While very few Nigerian children are still able to have tea and bread under the warm roof of their parents, many are now sourcing for their daily bread (scavenging) from refuse dumps.

Beginning from the new year, many of these children, between the ages of nine and 14, can be seen carrying sacks filled with various kinds of dirt, ranging from used cartons, empty drink cans and used plastic bottles and bowls.

Economy&Lifestyle’s encounter with Jacob Olorunfemi, a 10-year-old, revealed that the economy is dealing blows of hunger and difficulty on his parents and making him unable to attend lessons.

“I don’t go to lessons anymore because my parents said there is no money, after the Christmas celebration.
“I usually attend a lesson like school, where I pay N500 per week.

“My mother usually sweeps and wash clothes for customers.
“My father works at a bus park.

“I have a friend called Sule. He is twelve years old. He used to pick used plastics and condemned items and sell them.

“His mother beg for alms for a living.

“He advised me to join him in this scavenging routine and I have been able to save N2,000 since I started.”

Another encounter with Yekini Salam, an eleven year old, revealed that his father was late and had left him with his step mother who also had three children to take care of. This has led him to a scavenging routine for survival.

“I have not been in school for years. I dropped out when I lost my father. I don’t know who my mother is but I have a step mother and three step brothers.

“I usually hawk wares for my step mother. But last year she asked me to stop.

“Sometimes I help people run errands and they give me tokens in the form of food or cash for appreciation.

“Recently, I had to join some of my friends who are a little above my age in the scavenging routine.
“I move around places sourcing for plastics, cans and bottles.

“There are people who I sell it to. The materials are scaled and I am paid.

“I want to save enough money to learn aluminium window and door-frame construction skills.”

Commenting on the development, Amos Magbagbeola, a human rights activist said: “This is a very painful and worrisome situation presently in the country.

“You see children labouring day and night like adults just to feed.

“Such is an aftermath of the country’s present economic situation, which has degraded parents to struggling a hundred times more than they did years back to achieve the same or little outcome.

“Children are all over the streets begging for alms. These children are supposed to be in school.

“Even the public schools no longer give full free education. Children now buy their textbooks, and writing materials and even pay fees for some services rendered.

“The government needs to act fast, as this is becoming a menace in the country and doesn’t position us in a good light internationally.”

On her part, Juliana Obuh, a civil servant, said: “The situation is getting serious daily.
“Everywhere you see underage children begging alms for survival, doing all sorts of menial jobs and I wonder where their parents are.

“Even parents are living from hand to mouth now.

“The rate of poverty is now higher than before and the children are unfortunate to find themselves stuck in this predicament.

“How won’t they be used for perpetrating fraud and other evil deeds? Doing all these menial jobs harden their hearts and, because of their easy nature, they easily fall prey and remain targets of fraudsters to easily achieve their aims.

“The government needs to act fast because these children are the nation tomorrow.”

Vanguard