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LAGOS – Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions have triggered fresh warnings from labour experts and child protection advocates who say the country is facing a rapid expansion of cheap labour practices that are increasingly drawing children out of school and into hazardous work environments across urban and rural communities.
The concerns come amid rising inflation, unemployment pressures, and declining household purchasing power, which stakeholders say are reshaping family survival strategies and weakening protections for vulnerable children.
Experts warn that the trend is now becoming a structural national issue with direct links to insecurity, school dropout rates, and youth vulnerability.
Speaking in separate interviews, the experts said the situation reflects a widening gap between wages and the cost of living, a development that is pushing many households into informal and exploitative labour arrangements. They argue that without urgent intervention, Nigeria risks a deeper social crisis driven by economic exclusion.
Figures cited by child protection advocates suggest that millions of children remain outside formal education systems, with a significant proportion engaged in some form of labour. While official national breakdowns vary, stakeholders insist the trend is rising in both rural farming communities and urban informal sectors.
Femi Aborisade , a lawyer and labour rights advocate, warned that the economic pressure facing families is creating a dangerous cycle that connects poverty, child labour, and insecurity.
According to him, the structure of low wages in the labour market is producing long-term consequences that extend beyond economics into social stability.
He explained that when household income is insufficient, children are often the first to be affected, particularly in low-income communities where education costs and basic survival needs compete.
“It is a vicious cycle,” he said. “Parents who do not earn enough to provide basic means of life for the family will end up witnessing their children dropping out of school. Those children are then pushed into labour, earning poverty wages.”
He warned that the long-term consequences of this cycle include rising vulnerability among young people, many of whom may become exposed to criminal activities due to lack of education and stable livelihoods.
Aborisade further argued that Nigeria’s challenge is not necessarily a lack of legal frameworks, but weak implementation. He pointed to existing protections such as the Child Rights Act, stressing that enforcement remains inconsistent across states.
“The laws exist, but political will is weak. Implementation is the problem,” he added.
Kabir Akingbolu , right activist and lawyer, linked the crisis to inflationary pressures and unemployment, noting that the cost of living has significantly eroded household resilience.
He said many families are now making difficult survival choices, including withdrawing children from school to contribute to household income through hawking, domestic work, and informal labour.
“Inflation is pushing people into survival mode,” he said. “Many households are no longer thinking long-term; they are thinking about daily survival.”
He also warned that the lack of jobs for young graduates is worsening frustration levels, increasing the risk of social instability.
According to him, unemployment is creating a pool of desperate young people who, after repeated failed attempts to secure jobs, become vulnerable to negative coping mechanisms.
“This situation is partly fuelling insecurity,” he said. “When people are jobless and hopeless, the society becomes unsafe.”
He further noted that poor wages in the informal sector are reinforcing the cheap labour cycle, as employers take advantage of desperation among job seekers and vulnerable families.
Child protection specialist, Ebenezer Omejalile of the Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN), described child labour as a long-standing issue that has intensified in recent years due to economic hardship and weak enforcement systems.
He said a significant number of children are engaged in agriculture, street trading, construction support work, domestic service, and informal sector activities that expose them to physical and psychological harm.
According to him, poverty remains the strongest driver of child labour, particularly in households where children are seen as contributors to family survival.
He also pointed to employer practices that favour cheap labour, noting that children are often preferred in informal workplaces due to lower wage expectations.
