The Rauf Aregbesola-led government in Osun State has read the riot act to those it said are involved in child labour and trafficking in the state.
According to a statement made available to PMParrot and signed by the state’s Information Commissioner, Mr Adelani Baderinwa, the government said it has noticed that some individuals are bringing underage children from neighbouring towns into Osogbo to hawk and collect alms.
Read the full text of the government’s statement here:
It has come to the notice of the State Government of Osun that some individuals are bringing underage children from the neighbouring towns and communities to Osogbo, the state capital to hawk on the street and collect alms.
The Government has it on good authority that these children usually brought to Osogbo in the morning and taken back to their various communities at evening time after they might hawked and collected alms for the impious individuals that brought them. This is a clear evidence of child abuse!
We strongly warn against this criminal and heinous practice that is fast becoming rampant in the state. The government considered it unreasonable, insensitive and outright disregard to the dignity and rights of the children for their parents to release them or put them on the streets of Osogbo to hawk at a time when ritual killings and kidnapping is on the rise. It is not even safe for the lily-livered to hawk on the streets where we have heavy vehicular movement where they can be easily knocked down on the roads.
The government sternly called on these set of un-caring parents, guardians and selfish individuals to desist from the uncivilized and barbaric practice.
As a government, we have put in place necessary laws to prevent child labour and street hawking, and we have equally domesticated the Child Rights Law. Also, the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act is in existence. All these laws will be brought to bear full weights on the violators and offenders.
The government is making frantic effort to make sure that people are aware of the laws through various awareness programme and public enlightenments. We urged the security agencies in the state not to leave any stone unturned in ensuring that the violators of the laws are apprehended and brought to justice.
Children are regarded as an important element of development. Therefore, their welfare in society is an index of social and economic development of that society.
Packaged by Rahman Salami
