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Recent News on Women Export
_______POST EXPRESS__________________
_Another 120 Nigerian Girls Deported from Italy
Author: Leo Aligwo, Lagos Full Text of Article:
ANOTHER batch of 120 Nigerians comprising mostly young
girls in their 20's were at the wee hours of yesterday
repatriated to Lagos from Italy for allegedly engaging
in prostitution. Among the deportees who arrived at
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja at
12.30 a.m. aboard a chartered DC-10 aircraft belonging
to Alitalia Airline were two males whose identifies
could not be ascertained as at press time yesterday.
Of the remaining 118 deportees, two are indigenes of
Cross River State while 116 hail from Edo State.Eye
witness account said that some of the female deportees
who were taken to the immigration head office at
Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos for further screening
,disembarked from the Alitalia jumbo jet half naked.
It was also gathered that the homeward journey of the
deportees was duly certified by the Nigerian High
Commission in Italy before the Alitalia aircraftn
tagged "Air Europe" took off for Lagos. The
comptroller of immigration in charge of the Murtala
Muhammed Airport, Mr. Bayo Akolade, confirmed the
story .Akolade who expressed concern over the incident
said the Italy deportees would be released to the
irrespective families as soon as the final screening
exercise was concluded at Alagbon, Ikoyi. But he,
however, made it clear that the deportees would bear
the cost of their transportation to their various
homes in Cross River and Edo State respectively. The
immigration boss further blamed the increasing cases
of migration to Western nations by young Nigerian
girls for prostitution and other odd jobs on the
nation's porous borders. He assured that the
immigration officials at the nation's prime airport
would continue to monitor the activities of both
immigrants and those travelling out of the country
without genuine documents. He said, "we will continue
to keep eagle eyes on them. Whenever we see them, we
will insist that they can't travel out of the
country."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]
MONDAY, 18TH JUNE, 2001 107 prostitutes, 20 gamblers
caned in Kebbi
NO fewer than 107 Prostitutes in Gwandu Local
Government Area of Kebbi were Monday given 20 lashes
of the cane each, on the orders of a sharia court in
Gwandu, for idleness and wandering. Briefing newsmen
on the implementation of sharia in the area, the
chairman of the council, Alhaji Yahaya Dalijan said,
"107 prostitutes were successfully prosecuted by the
sharia court, after confessing to their crimes".He
said the prostitutes were prosecuted along with 20
gamblers, who equally confessed to their crimes and
were also given 20 lashes of the cane and N1,500 fine
each. He said the council would take measures to
curtail the activities of those anti-social behaviours
and flush out the prostitutes and gamblers from their
hiding places. Dalijan said that the Doduro Market,
where the prostitutes were staying would be thoroughly
checked to ensure that no prostitute was allowed to
hide there. The chairman further said that the council
was determined to enforce of its bye-law governing
marriages and naming ceremonies in the area, to check
the high cost of hosting such ceremonies.
==================================================================================The
First Lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, yesterday in Abuja
identified harsh economic condition, ignorance, family
disintegration, and unemployment as some of the causes
of child abuse and exploitation in the country. In her
address at the commemoration of ``Day of the African
Child,'' Obasanjo observed that Nigerian children were
often abused through various ways, such as child
labour, trafficking, battering, street begging, and
malnutrition. Represented by Mrs. Iyabo Kuye, she said
one of the reasons the Federal Government introduced
the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme was to help
check child abuse in the country. She further pointed
out that the Poverty Eradication Programme (PEP) was
also being introduced to assist the economically
disadvantaged families. The First Lady emphasised that
children needed love, security, and encouragement to
enable them to imbibe a sense of responsibility and
balance." They need these, not only for themselves but
for others, in other to develop confidence in
themselves and be able to express themselves in a
manner appropriate to their culture and situation,''
she explained. She said that the Family Care Trust
(FCT) was introduced to help poor children and to give
succour to unfortunate victims of circumstance,
noting,` `no effort would be too great to chart a new
cause for such children. ''In her address, the
Minister of Women Affairs and Youth Development,
Hajiya Aisha Ismail, said that the present
administration was totally committed to the provision
of a conducive environment and opportunities for the
Nigerian children to develop their personality and
contribute to the development of the nation. She
disclosed that government had drafted a child
development policy, which would encapsulate
government's vision, objectives, and framework for
child development in he country. According to her, a
draft bill which harmonises the existing laws relating
to children in the country and incorporates provisions
of the United Nations Convention on the right of the
child, has been produced and submitted to the Federal
Government. _________________
-------------------------------------------------------
Woman Charged With Child Trafficking
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UN Integrated Regional Information Network
June 15, 2001
Posted to the web June 14, 2001
The police has charged a well-known Lagos
businesswoman, Bisi Dan-Musa, and two others before a
magistrate court with 19 counts of child stealing and
slave dealing, local newspapers reported on Thursday.
According to the 'Vanguard' daily the accused persons
pleaded not guilty and were granted bail by presiding
magistrate Gbemi Ajayi. The hearing was adjourned to
18 July.
The accused were arrested last week after being found
in the custody of 16 children aged between one year
and four years. In a routine highway search, Police
found the children hiding behind plastic crates in a
mini-bus.
Newspapers reported that Dan-Musa told the police she
had rescued the children from destitute and drug
addicts, and had adopted them out of humanitarian
concern.
Copyright © 2001 UN Integrated Regional Information
Network. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media
(allAfrica.com).
--------------------------------------------------------
1,126 Women Deported From Europe, Asia
UN Integrated Regional Information Network
June 15, 2001
Posted to the web June 14, 2001
A total of 1,126 Nigerian women who were victims of
traffickers were deported from Europe and Asia between
March and April, 'The Guardian' reported on Thursday,
quoting Titi Abubakar, head of the Women Trafficking
and Child Labour Eradication Foundation in Nigeria.
Abubabakar, wife of the country's vice president, also
said on average 69 women were deported to Nigeria
every month. The figure, she said, excluded the dead,
the maimed and others who sneaked into their host
countries through clandestine routes.
She said many of the victims were used for commercial
sex, begging, rituals or were engaged in menial jobs
and forced marriages.
Copyright © 2001 UN Integrated Regional Information
Network. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media
(allAfrica.com).
==========================================================
ILO Convention on Child Labour Ratified
The Guardian (Lagos)
June 14, 2001
Posted to the web June 14, 2001
Prisca Egede
Geneva
Nigeria formally joined the ongoing global war against
child labour yesterday when it ratified the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 182
on the elimination of worst forms of child labour.
It, however, warned that the attainment of the "goals
of decent work, living and society would suffer
setbacks if the crusade against Human Immunodeficiency
Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(HIV/AIDS) pandemic does not attract enough efforts
and resources."
The ratification of the convention was disclosed to
the plenary session of the 89th session of the ILO by
the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Employment,
Labour and Productivity Ambassador Geofrey Preware. It
came on the heels of the body's launching of a new
initiative known as the "Time Bound Programme". The
scheme is aimed at accelerating the salvaging of
millions of children from most abusive forms of child
labour at a session addressed by Tanzanian President
Benjamin Williams Mkapa.
Preware told the delegates from the 175
ILO-member-states that in addition to the ratification
of the convention, Nigeria which had ratified five out
of the eight of the organisation's core conventions,
would also endorse the two outstanding "Convention
No.111 on Discrimination in Employment and
Occupation," and "Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age
for Employment."
According to him, the present administration was
"aware of the need to go beyond ratification," hence
government, he said, "is actively engaged in the
provision of the institutional framework and the
logistic infrastructure to sustain the implementation
of ratified core conventions all of which were
unanimously recommended for ratification in accordance
with our constitutional provisions by the National
Labour Advisory Council, a tripertite body."
The permanent secretary who identified "unemployment
poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic as the major
challenges for us in Nigeria and the rest of the
developing countries" stated that Nigeria remained a
team player in the ILO family as she "recognises that
this organisation has more than a catalytic role to
play in the achievement of stable, prosperous
societies where decent work opportunities are
available to all, especially the AIDS sufferers who
need support and sympathy and not exclusion from our
homes and workplaces."
With yesterday's exercise, Nigeria has so far ratified
33 ILO conventions thus placing Africa on the lead of
continents that have accepted the Convention 182 which
was unanimously adopted by the 87th International
Labour Conference in 1999. Meanwhile, the newly
launched (Time Bound Programme) taking off in
Tanzania, Nepal and El-Salvador entails intensified
efforts to end the worst forms of child labour in
participating countries in 10 years or less. It will
focus on the elimination of situations like scavenging
at garbage dumps, portering, mining, domestic work,
bonded labour, commercial agriculture, fishing,
commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking on
children.
While addressing the session during the programme's
launching, the Tanzanian leader said child labour
presented a serious challenge to the courage and
imagination of nations and the cooperation of the
international community. The victims, he said, were
"not just a few thousand, but several tens of millions
of children throughout the world, without distinction
of race, colour or creed, who are exploited at work or
are employed under conditions that seriously
jeopardise their health, safety, education, morals,
dignity and self-respect".
He canvassed international co-operation and not "widow
dressing to satisfy curiosity, or appease the
anxieties, or national or international public
opinion."
The new initiative, Mkapa continued, must be a means
of "finding sustainable solutions to this serious
problem by giving priority to supporting"
interventions that protect children especially girls
from economic exploitation because of their greater
vulnerability."
The programme would be funded from the United States
government, the largest donor to the International
Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).
Copyright © 2001 The Guardian. Distributed by
AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
-----------------------------------------------------
Guinean Police Arrest 35 Nigerian Girls En-route Sex
Slavery
By Yommi Oni with agency report
Guinean police yesterday in Conakry burst an 18-man
Nigerian sex slave trafficking syndicate leading to
the arrest of 35 Nigerian girls in the process of
being taken to Europe to work as sex slaves. A BBC
broadcast monitored in Lagos yesterday said the girls
and their agents were arrested in a secluded part of
Conakry and paraded on local television. The girls
were alleged to have been offered betweenN20,000 and
N200,000 by the agents who promised to help them
secure a good employment in Europe. Explaining the
mode of operation of the syndicate, Guinean Lieutenant
Sako said that the agents usually take the girls to
Guinea via the Republic of Mali where false Guinean
passports were procured for the musing fictitious
Guinean names They girls are then returned to Mali
where they are sold to other syndicates which
transport them to Europe, especially Italy and Spain.
The syndicate was said to have been active in Guinea
since 1998.The girls or their agents as they are yet
to be taken to court as at yesterday. Recruitment of
girls, usually teenagers, as sex slaves often starts
with the enticement of potential victims with promises
of good jobs in Europe by baronesses who are
ironically women. Some of the girls' parents also
encourage them to go a broad insensibly in search of
greener pastures and with in the hope that the
daughters would repatriate foreign currencies.
Investigations revealed that after being recruited the
are conveyed through long and torturous land routes
mainly through the Sahara Desert to European
countries. Once they arrive, the victims are forced to
work as sex hawkers. The girls, often undergo a
process of initiation or ritual which involves
collection of some under wears pubic hair and any
other personal items deemed fit by the baronesses for
as long as an hour rituals and initiation. This is
aimed at instilling fear in them to prevent them from
revealing anything that could lead to the arrest of
the baronesses.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday Magazine
Child Labour: Nigeria loses over 4,000 kids in one
year
Sunday, 15th July, 2001
By Funmi Komolafe, Labour Editor, additional reports
by Olasunkanmi Akoni & Victor Ahiuma- Young
WHEN the International Labour Organization began its
campaign against Child Labour and the subsequent
endorsement of Convention 182 on the Elimination of
the Worst Forms of Child Labour, not many people in
Nigeria knew about it. Those who may have heard about
it, are mainly those in the middle-class and the upper
middle class but it has no real meaning to most
people. But a recent report of the ILO's project on "
Combating the trafficking in children for labour
exploitation in West Africa and Central Africa" made
public during the 89th conference of the ILO is to say
the least shocking. In this special report, some
aspects of the report and the views of social partners
on the issue of Child Labour are examined. We spoke
with the Workers Organization on Child Labour and
visited Seme border.
.Children hawkers, taking a break from hawking at
Calabar.
AT the Seme border for Nigeria and Benin Republic, a
lot of business transactions go on. Traders move in
and out. Some move in with children aged between six
years to 15 years. These children usually look so
unkempt. The child traders, hardly ever have enough
money to pay for their transportation. So, the child
or children are sometimes kept in the boot of an open
van which usually conveys food items such as tomatoes,
large pepper, onions, yam etc. At other times, the
traders ask other women to help 'lap' the children.
This is an act of getting the child to seat on thighs
of the 'kind' co-passenger. From then on the journey
into an unknown destination begins for the child.
Behind him, in Benin Republic is her / his family and
social life. In many cases, the parents consent to the
relocation of their children and in other cases, the
child has simply been kidnapped and is being taken
away. Such children are passed on to other adults as
labourers. They could be engaged in house-keeping,
trading, or even prostitution.
What is Child Trafficking? The ILO report explains
"Given the African practice of migration and the
placement of children with family members, it is
necessary to distinguish between children at work
place within this custom, and children that are
trafficked for labour exploitation.
For the transfer of children to be qualified as
trafficking, there should be:
the conclusion of a transaction;
the intervention of an intermediary;
the motive to exploit.
The term " transaction" refers to "any institution or
practice through which young people, below 18 years,
are handed over by either or both parents, or by a
guardian to a third person, whether for a fee or not,
with the intention of exploiting the person or the
work of the young person. There need not be any
payment made in exchange for handing over the child.
The very existence of an economic motive, i.e. cheap
labour for one party and a token sum or periodic
payments for the other (parents, or intermediaries),
is sufficient to make it a transactions."
Types of trafficking
The investigation conducted by the IPEC- ILO team
revealed six methods of trafficking children across
the borders. These are:
Abduction: Although in most cases children are
voluntarily handed over to, or themselves contact the
third parties, cases of children being abducted from
their homes for trafficking are on the increase.
Cases of kidnapping of children have been reported,
for instance, from Sokoto State, Nigeria, where the
children are sold to businessmen for amounts ranging
from N50,000 to N 100,000 Naira (US$500 - 1,000), to
be used as labourers or as ritual or sex objects.
Placement as sale: The child is handed over by the
parents to a third party for a set price. Parents are
promised that the child will be treated well and will
receive vocational training. Amounts paid vary between
10,000 and 100,000 FCFA (US$14 - 140) depending on the
country;
Bonded placement: Although the practice of offering
the labour of children as reimbursement for debt is
more widespread in South Asia, some cases of this have
been reported from Benin and Ghana.
Temporary placement: The child is handed over to a
third party for a set period of time, for a token sum
paid in cash or kind. The amount depends on the
duration agreed upon and the age of the child. The
intermediary collects the wages paid by the employer,
which he keeps for himself.
Placement as a service: The agent places the child at
the request of the parents, for a fee. The parents
also have to bear "handling costs". The Cameroon
report states that parents pay up to 100,000 FCFA
(US$140) for a child that is placed by a so-called
"matrimonial agency."
Placement as embezzlement: The child is handed over by
his/her parents to a third party who may be a
professional employment agent or an intermediary on
the understanding that the child will be sent to
school, receive vocational training and be taken care
of by the host household. Instead, the child is put
into paid work, which often offers no scope for skill
development. The intermediary collects the wages
directly form the employer and does not pay the
parents anything."
Nigeria: The IPEC- ILO findings on child trafficking
in Nigeria showed that : "In 1996, 4000 children were
trafficked from Cross River State to various parts of
Nigeria and to other countries". . Information given
by a policy maker in Abuja showed that the police
recorded 157 cases of child trafficking in 1987, 240
cases in 1988; 95 cases in 1989,204 in 1990 and 174 in
1991. the immigration service mentioned about 20 cases
of trafficking per month.
According to the information on trafficking provided
by the police headquarters in Calabar, there have been
13 cases of child stealing and 8 cases of kidnapping
between 1997 and 1999. The traffickers involved were
arrested and prosecuted. In a recent workshop held in
Nigeria on the subject of trafficking in women and
children, it was reported that 500 Nigerian girls were
practising prostitution in Bamako, indicates that
Akwa-Ibom, Abia, Rivers and Cross River State have
become the targets of modern child trafficking
syndicates. Lagos, being the largest city in Nigeria
is noted for children coming in from and going out to
neighbouring countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana.
One of the research officers posted himself at the
Seme border and observed at least five child labourers
leaving or entering the country every day. The
Nigerian report considers these movements to be cases
of trafficking, but it is unclear how they can
distinguish them from ordinary migration. There is a
record of 20 cases of child trafficking across borders
from Sokoto monthly. Area of location that are mostly
affected by child trafficking in Sokoto are Cinema,
Tundun Wada and Shehu Kangiwa Square".
In Nigeria, there is evidence that Akwa-Ibom State is
the biggest supplier of children, followed by
Cross-River and Imo state. There are reports of
kidnapping, sale and homosexual abuse of children in
the Sokoto State.
Specifically, the report states:
" The studies reveal that the most common routes are
as follows:
children from Togo are taken through Benin and Nigeria
to Gabon
*children from Benin are taken through Nigeria or
through Togo to Gabon, Burkina Faso and Cameroon
children from Mali are taken through Burkina Faso to
Cote d'Ivoire and the most important transit points in
Burkina Faso are Faramana, Bobo Dioulasso, Koloko and
Banfora
children from Nigeria and Benin are taken through
Cameroon to Gabon *children from Burkina Faso are sent
to Cote d'Ivoire , Ghana and Nigeria through Togo and
Benin.
The Northwest ( Mezam) and the Southwest regions of
Camerooun supply children trafficked to Nigeria.
Children are free to cross borders - Immigration
official
The Comptroller Nigeria Immigration Service at the
Seme border, Mr. C.J. Adike also spoke with Sunday
Vanguard.
He said " As far as we (immigration officials at this
border)are concerned, there has been no record
whatsoever of children being transported into Nigeria.
Records of what we have are movement of children and
their parents across the borders. Children are
normally accompanied by their parents or guardians and
once their parents or guardians pass the borders, then
the children will automatically pass too. Once they
can produce valid documents showing they are the true
parents or guardians.
By our records, there has never been any case of child
trafficking into the country at least via Seme border.
This does not however mean that there are no illegal
routes which such can be achieved. There were
thousands of routes where these criminals use to
perpetrate their nefarious activities.
Cooperation with Benin Republic : Mr. Adike said " In
terms of co-operation between Benin and Nigeria, we
have a bilateral security arrangement. For example, we
have a Joint Consultative Forum comprising all
security agents from Nigeria and Benin Republic. This
forum which comes up every month provides an avenue
where we exchange ideas on security tips to further
strengthen the already porous borders.
Suffice to say that there has never been complaints
from Benin Republic on child traffickers.
Our responsibility is not to determine the
relationship with the child. Our duty is to see that
the child is legally accompanied. However, if we see
them passing with four or more children, accompanied
by one person, we may probe further.
For instance, two weeks ago, a Ghanaian lady who is
married to a Nigerian took four of her children and
wanted to travel to Ghana. We queried her and she said
her husband died last year. We insisted that she
should get the relations of the dead husband to give
their consent to her travel plans . She did and she
was allowed to travel.
ECOWAS: Immigration Comptroller, Mr. Adike said "
Nigeria being a member of the Economic Community of
West African States has its international borders open
to members and we have not directed that children
should be prevented from travelling . There is no
directive to that effect.
Those who engage in human trafficking may have
succeeded in presenting valid travel documents and
once they do that, we would admit them as long as they
have the required travel documents.
However, if a traveller passes through an illegal
route, he or she if caught would be taken back to his
or her country but if a Nigerian is caught, he would
be sent back home.
Federal Government action:
In Abuja, the Federal Government is not unaware of
cases of child labour in Nigeria.
Recently, officials of the Government signed a
memorandum of agreement on Child Labour during which
Government indicated its willingness to support the
IPEC programme in Nigeria.
She went a step further to make a firm commitment to
the elimination of the worst forms of child labour,
when Labour Minister, Alhaji Musa Gwadabe who was
represented by the permanent secretary in the ministry
said during the 89th conference of the ILO in Geneva
last month that " Nigeria's commitment to the broad
and the specific goals of the ILO is self-evident in
the socio-political programmes of the present
administration in Nigeria. Nigeria has ratified five
of the eight core ILO Conventions. The ratification
process has commenced in respect of the remaining
Three core Conventions, namely the Discrimination (
Employment and Occupation) Convention ,1958 (No.111),
the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 ( No.138) and the
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 ( No.
182)".
Back home, Sunday Vanguard sought the views the
Nigeria Labour Congress on Child Labour.
The NLC's spokesman, Comrade Chris Uyot spoke with
Sunday Vanguard in Lagos.
What is the NLC's view of Child Labour?
"The NLC is concerned about the problem of child
labour. We are giving it all the attention it deserves
to ensure that this phenomenon is eliminated.
In the next few months, the NLC will begin a campaign
against Child Labour. Already, we have sensitized
union leaders and workers on this. It is time to being
campaigns with active seminars, workshops, posters,
banners, pamphlets etc. It is going to be very
intensive in the next few months.
We are also aware that some Non-Governmental
Organisations ( NGOs) in collaboration with the
International Labour Organization are also in the
campaign.
NLC is fully mobilized to fight the alarming rate of
child labour in Nigeria".
How pronounced is the problem in the formal sector
here?
Child Labour is not very rampant in the formal sector
as it is in the informal sector. We have been able to
tell our members to watch-out for cases of Child
Labour in the industries. The response we have
received point to the fact that it is not so rampant
in the formal sector especially where we have
unionised workers.
It appears though that the informal sector records
cases of Child Labour, why is this so?
I think it has to do with tradition and also the state
of the economy. For example, a lot of people run a
one- business and most times, it is family business.
The man may want his family to assist him at work or
in his trade. So, you have a situation where children
who are under-age are into carpentry, buying and
selling and the likes.
The emphasis here is that there is nothing wrong with
the child helping his father or mother to do a job on
the farm for instance but the child must be allowed to
go to school. There must be regulated hours of work in
a way that the child is not over-worked. There should
be time for leisure, reading and enough time to sleep.
Ques: What is the legal position on Child Labour?
There is really no law in Nigeria right now. Only that
the National Assembly is doing something in that
direction. We are also trying to put pressure on the
National Assembly to quicken the process of enacting a
law against child labour.
On a general note, the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria frowns at any form of
exploitation. There is a general provision in the
constitution that does not allow exploitation of
Nigerians but there is need for a concrete and concise
law that addresses the problem and sets out a time
frame to eliminate it.
How does the Congress view Nigeria's intention to
ratify Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst
Forms of Child Labour ?
Positive.
We are 100% in support of the Government's intention
to ratify the Child Labour Convention.
It has been discussed with organised labour and we
hope that at the next meeting of the National Labour
Advisory Council (a tripartite body of Government,
Private Employers and Workers)
the issue will be raised and addressed in a very
concrete manner. On the whole, we call on the
government to go ahead and ratify the Convention
because we believe it will go a long way in assisting
us in our plans to eliminate child labour here".
Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms
of Child Labour was ratified and adopted by the 87th
session of the International Labour Organization in
June 1999.
No fewer than 15 African countries including, Togo,
Ghana, Niger, Chad, Senegal and South Africa have
ratified the Convention.
Others include, Libya, Botswana, Central African
Republic , Namibia and Tunisia.
Nigeria indicated her willingness to ratify Convention
182 during the 89th session of the International
Labour Conference held in Geneva last month .
Mali, and more than 500 in Burkina Faso. The Nigeria
study included 7 focus group discussions. The outcome
was that, while in Kano and Lagos parents describe the
magnitude of child trafficking as not too much, in
other communities they declare it to be very high,
serious, even disturbing.
How the IPEC-ILO project conducted its research:
In Nigeria, interviews were held with 1400 school
children and 700 street children in seven towns. An
analysis of the results shows that 265 out of 1400
(19%) school children were trafficked and that 98% of
them had Nigerian nationality. This indicated that
most trafficking in Nigeria is internal. The large
majority was aged between 10 and 16 years (92%) and
the sex ratio was 40% male to 60% female. After school
hours, 71% of the children declared that they worked
for outsiders, mainly as street traders (54%). It
should be noted that 4 children declared that they did
not work after school and hence cannot be said to be
victims of trafficking.
Background of children trafficked : The IPEC-ILO study
also conducted a research into the family background
of the children
In general, it can be said that trafficked children
come from poor families living in rural areas. The
majority of parents are engaged in agriculture:
the Nigeria study shows that 88% of the street
children have fathers who are self employed. It does
not specify how many of them are in agriculture
in Benin, 78% according to the children, 90% according
to the parents;
in Burkina Faso, 65% of the fathers work in the
agricultural sector or are without work;
in Cameroon, 44% of the mothers and 34% of the fathers
work in the agricultural sector as well,
the parents of Ivorian domestic servants interviewed
earn their living through agricultural activities;
in Togo 87% of parents work in the agricultural
sector.
The Economic Dimension to Child Labour : What are the
monetary gains and who benefits?
According to the ILO report, profits are earned by
intermediaries.
"In Nigeria, 64 out of 265 (24%) trafficked school
children declared that the agent who placed them
received money, while 34% said the agent did not
receive any money.
In Benin Republic, it is very often the intermediary
that collects the salary of the child and, at the end
of the working period, gives the child a bike or a
radio. However, when a contract exists between the
employer and the child, the intermediary deducts one
or two month's salary every year.
In the Burkina Faso and Ghana reports, it is mentioned
that some girls hand over their "salaries" to their
'tanties' for safekeeping. Since it is the custom for
intermediaries to take the child's salary, it is
unlikely that the 'tanties' will reimburse the money".
How the children are recruited: The ILO report states
that most of the children are lured by promises of
better living standards for them and their families.
However, the methods of recruitment vary from country
to country.
"In Nigeria, they sometimes promise that, after a
specified number of years of service, the child will
be given a shop and the necessary residence permit. In
Ghana, domestics are given a sewing machine after some
years of service, whereas, in Togo, a bike or radio is
offered as compensation.
In Benin, for instance, the intermediary wins the
parents' trust by offering a small amount of money or
some pages, and convinces them to entrust their child
to him. He describes it as a way of improving the
living conditions of the whole family, and promises to
find him/her a job and to take care of him/her. This
way of recruiting is described in all the country
reports with small variants".
The attitude of Customs officials :
According to one of them, " we are not concerned about
the number of people travelling. Once you show your
travel papers and they are valid, you are allowed
entry into or outside Nigeria. It does not matter how
many people travel daily. Our duties have to do with
goods and human beings but if you want to know about
the number of people travelling, that is the business
of the immigration staff".
Sunday Vanguard's enquiries tallied with that of the
IPEC-ILO report which simply states that Customs
officials generally turn blind eye to cases of child
trafficking.
It states in details: It is known that there are
intermediaries from Cameroon going to Nigeria in
search of children. At the border, recruiters escape
scrutiny because Customs officers concentrate on
inspecting merchandise being transported and are not
concerned with the children crossing the border. In
some villages in the Northwest and Southwest of
Cameroon, intermediaries obtain the help of
traditional chiefs in the tasks of contacting families
for the purpose of recruiting children.
Points of recruitment and transportation : Unknown to
many Nigerians, child trafficking is big business in
many parts of Nigeria. Six states, Cross River, Imo,
Abia, Sokoto, and Rivers were identified as major
points of recruitment and transportation of children
for child labour.
The IPEC- ILO report states:
"In Nigeria, Calabar is a transit port for children to
be sent to Gabon or Cameroon and also for children
trafficked from Cameroon entering Nigeria.
Information obtained at the Calabar border AT the Seme
border for Nigeria and Benin Republic, a lot of
business transactions go on. Traders move in and out.
Some move in with children aged between six years to
15 years. These children usually look so unkempt. The
child traders, hardly ever have enough money to pay
for their transportation. So, the child or children
are sometimes kept in the boot of an open van which
usually conveys food items such as tomatoes, large
pepper, onions, yam etc. At other times, the traders
ask other women to help 'lap' the children. This is an
act of getting the child to seat on thighs of the
'kind' co-passenger. From then on the journey into an
unknown destination begins for the child.
Behind him, in Benin Republic is her / his family and
social life. In many cases, the parents consent to the
relocation of their children and in other cases, the
child has simply been kidnapped and is being taken
away. Such children are passed on to other adults as
labourers. They could be engaged in house-keeping,
trading, or even prostitution.
What is Child Trafficking? The ILO report explains
"Given the African practice of migration and the
placement of children with family members, it is
necessary to distinguish between children at work
place within this custom, and children that are
trafficked for labour exploitation.
For the transfer of children to be qualified as
trafficking, there should be:
the conclusion of a transaction;
the intervention of an intermediary;
the motive to exploit.
The term " transaction" refers to "any institution or
practice through which young people, below 18 years,
are handed over by either or both parents, or by a
guardian to a third person, whether for a fee or not,
with the intention of exploiting the person or the
work of the young person. There need not be any
payment made in exchange for handing over the child.
The very existence of an economic motive, i.e. cheap
labour for one party and a token sum or periodic
payments for the other (parents, or intermediaries),
is sufficient to make it a transactions."
Types of trafficking
The investigation conducted by the IPEC- ILO team
revealed six methods of trafficking children across
the borders. These are:
Abduction: Although in most cases children are
voluntarily handed over to, or themselves contact the
third parties, cases of children being abducted from
their homes for trafficking are on the increase.
Cases of kidnapping of children have been reported,
for instance, from Sokoto State, Nigeria, where the
children are sold to businessmen for amounts ranging
from N50,000 to N 100,000 Naira (US$500 - 1,000), to
be used as labourers or as ritual or sex objects.
Placement as sale: The child is handed over by the
parents to a third party for a set price. Parents are
promised that the child will be treated well and will
receive vocational training. Amounts paid vary between
10,000 and 100,000 FCFA (US$14 - 140) depending on the
country;
Bonded placement: Although the practice of offering
the labour of children as reimbursement for debt is
more widespread in South Asia, some cases of this have
been reported from Benin and Ghana.
Temporary placement: The child is handed over to a
third party for a set period of time, for a token sum
paid in cash or kind. The amount depends on the
duration agreed upon and the age of the child. The
intermediary collects the wages paid by the employer,
which he keeps for himself.
Placement as a service: The agent places the child at
the request of the parents, for a fee. The parents
also have to bear "handling costs". The Cameroon
report states that parents pay up to 100,000 FCFA
(US$140) for a child that is placed by a so-called
"matrimonial agency."
Placement as embezzlement: The child is handed over by
his/her parents to a third party who may be a
professional employment agent or an intermediary on
the understanding that the child will be sent to
school, receive vocational training and be taken care
of by the host household. Instead, the child is put
into paid work, which often offers no scope for skill
development. The intermediary collects the wages
directly form the employer and does not pay the
parents anything."
Nigeria: The IPEC- ILO findings on child trafficking
in Nigeria showed that : "In 1996, 4000 children were
trafficked from Cross River State to various parts of
Nigeria and to other countries". . Information given
by a policy maker in Abuja showed that the police
recorded 157 cases of child trafficking in 1987, 240
cases in 1988; 95 cases in 1989,204 in 1990 and 174 in
1991. the immigration service mentioned about 20 cases
of trafficking per month.
According to the information on trafficking provided
by the police headquarters in Calabar, there have been
13 cases of child stealing and 8 cases of kidnapping
between 1997 and 1999. The traffickers involved were
arrested and prosecuted. In a recent workshop held in
Nigeria on the subject of trafficking in women and
children, it was reported that 500 Nigerian girls were
practising prostitution in Bamako, indicates that
Akwa-Ibom, Abia, Rivers and Cross River State have
become the targets of modern child trafficking
syndicates. Lagos, being the largest city in Nigeria
is noted for children coming in from and going out to
neighbouring countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana.
One of the research officers posted himself at the
Seme border and observed at least five child labourers
leaving or entering the country every day. The
Nigerian report considers these movements to be cases
of trafficking, but it is unclear how they can
distinguish them from ordinary migration. There is a
record of 20 cases of child trafficking across borders
from Sokoto monthly. Area of location that are mostly
affected by child trafficking in Sokoto are Cinema,
Tundun Wada and Shehu Kangiwa Square".
In Nigeria, there is evidence that Akwa-Ibom State is
the biggest supplier of children, followed by
Cross-River and Imo state. There are reports of
kidnapping, sale and homosexual abuse of children in
the Sokoto State.
Specifically, the report states:
" The studies reveal that the most common routes are
as follows:
children from Togo are taken through Benin and Nigeria
to Gabon
*children from Benin are taken through Nigeria or
through Togo to Gabon, Burkina Faso and Cameroon
children from Mali are taken through Burkina Faso to
Cote d'Ivoire and the most important transit points in
Burkina Faso are Faramana, Bobo Dioulasso, Koloko and
Banfora
children from Nigeria and Benin are taken through
Cameroon to Gabon *children from Burkina Faso are sent
to Cote d'Ivoire , Ghana and Nigeria through Togo and
Benin.
The Northwest ( Mezam) and the Southwest regions of
Camerooun supply children trafficked to Nigeria.
Children are free to cross borders - Immigration
official
The Comptroller Nigeria Immigration Service at the
Seme border, Mr. C.J. Adike also spoke with Sunday
Vanguard.
He said " As far as we (immigration officials at this
border)are concerned, there has been no record
whatsoever of children being transported into Nigeria.
Records of what we have are movement of children and
their parents across the borders. Children are
normally accompanied by their parents or guardians and
once their parents or guardians pass the borders, then
the children will automatically pass too. Once they
can produce valid documents showing they are the true
parents or guardians.
By our records, there has never been any case of child
trafficking into the country at least via Seme border.
This does not however mean that there are no illegal
routes which such can be achieved. There were
thousands of routes where these criminals use to
perpetrate their nefarious activities.
Cooperation with Benin Republic : Mr. Adike said " In
terms of co-operation between Benin and Nigeria, we
have a bilateral security arrangement. For example, we
have a Joint Consultative Forum comprising all
security agents from Nigeria and Benin Republic. This
forum which comes up every month provides an avenue
where we exchange ideas on security tips to further
strenghthen the already porus borders.
Suffice to say that there has never been complaints
from Benin Republic on child traffickers.
Our responsibility is not to determine the
relationship with the child. Our duty is to see that
the child is legally accompanied. However, if we see
them passing with four or more children, accompanied
by one person, we may probe further.
For instance, two weeks ago, a Ghanaian lady who is
married to a Nigerian took four of her children and
wanted to travel to Ghana. We queried her and she said
her husband died last year. We insisted that she
should get the relations of the dead husband to give
their consent to her travel plans . She did and she
was allowed to travel.
ECOWAS: Immigration Comptroller, Mr. Adike said "
Nigeria being a member of the Economic Community of
West African States has its international borders open
to members and we have not directed that children
should be prevented from travelling . There is no
directive to that effect.
Those who engage in human trafficking may have
succeeded in presenting valid travel documents and
once they do that, we would admit them as long as they
have the required travel documents.
However, if a traveller passes through an illegal
route, he or she if caught would be taken back to his
or her country but if a Nigerian is caught, he would
be sent back home.
Federal Government action:
In Abuja, the Federal Government is not unaware of
cases of child labour in Nigeria.
Recently, officials of the Government signed a
memorandum of agreement on Child Labour during which
Government indicated its willingness to support the
IPEC programme in Nigeria.
She went a step further to make a firm commitment to
the elimination of the worst forms of child labour,
when Labour Minister, Alhaji Musa Gwadabe who was
represented by the permanent secretary in the ministry
said during the 89th conference of the ILO in Geneva
last month that " Nigeria's commitment to the broad
and the specific goals of the ILO is self-evident in
the socio-political programmes of the present
administration in Nigeria. Nigeria has ratified five
of the eight core ILO Conventions. The ratification
process has commenced in respect of the remaining
Three core Conventions, namely the Discrimination (
Employment and Occupation) Convention ,1958 (No.111),
the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 ( No.138) and the
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 ( No.
182)".
Back home, Sunday Vanguard sought the views the
Nigeria Labour Congress on Child Labour.
The NLC's spokesman, Comrade Chris Uyot spoke with
Sunday Vanguard in Lagos.
What is the NLC's view of Child Labour?
"The NLC is concerned about the problem of child
labour. We are giving it all the attention it deserves
to ensure that this phenomenon is eliminated.
In the next few months, the NLC will begin a campaign
against Child Labour. Already, we have sensitized
union leaders and workers on this. It is time to being
campaigns with active seminars, workshops, posters,
banners, pamphlets etc. It is going to be very
intensive in the next few months.
We are also aware that some Non-Governmental
Organisations ( NGOs) in collaboration with the
International Labour Organization are also in the
campaign.
NLC is fully mobilized to fight the alarming rate of
child labour in Nigeria".
How pronounced is the problem in the formal sector
here?
Child Labour is not very rampant in the formal sector
as it is in the informal sector. We have been able to
tell our members to watch-out for cases of Child
Labour in the industries. The response we have
received point to the fact that it is not so rampant
in the formal sector especially where we have
unionised workers.
It appears though that the informal sector records
cases of Child Labour, why is this so?
I think it has to do with tradition and also the state
of the economy. For example, a lot of people run a
one- business and most times, it is family business.
The man may want his family to assist him at work or
in his trade. So, you have a situation where children
who are under-age are into carpentry, buying and
selling and the likes.
The emphasis here is that there is nothing wrong with
the child helping his father or mother to do a job on
the farm for instance but the child must be allowed to
go to school. There must be regulated hours of work in
a way that the child is not over-worked. There should
be time for leisure, reading and enough time to sleep.
Ques: What is the legal position on Child Labour?
There is really no law in Nigeria right now. Only that
the National Assembly is doing something in that
direction. We are also trying to put pressure on the
National Assembly to quicken the process of enacting a
law against child labour.
On a general note, the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria frowns at any form of
exploitation. There is a general provision in the
constitution that does not allow exploitation of
Nigerians but there is need for a concrete and concise
law that addresses the problem and sets out a time
frame to eliminate it.
How does the Congress view Nigeria's intention to
ratify Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst
Forms of Child Labour ?
Positive.
We are 100% in support of the Government's intention
to ratify the Child Labour Convention.
It has been discussed with organised labour and we
hope that at the next meeting of the National Labour
Advisory Council (a tripartite body of Government,
Private Employers and Workers)
the issue will be raised and addressed in a very
concrete manner. On the whole, we call on the
government to go ahead and ratify the Convention
because we believe it will go a long way in assisting
us in our plans to eliminate child labour here".
Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms
of Child Labour was ratified and adopted by the 87th
session of the International Labour Organization in
June 1999.
No fewer than 15 African countries including, Togo,
Ghana, Niger, Chad, Senegal and South Africa have
ratified the Convention.
Others include, Libya, Botswana, Central African
Republic , Namibia and Tunisia.
Nigeria indicated her willingness to ratify Convention
182 during the 89th session of the International
Labour Conference held in Geneva last month .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
150 Nigerian child slaves perish on high sea-OBASANJO
(Thursday, 19th July, 2001)
By Abayomi Adeshida
ABUJA - PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo said yesterday
that 150 Nigerian child slaves recently perished on
the high sea on the way to their masters in Gabon.
Receiving the out-going executive members of the
National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) who went to
honour him, he also told them the story of a Nigerian
who was "asked to pay $50,000 if she was to be
released by her final slave masters in Holland."
"Women trafficking, child labour, child abuse and
slavery should be given the desired attention by all
of us in spite of the efforts of the wife of the
Vice-President, Mrs. Titi Abubakar," he said, adding:
"I want to plead with you to take this as one thing we
must fight from inside and outside. Those who treat
your children as animals will look down on you. It
doesn't mater if you are president or minister," he
said. President Obasanjo further told NCWS that
government would soon provide mosquito nets as part of
the strategy to check mortality rate. I have ordered
the Minister of Health that from June next year, all
children who are five years and below must be sleeping
under mosquito nets."
Harping on the importance of women in the society, he
said "because I believe that women who form 50 per
cent of our population must be fully involved in our
developmental efforts for us to be able to make the
deprived progress as a nation.
"There is no way we can make a great leap forward if
for whatever reason we allow 50 per cent of our
population to languish in ignorance, illiteracy,
cultural oppression and in disenfranchisement.
"For me and my administration, uplifting the womenfolk
is a task that must be done. UBE will give our
daughters the advantage that they have often been
deprived of," he stressed.
Earlier in her speech, NCWS National President, Hajia
Zainab Maina implored the President to refocus his
administration's attention in the areas of safety and
security, improvement in social service delivery and
corruption. Prominent among the visitors were the NCWS
1st National Vice-President, Dr. Bolere Ketebu
Nwokafor, National Secretary, Mrs. Othman Yasmin,
former national presidents, Emily Aig-Imokhuede and
Hajia Laila Dongoyaro as well as representatives from
state councils.
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Association Against Women Export (AAWE)
