaining paltry sum to the househelp.

This is the sorry story of several underage Nigerian children who are daily being subjected to all kinds of inhuman treatment.

They suffer despair in private homes as domestic servants, among artisans as apprentices, persecuted as child-sorcerers  by religious organisations. Many of them know no home other than the streets where they beg, hawk and labour for a living. They lack the basic things of life, no role model, poor education, lack of proper nutrients and many more.

A recent UNICEF Information sheet paints a gloomier picture.

It puts the number of under -14- child labourers across Nigeria at 15 million. “Many are exposed to long hours of work in dangerous and unhealthy environments, carrying too much responsibility for their age,” it disclosed. “Working in these  hazardous conditions with little food, small pay, no education and no medical care establishes a cycle of child rights violation,” it further stated.

Three days ago, Nigeria joined other countries of the world to celebrate this year’s World Day Against Child Labour with the theme: Human Rights and Social Justice, Let’s end child labour.

Occasions like this should provide a spotlight on the right of all children to be protected from child labour and other violations of fundamental human rights.

It should be an opportunity to really assess the extent of domestication and enforcement of the Child Right Act already signed into law in many states. How has this act changed the ugly stories of many Nigerian children who are more or less slaves in their land?

In 2010 the international community adopted a roadmap for achieving the elimination of the worst form of child labour by 2016, which stressed that child labour is an impediment to children’s right and barrier to development. The question then is what effort is Nigeria making to achieve this target?

President Goodluck Jonathan’s effort in removing the  almajiris’ from the streets in some northern states and putting them in schools is most commended. Commissioning the first of the series of schools for the almajiri children in Sokoto early last month, he promised to build over 400 of such schools across the 19 Northern states.

This move will no doubt yield a lot of positive results and spur development in the region. It will also reduce the growing insecurity in the country, particularly in the north as an uneducated child-street begger is more susceptible to the wiles of religious fanatic.

However, a lot still need to be done, especially in the area of providing good and responsible governance that will ensure good life for Nigerians. Unless some drastic measures are taken to reduce the level of poverty in the country, abolishing child labour in Nigeria in 2016 would merely turn to a wishful dream as poor parents would continue to use their children to provide food for their families.

The senseless looting and corruption that characterise our system will further make the elimination of child labour a mirage.

The 10th world day against child labour should therefore challenge government, parents and other stake holders on ways of creating better living conditions which still elude the children. Parents should be more interested in the welfare and education of their children to complement the efforts of government and other stake holders to end child labour and offer better protection for the rights of children in Nigeria.

Calista Ezeaku