Leadership (Abuja)
20 November 2008
editorial
Many tender children are engaged in private and commercial labour, doing works beyond their age when they should be at school. CHRISTIANA ESEBONU looks at the case of child labour and its implications for personal and national development.
Yes! pure water, winnas, gala meat, La Casera, Viju milk, orange, plantain chips, groundnut and so on", is what you hear from these young and bright looking children who are often found at strategic busstops in the Federal Capital Territory , running in -between moving vehicles and thrusting the products at your face for patronage.
The young bus conductors are not left out. They hang on the doors of moving buses, calling passengers in a song-like manner, leaving passengers confused of destinations mentioned such as Nyanya-Maraba, Masaka -Ado, Jabi-Airport junction, Life Camp-Karmo-Gwagwa, Madalla-Zuba-Dede, Bwari- Dutse, Suleja-Kubwa, etc etc.
Painfully too are those who are sent out as beggers to bring back money to their so-called masters. The way and manner in which they advertise their various businesses can best be likened to the fast-forwarding of a movie and is, indeed, a thing of concern. This is because if the smartness and skills applied in quickly handing out the products, collect money and refund change, if need be, is utilised in schools, Nigeria will in the nearest future achieve massive development with the help of these wonderful assets who are today being abused by their parents and guardians.
Child labour which can best be described as today's most pervasive child right challenge. It occurs when parents and guardians make a child work when that child should be at school. Examples of child labour include: sending children to hawk to make money for the family when they should be at school or doing their homework; sending children to live and assist relatives or friends as househelps instead of being in school; withdrawing them from school to work as apprentices when they are still tender too.
Surprisingly, most parents /guardians easily forget the effects of child labour which puts a child at greater risk of accidents, injuries, and sometimes premature death, poor performance in class and, in most cases, stealing, armed robbery, rape and drug abuse depending on the environment the child is exposed to, and finally ending up with a poor future.
It is worthy to note that a child's right to survival is fundamental and it is the building block towards the realisation of a child's potential and on it hinges other basic right of the child. Yet, too many children do not enjoy this right to survival, and too many still die from road tragedies that could have been prevented if they were at home or at school.
It would be recalled that Nigeria is a signatory to the convention adopted by the United Nations some years back to protect the child against all forms of abuse and uphold his right to decent existence. That international convention was adopted, domesticated and passed into law as Child's Right Act by the National Assembly during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.
The Child's Right Act, in Part 1 and Section 1 , stated clearly the objectives of the Act which is to ensure that the best interest of the child is of paramount consideration in all actions taken by the society.
Section 2 of the Act further gave the care and protection of the child with a view to ensuring its wellbeing. It spelt out categorically that: "A child shall be given such protection and care as it is necessary for the wellbeing of the child, taking into account the right and duties of the child's parent/guardian or individuals, institutions, agencies, organisations, or bodies legally responsible for the child".
Apart from the wholesome adoption of the fundamental human right enshrined in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution as part of the inherent rights of the child, the Child's Right Act boldly spelt out other right s of the child which are alienable as follow", the rights to dignity of the child , the right to parental care, protection and maintenance, the right to free, compulsory and universal primary education and many others. The act also spelt out measures that would be taken against actions that are in violation of the act.
Unarguably, every child is born with a talent which he/she did nothing to acquire. Discovering this unique gifts , therefore, would be a major milestone in the quest for true freedom. These talents which are given by God as raw materials to accomplish mandated purposes is like a seed which one has to nurture to make it spring forth from the soil and blossom. If it is starved, it simply whithers away and die.
These talents of must be developed , if a child must have a happy fulfilling life. This is because Education serves as a passion that fuels one's drive attain competence in any field.
With this in mind, going to school is, therefore, an important event in the life of every child. This is so because when a child goes to school and get educated, there are usually so many benefits for them, their families, and their communities which, in turn, move a given nation forward.
Without a doubt, education provides an opportunity for children's mind to be developed. It also gives children better quality of life, provides the necessary starting point for further studies and gives them the knowledge and skills to lead healthier lives. It also increases their chances of getting good jobs later in life. A good job here means earning more money and providing a better life for their families.
From all indications, it appears that most parents today have forgotten that education will make them proud of their children when they grow to be successful in life. Some heartless ones even go as far as depending on nieces and nephews whose parents trained well for survival rejoicing with them at any recorded achievement while they abandoned their parental responsibilities.
Going by the popular saying that 'it is little by little that a bird builds it nest', parents and guardians should try their best to enroll their wards in school. This is because keeping a child in school, especially the girl-child, will help prevent early marriage, teenage pregnancy and so on.
Considering the fact that primary education today is free and a right of every Nigerian child, it is pertinent to note that all children need the support of their parents, guardians and communities to excel in this realm.
Unsurprisingly, the negative impact of child labour is more felt by the negative impact of child labour is on young girls involved in the trade. This is because they are usually the worst hit as fear is always their constant companion, rape the stranger they have to confront at almost every dark corner, quiet roads, uncompleted buildings and at any hour.
LEADERSHIP
gathered from investigations that very few lucky children receive all the needed protection from parents without collaborating to raise money for the family's survival. Our reporter discovered that many children aged 6-15 do not go to school, but are often seen in the streets of Abuja idle or engaged in work of either fetching water or cracking stones at construction sites or running around for the few rich. "May we not forget that the child we fail to train today may sell the house we laboured to build tomorrow".
Permit me to say that although many of these challenges are difficult to handle, it is possible for individuals, families and the general society to find solutions to these problems so that we can all live a healthy life in a crime-free environment. The Federal Capital Territory situation is an ironic one because it is urban in every sense of the word. The sight of children loitering the streets hawking wares is a pointer to the fact that many parents have failed in their parental responsibility.
Little Esther Idoko who was interviewed by our reporter at Life Camp junction while thrusting pure water at peoples faces instead of being at school had this to say: "My father is one of those men who think that only male children should go to school, and so refused to enroll me in school, saying that any man who marries me in future would do so, if he sees the need to"
Esther who expressed bitterness while making this revelation added, "I know I am really making contributions to my family and national development should my brothers become great tomorrow as my dad often tells me".
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