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NOVEMBER 12, 2016
Saturday Starter
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
‘14 million children involved in economic activities’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
to be killed by hiT and run drivers, they end up being raped by wicked men(if they are girls) and many contract deadly sexually transmitted infections including HIV/ AIDS; some may even end up as prostitutes while the boys may become armed robbers or gangster Street hawking is common sight in Nigeria’s cities., the practice has been on the rise which perhaps is the result of spiraling poverty and the worsening economic situation Children especially the girls sell products such as boiled groundnut, fruit and chips that they carry on trays balanced on their heads. The menace of child hawking can never be over-emphasized. Unfortunately, it appears to be a normal business in Nigeria, hence most people do even as much as arch an eyebrow at it, let alone proffer sustainable solutions to it. Street hawking entails selling various items on the streets, sachet water, bottled water, bottled and canned soft drinks, beef rolls, sausage rolls, sweets, gums, sunshades, phones, power banks, wall papers, vegetables, some other items inclusive. Myriads of children are found hawking or begging for alms on streets with high traffic jam intensity, and selected residential areas in a bid to survive and make a living. What should get one-thinking is the fact that most of these kids have parents, yet they seem unconcerned that their children do such for a living. Some children even go as far as migrating to busy cities to engage in such activities, and it is really disheartening. Investigations by Saturday Mirror revealed that most traders are not sent by
In a recent study carried out in Aba metropolis, over half of the hawkers were children between the ages of
10 and 19 years. The involvement of children in street hawking constitutes child labour and is a form of child abuse
their biological parents, as some of them have been sent away from their families to faraway climes as hired help. Sometimes, they are taken away by a relation on the pretext of helping them out but end up in the streets selling one thing or the other. Some people use the same pretext of helping poor families to take these children and traffic them to other cities. The hazards associated with children hawking and begging on the streets are enormous and cannot be overrated. Agreed some few get to save something meaningful from it, but so many others get killed by stray bullets or reckless drivers, get rapped, face teenage pregnancy or have to undergo abortion, some get robbed; become armed robbers and prostitutes, and so many other unbecoming occurrences. In a study carried out in Aba metropolis by the Department of Community Medi-
cine Department of Paediatrics, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Amassoma, Bayelsa State over half of the hawkers were children between the ages of 10 and 19 years. The involvement of children in street hawking constitutes child labor and is a form of child abuse. Findings from this study revealed that a large number of people; children, men and married women indulge in street hawking as a means of livelihood. Unemployment and poverty were identified as factors contributing to hawking activities. Street hawking poses numerous health and social risks, hinders educational development and should be discouraged. The authors therefore, recommend the strict implementation of policies against Street hawking activities. Government support in job creation and poverty alleviation would help to mitigate this trend.
The International Labour Organization estimates that in Nigeria about 14 million children between the ages of five and 14 are involved in a form of economic activity. Globally there are 168 million children involved in child labour. Of these, 59 million are from sub-Saharan Africa. Child Street hawking is one of the main forms of child labour. Others include children working at building sites or on farms. Nigeria’s population is estimated at 183 million with about 50% below the age of 18. There is a need for the government to make adequate provisions for education, care and protection for this group, if the nation wants to progress. In 2008, the Lagos state government banned Child Street hawking during school hours to reduce the practice. But since then, addressing child street hawking has not been on the government’s agenda. Street hawking has huge implications for children’s physical and emotional well-being. It exposes them to sexual abuse, physical exhaustion, vehicle accidents, death and malnourishment and drug and substance abuse and prostitution. Research shows that among the young girls who street hawk, there is a low awareness of pregnancy or the risk of sexually transmitted infections. Researchers have described child street hawking as an exploitative form of child labour. There are three ways that children become street hawkers. First, most of them are trafficked from the rural communities to the cities for illicit businesses. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5