Is it Wrong For Children to Hawk? Deputy Bursar, UNILORIN Air His Thoughts On This

Not only can child labour expose a child to mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful situations, it can also deprive them of opportunities for schooling and development. The number of working children under the age of 14 in Nigeria is estimated at 15 million according to the International Labour Organisation. These jobs include children taking to the street to beg, hawk, or employed as domestic servants or farm hands.

Well, the Deputy Bursar of the University of Ilorin (UNICORN) declared that street hawking by children is not necessarily a crime, especially if the child is not prevented from schooling.

Abdulbaki Oba, made the assertion on Tuesday at the 9th Muktar Isale-Koto Annual Islamic Lecture held in the university, where he further said it was possible for a family to face economic recession even while the rest of the country was experiencing growth, hence, the need for children to help the family in making ends to meet.

”I and members of my age group in those days hawked to augment the family income while we were children, yet many of us turned out successful professionals.”

Oba also charged the Muslim faithfuls to restrain the children from falling into the temptation of corruption, saying the vice was endemic among public servants, according to Vanguard.

Mallam Lukman Isale-Koto of the Bursary Unit of the university called for a paradigm shift in thinking that troublesome children were only fit for Islamic schools.

He urged managers of Arabic and Islamic institutions to upgrade their services by providing children-friendly environment conducive for learning.

Sheikh Muhydeen Al-Kubrah, the Chief Imam and Missioner of the UK-based Ansarul Rahman Islamic Association stressed the need for quality parenting.

”It is indispensable in our quest for national development,” he said.