Osun Commissioner Laments Menace Of Child Labour In Nigeria

By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo

The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode, has expressed sadness over the number of child labourers in the country.

Egbemode lamented that the rights of most Nigeria children are violated due to poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, negligence and high demand for cheap and submissive labour.

CityMirrorNews recalls that the International Labour Organization (ILO) had reported that Nigeria has the highest recorded rate or child labour estimated to be about 15 million in the country.

Speaking at a four-day workshop for staff of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and members of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Osun State, organized by a Non Governmental Organization, International Labour Organization (ILO), Egbemode said all hands must be on deck to put a stop to this obnoxious act in the society.

According to the Commissioner, any child working on the streets are prone to violence and kidnapping.

“Sadly, it is no longer news that many Nigerian children have become breadwinners of their families instead of their parents and guardians being the breadwinners.

“In the country today, and this is pervasive, millions of children are sent out by their parents and guardians to do any kind of job or trade in the name of making money.”

Echoing a similar views, Mr Ropo Ibikunle, Director of National Orientation Agency in Osun state said it’s sad that child Labour was still on the rise in the African countries.

He commended the organizers of the programme saying it would help the participants in sensitising the residents on the need to desist from the act.

Describing the child labour as a social justice issue , Ibikunle said any effort directed at eliminating the menace in the society is commendable.

Also Speaking, the Osun NUJ Chairman, Comrade Wasiu Ajadosu said the rate of the child labour in the country was alarming.

According to NUJ Chairman, “children who are especially vulnerable, such as orphans, are more at risk for human trafficking and forced labor than adults

While it is the responsibility of the country to protect children anywhere in Nigeria, Ajadosu said the children have been left on their own.

He added that Child labour has become the order of the day with numbers of Nigerian children involved.

He urged the governments at all levels to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.

He, however charged media practitioners on the need to use their professional machineries towards ensuring that the people in the authority expedite actions toward the eradication of child labour.