I witnessed this scene while sitting in a bus
heading out. I saw a little boy who looked really hungry and tired, asking for
help and the woman whom he was begging to help him had this to say.
BOY: Aunty, abeg help me, i dey hungry,
anything! Abeg u!
WOMAN: “Abeg leave me jor, you no see your
mates dey sell pure water”.
Everyone in the bus was laughing including the
driver. Then, it dawned on me that most people in this society now see child
labour as a normal thing, it was not abnormal as long as it was not their
children. Children from poor homes now handle the responsibility of their
parents by contributing their own quota to improve the welfare of their family. I
think and believe that this is pathetic, I see little children every day on the
streets, in the markets, at the bus parks and almost everywhere selling
commodities for their parents or guardian. I think hawking automatically
transform these children into adults. They are naturally made to think like
adults in the process of hawking, they become really alert about the
situations, they lose their innocence and become wild. Children who are made to
hawk are exposed to all sorts of danger. They could lose their life to
accidents, ritualists and the females are often victims
of rape.
Poverty is so thick in Nigeria, we can’t
deny this. However, children should remain children whether they are in poor or
wealthy homes. “ Mama Lucky” as we fondly call her lost her husband some years
ago, I did not know her personally then but I felt sorry for her, because she
was young with 4 children, no education and no means of livelihood. Over the
years, I have watched her remain strong, from selling roasted plantain, fish
and her delicious stew to working with a caterer as a cook. She stopped
speaking Pidgin English to her children, they now communicate using good
English language and her children are beneficiaries of Rivers State free
education program. I admire her. She handles the responsibility of taking care
of her family; the burden falls on her back and not the backs of her
children. Once, I witnessed a child
being knocked down by a car, the driver almost sped off but thanks to the men
in the area, he was stopped and was asked to take the girl to the hospital, she
was bleeding seriously. It was a sad
scene.
I appreciate all the selfless Young
Nigerians caring for people who have less. We have seen projects such as “Slum
to School” and “Earth’s Haven” help a lot of Children. We also need parents and guardians to cater for
their children and not the reverse.
Children
should enjoy their rights and enjoy the innocence that comes with childhood.
Play with toys, create games, dance, sing, act, debate, do home works, have
siestas, and help with the little house chores, not taking the responsibility
of providing for their family. Children should not have to tag themselves as
“hustlers”.
God bless Nigeria and help us provide lasting solutions to problems such as “Child Labour”.
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