Need To Eradicate Child Labour

Children hawking on the streets

A teenager, commonly
called Jane, has a noticeable scar on her neck which she attributed to an injury she got from her mistress.
Narrating her experience, she recalled that the mistress threw hot substance at her when she failed to wake up early enough recently to do her chores.
“She told me to wake up 4 a.m. daily to dress and clean up places after which I should take her children to school.
“I got this scar in a day I was tired and slept off which affected the normal routine. She got angry and I received this as punishment.
“Although I long to go to school, I dare not mention such a plan to my mistress, it is only in my prayers to God to see me through and let it come to a reality,’’ she said.
Observers note that Jane’s experience typifies cases of child labour and abuse that are rampant, especially in developing countries.
They recall that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) disapproves child labour, describing it as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity that is harmful to physical and mental development’’.
The organisation notes that child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses.
According to it, in its most extreme forms, such children are left to fend for themselves on the streets at a very early age.
It observes that more than 120 million children, between the ages of five and 14, are involved in child labour worldwide, with boys and girls in this age group almost equally affected.
The organisation, nonetheless, attributed the prevalence of child labour to poverty and lack of decent work for adults.
Supporting ILO, observers note that poverty among parents has subjected many children to outright abstaining from school to use their early years in life to engage in hard labour.
They also observe that on many occasions, some children combine school and work but often to the detriment of their education.
They, therefore, recommend free and compulsory education as a method of eradicating child labour.
According to them, inadequate education and skills among adults are more likely to result in poorly paid and insecure work.
“This will in turn bring a high probability that their children will as well end up in child labour,’’ they observe.
In the light of this, concerned citizens insist that stakeholders should raise awareness on methods of discouraging child labour during the World Day against Child Labour which is observed on every June 12.
ILO dedicates the day to creating awareness on the plight of child labourers world-wide and providing suggestions on how to eradicate it.
Sharing similar opinion, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), says child labour remains a major source of concern in Nigeria.
It notes that the statistics from ILO indicates that the number of working children under the age of 14 in Nigeria is more than15 million.
“The high level of diverse and tedious jobs that children execute in dangerous circumstances is particularly worrisome.
“These jobs include being street vendors, beggars, car washers, apprentice mechanics, hairdressers and bus conductors, among others, while most of them work as domestic servants.
“Major causes of child labour are widespread poverty, rapid urbanisation, breakdown in extended family affiliations, high school drop-out rates and lack of enforcement of legal instruments meant to protect children,’’ it observes.
To tackle child labour effectively, Mr Geoffrey Njoku, the Communication Specialist of the fund, called on state governments to domesticate the Child Rights ACT (CRA).
He said that the domestication of the act by states would provide the essential legal framework to address issues affecting children.
He insisted that the protection of children’s rights should be a collective responsibility of the government, civil society organisations, media, international development partners and parents.
“Government at all levels has the task to ensure that the rights of children are placed on top priority of their agenda for proper development,’’ he said.
This opinion notwithstanding, Dr Mac-John Nwaobiala, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, expressed concern on the refusal of many states across the country to adopt CRA.
“We also express concern about the increasing number of children hawking wares on the streets during school hours,’’ he said.
He explained that CRA “stipulates among others that children of school-age must be enrolled in school and not subjected to any form of child labour.’’
In its efforts to check child labour, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other related Offences, warns parents against engaging their children in various forms of domestic servitude.
Mr Orakwe Arinze, the spokesperson of the agency, insisted that such actions constituted violation of the fundamental rights of children that attracted punishment.
“It is the right of every child to be given quality education and good care; if children must be given out, they should be given to relatives who can give them parental care.
“Parents should engage their children and wards in constructive activities that would improve their lot,’’ he said.
He observed that using children as domestic servants promoted human trafficking.
“A lot of human traffickers approach parents with the assurance to assist them to train their children or wards.
“In the long run, they end up using the children to make money by using them as domestic servants and prostitutes, among other dirty jobs,’’ he said.
In whatever approach chosen for fighting child labour, UNICEF insists that since the causes of child labour are complex, solutions must be comprehensive and must involve the widest possible range of partners in each society.
Sharang writes for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Naomi Sharang