The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ikeja Branch, on Friday, urged African parents and guardians to desist from child labour.
FIDA also called for the abolition of street hawking by schoolchildren.
The Chairperson of FIDA, Ikeja Branch, Mrs. Marian Jones, made the appeal while speaking with pupils of Police Children School, Ikeja.
Jones spoke while celebrating the 2023 International Day of the African Child with the children.
The celebration had the theme: “The Right of the Child in the Digital Environment”.
She urged parents to desist from sending their wards to hawk after school hours, saying that every child had the right to education.
According to her, education is the best legacy a parent can bequeath to his or her children.
She said: “When you give a child pure water to go to sell, and one break on the road, you beat the child like a dog; that is child abuse.
“Anything that has to do with labour is child abuse.”
Jones said that the African child deserved good education.
“Whatever you want to be in life, do not let anyone prevent you from achieving your dream by telling you to go and sell goods because there is no money in the house.
“You are a child, the law of Lagos State and Nigeria in totality protects you. No one should make you sell, as children,” she told the schoolchildren.
The FIDA chairperson threatened to sue parents engaging in child abuse.
She said: “We have family courts in Lagos State, and any parents that engage in such will be sanctioned by law.
“In the alternative, Lagos State will take the child from such parents and send him or her to school.”
Mrs. Clara Mbachu, Publicity Secretary of FIDA, Ikeja Branch, told the schoolchildren that education remained important.
She advised them to take their studies seriously to have a bright future.
According to her, education played a pivotal role in alleviating poverty.
“Education is a way out of poverty; you can change your world by getting a basic education.
“We are marking this day to show you the importance of education so that the chain of poverty can be broken in our society
“I encourage you all today to take your education seriously because that is the only way you can go forward in life and be useful to society at large,” she said.
FIDA is the acronym for the Spanish name “Federación Internacional dé Abogadas” which translates to “International Federation of Women Lawyers”.
FIDA Nigeria is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation made up of women lawyers called to the practice of law in Nigeria.
