CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Street hawking is a form of selling of goods along the road from one place to the other (Umar 2009). It could also mean an act of canvassing for sale items carried by a hawker along the street, from house to house or in the public space (Ikechebebu 2008) Street hawking is a veritable means of socialization in the western part of Nigeria and it is widely practiced despite the attendant moral and physical dangers for children (Ebigbo 2003). In Nigeria, street hawking is done mostly by female children. Children hawk different items, ranging from food to different types of non-edible items. Some children have a particular spot where they stay to sell their wares.

Some move from place to place along the street, while others go from door to door in residential area (Grootaert and Kanbur 1995). Child hawkers sell tray of goods on their head by moving from one street to the other. The hawker that sell similar goods walk different directions while those that sell goods that complement each other like food and drinks walk in the same direction. The youngest among these hawkers are followed by an adult child who also sells different things in order to teach the younger ones how to calculate or protect the child against any occurrence. These child hawkers shout on top of their voices to announce what they are selling in the community so as to attract the attention of intending buyer of their arrival. Street hawking is rampant among children in Ibagi Local Government, Kogi state, Nigeria as was observed personally by the researcher. According to the local community leader, street hawking has been in existence there for a very long time. As the major occupation is farming and trading, during the time of trade by barter, when a farmer’s harvests crop, he takes from the harvested crops for food consumption. The remaining has to be traded within the neighborhood by the wives and children, so that they will get the money needed to purchase some other things needed in the household. Due to structural change (discovery of cruel oil), currently many people are moving out of the agricultural sector and migrating to the city for a decent job. There is not much attention for farming any longer. As a consequence most households nowadays buy things for the children to hawk around the neighborhood with their mother. By so doing, children are taught how to trade for future purposes (personal observation)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The prevalence of child labur exist in various forms but some are clearly visible than the other. Children are seen getting involve in different kind of production work ranging from agriculture, manufacturing, industries and domestic work. In Nigeria, street hawking seems to be more popular form of child labour. Children hawk a wide range of cheap articles, edible and products such as sachet water, vegetable, bread, slippers, newspapers, fruits to mention but few. Street hawking is considered to be one form of child labour and exploitative because of the excessively long hour of trading by the children, hindrance of school attendance, effectiveness on child’s health (Ibanga 2007). Many Nigerian children are compelled to work because of their parents’ joblessness, poor or uneducated. Ibanga study shows that traditional custom especially polygamy contribute to poor living standard and push children into the street due to parents giving birth to many children. Some of the street hawking children spends the entire day and sometimes until late in the night selling goods under harsh weather condition. These forms of economic activities by children interfere with emotional, educational and social development of

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