The scourge of child labour

By Bunmi Ishola

THE Child’s Right Act in Nigeria states that every child is entitled to some basic amenities such as the right to freedom, survival, family life, dignity, health services, cultural activities and good education. It also states that emergency protection orders shall be given to a child any time it is needed by the state. A parent or legal guardian is obligated to fulfill the duty to give the child basic protection. From the above, it could be deduced that the law does recognise the child as an entity on his/her own. A lot of kids in many parts of the country are seen on the streets hawking or begging for alms at the time that they should be in school. Some of them are in tattered clothes and have unkempt hair and swollen stomachs due to malnutrition. The girls among them get exposed to sex early while some get raped. The boys become petty thieves and some are also initiated into homosexuality. These children are so bold and fearless as they have been robbed of their innocence and have ceased to be children at such early ages. The scourge of child labour has been around for a while now and it is a situation that should be addressed on time for the sake of the children involved.

Many women face the duty of having to care for their homes despite being working mums. A lot of ladies have to resume work from 8 a.m and some close as late as 4p.m or 5pm on a daily basis. Some who are bankers or professionals in some cases don’t get home till as late as 9pm, 10p.m depending on when they leave the office or due to traffic in case their houses are far to their places of work. They are faced with having to wake up very early, taking care of the house, cooking, feeding the children, getting them ready for school, taking them to school, leaving for the office or shop as the case may be, trying to go to pick them after school, making sure they are comfortable after school and preparing them for bed. This is a daily ritual which can wear any woman down in all honesty, especially if the partner is not lending a helping hand. This is why a lot of women try to get someone who can be of help to relieve them of these duties. It could be very cumbersome, especially if the children are babies or toddlers. This, in itself, is not a bad idea. After all, we all crave peace of mind and rest.

Engaging the services of children below the age of 18 for herculean tasks is child labour. This act is actually cheaper than getting professional maid or minders. Children are sometimes trafficked by some people solely for this and some parents give theirs out due to financial restraints. There are people who serve as agents, whose jobs is to fix such people with these children at any point in time such services are needed. They go as far as other countries to scout for these children. In some cases, the maids may be a relative of either of the couple sent by a family member so as to relieve the woman of the house of her tedious duties. These children sometimes end up being maltreated, tortured or even killed by their bosses. There have been cases of rape involving some of the males with whom these children work. Some of these kids get raped by the husbands, sons, uncles and nephews of their ‘madams’. Some of the women sometimes send these children out once this becomes public knowledge while some take the victims for abortion. Many of these children end up being maltreated and made to feel less human. Not all these women and their husbands treat these children well.

Children as young as 8 or 9 are made to wake up as early as 4a.m to cook and care for babies. Some of them are not allowed to go to school as the employer claims she is paying for the services already. In some cases, apart from the salaries which aren’t collected by these children directly but by the agents, their parents or relatives who brought them for the ‘job’, some might be lucky to be allowed to attend school or learn a trade. This doesn’t stop them from not sleeping till as late as 11p.m due to house chores and they are the first to wake up as early as 4a.m. Most of these women stop caring for their homes immediately these children join their families. Many of these children get robbed off of their childhood and get exposed to hard labour at such tender ages. Recently, there have been cases of couples being arrested or taken to court for maltreating their housemaids in many parts of the country. There was a particular case that went viral few months ago about a woman who beat her nine-year-old housemaid to death and buried her. The police waded into the matter, got the corpse of the poor girl and took the woman into custody. Another staged the death of her househelp to look like the poor girl hung herself even with the help of her spouse.  These are just few cases out of many that are seen and heard about on daily basis. There are many unreported cases definitely.

It is high time the Federal Government, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry for Women Affairs, the Ministry of Education and every Nigerian did something about this. There should be a law forbidding anyone below the age of 18  being employed as housemaids under any guise. There should also be regulations forbidding underage children from hawking on the streets. State governments can take these children off the streets by arresting any parent whose child is caught on the streets. Every child below 18 should be with their parents and should be made to have access to good education.  There should be laws guiding the recruitment of child minders and housemaids in Nigeria just like in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States. There should be bodies established where people who need live-in minders or part-time minders can be employed legally.  The government should enforce the child rights law. Children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood in peace.

• Ishola is on the staff of Nigerian Tribune

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