Opinion
Time To End Child Labour
Four days ago, countries around the world celebrated the World Day Against Child Labour with the theme: “Generation Safe and Healthy”. Although the event was not given the desired prominence in Nigeria probably due to the euphoria of the declaration of the historical June 12 as Democracy Day by President Muhammadu Buhari, it was an occasion to highlight the plight of children in many parts of the world and map out ways of eliminating them.
Underage children in many countries 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 gloomy picture of the plights of children in Nigeria. It puts the number of under-14 child labourers across the country at 15 million. “Many are exposed to long hours of work in dangerous and unhealthy environments, carrying too much responsibility for their age.
“Working in these hazardous conditions with little food, small pay, no education and no medical care establishes a cycle of child rights violation,” it stated.
Just few days ago, I listened 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 that were in need of them. While the house-helps work 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 house-help.
Occasions like the World Day Against Child Labour should therefore provide a spotlight on the rights 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. Did Nigeria achieve this target? Obviously, the answer is no.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan made effort in removing the almajiris from the streets in some northern states and putting them in schools. He built series of schools for the almajiri children across 19 Northern states. Similarly, as part of his administration’s multi-million dollar National Social Investment Programme, Buhari re-introduced free food for school children. This programme which operates in 20 states is said to have fed nearly seven million pupils in about 40,000 public schools.
These moves are indeed quite commendable. The almajiri schools for instance can spur development in the northern region. It will also reduce the growing insecurity in the country, particularly in the north as an uneducated child-street beggar is more susceptible to the wiles of religious fanatics.
However, a lot still needs 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 the nearest future 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 16th World Day Against Child Labour should therefore challenge government, parents and other stakeholders 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 stakeholders to end child labour and offer better protection for the rights of children in Nigeria and indeed make their generation safe and healthy.
Calista Ezeaku
Opinion
Lagos-Calabar Highway Must Wait
Had the Presidency not responded to the allegations of the former Vice President, Atiku Abukakar, concerning the process of awarding of the contract for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, it would have been most surprising. People must do the job for which they were employed and that includes ensuring at all costs that their principals and their families are constantly blameless and spotless.
Atiku, through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, had alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, being a board member of one of the firms owned by Gilbert Chagoury, the owner of Hitech, the contractor that was awarded the contract constitutes a conflict of interest; that the contract was awarded in contravention of the procurement laws, that it is being done in a hurry purely because of the business relationship between President Tinubu and Gilbert Chagoury, that the project is expensive, ill timed among others.
But in a swift response the presidency through a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, countered Atiku’s claim, saying that as an adult Nigerian, Seyi has the right to do business in the country and that his membership of the board of CDK in no way constitutes a conflict of interest.
Onanuga went down the memory lane, recounting how the former Vice President had revealed that he formed Intels Nigeria with an Italian businessman when he was serving in the Nigeria Customs Service, which in his view is a clear breach of extant public service regulations; how, as Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, Atiku approved sales of over 145 State-owned enterprises to his known friends and associates and openly said during his failed campaign for the presidency last year that he would do the same, if elected.
The Special Adviser dwelt so much on Atiku’s past that he probably forgot to address some other key issues raised by the former VP about the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project which had also been harped on by several other Nigerians. First is the issue of the contract’s awarding process and priority. Nigerians needed to hear directly from the presidency whether this huge project went through a competitive bidding process as required by law or not. Section 16 (1) (c) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 provides that “All public procurement shall be conducted by open competitive bidding.” Section 16 (1) (d) stipulates that all public procurement shall be done in a transparent, equitable manner to ensure accountability. Was the contract awarded in compliance with this and other relevant laws?
There is also the issue of the highway project not complying with the Environmental Impact Assessment Act. The Pan-Yoruba Socio-Political Organisation, Afenifere, had through Prince Jide Faloye of its Publicity Department joined some other groups and individuals to raise concern about the serious issue. The organisation said, “The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project must be re-examined, for not only breaching competitive tendering stipulations but for also contravening the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, as stipulated in EIA Decree No. 86 of 1992, which places the project type in Category 1 and affecting the natural environment, making an ESIA report mandatory before commencement.”
Afenifere also noted that, “the $13 billion Lagos-Calabar project is not only environmentally and economically destructive, but also irrationally replaces the 1,400km $12 billion Lagos-Calabar railway project along East-West Road, adjudged to be the single most important economically empowering infrastructural development project in Southern Nigeria in over 100 years, commissioned by both the Jonathan (2014) and Buhari (2021) governments.”
Convincing explanations to their salient concerns are what Nigerians want from the presidency, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi and other relevant authorities instead of them resorting to name calling and describing the views as “ intrinsically superficial, baseless, self-serving and politically motivated to imprint malice in the minds of unsuspecting members of the public, especially the gullible”, as the Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Works, Orji Uchenna Orji did in a statement a few days back.
Government is all about the people. Fortunately, Nigeria is operating a democratic system of government widely known to be the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Therefore, the leaders put in power by the people should listen to the people and should always prioritise the interest of the people.
And talking about priority which was among the issues raised by Atiku, is the Lagos-Calabar highway the most critical need of the country right now? Yes, the road when completed will be of immense benefit to the coastal states and the country in general. Economic growth, easy transportation, improved quality of life will be assured, but is that what we need now in Nigeria? Two weeks ago, Rivers State and the entire nation were thrown into mourning as a result of the vehicular accident that happened in the Eleme axis of the East-West which claimed several lives and damaged property. The lamentation of many people, including the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, was that the accident and the great losses could have been avoided had the road been fixed.
The about 328-kilometer road which was awarded in 2006 by the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and meant to be completed in 2010 is yet to be completed despite the billions of Naira that has gone into it. The Enugu-Onitsha road, Makurdi-Enugu road, Port Harcourt-Enugu express road and many other federal roads across the country have long become death traps. People have protested, demonstrated, appealed to the authorities to have them fixed, yet little or nothing has been done on most of them.
Could it not have been better to fix these roads before embarking on a new road that will cost nothing less than N2.8 trillion? A ready answer by the works minister and other government functionaries might be that N300 billion was provided in the 2023 supplementary budget to address the poor federal roads but how far can that go?
There is undoubtedly nobody in Nigeria that is not feeling the pinch of the current harsh economic realities in the country. Prices of food and other items in the market keep skyrocketing every day. The cost of transportation has quadrupled since May 29 when the announcement that “subsidy is gone” was made. For some weeks, there has been fuel scarcity in Abuja and other parts of the country which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) blamed on “logistic issues”.
The NNPCL keeps shifting the goal post on when Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries will become operational. The latest being that the Port Harcourt Refinery will start functioning by the end of March. In the second week of March, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the (NNPC) Mele Kyari, reportedly told the senate ad hoc committee investigating the various turnaround maintenance (TAM) projects of Nigerian refineries that, “In the next two weeks, production will start. We did mechanical completion of Port Harcourt Refinery, that was what we said in December 2023,”
“That means we are done with our rehabilitation work, now you are to test if this completion is okay.” Has this happened?
The point is that the federal government should suspend the massive, flamboyant Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project pending when the economy is up and running and some critical infrastructure in the country are adequately attended to. If part of this huge sum could be used to build new refineries and make the old ones bounce back to life, Nigeria will be on the way to achieving energy security which will impact positively on every sector of the economy and the lives of the citizens. Efficient and transparent use of the nation’s scarce resources is an important quality that our leaders must imbibe.
Calista Ezeaku
Opinion
Ethnic Nationalities: Key To True Nationhood?
Nigeria, forced into serving as a large theatre of the absurdities, is unceasingly offering pig-ignorant theatrics, for amusement, in the midst of series of dreadfulness requiring serious attention. Perhaps, this is why Nigeria is considered, in some quarters, to be a huge joke; they may actually be right. Sincerely, there are many jokers here. Hence, there is continuity in entertaining and lulling those expected to engage in perpetual vigilance to sleep. Unfortunately, both the comedians and audience appear permanently unserious. The audience particularly appears incapable and/or unwilling to pick out, and act on, some sense from apparent senselessness. After all, not all senseless acts offer outright senselessness. For decades, especially since January, 1966, the quest for nationhood in Nigeria (if there is still any modicum of genuineness in it) has been unsuccessful. Before the 1914 amalgamation, the imperial British government, being already in control of a small Niger Coast Protectorate, purchased the territories which eventually became Nigeria, specifically in 1899, for £865,000 from George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (1846–1925) and his Royal Niger Company. Interesting! Was Nigeria treated as a commodity at a point? It appears so! Is it still commodified? You should answer that! So, might was right; and it still is, at the present? Over the years, many people in Nigeria have been enabling and reinforcing cracks and failures.
The poor in Nigeria have been empowering and strengthening those enslaving and punishing them! We wish all the disenfranchised, that have been working hard on lawful undertaking with zilch to show for it, happy 2024 International Workers’ Day!
Like it is said colloquially in Nigerian pidgin “Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop.” This is Nigeria’s current reality but if it is considered a problem, the solution is not unavailable for the serious-minded. Regrettably, the country has been bedevilled with a “leadership” cadre that believe in repressing the people. Of course, this is a recipe for dissenting voices. It is for rebellious actions. On 13th April, 2024, a group of armed persons suspected to be Yoruba Nation agitators (in ‘military’ camouflage) were alleged to have invaded the Oyo State House of Assembly Complex. Concerning the camouflage, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (1938–1997) says “uniform na cloth, na tailor dey sew am.” Anyway, news reports have it that they lowered the Nigerian flag and hoisted that of Yoruba Nation agitation on the building housing the State House of Assembly. Consequently, no fewer than 20 suspects were arrested there for engaging in the botched suicide mission. There is no doubt that this action by those “disgruntled elements”, which gives an impression of insanity on their part, will be treated (among other accusations) as a treasonable felony in the law court. They will surely be prosecuted. Afterwards, 29 suspects had been arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court in Ibadan on the 17th April, 2024.
Irrespective of what appears as lunacy, as displayed through the mentioned agitators’ bravado, it is imperative that sanity is extracted from what is seen as complete insanity before vital information is lost in a crowd controlled by wild emotions and sentiments. Respected opinions have condemned this action by the above-mentioned suspects. We, also, align with those condemning criminalities. Who will not, except criminals? Well now, without justifying this failed “coup d’état”, it is clear that there are people that are unhappy with the way the “business” called Nigeria is currently being run. The reason(s) for the discontent may be altruistic or criminally self-centred; whichever or whatever it is, necessary questions must be asked and collective answers found. Nigeria should stop sweeping dirt under the carpet as there is so much of it already gathered there breeding more negativities. This is what is continuously being done in this country. It is often said that same actions/interventions are not likely to produce different effect(s) and/or outcome(s). During the ensuing chaos after the first military coup d’état of 15th January, 1966, Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924–1966), a Nigerian Major-General, seized power and later promulgated the Unification Decree No. 34, which came into force on 24th May, 1966, leading to the abolition of regional system of government in the country.
This decree, and other steps, led to the unitary government introduced by Aguiyi-Ironsi, the main reason –according to Godwin Alabi-Isama – for which he was killed (on 29th July, 1966, in Ibadan). Thenceforth, all the governments that were formed (including the one by those who killed Aguiyi-Ironsi) fell in love with his unitary system that is still masquerading as “federal government” today. Ironically, “civilian” administrations, particularly since 1999, are still holding on to a “patch-patch” version of this system of government. A painful aspect is that when most Nigerian politicians are seeking for office, they speak vigorously about this lopsidedness; they criticise it, keying into the several calls for “restructuring”. However, once they get into office – like their predecessors – they “blend” with the hitherto well-criticised “patch-patch” system and start asking the people for the meaning and constituents of “restructuring”. How can one be more ingenious in Nigerian politics? What are we getting at here? It is that the Nigerian political elite have been doing the same thing, playing the same politics over the years, pretending to be expecting different results. This may be part of what is causing frustration for those claiming to be the mouthpiece for the different ethnic nationalities; some might have been going about their agitations peacefully, nonetheless, for explainable and unexplainable reasons some do go overboard.
Again, this piece is not – in any way – meant to endorse any criminality which definitely includes treason but to call attention to the fact that there is a critical need for sustainable truthful accommodating platforms to be enabled, allowing various (ethnic) nationalities to discuss how they wish to live together! Also, the Nigerian state should find ways to engage in constructive discussions with the people. These are suggestions those benefiting from the current chaos do not want to hear! We recognise how politically “incorrect” these suggestions can be in the circles of hero worshippers. We may not be able to say, for certain, who can be called a “Nigerian” but we believe that many of those being referred to as such do not really want the country to split; may be the country has gone far for its dissolution to be unneeded. Nevertheless, not listening to peoples’ grouses, invoking the cliché “Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable” that sounds much like imposition, is self-deluding now and needlessly risky. Nigeria’s amalgamation of 1914 is more than a century old without the country achieving nationhood, yet. There is/are reason(s) for this challenge that should be found and sincerely worked on, together, as a team instead of this master-servant relationship that has always led to crises in the world. It must be ensured that there is no repeat of the costly, fierce and bloody 30months “One-Nigeria” struggle for which well over 2million humans perished! Surely, with a sincerity of purpose, differences can be peacefully resolved amongst “Nigerians”.
Andrew A Erakhrumen
Erakhrumen teaches at the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, University of Benin.
Opinion
The Rantings Of Rivers ALGON
For the first time in the last eight years , one can observe a moribund and toothless, Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter trying to lull the people of Rivers State in believing that it exists, that it is versed and abreast with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), knowledgeable about subsisting judicial pronouncements on the Local government administration matters by courts of competent jurisdiction, and it has workers and. the people’s welfare at heart.
These wrong impressions can be deduced from the text of the Press Conference delivered by the Association last week.
Despite the window dressing and cosmetic posture that the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Rivers Sttate chapter wants to impress on the people and residents of Rivers State, it is crystal clear that workers at the Third Tier of Government have not fared well in the last eight years of the repressive and workers unfriendly immediate past administration in the State.
While workers at the State were fortunate to have a controversial minimum wage paid to them, local Government workers did not benefit from the N30,000 Minimum Wage which became a legal instrument about six years until March 2024, following a directive by the Executive Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to Local Government chairmen in the State to immediately implement the minimum wage, wage award and promote workers.
Where was.the Legal Adviser of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, whose statutory responsibility it was to advise the former Rivers State. Governor that it is an affront on the sensibilities of workers and fragrant.breach of extant law to not pay minimum wage to workers at.the 23 Local Government councils.
Civil servants at the State and Local Government councils were not promoted and did not benefit from the annual incremental credit for about ten years. The incremental credit is a paltry and very insignificant amount compared to the inputs of workers to drive implementation of government policies and programmes and what elective office holders take home within the comparable period.
I had expected a “concerned and workers-friendly ‘ Association of Local Government in the State to midwife the promotion of workers, implementation of Minimum wage and fulfill their statutory obligations to the workers and the people at the local government areas whose resources they hold in trust and on whose behest they are in power.
It therefore beats my imagination that Local Government Chairmen of ALGON, who are products of the ballot and not appointees of the former governor lost their “Executive” status and played the second fiddle role. Even when there was unconfirmed tampering of local government funds, they could not protest or raise an eye brow.
How the people who were cowardly and timid before the former administration in the State suddenly cultivated and imbibed the effrontry and temerity to hold a Press Conference attempting to disparage the performing and conscientious Sir Siminalayi Fubara-led administration leaves much to be desired and a bad taste in the mouth of all patriotic and truthful Rivers people.
I expected the self serving chairmen under the aegis of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria to brace up to the challenges of seeming derecognition and denial of their right of expression as elected chairmen by the former administration in the State.
While the ALGON has the legitimacy to contest violation of, or infringement on their interests, such protest should not be seen as selective. Between 1999 and 2003, the Association of Local Government of.Nigeria in Rivers State was vociferous and so alive to its onus that they rejected allocations that did not reflect the true figures of what the local government councils deserved from the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC). That was when ALGON was keen and committed to the essence of its formation. That was a real workers-friendly ALGON.
However, with the advent of crude and uncivilised godfatherism that circumvented real democratic processes for manipulative and coercive selection that ultimately produced unpopular candidates of the godfather, chairmen were reduced to puppets, playing subservient roles for their benefactors instead of protecting the interest and welfare of workers and the people of their local government areas, who they ought to represent.
Having therefore failed to speak up for workers and defend the welfare of the people of their local government areas, at a time they were oppressed, the association in my candid opinion does not have the moral justification to cry fowl against the present administration in Rivers State whose policies and programmes so far, reveal that the governor understands that the legitimacy of his administration is derived from the people, so he is accountable to them by putting in place infrastructure that will give fresh breath to a people who are recuperating from the suffocation of repressive and coercive governance.
Sir Siminalayi Fubara is today a messiah to workers in Rivers State. Local government. workers are .being paid minimum wage, promoted and duly placed at their appropriate levels after 10 years of no promotion.
Civil servants in the State are sure of receiving their pensions immediately after retirement from service which was a marked. departure from previous administration.
Rather than vilifying or demonising the present administration in the State, the Association of Local Government of.Nigeria, Rivers State should thank the Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for doing in less than one year what their grand master could not do for them and workers in eight years.
Remember, everyone will stand in the court of history and posterity to account for their actions and inactions in office.
Igbiki Benibo
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