EXACTLY 70 years separate the July 26, 1953 suicidal attack on Moncada Barracks by Cuban youths who wanted to remove the military from power, and this Wednesday’s coup in Niger Republic which removed elected President Mohamed Bazoum and restored military rule. The coup plotters, styling themselves as the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said in a speech by Air Force Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane that their treasonable move “is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance”.

 Indeed, Niger, like many other African countries, is a paradox. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with 41 per cent of its 20 million people living on less than a dollar. It depends a lot on aid. Nigeria under former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 provided it with N1.4 billion worth of vehicles to run government and also took loans to build railway from Nigeria into Maradi in Niger Republic. Yet, it is rich in minerals such as oil, silver, salt gold, gypsum,coal, tin, iron ore, phosphates and uranium. Indeed, it has the fifth largest uranium deposits in the world. Its primary problem, like that of many African countries is that its wealth is controlled by foreign companies and countries.

Although bodies like the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and countries such as Nigeria, Benin, the United States of America and France have condemned the coup, the plotters are consolidating. In any case, who knows the backers of the coup? In the case of Cuba, six years after their first attempt, the youths led by colourful historical figures like Fidel Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos, Haydee Santamaria and Ernesto Che Guevera not only removed the military from power, but also disbanded it. In its place, flowered a new military loyal to the Cuban people. Since then, nobody has dared to organise a military coup in that country.

In contrast, within two decades of saying farewell to coups in Africa, they have simply multiplied. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who styles himself a Field Marshall, executed a brutal coup on July 3, 2013, murdered scores of Egyptians, allowed elected President Mohammed Morsi to die in prison due to lack of medical care and turned the country into a huge prison where the rule of law is not respected. Tragically, Sisi who also became Chairman of the African Union, is the toast of so-called advanced countries.

In Sudan, the military led by General Fattah al-Burhan in April 2019, imposed itself on a popular uprising. It then aligned itself with the rogue elements of the murderous Sudanese Arab Janjaweed militia, now renamed the Rapid Support Forces, to soak the country in the blood of its patriots. On April 15, 2023 the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed turned their weapons on each other, drenching the entire country in blood. Within three months of this senseless conflict, the Sudanese coup plotters have killed over 2,000, displaced 2.2 million people from their homes, forced about 550,000 into exile and with some 25 million people in desperate need of basic needs like food.

There have also been coups in Mali and Burkina Faso while there have been strenuous efforts not to classify the April 20, 2021 coup in Chad by General Mahamat Deby, as a coup. There is also the Ivorien President Alassane Ouattara imposing himself in October 2020 on the country through an unconstitutional third term and declaring himself re-elected with 95.31 per cent of the votes. What is this if not a coup? Coups succeed in Africa mainly because the people are alienated from the state and their leaders who are guarded by Praetorian guards. So all that is required, is for these guards to conspire, arrest the President, and a coup is on. That was what happened to Guinean President Alpha Conde in 2020 after he imposed himself for a third term. That is what happened this week to President Bazoum whose presidential guards put him under arrest.

In all these, the populace who are continuously pushed into extreme poverty by the programmes and policies of the government in power, hardly see the need to sacrifice their lives in defence of such governments. This is in contrast with the situation in Cuba since 1959 where anybody that dares to organise a coup, knows it has the populace to contend with as there would be massive resistance in the streets. I had concluded that a military coup is virtually impossible in Cuba when I visited the island as a young journalist in 1986. The first morning I went out in the streets, I came across columns of people in army uniform cleaning the gutters and emptying drains. I asked my Cuban friend who these people were and he confirmed they were serving soldiers. Later, I came across building sites and the builders were soldiers.

I asked my friend why soldiers were so deployed, and he answered that since the country was not at war, what else would the soldiers be doing? How will they earn their pay? I reflected that back home in Nigeria, the soldiers simply report at their offices, do some parade and go home. In the evenings when I went out, the Cuban government had bands in the streets with free beer and the people dancing. There were soldiers drenched in sweat drinking and dancing with no difference whatsoever from the rest of the populace, who back in Nigeria, are called ‘bloody civilians’.

I discovered that military service for Cubans from age 18 was routine, especially after high school or tertiary training. Even now, under its National Defence Act No. 75, Cubans routinely go for two-three year military training. So in a country where virtually every adult you meet has military training, which soldiers would be crazy enough to want to carry out a coup? This is beside the fact that unlike nearly all the armies in Africa, the Cuban army is pro-people and not neo-colonial. There is also the fact that the loyalty of the Cuban military to the elected government of the country, can be taken for granted.

This Wednesday evening, the Cuban Charge D’ Affairs, Pavel Bauza on behalf of new Ambassador Miriam Morales Palmero, filled in guests on the effects of the July 26 uprising and how Cubans despite over six decades of US sanctions and blockade, have built a country that cares for all its citizens. A country that provides one of the best healthcare systems in the world for all its citizens; in which the right to work and education are guaranteed and literacy is almost 100 per cent. As he spoke, I reflected that the antidote against coups, is the people.

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang has approved the appointment of former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi as his Honorary Adviser on Sports.

Mikel’s appointment was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere.

The 36-year-old was born in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.

The former Chelsea star started his career at local club, Plateau United, before moving to Norwegian outfit, Lyn Oslo at the age of 17 in 2004.

Mikel had an illustrious career winning multiple titles with Chelsea, including the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

The former midfielder represented Nigeria for 14 years, winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mikel represented Nigeria 91 times and scored six goals.

He quit the round leather game in 2022.

Following Super Falcons’ remarkable 3-2 win against Australia at the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Thursday, here is highlights key talking from the game.

Randy Waldrum displayed his ruthlessness again.

The American showed bravery in his starting line-up by naming captain Onome Ebi on the bench in Super Falcons’ opener against Canada. Instead, he paired young defender, Oluwatosin Demehin with Osinachi Ohale in central defence.

The 66-year-old also started a green horn, Deborah Abiodun in defensive midfield against the Olympic champions.

Against Australia on Thursday, Waldrum was also brave enough to name experienced winger, Francisca Ordega who under-performed against the Canadians among the substitutes. He also stuck with Demehin in central defence.

Toni Payne is ‘madam’ versatile

The Sevilla of Spain star is no doubt a blessing to the team due to her versatility. Payne was deployed at right-back at the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Against Canada last week Friday, head coach, Randy Waldrum pushed her to the right-wing and she was excellent all through the game.

She put up a sublime display in central midfield against Australia at the Lang Park, Brisbane on Thursday afternoon.

Chiamaka Nnadozie proves her class again

The talented goalkeeper kept the Super Falcons in the mix with a number of vital saves early in the game. She was unlucky not to keep out Emily van Egmond’s opener for Australia late in the first half.

The Paris FC goalie has been an ever reliable star for the Super Falcons.

Osinachi Ohale catches the eye

The 31-year-old won the Player of the Match award. The experienced centre-back like in the previous game organised the defence with dexterity.

She made two tackles, four clearances and scored once.

Ifeoma Onumonu struggles again

The Gotham FC forward once again failed to impress in the green and white colour of Nigeria. Onumonu got the nod to lead the Super Falcons attack in place of Asisat Oshoala but was anonymous in the 63 minutes she spent on the pitch.

United Nations (UN) secretary-general Antonio Guterres demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Niger’s President Mohammed Buzoum as military officers continue to hold the democratically-elected leader captive declaring a coup.

A group of officers from all branches of the military made the television announcement late on Wednesday, after members of the president’s own guard detained him inside his offices in the capital Niamey.

According to news reports, the attempted coup does not have the backing of the entire military, but the head of the army has announced that he supports the move.

Guterres, addressing reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, again strongly condemned the attempted military takeover and the assault against the democratically elected government.

The UN supports the efforts of the West African bloc ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) to restore democracy.

President Bazoum issued a defiant tweet of his own on Thursday, saying that “the hard-won achievements would be safeguarded. All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom will see to it.

Guterres said he had spoken to the president on Wednesday to express the UN’s full solidarity.

Addressing the coup plotters in Niger directly to camera, the UN chief demanded they stop obstructing democratic governance, and respect the rule of law.

After coups in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso in recent years, provoked by the rise of jihadist terrorist groups across the entire Sahel region, the secretary-general noted that the events in Niamey were part of “a disturbing trend”

“Successive unconstitutional changes of government are having terrible effects on the development and lives of civilian populations.

“This is particularly glaring in countries already affected by conflict, violent extremism and terrorism, as well as the devastating effects of climate change.”

The UN’s human rights chief Volker Türk said in a tweet that he was “shocked and distressed” by the coup attempt, adding that every step must be taken to restore constitutional order.

Assistant inspector-general of police (AIG) in charge of Zone 9, AIG Echeng Echeng, has charged police personnel in Imo State to neutralise IPOB/ESN elements enforcing the illegal sit-at-home directive.

Echeng gave the charge during a familiarisation tour of the Imo command in Owerri yesterday.

The AIG said the police would apply a stringent approach to fight insurgency, terrorism and other criminal activities within the zone.

“I will continuously ensure that we take the fight to those who do not want peace. There is nothing anybody can do without security.

“The economy of the state will not be affected by a group of miscreants who think they have control,” he stated.

Echeng, who advised the residents to go about their normal businesses, reiterated the readiness of his men to sustain peace and provide adequate security for the people of Imo, Abia and Ebonyi States.

“We will continue to partner with other security agencies in the state to ensure that those planning to enforce the sit at home order are surely dealt with.

“Imo people deserve better than what they are getting now.

“They deserve peace, adequate security, economic growth and stability; and this we assure them,” Echeng noted.

Earlier, the state commissioner of police, Mr Mohammed Barde, said the command had continued to battle IPOB/ESN with a view to bringing their activities to an end.

“So far, we have been winning the battle.

“The strategies adopted by the command have helped drastically to cut down violent crimes in the state to the barest minimum. I am delighted to inform you that the general security in the state has improved.

“The command is working assiduously and determined to improve on the records already achieved so that the people of the state can enjoy relative peace,” Barde stated. (NAN)

Scathing public criticisms have continued to trail the written address presented by the APC lawyers at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC). It is common knowledge that President Bola Tinubu failed to score 25 per cent of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in the last February 25 Presidential election, as required by section 134 of the Electoral Act 2022. Despite the failure to satisfy this requirement, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu (who allegedly is currently under investigation for how he spent over $50 million in donations from the U.S. and the European Union in organizing the most fraudulent election in Nigerian political history), rushed out in the night while Nigerians were still asleep to announce Tinubu as the purported winner of the February 25 Presidential election.

However, in their written address rounding off their entire defense before the PEPC, learned counsel for President Tinubu submitted that any interpretation of section 134 to the effect that Tinubu must score 25 per cent of the votes cast in the FCT to become President is, inter alia, a recipe for chaos and anarchy in Nigeria. In summary, President Tinubu’s lawyers argued that any interpretation of section 134 requiring Tinubu to score 25 per cent in the FCT would “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy, and an alteration of the very intention of the legislature.”

In denouncing the statement as cheap judicial blackmail and a threat to the rule of law, some Nigerians argue that it is a pre-emptive move by the APC to intimidate the PEPC to deliver judgment in its favor. In their reaction, the PDP stated among other things: “The statement by the lawyers in the said written address, threatening crisis and anarchy in the country in the event of the court ruling that their clients did not meet the Constitutionally required 25% votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is subversive, an affront to democratic order, and an assault on the corporate existence of the nation…the threats, either through counsel or officials of the APC, are calculated to intimidate and harass the judiciary and indeed Nigerians…The APC must, therefore, respect the provisions of the law and allow the judiciary to discharge its duties independently, without threats, intimidation, and coercion.”

Without delving into the merits or demerits of Peter Obi & others V INEC & others and Atiku & others V INEC & others, since these cases are still sub-judice, may I respectfully say that it is very unfortunate that Tinubu’s lawyers should utter such contemptuous, disrespectful, and derogatory statements capable of bringing the entire judiciary into public odium. It is sad that the Nigerian judiciary has been constituted into an object of derision by some learned Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) who ought to labor to maintain the prestige of the judiciary.

For example, not long ago, a lawyer in the law firm of a very respectable Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) telephoned their would-be client, telling them that their law firm never loses any law case in court and that most Nigerian judges are more or less in the bidding of their law firm. Imagine the arrogance. Sadly enough, till date, no disciplinary action has been brought against the SAN or his law firm. Where is the much-vaunted ethics guiding the practice of law? Where is the ingrained tradition of the Bar dictating that lawyers should be singled out from the rot by their candor, decency, gentility, and ethics?

No lawyer or group of lawyers representing their client in court should give the impression that they are omnipotent and omniscient and that everything that falls off their mouth is the correct position of the law. Only God is omnipotent and omniscient. Like all mortals, lawyers also have their feet of clay. In the temple of justice, no lawyer is infallible, in the same way, it could be said that no judge is infallible. This was why Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa (of blessed memory) reiterated the famous quotation in the landmark case of Adegoke Motors vs. Adesanya, “We are final not because we are infallible; rather, we are infallible because we are final.” So, lawyers appearing before the court should live in self-effacement in representing their clients in court.

As officers in the temple of justice, they should refrain from prosecuting their clients’ cases with misplaced over-zealousness to the detriment or scuttling of justice. Their duty to the court is to assist the court in presenting facts and adducing the necessary evidence, which could aid the court in arriving at substantial justice.

Consequently, I respectfully urge the PEPC to ignore the aforesaid offensive portion of the written address of APC lawyers. To begin with, the Supreme Court has held that a written address does not take the place of evidence. Curiously, during the trial, the APC lawyers kept on saying that they would adduce legal reasons why they objected to the numerous documents tendered in court. Paradoxically, rather than adduce such reasons in their written address, they were making conjectural ad hominem arguments that appealed to sentiments and emotions. Anyway, cases are not even won in court on the brilliance of a written address but the brilliance of evidence. In other words, no matter how brilliant a written address is, it cannot take the place of evidence.

Therefore, the PEPC should not be deterred by any open or veiled threat contained in any written address. The essence of the legal system is justice. Justice denied is judiciary aborted. Therefore, the PEPC should not be afraid of doing substantial justice in the election petitions before it. “Fiat justicia ruat coelum” (Let justice be done though the heaven fail).

Judges are called good because of their justice. Without justice, it will be impossible to promote societal aims. “Remove Justice,” said Saint Augustine, “what are kingdoms but great robberies.” For Justice Chukwudifu Oputa (of blessed memory): “Injustice breeds intolerance, violence, and social disorder; in the same way, justice brings along with it the blessings of peace and mutual understanding.” Small wonder Cicero praises justice to high heavens by stating that “the brightest of virtues shines above all in justice.” So, contrary to the threats of Tinubu’s lawyers, justice does not lead to chaos and anarchy in society. Rather, justice, as Justice Oputa stated, breeds blessings and peace.

The so-called Nigerian question revolves around the failure to do justice. If every Nigerian is given his or her due in the scheme of things in Nigeria, there would probably be fewer social discontent and social strife in Nigeria. So, the PEPC should do substantial justice in the cases currently before it. It should not be afraid to do what has not been before in Nigeria. The law is an ass. If, for example, the Petitioners have proved that President Tinubu did not meet the requirements of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, the PEPC should courageously come to that conclusion without any equivocation, no matter whose ox is gored. Nobody is above the law of the land.

The PEPC should be reminded that it is the cynosure of all eyes at the moment. The whole world is looking at the PEPC to do substantial justice in the election petitions before it. Therefore, the PEPC cannot afford to disappoint the whole world. The PEPC should remember that it is accountable to the Nigerian people, not to any political party, let alone any presidential candidate, in terms of its overall performance and in meeting the justice needs of the people in a timely and efficient manner. It must, therefore, interpret the law in a way that fulfills the needs and aspirations of the Nigerian people, as envisioned in sections 13, 14 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c) of the 1999 Constitution. It must not only dispense justice but must also be seen by the anxious public to manifestly dispense justice. This is why Lord Hewart, the then Lord Chief Justice of England, laid down the dictum in the case of Rex v. Sussex Justices, [1924] 1 KB 256, that “it is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.” The essence of the need for justice to be manifestly seen to be done was observed by Master of the Rolls, Lord Denning, in Metropolitan Properties Co (FGC) Ltd v Lannon when he stated: “Justice must be rooted in confidence, and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: ‘The judge was biased.'” To date, the public constantly refers to Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, who came fourth in the last Imo State Gubernatorial Election, as the “Supreme Court governor” because they feel that the Supreme Court was wrong in imposing him on the people of Imo State.

Therefore, the PEPC must brave all odds and endeavor to do substantial justice in the election petitions before it. Until now, the judgments of the Supreme Court, especially its recent ruling in the high-profile political cases of Ihedioha V Hope Uzodinma, Lawan V Machina, and Godswill Agbabio V Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others, are understandably attracting strong, passionate, and scathing public criticisms. Members of the public are holding their heads in shame and stating that justice has departed from the Supreme Court, and all that is left in that Court are open robberies. Their hope in the Supreme Court as the bulwark of justice and an unbiased arbiter in the causes of the citizenry, amid the balkanizing influence of corrupt politicians and public figures, rightly or wrongly, seems to be shattered. In a nutshell, the confidence of the public in the Supreme Court as the last hope of the common man has considerably and regrettably waned.

The international community is disappointed that the Nigerian Supreme Court Justices is slavishly adhering to technical legalisms and formalism at the expense of substantial justice. This is why seven members of Nigeria’s Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Olukayode, have been issued a visa ban by the United States government following their judgments in the aforementioned cases. While not rationalizing the visa ban because the U.S has no right to dictate to our Supreme Court the manner in which to deliver their judgments, the visa ban speaks volumes about the social stigma and public opprobrium in which judges (and, in fact, members of their respective families) suffer when they deliver unjust and inequitable judgments.

Therefore, the PEPC judges should save themselves and their respective families from excoriating public criticisms and social stigmas associated with delivering unjust and iniquitous court judgments. They should adorn the breastplate of integrity, transparency, discipline, impartiality, and honor in the discharge of their duty to enhance judicial efficacy and efficiency and to bolster public confidence in the Nigerian judiciary.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has announced the names of the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the 134 House Standing Committees.

Abbas, who announced the constitution of the Committees at the tail end of Thursday plenary on Thursday, named Hon. Abubakar Bichi as Appropriations Committee chairman; Hon. Babajimi Benson – Defence Chairman; Hon. Regina Akume, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Committee chairman.

Hon. Muktar Betara is appointed to chair FCT Committee; Hon. Yusuf Gagdi – Navy; Idris Ahmed Wase – Federal Character, while Hon. Bamidele Salam of the PDP is Chairman of Public Accounts Committee, and Hon. Wole Oke will chair Judiciary Committee.

Others are Hon. Adamu Tanko – Diaspora; Hon. Okonta Chris – Climate Change; Hon. Chris Ogene – Renewable Energy; Hon. Bello el-Rufai – Banking Regulations, and Hon. Ibrahim Bukar-Ibrahim – Rural Electrification, among others.

The Federal Government has raised the alarm over the growing trend of child labour in the country.

DAILY POST reports that the government raised the concern during the celebration of the 2023 World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) when it dropped a staggering figure of 43 percent as the number of Nigerian children that are engaged in child labour.

The revelation has since become a talking point in certain quarters, with some people equating the scourge to modern day slavery.

The development also calls to mind the humanitarian work of a British crusader, William Wilberforce, who championed the campaign against slave trade in the early 19th Century.

His regard for the sanctity of human life was the driving force behind his campaign to end slavery at that time. Slavery reduced humanity to nothingness and human lives were valueless.

In fact, the society was a quintessence of the famous English philosopher, Thomas Hobbs’s picture of life in a state of nature – short, nasty, poor and brutish. So, in 1807, when an Act for the abolition of slave trade came into force, it was a big relief to most African countries, especially those that were under the British colony.

But, human beings in their wicked nature would not give up so easily. They quickly cashed in on the high level of poverty among Africans, particularly Nigerians to begin to exploit children by engaging them in chores and works meant for the adults.

The practice became so rampant that it began to assume the dimension of slavery. It may not be an outright sale of human beings for cheap labour but it has the entire semblance of that. It could be said to be slavery in disguise.

And to address the evolving ugly trend, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2002, declared June 12 as the WDACL. It was to focus attention on the global extent of child labour, the action and efforts needed to eliminate it, and ever since then, it has been a yearly event across the world.

Child labour deprives children of education and opportunity and stacks the odds against them securing a decent income and stable employment as adults. The celebration is intended to serve as a catalyst for the growing worldwide movement against child labour.

So, when the Federal Government, through the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Daju Kachollom, dropped the bombshell that an estimated 43 percent of Nigerian children between the ages of five and 11 actively participate in economic activities, including the worst kinds of child labour, it immediately called to mind the ugly days of slavery.

Describing child labour as a serious issue that impacts millions of young people globally, Kachollom equally noted that it violates the fundamental rights to education, health, mental and moral growth of children, as well as a childhood free from all sorts of exploitations.

The 2023 celebration, themed: “Social Justice for All. End Child Labour,” was intended to reawaken consciousness of the problem and to re-energise international movement for social justice and the abolition of child labour.

She reiterated the government’s commitment to eliminating the dangers of child labour, noting that 39 percent of the children engaged in child labour work in dangerous industries like mining, granite quarrying and building construction, as well as engage in commercial sexual exploitation, armed conflict and occasionally, becoming victims of trafficking.

Analysts are of the view that there is an urgent need to review the national policy on child labour and the national action plan on the elimination of child labour.

This, they argued, would mainstream child labour into the Labour Standards Bill, including the adoption of 15 years as the minimum age for employment of children among others.

Checks by the DAILY POST revealed a growing cartel and network of men and women across the West African coast, which employs the services of under-aged children and ferry them across to Nigeria for various cheap labour.

Most of them work as nannies, housemaids, washer men/women, hawkers, security guards, as well as labourers in building sites across Lagos and other states of the federation.

Investigations have also shown that the bulk of these innocent children are from Togo, Benin Republic, Sierra-Leone and sometimes, Ghana.

Most often, they are willingly contracted to merchants or slave masters by their parents, who in turn, receive peanuts from the masters at the end of every month.

A large number of these under-aged children are found mostly in building sites and elites’ homes as domestic servants across most states in Nigeria, including Lagos.

A casual visit to some of the emerging towns in Lagos such as Lekki and Ajah among other fast growing urban and sub-urban centres in Lagos brings to fore the reality and gravity of the problem at hand.

They mix cement and gravel and serve the mason using head pans. They also carry blocks, which they serve the bricklayers on their heads. They don’t have any permanent address. Wherever they are building a new structure automatically becomes their new abode.

They look haggard, unkempt, malnourished and lethargic whenever one comes across them. Their condition is pitiable but they are helpless. They have been given away by their parents or wards in exchange for a peanut.

Expectedly, child development experts are in total agreement with the Permanent Secretary, Kachollom, who listed poverty, cultural and religious factors, poor educational system, inadequate social protection systems and wrong perception of the negative effects of child labour as some of the hindrances to ending child labor in Nigeria

Apart from reiterating the government’s commitment to creating initiatives that would end child labour, she equally listed other plans by the government to include engaging in advocacy interventions as a way of encouraging government at all levels and policymakers to enact and enforce laws that protect children from exploitation and ensure access to quality education.

She also noted that efforts were being made to help community-based groups carry out programmes aimed at preventing child labour, rehabilitating victims of child labour, and empowering households that are at risk of it.

A building contractor, Romanus Okoye, noted that most kids who work at building construction sites across Lagos were mostly from neighbouring Togo and Benin Republic.

“Most times, they come through a network. In fact, I refer to it as an extension of the ancient slave trade.

“Simply put, it is modern slavery. From my investigation, their fathers are often the ones who give them out to be used as child labourers. The parents are paid a token from whatever the middleman gets from whomever that is using the child.

“They are mostly used for manual labour, domestic chores or even street hawking. I know of a few networks in some parts of Lagos State. I think it has really gone all over. It is a trade that is done underground; just like the slave trade.”

However, there are others who use a different lens to view what is happening.

To this group of people, the kids are simply learning the art of craftsmanship.

For them, they are only being exposed early in life to learning the skills of building; they see nothing wrong in that.

But, there are others who refuse to follow the argument that they are just learning a craft at an early age. Those on this divide insisted that the children were only being used as cheap labourers.

One of the proponents of this group, a social critic, Godwin Onatade, argued that if they wanted to learn any craft, they should first, get formal education, which would help them to make good choices of what they want to be in life.

“The surprising thing is that these little kids ought to be somewhere in school to get formal education first and know if their calling is in the craft work or white collar job.

“A child should be given a free hand to decide what profession to take on in life. Their age ranges from five, six and up to 13. The main person that brought them to the site will release money to the eldest among them to provide meals to the others.

“Most times, they just cook beans and eat it with garri at the site. They also live on the site, sometimes in the open. They live in the houses still under construction starting from the period of foundation to the roofing level,” he stated.

Commenting on those engaged as domestic servants/workers at a very tender age, he said: “What would you say about a little boy or girl of less than 10 years who is employed to carry out such tedious domestic works as washing clothes, cleaning and mopping the house, washing plates, and washing cars among other domestic chores meant for grown up?

“Would you also say that such kids are learning a craft? No, it is pure child abuse and slavery. And they do it because they pay next to nothing to these kids unlike when a mature person is engaged to carry out such duties.

“So, it is just an unfortunate situation that calls for every well-meaning individual to speak out against.”

Osita Osemene is the Coordinator of the Patriotic Citizens Initiative, an organisation that is at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking, sexual exploitation and child slavery, among other forms of inhuman treatments against humanity.

Lending his voice to the discourse, he described child labour as a wicked and terrible act.

“It is simply man’s inhumanity to man. You can imagine recruiting children at that age usually from the age of six to 10 years, bringing them for cheap labour to work as bricklayers and all sorts of work.

“It is true that many are from Togo and Benin Republic, but there are quite a large number of them who are Nigerians,” he said.

What is the way out of the ugly development?

Osemene volunteered: “Already we have been trying in our own small way by collaborating with an agency like the National Agency for the Prohibition and Trafficking in Human Persons (NAPTIP) to bring this kind of ugly trend to a stop.

“We have a network for the eradication of child abuse and labour. My organisation is collaborating with them. It is even being supervised by the NAPTIP.”

Osemene noted that his organisation and NAPTIP alone would be unable to do the work, and called on all hands to be on deck.

“We are working but the issue is that the work is not enough. The incident is so rampant that it is happening in different areas at the same or different times and we cannot be everywhere. But, the ones we can see, we will talk because people must be aware,” he said.

He also advised parents to always speak out when they see such things in their environment, even as he called on the concerned authorities to educate parents on what constitutes child labour.

“Another thing is that parents are making things more difficult. They see these things as a means of livelihood.

“We need to educate our parents very well to see the evil in this business. When they know, they can complain when they see these things around their environment.

“We can stem the tide through awareness creation. And the people who are into the business, when caught, should be seriously dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others,” he advised.

[DailyPost]