Stakeholders team up to wage war against child labour in cocoa farms

Nigerian Stakeholders on Tuesday embarked on campaign against incessant forced child  labour in cocoa industry, a  forum, which detailed evidence of forced labor in the states of Cross River, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, and Oyo.

Penpushing reports that forum organized by the African Law Foundation (AFRILAW) in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) was held in Abeokuta.

The forum generated positive discussion among the public and important players about the elimination of forced labor and creating a better working conditions for workers in Nigeria’s cocoa sector, and decried the child abuse in cocoa farms.

Penpushing further reports that the forum equally revealed that in Ogun state most children are trafficked into the state through people they refer to as “agents” to work in these cocoa farm with no access to clean water or sanitation.

The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive of the National Human Rights Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, in his  remarks noted that there are currently 86.6 million child laborers in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that  two main causes of this in low-income and family poverty as well as inadequate school infrastructure.

Penpushing also reports that the Ogun State Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission, represented by Mrs Olayinka Odibe pointed out that Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child obligates state parties to recognize the child’s right to the right to be free from economic exploitation and to be shielded from work that could endanger their health, interfere with their education, or negatively impact their physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development.

‘We all know that forced labour is a violation of Human Rights where people are forced to do work that they have not agreed to, under the threat of punishment. Forced Labour is a contemporary form of slavery which contravenes Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria adopted in 1999 as amended’, she said.

‘Every individual is entitled to have respect for the dignity of his person. Section 34(1)(C) states that no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labor. The Ogun state government has also signed the child’s rights law which provides free and compulsory education for children whose child wishes to be forced to work, they want to be free from harm, safe and healthy; they want the sanctity of their morals preserved and respected’.

‘Any violation of these norms would have inherent elements of force and breach the fundamental rights of the child to proper education and development. Article ’32’ of the Convention on the Rights of the Child enjoins state parties to recognize the rights of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development’.

Penpushing reports that, Director and State Controller, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ogun State, Nnamdi Enuah, while contributing  assured that the ministry is already working diligently to address the threat through routine labor and factory inspections, adding that the ministry regulate and take serious actions whenever they receive a report or are confronted with a child or forced labor in any workplace.

The  National Coordinator, Child Protection Network Nigeria (CPN) Olakunle Sanni, responding to questions from participants tasked the Ministry of Labour and Women Affairs to go out to monitor the children and activities surrounding them.

‘The Ministry of Labour and Women affairs should  go out to monitor the children and activities surrounding them, that is their mandate, they cannot keep sitting down in  their offices waiting for people to come and report things to them’, Sanni said

Penpushing further reports that the Deputy Coordinator of Child Protection Network(CPN) Ogun State, Abosede Adeleke in her contributions  emphasised that the right that protects children is against forced labour because it does not help a child develop his or her potential rather lowers their self-esteem.

The Ogun State Chairman of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, Apostle S.T Williams said that while the abuse was not typical in their association, they would nonetheless go back to the villages to educate the farmers.

‘We shall go back to our various villages and do the campaign, I assure you that it is not common in our association because we have been telling our farmers that they should not use their children but instead spend their resources on educating them’, Williams stated.

‘What is happening is majorly caused by the state government because they are not helping the cocoa farmers in terms of funds and all necessary equipment to work. At the end of the day after processing the production they are left with little or no funds left for them, as a result instead of engaging labourers they prefer to use their children to minimize cost. But like I said its not common in our association, I want to call on the government to come to the assistance of cocoa farmers in terms of finance and other necessary things’.

Penpushing also reports that founder and Chief Executive Officer of the African Law Foundation, Barrister Okereke Chinwike urged the state government and other agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of forced and child labor within the industry as well as, raise awareness of the problem among cocoa workers and farmers.

‘They need to investigate and prosecute cases of forced and child labor within the industry, create awareness of the problem of forced and child labor among cocoa workers and farmers, they should also end all conduct and practices that constitute or result in forced and child labor by all cocoa farmers in Nigeria’.

‘They should also be ready to assist victims of child and forced labor. A collaboration with the business sector on the development and implementation of supply chain management systems that prevent and detect forced and child labor is also needed’.

Penpushing reports that the main highlight of the events was a presentation and review of the AFRILAW’s Research and Investigation Report titled “The Scourge of Forced Labour and Child Labour in Cocoa Supply Chain in Nigeria: The Research and Investigation Report on Forced Labour and Child Labour in Cocoa Industry of Nigeria”.

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