Catholic Christian Women under the aegis of the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), Holy Cross Catholic Church in Gwarinpa, Abuja, has called on the Nigerian Government to enforce child labour laws to protect children in the country.
President of the organization, Ukpo Amoroban, who revealed this on Sunday in Abuja to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the practice has flourished despite government’s good polices against it.
In Amoroban’s words, “Child labour has brought poor reputation to our nation today. Our main economic problem is child labour, since we began on the path of nationhood.”
Also speaking, secretary of the organization, Chizoba Ugwu discloed that children work for different reasons such as the need to contribute to the family’s economy, adding that conflicts and natural disasters are determining factors to whether children need to work to support their families.
Ugwu said, “Do you remember that time when you were a little kid and you came home from a fun day at school, put your book bag down, and went to play with friends outside? Then you came home, did a little bit of homework, and had a great meal with your family before watching some TV and going to bed.
“Some kids can’t even dream of that because they don’t have a normal childhood. They are forced, through one circumstance or another, into foregoing such nice memories and days because they have to work for 18 hours a day.
“They will never be able to look back, as an adult, and reminisce about days like yours. Yes, many little kids work hours on end for their entire childhood. That’s child labour, and it has very real effects on children.” The secretary said.
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