In
my previous posts, I published different articles and journals about Hawkers,
Reproductive health, hired helps in Nigeria and its relationship to child
abuse, but this topic has not in actuality acknowledged any consideration from
the federal government until just recently, when a ruling went into effect to
protect children/teenagers. If you
missed those posts, click on the links below.
Still,
this subject matter of street hawking and child abuse has continued to increase
among most Nigerians. We always see little children under the ages of 8 and 18
running and jumping like acrobats from one end of a junction to another using
the traffic as an advantage to sell their
products. Sometimes an accident is
inevitable. For others, another trap may stealthily stalk them, and that is
molestation (sexual abuse). Most susceptible are hawkers who are push into the streets
by various situations, other by parents or guardians who wants to market a
local product or out of share wickedness.
Some
awful people take advantage of this accepted practice of street hawking to
molest/hurt/kidnap these children, by luring them to their house/offices/hideouts
with the excuse of patronizing their products. Within a short while, the unsuspecting
innocent girl is sexually assaulted and threats of punishment would silence
them from speaking out. The penalty of these awful acts, as all of us may know regularly
result in an unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, psychological problems
(flashbacks are all too common), a gradual withdrawal from a healthy
relationship with the opposite sex and sometimes prostitution.
Is
there no way the Federal Government can abolish street hawking? I’m asking this
question because I personally regard it as child/teenage abuse, but other
people may see this trend as a way of a child helping out in the family. Let me
sincerely ask us one question, who are those who really benefits from street
hawking?
Are there no other ways of helping parents/guardian
at home without resorting to hawking snack, provitions, local food or pure
water on mean streets/traffic? I consider this is far worse than sending one's
child who is barely 7 years old to work as a servant in a far away city/land.
In
my university days, while relaxing in one of the classes in my department, a
hawker was approached by one of my classmates (or course mate as we popularly
call it in Nigerian universities). My classmate had the courage to request that
the girl hawker to remove her slippers/sandals before stepping into the
carpeted hall (which has not been properly cleaned in ages, oops!!!). The girl
complied and walked in class barefooted. I was so infuriated and rebuked him
(classmate) immediately, and quickly ordered her (hawker) to slip on her
footwear and walk into the classroom with it. I waited for him (classmate) to reaction
against me, because I was ready to pour out fire and brick stone at this Ghanaian
classmate of mine but he didn’t because he saw that two of my other Liberian
friends while on my side. When we critically look at this issue, you will
wonder, how these kind of people (my classmate as an example) would treat their
hired helps/maids.
From
my own point of view, since street hawking has not been abolished in Nigeria,
street hawkers deserve to be treated with respect and appreciation. After all
they are working hard to make a living. How would you like it if someone talked
about your job as if it's a job that no one deserves to have?
I
spoke on this topic in seminar/youth information and empowerment program with
some members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and got the following contributions
and reactions from them;
Funke Adebola
said this;
Child
abuse is one thing; street hawking is another. Our forefathers helped their
parents in the farm. Child abuse is not the same thing as helping your parent
to feed your junior ones. One is a crime, the other is life. Child abuse and
street hawking are two different things. Do not mix them up out of ignorance
and sentiments.
Christian Kalu
Replied her;
So,
you are in favor of street hawking by pre-teens? Have you ever thought of the
fallout that has resulted from street trading? I read that it has been banned
in Lagos, and of course, there are some who are adherently opposed to this
measure. Please, there are other alternatives to making money for our parents.
Street trading should not be of them.
OTHER PEOPLE
DIFFERENTIATE THE TWO BASED ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Christabel White
(from USA) said:
A
child who works in UK or America is
not being abused but the one who works in Africa is being abused. In America,
children under a specific age are protected by law not to engage in any manual
labor. As teens, they are entitled to a job, but are limited to a certain
number of hours per day, mandated by the law. Do we have so in Nigeria?
Hassan Mohammed (from
Nigeria) Replied
Nigeria
should not adopt the American version of child labor because there is a
marginal difference in the standard of living in those two aforementioned
countries.
SOME OTHERS
APPROVES STREET HAWKING
Deborah Suen
said;
I
am against child abuse, but street hawking is not necessarily a manifestation
of child abuse. Please allow the poor children to enjoy some dignity of labor.
At least they are working instead of stealing.
Amaka
Chinazaekpere replied;
Would
you consent to a 7 year old girl hawking bean cake (popularly called Akara
balls) on the harsh streets of Lagos because there is dignity in labor?
Chinedu Nsukka
also replied;
I
would object only for one reason: it's unsafe. I won't object to her helping
her mother out in a shop after school. The problem with child labor is that
parents can use their children as slaves. The solution is to make it
consensual. If a child wants to work, let the child work. And if she wants to
play, let her play. Consent is the problem. But sometimes, the kids can even
seek consent to go play ball and break neighbours windows and/or car windscreen
for the poor mother to replace and they stay at home for two weeks as the
little money required for their fares to school have been spent on their
playfulness. The kids can be kept off trouble and help mama selling, definitely
not at such a tender age of 7.
Dr. Fredrick
Akonsaya
I
guess the real problem is that kids in Nigeria have no rights. No one cares
about what they want. They are used as tools. What is the difference between
child abuse and street hawking in Nigeria? Behavior directed toward a child by
an adult that harms a child's physical or emotional health and development.
Child abuse includes four major categories: physical abuse, intimate abuse,
emotional abuse, and neglect. According to this definition, children street
hawking isnt child abuse - maybe we could say that the children are being used
for manual labour at an early age.
Well,
most families have no choice than to let their children see things in order to
feed them and maybe even pay their fees at school. I don't think street hawking
is child abuse because there are families who actually send their kids to
school, and they only go hawking after school and after homework.
The
other issue obviously would be most who send little kids like children less
than 15, i understand that most families don't have a choice. There are
families who have children living with them that are actually abusing their
kids without sending them to street hawk. There are people whose kids are living
with other family members as housemaids, then isn’t that even worse than street
hawking when they are abused emotionally physically or mentally. The bottom
line is that I don't think its abuse although there are issues where children
don't go to school but street hawk, then that could be an issue for the
government to deal with. I don't think street hawking is the same as child
abuse. There are too many poor families in Nigeria where the children will go to
bed hungry if they do not sell the goods their mum gave them to hawk because
the family literally lives on those daily sales. The mum is selling tomatoes
and pepper in the corner market; the kids are hawking plantain and eggs in the neighborhood.
Rather than blame poor people who have no options than to try to survive, we
should blame the corrupt politicians and civil servants who steal all the money
thus making life impossible for the poor masses.
An anonymous (from
Chicago) Replied:
What
about individual responsibility? People shouldn't be having kids they can't
take their off. why have a bundle of kids living in face-me i face-u. Family planning
is just awful in Nigeria. By hawking, these kids are prone to abuse.
Col. Bassey Akin
Edeth replied;
When
last where you in Nigeria? Contrary to your fantasies, family planning is
permeating most nooks and crannies at least of southern Nigeria including among
the poor and downtrodden. Point is - if dad is a mechanic or panel beater and
mum sells pure water at the market and they have only two [2] kids, what kind
of life do you think those 2 kids will have? Do you have any idea just how
tough things are for those at the bottom of the heap in Nigeria today? Do you
think the parent's combined income is enough for them not to send the kids out
to hawk? Here's a hint. Whenever the labour unions call a general strike e.g.
over fuel price hikes, by the evening of the first day, you'll see vulcanizers,
pure water sellers, yam sellers etc coming out to trade. They support the
strike - after all fuel prices affects them too but they need those daily sales
to survive. Too many families in Nigeria literally live from hand to mouth. What
they eat is what they sold or earned in that day. If they don't sell or earn,
they starve until the next day. People send their kids out to hawk knowing the
risk. But they have few or no options. They are not blind or silly - they know
what can happen to their kids. But they can't see what else to do.
In
that Chicago Southside where you are, black American women are having 10 kids
and living on welfare. The government complains. The whites complain on fox
news. But no govt. in America will dare cancel food stamps or Medicare just
because some people are abusing it. That is a caring society with responsible
leaders not like the thieves who rule Nigeria
Favour Babatunde
said;
Call
it anything you like. An 8 year old kid hawking on the streets and being
exposed to Ritualists, reckless drivers and intimate predators is child abuse. Parents
should take more responsibility. I know things can be hard in Nigeria but
making a kid do this to help feed the family that you decided to create is
child abuse. This is not 1803. Parents just do not want to change their views
and keep manufacturing children. The children should not have to pay for their
parents poor choices. Those parents should be punished for endangering these
children. What stops the parent from doing the hawking themselves? They can
work on the farm in the morning and then hawk the wares in the evening and then
at night they can make more babies if they want. It is called responsibility.
There is no rational justification for street hawking, it is child abuse by any
definition as there is no way shape or form of justifying children hawking on
the streets, hold ups/traffic.
CONCLUSION
You
have seen for yourself that everybody has his or her own point of view in this
subject (child abuse and street hawking). Don’t be left out, you are free to
place your comments below and let the world know your own view.
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