Innovative partnership to combat child trafficking in Nigeria
The International Labour Organization (ILO), tripartite constituents and development partners are joining hands to raise awareness and stop child trafficking in Nigeria.
1 July 2015
The joint action follows the discovery of a child victim, trafficked from Niger Republic, in a market rally carried out at Utako Market, Abuja, Nigeria on 12 June 2015.
Interviews and data collection session in Utako Market revealed that new victims of child labour were identified. The survey revealed that 74% of children interviewed were of the age bracket (15-17), 16% for age bracket (13-14), and 8% were for age bracket (8-10) while 1% was for age bracket (4-6). All these children were at the market doing menial job for survival. The result indicated that 91% of the children found at the market were boys while the remaining 8% were girls. According to the result, it was discovered that Kastina state had 23 children of out the 93 children identified. This was followed by Sokoto State with 17 children; Kano with 16, while Kaduna, Kwara, Zamfara and Gombe had 2 each, while FCT and The Republic of Niger had 1 child each. 19 children could not identify their states of origin.
The study showed that the the victim from Niger agreed to be repatriated to his country and be reunited with his family. Acting on the resolve of the victim to go back to his country, the Save the Child Initiative (a member of NACTAL) initiated the process of repatriation in collaboration with Nigerian Immigration through an existing West African Network project.
The young boy was handed over to the Nigerian Immigration for repatriation while an NGO, CONAFE in Niger undertook to follow-up and provide psychosocial and livelihood support.
World Day Against Child Labour
Between 12 – 20 June 2015, the 2015 World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) was celebrated in 8 states of Nigeria including Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Cross River, Kwara, Kogi, Edo and the Federal Capital Territory. Activities in states other than Oyo, Ogun and FCT were self-sponsored by members of NACTAL. Activities implemented in Abuja were co-sponsored by ILO and UNICEF while some of the activities in Ogun and Oyo were supported by the ILO.
To coordinate and plan the 2015 WDACL, a committee was set up comprising 2 representatives from the Child labour Unit of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity (FMOLP), a representative of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and a child labour expert serving as a consultant and technical guide. The ILO and UNICEF provided technical and financial support to the Nigeria Government for the commemoration of the day.
The general objective of the WDACL 2015 was to promote the importance of quality education in the elimination of child labour in Nigeria. The specific objectives of this year’s programme were:
- Advocate for free, compulsory and quality education for all children at least to the minimum age for admission to employment and action to reach those in or at high risk of child labour;
- Increase awareness and participation of all major stakeholders in Abeokuta, Ibadan, and the FCT in the elimination of child labour and solicit support in strengthening educational system especially the teaching profession;
Sensitize and increase participation of Public school students to demand for quality education as a major strategy in the elimination of child labour and also stand up to their responsibility. The activities carried out across the country were market rallies, symposium, school based awareness campaign, advocacy and awareness raising through the social media, stakeholders strategic discussion, essay and art work competition. A survey carried out during the market rally in Abuja yielded some result.