In November 2022, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) stated that about 15 million Nigerian children are steeped in child labour. The disclosure highlighted just how much Nigeria is failing its children. It also shows that the current laws on child protection are not enough.
Strengthening Nigeria’s child protection law, as well as sensitising families and communities about the need to protect children, is key. Improving the economic conditions of families so that children are less vulnerable to exploitation would also go a long way. It would force a steep reduction in the number of out-of-school children, which currently stands at about twenty million, and further reduce child labour.
Nigeria passed the Child Rights Act in 2003. However, the law has struggled to find uniform and sufficient adoption across Nigeria’s thirty-six states…..
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