A Process To Stop Child Labour In Nigeria's Mining Sector Has Begun

The  Federal  Government  has  begun  a  process  to  discourage  and  stop  the  engagement  of  child  labour  in  the  nation’s  Artisanal  and Small Scale Mining  sub-sector  in  view  of  its  negative  effects  on  the  victims  and  the  nation’s  development.

 The  disclosure  was  made  by  Mr. Patrick Ojeka,  the  Assistant  Project Co-ordinator  of  the  World Bank  assisted  Sustainable Management  of  Mineral  Resources  Project  in  the  Ministry  of  Mines  and  Steel  Development  in  Abuja  at  a  one-day   National Stakeholders  Forum  on  the  elimination  of  child  labour  in  the  nation’s  Artisanal and Small Scale Mining  sub-sector  organised  by  that  office.

Mr. Ojeka  noted  that  the  issue  of  child  labour  is  a  global  phenomenon  which  has  received  attention  not  only  in  Nigeria  but  the  world  over  through  advocacies  by   local  and international  organisations  such  as  the  United  Nations,  International  Labour  Organisation, National Agency  for Prohibition  of  Trafficking  in  Persons  among  others.

The  Assistant  Project Co-ordinator  noted  that  the  International  Labour  Organisation  has  been  at  the  forefront  of  the  agitation   against  child  labour  through  the  enactment  of  various  instruments  of  mitigation.

He   added  that  to  address  the  challenge  of  child  labour in  Nigeria,  the  Child Rights  Act  had  been  enacted.

Mr. Ojeka  said  that  in  view  of  the  fact  that  many  disadvantaged  and  illiterate  children  were  engaged  in  Artisanal and Small Scale Mining  across  the  country,  the  Office  of  the  Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project  in  the Ministry  of Mines and  Steel  Development  engaged  the  services  of  a  consultant  to  work  on  the  issue  with  a  view  to  proffering  solutions  to  address  the  challenge.

He  added  that  it  was  the  findings  of  the  consultant  and  some  researched  papers  on child  labour  to  be  presented  at  the  workshop  that  the  participants  would  deliberate  upon  for  the  way  forward  in   addressing  the  challenge.

Stakeholders  from  ministries, non-governmental organisations, miners, international labour organisation  and  journalists  attended  the  workshop.

In  his  remarks  at  the  workshop,  the  National  President, Miners Association  of  Nigeria,

Alh.Shehu Sani  said  that  the  practice  of  Child labour  has  been  with  us  for  a  long  in  the  nation’s  Aartisanal and Small Scale Mining sub-sector.

 Alh. Sani  added  that  the  practice  is  popularly  seen  as  a  legitimate  means  of  earning  a  living.

He,  however,  noted  that  he  was  glad to  be  part  of  the  workshop  and  assured  that  he  would  disseminate  the  decisions  at  the  workshop  to  miners  across the  nation  for  implementation.

Mr. Krishnamoorthy  Kokkikatte, a technical  adviser  of International Labour Organisation, Ms Mimidoo Achakpa,  a  consultant  on  the  project  and  other  resource  persons  presented  the  papers  at  the  workshop. The  papers  presented  include:  A Technical  Study  on  Child Labour  in  Artisanal and Small Scale Mining in  15  States  in  Nigeria;  A Review  of  Existing  Policies  on  Child Labour  in  Nigeria  and  other  Countries;  Case Studies  of  Tanzania  and   Ghana.

Below  is  the communiqué  of  the  one –day  Stakeholders Forum:

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF A ONE-DAY STAKEHOLDERS’ WORKSHOP ON CHILD LABOUR IN ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING IN NIGERIA HELD ON WEDNESDAY 21^ST SEPTEMBER 2011 AT CHIDA INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, ABUJA

 Introduction

The Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development obtained a credit from International Development Association (IDA), part of which was used to commission a Consultant to carry out a baseline study on Child Labour in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Nigeria.

 A stakeholders’ workshop was convened where the findings of the report were presented to participants drawn from: Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Mining and Quarry Associations, Civil Society Organizations, Academia, the Media and International Development Partners.

 Observations

At the end of the workshop, participants made the following observations:

1. That the issue of child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining in Nigeria is endemic with poverty and ignorance as its underlying factors;
2. That policies abound on child labour issues in Nigeria; however, like other numerous policies in the country, implementation and enforcement have not been strong;
3. That many mining companies have failed to live up to their corporate social responsibilities to the communities;
4. That there is general ignorance on the rights of the child and the mining communities, as well as the effects of child labour on the nation’s development;

 Recommendations

Participants therefore recommended that:

1. Child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining can only be effectively tackled through a multi-stakeholder approach comprising government, private sector, CSOs and international development partners;
2. State governments should come up with Acts bearing in mind the peculiarities of their environments;
3. Soft loan facilities/skill acquisition centres should be provided to mining communities in order to alleviate poverty;
4. Companies should adhere to their Community Development Agreements (CDAs) to reduce poverty in the mining communities;
5. There should be implementation and enforcement of international and national child right regulations by relevant government agencies with CSOs monitoring;
6. The government and CSOs need to embark on aggressive sensitization and advocacy in order to increase awareness on the issue;
7. Artisanal and Small-scale miners should adhere and comply with existing laws and regulations;
8. Government should adequately fund the field officers in the respective ministries so as to effectively monitor the mining sites;
9. A strong pressure group should emerge from this meeting consisting of CSOs, development partners, Miners’ Association, Community leaders and the government to fight child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining in Nigeria;
10. The education curricula should be redesigned to enable products have the capacity to create wealth and contribute to national development;
11. An inter-ministerial committee on child labour for a multi-sectoral approach to tackle the issue;
12. A national data base on child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining in Nigeria should be established.