Child Labour in the Context of Globalisation in Nigeria

Abstract

The paper argues that the incidence of child labour in Nigeria has been heightened by globalisation, particularly the economic rationalism underlying it. Child labour is now a feature of urban dwelling in Nigeria where the sight of youngsters and children engaged in various forms of labour is quite common. Globalisation in this context is seen as that process of intense and in-depth international interaction, especially in economic matters, among nations of the world, including Nigeria. Thus, globalisation, manifested initially in the guise of the adjustment programme in Nigeria in the mid 1980s has since then grown to include the so-called post adjustment policies of privatization, deregulation, minimal state role or liberalization. The paper argues that child labour during globalisation in Nigeria has taken a new dimension in that the children engaged now are in it to augment the family income, and their population is quite enormous. Therefore, child labour is seen in the paper as the product of the coincidence between economic hardship or poverty and the survival of the family. To this end, policies aimed at eradicating or reducing child labour must also aim at improving the economic status of urban households. Therefore, the pursuit of an extreme economical and rational globalisation can hinder efforts at curbing child labour. The panacea may be for government to adopt a globalisation regime that allows big roles for the state in social provisioning.


The African Anthropologist Vol.10(2) 2003: 105-124