Lagos, 2025 and child labour

By Omolara Otuyemi

I see him mostly on my way to and from work. He is a teenager of around 14 or thereabout. He is often in work clothes, covered in a white substance, which I presume is the powder from making the POP ceiling. Usually, people would hail him, calling him Kekere (small boy). It’s clear he had many admirers.

Though he always has a wry smile on his face, I wonder if he is truly happy. As a teenager, how could he be happy doing the work of an adult? If given the opportunity, he would rather go to school and get an education, or perhaps live the normal lifestyle associated with children within his age bracket.

The predominant practice of child labour poses a source of concern because it is capable of causing harm to a child’s health, safety, or moral development.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) describes child labour as work that children are too young to perform or that – by its nature or circumstances – can be hazardous.

The primary cause of child labour boils down to ignorance, illiteracy, and poverty. This often costs these children their education while some find a way around it to ensure their education does not suffer.

Another key factor that promotes child labour is migration due to disreputed families or displacement due to disasters. Often, children in this category tend to be neglected and this often tilt towards the child being unsafely independent. Some struggle to fend for themselves and the only way they deem possible is to engage in manual labour in an unstable and somewhat hostile environment.

Families displaced due to natural causes or otherwise may sometimes be compelled to engage their children in survival struggles. They are most times left with little or no choice but to put their children to work.

In some other cases, children become victims of debt or loan repayment. In some regions in Nigeria, this is often the practice. This more often than not leads to exploitation.

Most times, these children are forced into child labour via unfortunate circumstances and risks like sexual molestation, mental health breakdown, juvenile delinquencies, and extreme physical harm.
To address child labor, these underlying issues must be tackled through social, economic, and legal reforms.

In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics recorded that 24,673,485 children from 5 to17 years old (39.2 percent) engage in child labour, while 60.8 percent (14,990,674) are in the 5-11 age group, 20.8 percent (5,132,574) are in the 12-14 age group and 18.4 percent (4,550,237) are in the 15-17 age group.

The alarming statistics demand urgent attention and execution of holistic elimination strategies. Despite advocacies and sensitization, the exploitation of these young ones persists.

Weak labor laws and poor enforcement enable the exploitation of children, allowing employers to take advantage of vulnerable workers without facing legal repercussions. This is especially prevalent in industries within the informal economy, where the demand for cheap labor is high. Children are often employed because they can be paid less and are less likely to advocate for better working conditions.

The Child Rights Act, particularly Section 11, safeguards the dignity of every child, ensuring that they are not subjected to any form of harm or abuse. According to this section, children must not be exposed to physical, mental, or emotional injury, including sexual abuse.

Furthermore, they are protected from torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, or any punishment that violates their rights. It also ensures that no child is subjected to attacks on their honor or reputation or held in slavery or servitude, especially when under the care of parents, legal guardians, school authorities, or any other responsible individual.
Sections 12 and 13 of the Child Rights Act further elaborate on the fundamental rights every child in Nigeria is entitled to. These include the right to survival and development, the right to a name, and the freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

Additionally, children are granted the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, along with the right to private and family life. Other essential rights encompass the freedom of movement, protection from discrimination, and the right to dignity.

Children are also entitled to leisure, recreation, cultural activities, health services, parental care, protection, and maintenance.
Importantly, the Act mandates free, compulsory, and universal primary education for all children, and it includes special provisions for children in need of additional protection measures. Furthermore, the rights of the unborn child to protection are clearly outlined in the Act, ensuring a holistic approach to child welfare and protection in Nigeria.

No doubt, child labour is a menace in Nigeria. It is, however, cheerful that Lagos state has since begun initiatives to curb the menace in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7, which hopes to eradicate all forms of child labour by the year 2025.

With this in purview, the State government has come up with different types of initiatives from its various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that focus on children’s welfare, child protection as well as labour regulations.

For instance, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) has implemented initiatives aimed at improving the status of women and children in impoverished families. This has helped in addressing one of the root causes of child labor. Their programs focus on poverty alleviation and protecting children from being forced into labor. This initiative targets the parents and guardians who are responsible for their children.

In line with this, the Ministry has empowered many indigent parents and guardians of out-of-school children in the state by providing them with skills acquisition training and empowerment programs to help sustain their families and ensure they can afford to send their children to school.

Also, the State’s Ministry of Youth and Social Development (MYSD) plays a key role in child welfare, conducting rescue operations and rehabilitation programs to correct delinquent children and remove them from hazardous environments to reintegrate them through counseling and education.

To enforce this, the government has put in place the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences. The body is saddled with the responsibility of carrying out rescue operations and arresting traffickers or those involved in any form of child labour. This is often done in collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force and affiliate law enforcement agencies.

To further drive the eradication of child labour, the government has partnered with local NGOs that offer free education as well as UNICEF to step up on advocacy, education, and other direct interventions, targeted at reducing child labour.

Ongoing initiatives to combat child labor in Lagos, no doubt, reflect a commitment to social development and the protection of children’s rights. By focusing on education, economic empowerment, and community engagement, the state is paving the way toward a future where every child can enjoy a safe and supportive environment free from exploitation.

While challenges remain, the potential benefits for social welfare, economic growth, and overall quality of life make this an essential journey. Together, with determination and collaboration, Lagos can emerge as a model for eradicating child labor and promoting child welfare in Nigeria.

Hopefully, if all hands are on deck, SDG 8.7, which hopes to eradicate all forms of child labour by the year 2025, could become a reality.

Otuyemi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.