Nigeria's Child Labor Problem

In a country where 60% of the population is under the poverty line, child labor is not viewed as cruelty, it is a fact of life and for some families it is the only way to survive. Children in Nigeria are not legally allowed to work until the age of 15 but the government does not always have the ability to make sure that the law is enforced. These children work in factories, shops, on farms and in the homes of wealthy citizens. Many of these children work 12 hour shifts under poor working conditions and often the tasks they perform involve dangerous tools, machinery or chemicals. UNICEF and the Bureau of International Labor Affairs are trying to put an end to child labor in Nigeria. An example of particularly dangerous field that has been targeted as a problem and is improving considerably is cocoa production. Child labor is tied to another predominant human rights issue, human trafficking, which is a major problem in Nigeria.

Unfortunately many children depend on the money they earn to support themselves and their families so preventing them from working could be even more detrimental to these children. Improved and more fair working conditions are a first step to improve this situation. The idea of offering families money to send their children to school would be a positive step in the direction of ending child labor. If these children can attend school and move up in the world there is a better chance that they will not be forced to send their offspring to work as children and the seemingly never-ending cycle would stop.

A Debt Free Future For Nigeria

Things are looking up for Nigeria's economy. Merrill Lynch, a New York based bank that specializes in investment banking and management, has decided to take on $500 million of Nigeria's debt. That amount is the remainder of the country's debt to the London Club, an informal group of private creditors, which loaned $2.4 billion to Nigeria. This is the second time that the country has been relieved of a large amount of debt, the first being the $18 billion that the Paris Club decided to cancel with support from the IMF. This transaction will free Nigeria from most of its debt and if the government realizes its goal Nigeria will be debt free when the president leaves office in May.

One likely result of the debt relief may be that Nigeria will expand and diversify its exports. The government now has the opportunity to implement its plans to look into new areas of exportation and support its smaller exports. This step would be greatly beneficial to the country's economy and would help to reduce its dependence on the exportation of oil. Another hopeful outcome would be considerable increases in the amount going towards social services. If government spending on social services is increased than we can also expect to see greatly decreased poverty rates as more money goes to welfare services. This is a great opportunity for Nigeria to change its spending policies, its exports and imports, and to strengthen its economy.

Nigeria's Conflicted Oil Industry

With 95% of Nigeria’s exports being comprised of petroleum and petrol products, oil is a vital part of Nigeria’s economy. Nigeria is 8th in the world for exporting crude oil and is increasing its production. The country is dependent on this export and the continued success is important to the United States, as it is Nigeria's biggest partner in exports.

The booming industry has caused great unrest with many Nigerians, especially in the Niger Delta, who see little of the oil profits because the large oil companies hire mainly foreign workers. The environmental destruction and pollution caused by these companies adds to the unrest of the native peoples. This has led to many attacks on the oil companies by militant groups over the past decade. The most recent violence against the oil industry has been the kidnapping of more than 30 foreign workers in the Niger Delta over the course of this past week.