Appraisal of the Child Rights Act in Curbing Child Hawkers in Nigeria

Abstract

The use of children as hawkers is an age-old practise. Children as hawkers are considered one of
the major atrocities committed against children and referred to as child abuse or exploitation.
This vice does not end at mere hawking but extends to include other ills sometimes leading to the
death of the child as a result of their vulnerability and exposure to other possible dangers. Over
the years, there have been conscious efforts towards the protection of children generally from
various forms of abuse. While it seems some of these abuses are abated, there are still certain
challenges experienced by children in Nigeria and hawking is one of them. The paper examines
the laws applicable in Nigeria that addresses child abuse generally with focus on the use of
children as hawkers. The paper further analyses in detail, the impact of the Child Rights Act (CRA)
in curbing child labour and exploitation. It finds that the CRA and other ratified and domesticated
foreign instruments cater to the rights of the child and protects them from hawking. The paper
recommends the need for harmonisation of legislations on the minimum age to work, improvement
on implementation and enforcement of the various legislations to enforce child rights and curb
exploitative labour and child hawking.