The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has warned that child labour remains a pervasive national crisis, with 17 million children aged 5-17 engaged in child labour and 14.3 million in hazardous conditions.
Director of Inspectorate and Chairman, National Steering Committee for Elimination of Child Labour, Mrs. Olaolu Olaitan, disclosed this Tuesday in Ikeja at a stakeholders’ roundtable on child protection themed “Strengthening Child Protection Responses to Exploitative Child Domestic Work.”
The forum was organised by Devatop Centre for Africa Development with support from The Freedom Fund and funding from U.S. Department of State.
Olaitan said child labour is most prominent in agriculture, mining, informal urban jobs and domestic service, noting that exploitative child domestic work is hidden behind closed doors, exposing victims to physical, psychological and sexual abuse.
She said such children wear hand-me-downs, eat leftovers, are excluded from family activities, denied education, nutrition and freedom of movement.
She identified economic hardship and poverty of mindset as drivers, citing weak enforcement, fragmented coordination and hidden costs in public schools as hurdles.
Olaitan said Federal Government targets reduction of child labour to below 25 per cent and hazardous work to under 10 per cent by 2030, and school attendance above 90 per cent in high-burden regions.
She said ministry has launched child labour website and mobile app for real-time reporting, and called for stiffer penalties in Labour Standards Bill, expanded inspections, agricultural mechanization and free enrolment in its 160 vocational centres.
Project Lead at Devatop, Miss Janet Homo, said enforcement of existing laws remains critical to eradication.
