Child labour in Nigeria remains a paramount issue that needs to be addressed as Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) identified areas in Niger, Ondo and Osun states where child labour practices are rampant. Also, speaking at the official launch of the “Child Labour Guidance Tool for Businesses in Nigeria” project, the Director of ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala, stated that not less than 15 million children are involved in child labour in Nigeria, where half of this figure bears the heavy burden of hazardous work.
According to her, the child labour crisis had escalated since 2015, when the ILO and International Organization for Employers (IOE) released practical guidance for employers on identifying and preventing child labour in businesses. She, however, expressed optimism that the effective implementation of the guide being launched would practically address the challenges of child Labour’s supply chain in Nigeria. While the report of the National Child Labour and Forced Labour survey is still under work, Phala said in the past two years, Nigeria has accomplished some modest milestones in eradicating child labour.
ILO’s ACCEL Africa Project has organized a series of interventions.
However, she believes that more coordinated efforts are required to eradicate child labour. The newly launched guidance tool is meant to serve as a regular reminder to labour employers that eradicating child labour is a communal responsibility and that every employer has a vital role in the global campaign to achieve Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7. Phala said that the ILO’s ACCEL Africa Project, with direct support from NECA, has coordinated several initiatives, including conducting research, preparing guidelines, and capacity development of child labour focal persons in NECA member companies, among others.
The President of NECA, Taiwo Adeniyi, represented by NECA’s First Vice President, Kunle Oyelana, noted that the launch is a milestone for Nigeria and the lifetime of the “Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa” Project. He asserts that it is a significant achievement in the ongoing activities aimed at promoting the elimination of Child Labour in the Cocoa and Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sectors in Nigeria through the ACCEL Project.
NECA poised to persist in advocating amongst the supply chain actors.
Adeniyi noted that since the implementation in 2020 to date, Nigeria has strengthened and deepened the capacity of organizations and key stakeholders in the organized private sector on the urgent need to eradicate child labour practices and their impact on global supply chains in the country and the rest of the world. According to him, it is evident that the project has positively impacted the aforementioned major areas in Nigeria where child labour practices are prevalent.
Despite Nigeria’s ratification of ILO Child Labour Conventions 138 on the Minimum Age for Employment and 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, several children still work long hours in unsafe and unhealthy environments, assuming too much responsibility for their age. They labour with little food, low pay, no education, and no medical care, violating child rights. However, Adeniyi stated that NECA, as a prominent Employers’ Association and the Voice of Business in Nigeria, would continue to advocate and create awareness amongst supply chain actors about suppliers’ adverse employment practices and the advantages of responsible businesses without child labour.
Recognizing the key players’ impact on the project.
While emphasizing the significant impact of the project on businesses in the organized private sector, Adeniyi, on behalf of the NECA Governing Council and Management, expressed gratitude towards the invaluable contribution of the Sponsors and key stakeholders of the ACCEL Africa Project, including ILO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government of the Netherlands, the Federal Government of Nigeria represented by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress, (TUC), and other civil society organizations for their passion and commitment to the success of the project.
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The child labour menace in Nigeria is very alarming which the government need to tackle seriously but the major reason why this can not be giving proper attention is that most people that involve in the act her well to do people and which they know if they should take serious action,it will really affect them because of laziness.
We can only hope on the effective implementation of the guidance tool launched to compel and guide employers of labour and other actors of the supply chain in a bid to eradicate child labour in Nigeria.
Chiald labour is so rampant in Africa and Nigeria my beloved country is so deeply rooted in using children for child labour and you even see parents that sells their children because of poverty.Our government need to do more to alleviate the life of citizenry ad do more to protect child’s right.
Poverty has really contributed so much in child labour. The cost of living in Nigeria is too high and over high. Most of them have no choice, they need to survive. The Nigeria government no care at all. The only thing that they very good at, is corruption. This high increase on child labour no dey affect Government. Government no love, no care for this suffering children in this country. As they are living in pains and tears every day God make away for this children. Amen
Affirmatively, I concur with what ILO said that more than 15 million children in Nigeria are engaged in Child Labour. Majority of these child labour are just the result increased poverty in the land. More effort should be intensify to completely eliminate child labour from the supply chain.
Why should children be engaged in child labour, that is very bad. These children are just kids for God’s sake. Every culprit involved in this act should be brought to book and be used as deterrent to others.
Poor economy is part why child labor exist and many since our economy is poor it make child labor worse and poverty also cause child labor we all have to curb and eradicate child labor because child labor is huge in our country
Child labor in Nigeria is still a critical problem that needs to be solved, and both the country’s population and its government are responsible for figuring out how to combat it.
It is quite encouraging to see that Nigeria has made some progress toward achieving its goal of eliminating child labor, and this demonstrates that we are making progress.
We should immediately begin the process of effectively implementing the advice that is currently being published in order to effectively address the difficulties posed by child labor in Nigeria’s supply chain.
In order to end child labor, more concerted action is needed. The purpose of this new resource is to remind businesses that it is everyone’s duty to end child labor.
The recently introduced advice instrument is intended to act as a constant reminder to businesses that employ people in the labor force that eliminating child labor is a social obligation.
Nigerians should keep up their advocacy efforts and work to raise awareness among actors in the supply chain about the negative employment practices of suppliers as well as the benefits of responsible firms that do not exploit child labor.
Organizations and key stakeholders in Nigeria’s organized private sector have had their knowledge and understanding of child labor and its effects on global supply chains expanded.
It was discovered that over 15 million are engaged in children labour. This is pure child abuse which is born out high level of poverty in Nigeria. Thank to agencies ensuring that children labour are completely eliminated in the supply chain.
The exploitation of children in Nigeria’s workforce is still a critical problem that demands a solution.
Since 2015, when the ILO and IOE produced practical recommendations for employers on identifying and preventing child labor, the child labor situation has intensified.
is a major milestone in the ACCEL Project’s efforts to eliminate child labor in Nigeria’s cocoa and ASGM sectors.
NECA should continue to create awareness amongst supply chain actors about suppliers’ adverse employment practices and the advantages of responsible businesses without child labour.
The launch of the “Child Labour Guidance Tool for Businesses in Nigeria” is really important ina time like this when there’s an outrageous number of children into child labour. The launch would help keep in check the challenges of child labour in the nation’s supply chain
Unfortunately, poverty makes people vulnerable to child labour. As they see it as a means of survival. We look forward to NECA to raising awareness among actors in the supply chain about the negative employment practices