Peer-reviewed article
Child Labour in Nigeria: Causes and Consequences for National Development
Adebola Tolulope Adeoti ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines child labour in Nigeria, identifying poverty as a root cause alongside illiteracy, unemployment, and polygamy. It documents various types of child labour that Nigerian children engage in and describes the health consequences they experience. The authors argue that tackling child labour requires government and development stakeholders to integrate child labour considerations into development policies and strategies.
Key points
- Poverty is identified as the central factor driving child labour in Nigeria
- Multiple causes of child labour identified include illiteracy, unemployment, and polygamy
- Child labour has documented health consequences for Nigerian children
- Various types of child labour are present in Nigeria despite existing legislative measures
- Child labour eradication is necessary for achieving sustainable development
Limitations
The document is a review paper that does not provide empirical data on prevalence rates, specific health outcomes, or the relative importance of different causes. It does not evaluate any intervention or programme designed to reduce child labour.
Abstract
Child Labour is a great concern in many Africa countries, Nigeria inclusive in spite of legislative measures. Child labour eradication has also been recognised as a necessity for the achievement of sustainable development. The paper reviews the factors that influence the use of child labour .The paper which argues that, at the heart of the problematic of the Child Labour is Poverty, also explains the health consequences of child labour in Nigerian children. The paper reveals the various types of child labour, which Nigerian children engaged in. The findings also identified; illiteracy, unemployment , polygamy and others as some of the causes of child labour in Nigeria. This study underscores the need for government at all levels and development stakeholders to mainstream child labour consideration in relevant development and management policies , strategies to effectively tackle child labour and create a pathway for the elimination of child labour.