TOPIC TODAY: Who is most to blame for child labor in dangerous places: The Parents for sending them, The Companies for hiring them, or The Government for not arresting the people involved?

SCENE: A Bar at Ikeja. The sun is setting. Jide looks disturbed as he holds his glass.

​JIDE (Voice low, looking at the others):

​Something happened last night that made me cold. I was at a bar in Ikeja around 8:30 PM. Two young girls—they couldn’t be more than 15 years old - walked up to me. They were selling health supplements for a company.

​NNE (Eyes wide):

​At 8:30 PM? In a bar full of drinking men? That is wild. That’s not even a "side hustle" anymore. That’s straight-up danger.

​OLA: ​Where are their parents?! That is the first question. How can you let your female child wander into bars at night to sell things to strangers? Some parents are just wicked, using their kids like ATM machines because they are lazy.

​AMARA (Angry):

​It’s not just the parents, Ola. Where is the Lagos State Government? Where is the Employment Regulatory Agency? It is illegal for a company to hire children, especially for night work in bars! These companies are using these girls because they are cheap labor and nobody will arrest them.

​JENNIFER (Nodding):

​Amara is right. According to the Child Rights Act, this is a crime. A bar is a high-risk environment. These girls are exposed to harassment, kidnapping, and worse. By the time they finish selling at 10 PM, how do they even get home safely?

​JIDE (With a dry laugh):

​Exactly. We live in a city where we check the ID of people buying beer, but we don't check the age of the children selling the "medicine." The system is upside down. We are protecting the drinkers but leaving the children to the wolves.

​NNE: And I bet the company told them they are "learning marketing skills." No. They are just being used. If we don't stop the companies, the parents will keep sending them because of hunger.

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