Child’s Right Activist, Debo Oladinni, Esq., has said that the
average Nigerian child has become an endangered specie, and that it
is high time a state of emergency is declared.
Debo Oladinni made this statement in a speech delivered at the
2019 Annual International Federation of Women Lawyers, Ekiti State
branch, on Wednesday, 19th June, 2019, at the Aare Afe Babalola Bar
Centre, High Court, Fajuyi, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
Quoting Chief (Mrs) Victoria Awomolo, SAN, and speaking on the
topical issue: ”Child Labour: A bane to economic and social
development in the society”, the Activist stated that the
statement that children at leaders of tommorow is fast running into
oblivion.
SPEECH DELIVERED BY DEBO OLADINNI, ESQ AT THE 2019
ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN LAWYERS- FEDERACION
INTERNACIONAL DE ABOGADAS (FIDA), EKITI STATE BRANCH, ON WEDNESDAY,
19TH JUNE, 2019 AT THE AARE AFE BABALOLA BAR CENTRE,
HIGH COURT, FAJUYI, ADO-EKITI, EKITI STATE
By a letter dated 25th May, 2019,
duly signed by Oluwaseyi Ebenezer (Mrs), Secretary,
International Federation of Women Lawyers- Federacion Internacional
De Abogadas (FIDA) Week Committee, I was invited to serve
as one of the panellists to share my thoughts on
the topical issue: “Child Labour: A bane to economic and
social development in the society”, in commemoration of
the 2019 Annual FIDA Law Week, Ekiti State Branch.
I initially planned to speak extempore on this mind boggling
issue, as I was informed that the time allotted to
me to air my views was between five to ten
minutes, but upon reading the thought provoking, highly
cerebral and sumptuous paper prepared by the erudite, astute,
intelligent and distinguished Lead Presenter, Chief (Mrs)
Victoria Awomolo, SAN, I considered it pertinent, most
humbly, to pen down my thoughts on the economic and social problems
affecting the society, occasioned by the menace of child
labour.
I must immediately confess that I had the utmost privilege of
receiving the soft copy of this lecture on Friday
14th June, 2019, and upon opening this
well-researched presentation, I digested the
resplendent and mind enriching information contained therein and
ruminated over the salient issues raised by the distinguished
learned Silk. Without regurgitating the content of
the illuminating presentation of Chief (Mrs) Victoria
Awomolo, SAN, as she has extensively covered the field, in
relation to the topic, I will attempt to
succinctly highlight some key issues addressed in her presentation.
She commenced her presentation with a brief introduction, stating
the truism that children are the leaders of
tomorrow and any society which neglects the rights,
education and social development of its children runs the great
risk of succumbing to underdevelopment, as children are regarded as
the greatest human asset of any nation. Sadly, I
must state that this recurring cliché that ‘children are
the leaders of tomorrow’ is vanishing into oblivion. An
issue which should serve as a grave cause for concern for all
stakeholders, as stated in her presentation is fact that about
105 million children are out of school in
Nigeria, with about 43 percent
engaged in one form of child labour or the other. Furthermore,
while scavenging the internet for useful information, I discovered
that the 2015 International Labour Organization World
Report on Child Labour stated that about 168
million children are trapped in Child labour globally,
while there are 75 million young persons aged
15 to 24 years of age, who are unemployed and many
more who must make do with jobs that fail to offer a fair income,
security in the workplace, social protection or other basic decent
work attributes. Also, the National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) 2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) stated
that about 50.8 percent of Nigerian children,
between the ages of 5 and 17, are involved in
child labour, with the North Central having the
highest percentage of child labour of 56.8 per
cent, followed by the North-West
accounting for 55.1 per cent. The South- South
recorded 48.7 per cent; South-East -46.6 per cent, and
South-West- 38 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, the
MICS also captured the percentage of children
working in hazardous conditions in the country and identified the
North Central as accounting for the highest number
with 49.6 per cent followed by the
North West with 41.9 per cent;
South-South 37.9 per cent; South- East 36.1 per cent; North-East
34.1 per cent and South-West 25.4 per cent. The said
survey was conducted in conjunction with other partners, including
the National Primary Health Care Development Agency
(NPHCDA) and the United Nations Children Fund
(UNICEF).
Thereafter, Chief (Mrs.) Adegboyega Awomolo,
SAN proceeded to state the various definitions of who a
‘child’ is, as encapsulated by different legislations such as the
Labour Act, Criminal Procedure Act, Children and Young
Persons Act and the Child Rights Act, 2003.
The Child Rights Act 2003 defines a
‘Child’ as any person under the age of 18 years
and by virtue of Section 274 of the Act, the provisions of
the Act supersede the provisions of other enactments
relating to children. The Act has
been domesticated in 24 States out of 36
States in Nigeria. She subsequently
discussed in great detail the issues pertaining to Child
labour; the types of Child labour; the socio-economic factors
contributing to Child labour (such as poverty, globalisation,
insecurity, absence of social security schemes, corruption in the
educational sector etc.); the impact of Child labour at the micro
family level; Child labour as a bane to socio-economic development;
the concrete steps that can be taken by the Government at all
levels to eradicate Child labour.
Furthermore, she dovetailed into the issue of
Child labour and human trafficking, and basically
considered the provisions of Sections 15 (a), 16 and 23 (1)
of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition, Enforcement and
Administration) Act 2003. Unequivocally, she condemned the
‘culture of silence or condonation of evil’
exhibited by individuals, stakeholders and the
Government, with respect to Child labour or abuse related
cases, lamenting that only an infinitesimal number of such cases
have been taken to court due to disposition of the
Nigerian society in general to Child labour
matters. However, Chief (Mrs.) Awomolo,
SAN applauded the National Agency for the
Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for taking
steps to stem the ugly trend of human trafficking.
The learned Silk cited the recent decision of the
Court of Appeal (Ibadan Judicial Division) in
Titilayo Folorunsho v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2019)
LPELR 46463 (CA), wherein, the Court of
Appeal condemned in strong terms, the unwholesome practice
of procuring persons for prostitution as
follows:
“From the evidence before
the lower Court, the learned trial Judge was right in drawing from
evidence the inescapable conclusion that the Appellant along with
others procured Abidemi Opeyemi Adesina to be used for prostitution
in Libya. Anyone who for the sake of lucre, deliberately sold his
fellow human being into servitude either within or outside the
country deserves nothing but outright condemnation. From the shores
of their native land, the helpless victims are transported (as in
the horrible epoch of slave trade in the olden days) to a cold and
pitiless world, a world with neither joy nor freedom. Therein they
are forced to contend with very inhuman and degrading conditions
and challenges such as prostitution and forced labour. Such
culprits are glorified vultures in the image of human
beings.
The Appellant has failed to show any reason why we should upturn
the decision of the lower Court. The appeal lacks merit and it is
accordingly dismissed. The judgment of the lower Court delivered on
the 26th September, 2016 is hereby affirmed”.
In concluding her highly educative discuss, Chief (Mrs.)
Victoria Awomolo, SAN made several recommendations,
including but not limited to the need to provide easy
access to qualitative and affordable education for the Nigerian
child; the need for stakeholders to make concerted efforts to
ensure that the Child Rights Act, 2003 is strictly enforced to the
letter to protect the rights of all children, as failure to enforce
same would not augur well for the future of Nigeria.
In the words of a consummate, astute, intelligent,
highly cerebrally and distinguished legal practitioner,
Chief Wole Olanipekun, OFR, SAN (my Principal), in a
lecture titled: “Human Trafficking and the Challenges of
the African Child” (the 3rd series of the Dorcas Oke
Hope Alive Initiative-DOHAL), delivered on
27th July, 2013, wherein he enthused as
follow with respect to protecting and securing the future of the
African child:
“We cannot afford to live in a society where human
trafficking thrives; where our children are under the threat of the
shackles of modern day slavery and sold as commodities. The
responsibility to put an end to human trafficking is on each and
every African parent; we must launch a crusade against this scourge
to create a protective environment for the African child and
re-consecrate the roles of children in our society. The
family being the very foundation and fabric of any nation must be
strengthened. The government, law enforcement agencies, judiciary,
employers’ and workers’ organisations, NGOs and other civil
societies both internationally and regionally as well as nationally
must work in partnership to curtail this dreadful and destructive
plague afflicting the African child. Together, we can choose to
make the African child grow up in a safe society free from
violence, exploitation, poverty and
discrimination.”
To my mind, the average Nigerian child has
become an ‘endangered specie’, and it is high time
we declare a ‘state of emergency’ in fighting
frontally, the issue of Child labour. Respectfully
speaking, we must stop paying lip service to the
issues relating to Child labour; the statistics
churned out by the National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) and other international bodies have shown that
rather than the percentage of children involved in Child labour
decreasing, it has only skyrocketed at an alarming rate. It is time
for all individuals, stakeholders, and the
Government to take the bull by the horn, and go back to
the drawing board to re-strategise. Can we revisit the
recommendations contained in the National Action Plan for
the Elimination of Child Labour in Nigeria (2013-2017),
packaged by the Federal Ministry of Labour and
Productivity; and implement the said recommendations, in
order to salvage the future of the Nigerian
child? The said National Action
Plan can be readily accessed on the internet, and I want
to indulge all persons present at this august occasion to take time
to study the Plan, as contained therein, are the
solutions to drastically reducing Child labour in Nigeria to the
barest minimum. The Nigerian Labour
Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria Employers’
Consultative Association (NECA), Faith Based Organizations, Network
against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), International
Labour Organization (ILO), United States Department of Labour
(USDOL) etc. all made inputs into the National
Action Plan. In my estimation, that is the best
blueprint to guide the fight against Child
labour. The Plan addressed
thematic areas such as: policy, legal and
enforcement framework, institutional arrangement; prevention;
educational and vocational skills acquisition, treatment of Child
labour victims etc.
I cannot conclude my address, without appreciating most
sincerely, Prof. Adejoke
Oyewunmi, a distinguished and erudite lecturer of the
Faculty of Law, University of Lagos for providing
me with an avalanche of materials in relation to Child labour,
which have enriched my mind on the issue.
Thank you for listening. God bless you
all.
Debo Oladinni, Esq, Ado-Ekiti,
19th June, 2019