Child Labor: The Human Trafficking Exploitation in Nigeria

This paper examines the issue of child labor and human trafficking exploitation in Nigeria. These practices deprive children of educational opportunities and normal childhood development, propagating cycles of poverty. Various cultural, socioeconomic, and religious drivers enable the persistence of child labor despite legislative interventions. This study utilizes mixed-methods data involving qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore the nature, contributors, and impacts of child labor in Nigeria by reviewing scholarly journals, reports, statistical data, and policy documents. Factors analyzed include cultural attitudes, poverty, porous borders, gender norms, and the breakdown of Islamic educational apprenticeships. Consequences across health, psychology, education, and national growth are scrutinized. Governmental efforts and remaining gaps are assessed. Results revealed that cultural acceptance of child economic roles, especially for girls, and endemic poverty drive families to perpetuate child labor traditions. Economic integration policies enable trafficking across West African borders. Nigeria’s Almajiri Qur’anic education system has deteriorated, with many boys now begging or working for survival rather than studying. The result is vulnerability to further exploitation. A novel finding from this study revealed that about 80.5% of participants responded that their child labor experiences did not affect their education, contrasting existing research that found child labor to limit schooling in Nigeria. Few victims develop lifelong health issues and trauma. In some cases, erratic education also propagates intergenerational poverty. Although Nigeria has implemented institutional interventions, enforcement gaps allow child labor to persist. Extended research into policy efficacy and poverty reduction initiatives are warranted to alleviate cultural and economic strains compelling child labor to neglect human rights.