The Ban On Employment Of Under-12 House-Helps In Nigeria

In a long overdue move, the Federal
Government has prohibited the
employment of children below the age of 12
as domestic helps in a new Act signed by
President Goodluck Jonathan. Christened the
Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition)
Enforcement and Administration Act 2015,
the new law recommends a prison term of
two years and a possible fine for violators.
The law also prohibits the exploitation of
domestic helps who are under 18 years.
This law is a huge relief to parents and the
many governmental and non-
governmental agencies that have engaged
in advocacy for the rights of children,
especially, the girl-child. The long history of
abuse of this category of children is an open
secret in the country. The question had
always been when the country would rise
in the defence of these vulnerable children?
Thank God, a reprieve has finally come their
way.
To be sure, the situation has always been a
complicated one. The exigencies of modern
living and the rise in the incidence of
working mothers have ensured that
domestic helps would be needed to help
with house chores. Hence, working couples
go all out to find the much-needed support.
In the process, children who themselves
sorely need parental care and mentoring are
brought into new homes to perform
omnibus assignments for miserly fees that
are hardly commensurate with their
exertions.
Of course, the phenomenon of under-age
help is linked to the high incidence of
physical, mental and, sometimes, sexual
abuse of the unfortunate children. Sadly,
too, the adult male helps have been known
to subject innocent children who they are
supposed to care for to all kinds of sexual
and physical abuse. Otherwise, in the not
so distant past, the preference was for the
use of grown teenagers or adults who were
mostly relatives of their employers, who
mostly treated them as members of their
families. The rights to freedom and
education of the older house helps were at
that time mostly preserved.
Not anymore. These days, these young
children are denied education and other
basic freedoms. They are locked in their
new homes and mostly restricted to their
strict regimens. They are at the mercy of
their bosses, denied access to education
and other basic liberties—all for a pittance.
Nigeria as a signatory to the Child Rights Act
could not have continued to turn a blind eye
to this unwholesome development. On the
contrary, government must be seen to
protect the interest of its most vulnerable
citizens. This is the benefit of the new law,
and we commend government for the bold
initiative.
Some may argue that the penalty does not
go far enough. But the truth is that no right
thinking citizen would want to go to jail on
account of a breach of this social law or live
with the odium it would bring. The truth, as
we argued earlier on, is that the average
Nigerian is his brother’s keeper. The new
phenomenon of child exploitation and abuse
is a relatively new one which we hope the
new law will curb.
Come to think of it, who in their right
senses would want to employ a 12-year
old? And what manner of chores can their
energies and little experience afford? These
are some of the deeper considerations that
should support the new law. Such children
ideally should be with their parents and pur­
suing their dreams of a glorious future.
When parents are unable to provide them
with these basic rights, those who step in
should adopt them as children and afford
them these dreams as they would their
own biological children. When this is not
possible, they should please leave the
minors alone.
And, this is where our governments,
charitable organisations and philanthropic
individuals come in. In the modern world,
wealth is no longer measured in cash, but
by the amount of good works done with it.
We are glad that the awareness is gradually
dawning on our governments and people,
but there is still a lot to be done. The rights
of children, especially vulnerable children,
must be protected by all if we hope to make
the transition into the comity of civilised and
advanced nations. This is what we believe
our governments, in conjunction with all
well meaning citizens, must do.