Not just a Right Violation: Child Labour is a Crime in Nigeria

                                         Keep them Smiling:Every Child Deserves an Education

Child labour is, “Any work performed by a child which is detrimental to his or her health, education, physical, mental, spiritual, moral, physical or social development.”

It is,“work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to the physical and mental development.”

 

Indicators of child labour

If you wish to determine whether you or a neighbour, friend or relation has engaged a child in your custody in child labour these Indicators may be used to verify the child’s status:-

• The child’s age- if below 18yrs, there is a high likelihood that it is a child labour case
• The nature of work performed by the child as well as the hours, late/long hours
• Conditions at work- look at the dangers involved in what the child is doing; level of dignity
• Level of physical or psychosocial stress created by the child’s work
• Separation from family
• Amount of pay
• Opportunities-or lack of opportunities or prospects that the work offers the child

Prohibitions in the Child Rights Act 2003

The Child Rights Act  prohibits engaging children in the following ways and prescribes a penalty of N500, 000 fine or 5yrs prison term or both for offenders :-

• forced exploitative child labour
• lifting or moving heavy objects and
• work in industrial undertakings.

 The Act also prohibits Buying, selling, hiring or otherwise dealing in children for the purpose of:-

• hawking or begging for alms
• Prostitution
• domestic or sexual labour

 Such acts attract a penalty of 10years imprisonment, with no option of fine.

 

Prohibitions in the Labour Act

In states where there is no Child Rights Law, the courts may resort to the Labour Act.

This law permits children at any age to be engaged in light work in domestic service, or to work alongside a family member in agriculture or horticulture.

This could very well line up with our religious, cultural and social values in child training. If well managed, it enables a child to acquire life skills without depriving him of other childhood opportunities like play, school or rest. But we must be mindful of 2 important points:-

1. Household chores must be age appropriate for all family members including live-in relations. Chores like cooking meals, scrubbing floors, washing clothes, drawing water from well, running errands; going to market, bathing & tending to smaller children, walking them to school must be age appropriate.
2. And again "light work" as envisaged in the Labour Act, is work that does not cause a child mental, physical or psychosocial stress.

VALUING OUR DIFFERENCES

It was a difficult time in Israel. The people had sinned and turned away from God. As a consequence the enemy conquered and plundered the people at will and so they cried to God for help. For fear of the enemy, men like Gideon would hide [in a winepress in the rocks] to thresh the few grains they managed to stow away. The nation was deeply humiliated and Gideon had little or no self esteem. Then one day an Angel of the Lord appeared to him and called him a “mighty man of valour.” [Judges 6]

It’s amazing the way God and Man see things so differently. God, who is omniscient, saw a mighty man of valour, and this aptly describes the man that Gideon evolved to be.

Coming home to Nigeria, we have some lessons to learn from this story. It is usual to note our weaknesses and enumerate them so eloquently in Nigeria. To write ourselves off, belittle our successes is a regular pastime in this country. We rarely recognise the hardworking beautiful people who are holding up the flag. The potentials for greatness that lies in our people and the nation do not often feature in our conversations. Neither have we valued the diversity of tribes, culture, religion, and people in Nigeria, as in very few other countries of the world. Could this be a major reason why we are seeing so little progress?

The diversity of tribes, culture, religion, and people in the hands of visionless leaders has the cause for suspicions, divisions, bloodshed and mindless clamouring for shares of the national cake.  The situation has weakened the structure of the state, promoted mediocrity and injustice, and greatly limited our capacity to fulfil destiny. But this same diversity or so called differences can in the hands of a great leader galvanise the nation to greatness.

I invite us to stop and reflect for a moment in an increasing globalised world, can the north really say to the south I don’t need you or vice versa? Can Muslims businesses rely only on the patronage of Muslims or Christian businesses thrive only on the patronage of Christians? Can we possible view our diversity rather as a blessing and a competitive advantage today and so seek to leverage on the resources of each region? When we recognise that every person is created in God’s image and in His likeness and has been imbued with innate abilities and uniqueness, we will begin to value people regardless of their sex, tribe, religion, age, and status.

I am pretty certain that a leader who receives counsel on the platform of ethnicity or religiosity is soon bereft of life changing ideas. Similarly any organisation would soon grow stale and weak where the chief executive for personal reasons selectively taps the knowledge  and resources of only a few chosen members or staff. Either way everyone loses.

With such dynamic, intelligent, awesome, resourceful people and enormous resources east, west, north and south, this blessed land cries for a leader who sees the big picture and can mobilise the people to do same.
Enough of the enumeration and analysis of our problems and weaknesses- great nations have them too. It is time to move forward. And all that we need to fulfil our destiny as a leading nation in the world already exists within us. It is time to let each one emerge. The time is now to place appropriate value on every land area, people, resources, knowledge, skills and aptitudes. When we recognise and value our differences as assets, we give everyone the space to breathe and to excel by developing their resources and natural gifting. Perhaps then, so much of our individual and communal resources will no longer lie waste. When the mighty men of valour wake up, then a country blessed with so much sunlight will no longer sleep in darkness nor run businesses on generators. Then the children will no longer go to bed hungry in a land so vast and fertile. Then in Nigeria as in other climes, ideas will rule our land. It is possible.

Economics of forced labour

Is it any surprise that the cartels are so powerful?
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_243201/lang--en/index.htm