Rosemary Okoli
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CHILDREN’S WORK: EXPERIENCES OF STREET VENDING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN ENUGU, NIGERIA ROSEMARY CHINYERE BABYLAW OKOLI DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH 2009 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is originally composed by me. It is based on my own work, with acknowledgements of other sources, and has not been submitted in whole or part for any other degree or professional qualification. ………………………………………… Rosemary C. BabyLaw Okoli February 2009 ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the loving memories and guiding spirits of my late father, Mr. Lawrence Nnaemeka Okoli, and brother, Pastor Okwy Cornelius Nnaemeka, whose spirits and positive views of life sustained me throughout my academic sojourn in the UK. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this work would not have been possible without the support, inspiration and kindly assistance of a number of people and organisations, including my family members, relatives and friends. First, I must place on record my indebtedness to my supervisors, Professor Viv Cree and the late Dr. Charles Jedrej who toiled with me on every step of the journey from the first day I set my feet in Edinburgh and to Professor Lorraine Waterhouse - who came on board after Charles’ death - all of who provided me with inspiration and support throughout my PhD. They made themselves most accessible to me, severally read every bit of my writing, provided constructive suggestions and comments all the way through and brought to bear on the study their accumulated experiences. I consider myself very fortunate to be supervised by them. I am eternally grateful to the Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program whose two-year sponsorship brought me to the UK and beyond and opened many doors of opportunities, the British Federation for Women Graduates Charitable Foundation ( Ff WG ) The Department of Social Work, Edinburgh University for the Mclean Legacy Funds, Edinburgh University’s SSPS Post graduate teaching assistantship program and Miss C.A.M Sym’s Charitable Trust that provided various levels of financial support for the successful completion of my studies. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria and in a special way to the late Dr. C.P. Ekpe, Prof. Mark Anikpo, Prof. J.O.C Ozioko and all the lecturers in the Faculties of the Social Sciences of the two universities. I found my academic pursuits in the two universities stimulating and rewarding. I would also like to thank my numerous friends and well wishers who have been supportive and shown considerable concern and kindly interest in my affairs. Of special mention is my mentor, uncle and most enduring friend, Professor J. Okoro iv Ijoma (Mazi) of the Department of History and International Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who has always stood faithfully by me right from my undergraduate days to date and has given me emotional and personal support in other ways that I sought his assistance. I cannot sufficiently thank Rev. Fr. Dr. Anthony Okeke for his immeasurable support at a most trying period and after. I am also thankful to my Bishop, Rt. Rev. Dr. John I. Okoye (Bishop of Awgu Diocese), my Rotarian friend and mentor, PDG Lolomari, Rev. Shirley Fraser, Dr. Noel Ihebuzor, the late Ms Ngozi Amah, Dr. Sam Agyei- Ampomah, Ms Mary Bell, Julie and Scot Watson, Sylvia Robertson, Ms Martha Ugwu and her family, Dr. Reginald Agu and family, Eno Ekong, Drs. Saara Greene, Dina Sidhva, Arlon Pullar and a host of other friends around the globe for their pleasant company and enthusiastic support. Members of my religious family at the Barclays Church of Scotland, Toll Cross, Edinburgh, also deserve a special mention for their prayers and friendship. I owe a debt of gratitude to my office mates and fellow PG research students for their helpful comments along the way and to all the students and members of staff of the Department of Social Work and the Graduate School of Social and Political Studies, for their academic simulation and guidance. I would like to thank in a special way Alan Hill and Ian McNeil for providing me with IT support, David Alexander, my landlord, not only for providing me a home but for reading some of the earlier drafts. I am grateful to Dr. Jennifer Speirs for proofreading my work and providing constructive criticisms at various times during my writing up days and whenever I beckoned on her. I am equally grateful to all the children and adult participants as well as the administrators of the local authorities and the various marketplaces where this study was conducted for participating in the study, volunteering information and their time in spite of their busy schedule to make a living on the streets and marketplaces in Enugu. Also to the staff of the UNICEF, Enugu Regional Office, ANPPCAN – Nigerian/ Enugu State Chapter and WACOL, Enugu, I say a very big thank you for providing useful information and insights during my fieldwork. I must state here that I am privileged to have my thesis read with such thoroughness and interest by my examiners, Professor Malcolm Hill and Dr. Sara Dorman. I truly appreciate their useful comments which have sharpened the thesis. v My special and sincere gratitude goes to my mom, siblings and other family members, whose understanding, warmth, love and prayers have helped to give me cheer and encouragement. Finally, I thank all who contributed to the success of this work and whose names have not been specifically mentioned because of space constraint but I assure them that I very much value and appreciate every level of assistance I received. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS USED AIDS Acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome ANPPCAN African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect BASICS/N Basic Support for Institutionalising Child Survival, Nigeria (A USAID funded programme for immunisation against maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria. BSA British Sociological Association CBOs Community Based Organizations CD Community Development DFID Department for International Development EFA Education for All FSLCE First School Leaving Certificate Examination GCE General Certificate of Education GRA Government Reserved Area - an exclusive low density residential area for socio-economically successful people HIV Human Immune deficiency Virus IFSW International Federation of Social Workers IGWCL International Working Group on Child Labor ILO International Labour Organisation IMF International Monetary Fund IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour IWGCL International Working Group on Child Labour JAMB Joint Admissions Matriculation Board JSCE Junior Secondary Certificate Examination LGA Local Government Authority MDGS UN Millennium Development Goals NAFDAC National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control NASW National Association of Social Workers NCE National Certificate of Education NCE National Council on Education vii NDE National Directorate for Employment NNMCLS. Nigeria National Modular Child Labour Survey NPC National Population Commission NURTW National Union of Road Transport Workers OAU Organisation of African Unity (Now known as African Union) Organization PTA Parents Teachers Association SIMPOC Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour SPDC Nig. Ltd Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd SSCE Senior Secondary Certificate Examination UBE Universal Basic Education UBEC Universal Basic Education Commission UN United Nations UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child UNDHR United Nations Declaration of Human Rights UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural UNICEF United Nation Children Fund UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization USAID United States Agency for International Development WACOL Women’s Aid Collective. WAEC West African Examination Council viii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1A Map of Nigeria showing Enugu State in red. Page 9 Fig. 1B Map of Nigeria showing the 36 states of Nigeria. Page 10 Fig. 2 A busy marketplace Page 97 Fig. 3 Street vending children carrying their wares on their heads. Page 107 Fig. 4 A child vendor selling wares in wheel barrow. Page 116 Fig. 5 Street vending children selling different wares. Page 126 ix ABSTRACT Concern for children’s safety and protection has become a global issue and has evoked considerable debate since the publication of the United Nations’ widely ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989. A dominant theme within this charter and within the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) is the recognition that children are individuals with rights that need to be respected and protected. More specifically, Article 32 of the UNCRC states that children should be protected from ‘economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development’. Nigeria has signed and ratified both the UNCRC and the African Charter and has committed itself to ensuring the welfare and protection of its children. This thesis examines children’s work experiences and their interpretations of these against the backdrop of the provisions of the UNCRC and the African charter. The study sets out to explore the meanings of work for itinerant street vending children and young people in Enugu, Nigeria and is based on a combined ethnographic methodology of participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 24 child vendors in marketplaces over a period of six months. It will be argued that contemporary ideas about children’s work are framed by Euro-centric, adult perceptions and definitions of what they think working children are doing, and that the imposition of Western constructions of childhood does not reflect the lived realities of children. Discussions with children revealed, among other things, a contradiction and ambivalence in their understandings of work in relation to vending and an interplay of complex environmental, cultural and poverty factors.