On my earlier discourse, I wrote about hired helps in Nigeria and its link to child abuse, but the subject has not really received attention from the govt until lately, when a law went into effect to protect children. On the issue of street trading, who really benefits from it? You see kids jumping like acrobats in the middle of traffic to sell their wares in traffic. Sometimes an accident is inevitable. For others, another trap may stealthily stalk them , and that is rape. Most vulnerable are street traders who are thrust into the world by various circumstances.

Sick perverts capitalize on this accepted practise of street tradiing back home, by luring these unsuspecting traders to their house with the pretext of patronizing their wares. Minutes later, the innocent girl is sexually assaulted and threats of punishment would silence them from speaking out. The consequences of these sick acts, as all of you know usually result in an unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, psychological problems (flashbacks are all too common) and a gradual withdrawal from a healthy relationship with the opposite sex.


Shouldnt there be laws to abolish street traders? I regard it as child abuse, but others may view this trend as a way of a child helping out in the family. But there are other ways of helping mom and dad at home without resorting to selling provisions on the mean streets. I think this is far worse than sending one's child who is barely 7 years old to work as a servant in a far away city.

P/S: In college, while relaxing in my department, a hawker was approached by one of my classmates (or coursemate as per Naija slang). It was the Uniuyo communication arts department and my classmate had the nerve to request that the girl should remove her slippers before stepping into the carpeted (hmm, how long had it been cleaned) room. The lady complied and walked in barefoot. I was incensed, and quickly ordered her to slip on her footwear. I was waiting for her reaction, because I was ready to lash out at this cameroonian classmate of mine. And you wonder, how those people woudl treat their hired helps.

Itz terrible

Street hawkers deserve to be treated with respect and appreciation. Afterall they are working hard to make a living. How would you like it if someone talked about your job as if it's a job that no one deserves to have?

Child abuse is one thing; street hawking is another. Our forefathers helped their parents in the farm. Child abuse is not the same thing as helping your parent to feed your junior ones. One is a crime, the other is life.

Child abuse and street hawking are two different things. Do not mix them up out of ignorance and sentiments.

So, you are in favor of street trading/hawking by pre-teens? Have you ever thought of the fallout that has resulted from street trading? I read that it has been banned in Lagos, and of course, there are some who are adherently opposed to this measure. Please, there are other alternatives to making money for our parents. Street trading should not be of them.

Seun:

Street hawkers deserve to be treated with respect and appreciation. Afterall they are working hard to make a living. How would you like it if someone talked about your job as if it's a job that no one deserves to have?

Child abuse is one thing; street hawking is another. Our forefathers helped their parents in the farm. Child abuse is not the same thing as helping your parent to feed your junior ones. One is a crime, the other is life.

Child abuse and street hawking are two different things. Do not mix them up out of ignorance and sentiments.

Thank you Seun.

These people differentiate the 2 based on the Geographical location. A child who works in UK or America is not being abused but the one who works in Africa is being abused.

Does paper round not equate child abuse in the same measure?

In America, children under a specific age, are protected by law not to engage in any manual labor. As teens, they are entitled to a job, but are limited to a certain number of hours per day, mandated by the law. Do we have so in Naija? Or excuse me, Nigeria should not adopt the American version of child labor because there is a marginal difference in the standard of living in those two aforementioned countries.

I am against child abuse, but street hawking is not necessarily a manifestation of child abuse.
Please allow the poor children to enjoy some dignity of labor. At least they are working instead of stealing.

Would you consent to a 7 year old girl hawking Akara on the harsh streets of Lagos because there is dignity in labor?

I would object only for one reason: it's unsafe. I won't object to her helping her mother out in a shop after school.

The problem with child labor is that parents can use their children as slaves. The solution is to make it consensual. If a child wants to work, let the child work. And if she wants to play, let her play. Consent is the problem.

The kids can even seek consent to go play ball and break neighbours windows and windscreen for the poor mother to replace and they stay at home for 2 weeks as the little money required for their fares to school have been spent on their playfulness.

The kids can be kept off trouble and help mama selling, definitely not at such a tender age of 7

I guess the real problem is that kids have no rights. No one cares about what they want. They are used as tools.

I AM A FINAL YEAR STUDENT OF SOCIOLOGY, I WILL LIKE A REPLY ON THIS TOPIC. PLEASE I URGENTLY NEED A REPLY FROM YOU SCHOLARS FOR MY PROJECT AND ALL YOUR NAMES WILL BE IN MY REFERENCE INCLUDING THE SITE. THE TOPIC IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILD ABUSE AND STREET HAWKING IN NIGERIA.

Difference between child abuse and street hawking in Nigeria?

Behavior directed toward a child by an adult that harms a child's physical or emotional health and development. Child abuse includes four major categories: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.
jjab.ky.gov/terms.htm

According to this definition, children street hawking isnt child abuse - maybe we could say that the children are being used for manual labour at an early age.

Well, most families have no choice than to let their children see things in order to feed them and maybe even pay their fees at school.
I don't think street hawking is child abuse because there are families who actually send their kids to school, and they only go hawking after school and after homework.
The other issue obviously would be most who send little kids like children less than 15, i understand that most families don't have a choice.
There are families who have children living with them that are actually abusing their kids without sending them to street hawk. There are people whose kids are living with other family members as housemaids, then isnt that even worse than street hawking when they are abused emotionally physically or mentally.

The bottom line is that i don't think its abuse although there are issues where children don't go to school but street hawk, then that could be an issue for the government to deal with.
I don't think street hawking is the same as child abuse.

There are too many poor families in Nigeria where the children will go t bed hungry if they do not sell the goods their mum gave them to hawk b/c the family literally lives on those daily sales. The mum is selling tomato and pepper in the corner market; the kids are hawking plantain and eggs in the neitghbourhood.

Rather than blame poor people who have no options than to try to survive, we should blame the corrupt politicians and civil servants who steal all the money in naija thus making life impossible for the poor masses.

Rather than blame poor people who have no options than to try to survive, we should blame the corrupt politicians and civil servants who steal all the money in naija thus making life impossible for the poor masses.

what about individual responsibility?? people shouldn't be having kids they can't take their off. why have a bundle of kids living in face-me i face-u. family planning is just awful in nigeria. by hawking, these kids are prone to abuse.

what about individual responsibility?? people shouldn't be having kids they can't take their off. why have a bundle of kids living in face-me i face-u. family planning is just awful in nigeria. by hawking, these kids are prone to abuse.

When last where you in Nigeria? Contrary to your fantasies, family plannning is permeating most nooks and crannies at least of southern Nigeria including among the poor and downtrodden. Point is - if dad is a mechanic or panel beater and mum sells pure water at the market and they have only two [2] kids, what kind of life do you think those 2 kids will have? Do you have any idea just how tough things are for those at the bottom of the heap in Nigeria today? Do you think the parent's combined income is enough for them not to send the kids out to hawk?

here's a hint. Whenever the labour unions call a general strike e.g. over fuel price hikes, by the evening of the first day, you'll see vulcanizers, pure water sellers, yam sellers etc coming out to trade. they support the strike - after all fuel price affects them too but they need that daily sales to survive. too many families in nigeria literally live from hand to mouth. what they eat is what they sold or earned in that day. if they don't sell or earn, they starve until the next day.

people send their kids out to hawk knowing the risk. but they have few or no options. they are not blind or stupid - they know what can happen to their kids. but they can't see what else to do.

In that Chicago southside where you are, black American women are having 10 kids and living on welfare. the govt. complains. the whites complain on fox news. but no govt. in america will dare cancel food stamps or medicare just because some people are abusing it. that is a caring society with responsible leaders not like the thieves who rule nigeria

blacklion:

When last where you in Nigeria? Contrary to your fantasies, family plannning is permeating most nooks and crannies at least of southern Nigeria including among the poor and downtrodden. Point is - if dad is a mechanic or panel beater and mum sells pure water at the market and they have only two [2] kids, what kind of life do you think those 2 kids will have? Do you have any idea just how tough things are for those at the bottom of the heap in Nigeria today? Do you think the parent's combined income is enough for them not to send the kids out to hawk?

here's a hint. Whenever the labour unions call a general strike e.g. over fuel price hikes, by the evening of the first day, you'll see vulcanizers, pure water sellers, yam sellers etc coming out to trade. they support the strike - after all fuel price affects them too but they need that daily sales to survive. too many families in nigeria literally live from hand to mouth. what they eat is what they sold or earned in that day. if they don't sell or earn, they starve until the next day.

people send their kids out to hawk knowing the risk. but they have few or no options. they are not blind or stupid - they know what can happen to their kids. but they can't see what else to do.

In that Chicago southside where you are, black American women are having 10 kids and living on welfare. the govt. complains. the whites complain on fox news. but no govt. in america will dare cancel food stamps or medicare just because some people are abusing it. that is a caring society with responsible leaders not like the thieves who rule nigeria

What you have said is very true but people have to give birth to kids they can take care of, so many people are yet to realize this in nigeria, it will go a long way in helping to reduce the hard situation people find them selves in, over 70 percent of the problem lies on the governments callousness and despicable apathy.

Lagos bans hawking by children during school hours

By Kemi Obasola

The Lagos State Government on Thursday said street hawking during school hours would no longer be tolerated in the state.






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The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said this was the only way to ensure that children of school age are regular and punctual at school during lesson hours.

According to her, the state would henceforth begin to sensitise parents on the need to send their children to school, while law enforcement agents would also be sensitised to arrest errant parents in order to prosecute them to serve as a deterrent to others.

She said, "Education and proper upbringing of our children is the only way to eradicate poverty. The law forbids the use of under-aged children for domestic labour, negligence and maltreatment on the part of parents and guardians as it negates the tenets of the Child Rights law.

"The Lagos State Government through the various agencies of government will ensure the survival, development and protection of all the children in the state, the laws will be enforced to the letter in order to ensure that all the rights of our children are protected."

Orelope-Adefulire, who decried the high rate of child sexual abuse in the country, noted that the problem though universal, had become alarming.

She said, "Therefore, increased attention, efficient protection skills and preventive measures are necessary at family, local, national and international levels.

"My ministry collaborates with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters on issues bordering on women and child trafficking.

"The ministry has embarked on the construction of a shelter for trafficked women and children at Ayobo.

"After a long period of silence, child sexual abuse is being more denounced and becoming a public and political issue."

The commissioner noted that her ministry had decided to produce a simplified version of the Child Rights Law 'so that no one tramples on these rights."

In a related development, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Risikat Akiode, has said the ministry is ready to prosecute anyone who abused the fundamental rights of children.

Akiode said awareness would be created among children in the state on their rights. "We will educate them to say no to child sexual abuse and where their rights are being abused, to know the appropriate channel to seek redress," she said.

She said it was a pity that many children who had been sexually abused were dying in silence because of the social stigma attached to survivors of the illicit act.

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http://odili.net/news/source/2008/nov/21/407.html

How come we only hear about lagos dis/dat, does it mean that the other useless state governors are sleeping?

Call it anything you like. An 8 year old kid hawking on the streets and being exposed to ritualists, reckless drivers and sexual predators is child abuse. Parents should take more responsibility. I know things can be hard in NIgeria but making a kid do this to help feed the family that you decided to create is child abuse. This is not 1803. Parents just do not want to change their views and keep manufacuring children. The children should not have to pay for their parents poor choices. Those parents should be punished for endagering these children. What stops the parent from doing the hawking themselves. They can work on the farm in the morning and then hawk the wares in the evening and then at night they can make more babies if they want. Yeye. It is called responsiblity.

there is no rational justification for street hawking,it is child abuse by any definition as there is no way shape or form of justifying children hawking on the streets,hold ups,

http://allafrica.com/stories/200908260349.html

The writer cited my write-up/pseudonym in this online article.

Way too much househelps and maids!!!

What will we do about this.

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Strict family planning rule must be made and enforced.Someone on 20k salary doesnt have business having 2 kids or at all sef but they will not hear. If you advice them they will say God will provide, from where bikonu?. God knows i cant pay for someone's carelessness.

My opinion on this topic that I created was cited in an academic journal titled, "The SMCC Higher Education Research Journal." It's on page 2.

http://sherj./articles/Vol3Jan2017/Nwajiuba,%20C.A..pdf

Feel great!

Have you been to E-Centre in Yaba,Lagos? Union bank has a do it yourself thing... It's an amazing innovation, you should check it out asap....

inzaghi1:
Have you been to E-Centre in Yaba,Lagos? Union bank has a do it yourself thing... It's an amazing innovation, you should check it out asap....

How does this relate to my discourse?