4 Out Of 10 Nigerian Children Work As Child Laborers, Survey Reveals

Four out of every 10 children in Nigeria, between the ages of five and 17, were working as child laborers, a recent survey disclosed.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, titled "Nigeria Child Labour Survey 2022," was released in Abuja on Thursday. As per the report, 39.2% of these child laborers were forced to work.

"Overall, the survey findings reveal that 39.2% of children 5 to 17 years old in Nigeria are involved in child labor – four out of every ten children. Child labor is persistent in all age groups, with 39.7% of children in the 5-14 age group and 37.3% in the 15-17 age group," the report mentioned, as per Premium Times.

According to the report, child labor is more common in rural areas, where 44.8% of children are involved in such activities, compared to 30% in urban areas.

Additionally, the majority of children aged five to 17 years, about 62.4%, live in rural areas. The South-East and North-East regions have the highest rates of child labor, with 49.9% and 49.4%, respectively.

The report also mentioned that several community and household factors were encouraging the children to go into labor. For instance, poor households with less educated family heads tend to push children into work at younger ages.

However, the report also mentioned that nearly 94% of children were involved in the production of goods that they use themselves, while 24.2% were paid employees and 11.3% of kids were engaged in unpaid trainee work.

The report also highlighted that such child labor jobs pose health risks for children, noting that 53.3% of children were exposed to at least one workplace hazard, while 16.3% have already experienced a direct injury.

During the event, Vanessa Phala -- who served as the Director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS -- spoke about the report.

Phala pointed out that stakeholders cannot overlook the matter of child labor as it required urgent actions to protect the rights of these children. She noted that it was important to safeguard children from getting trapped in child labor activities.