As Nigeria prepares to celebrate Children's Day on May 27, colorful events, speeches, and school parades will once again dominate public spaces. But beyond the fanfare lies a painful contradiction: millions of Nigerian children are growing up too fast, burdened by hunger, poverty, violence, labor, displacement, and exclusion from education.
Harsh Realities on the Streets
On major roads across Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and several other cities, children weave through traffic selling sachet water, fruits, and household items. Some should be in classrooms learning mathematics and reading storybooks. Instead, they negotiate prices under the scorching sun, dodge reckless drivers, or sleep in overcrowded displacement camps far from home. For many Nigerian children, survival has replaced childhood.
Nigeria currently has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children globally, with about 10.2 million children of primary school age not in school, according to UNICEF. The agency also estimates that one in every five out-of-school children in the world is Nigerian. Girls account for nearly 60 percent of that population, exposing a deep gender disparity in access to education.
In parts of northern Nigeria, the crisis is even more severe. School attendance in some communities remains as low as 53 percent, while insecurity has compounded the problem. Over the last decade, more than 1,500 students have reportedly been abducted from schools across the country, particularly in northern states, forcing many families to choose safety over education. The result is a generation of children growing up amid uncertainty and fear.
Progress and Gaps in Child Protection
Despite these realities, Nigeria has not been entirely stagnant in child protection efforts. The country adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and domesticated the Child Rights Act across most states. Yet, implementation remains uneven.
Founder of the Child Health Advocacy Initiative, Dr. Elizabeth Lola Alonge, acknowledged the progress made so far but warned that significant gaps still exist. “Nigeria has made some commendable progress by adopting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and domesticating the Child Rights Act in most parts of the country. It is heartwarming that 34 out of the 36 states in Nigeria have domesticated the Child Rights Act.”
However, she expressed concern that Kano and Zamfara states are yet to domesticate the law, describing it as reflective of “the scant regard some political leaders still have for the welfare and protection of children.” With Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa reportedly accounting for about 16 percent of Nigeria’s out-of-school children population, legislation alone has not translated into protection.
Child Labour and Poverty
Across the country, child labor remains deeply entrenched. The International Labour Organisation estimates that Nigeria has more than 62.9 million children between ages five and 17, representing over 30 percent of the nation’s population. Many are engaged in street hawking, domestic labor, scavenging, transport work, farming, and street begging.
For Dr. Alonge, the problem is not the absence of laws but the weakness of enforcement. “I believe the greatest challenge is poor enforcement combined with insufficient political will. Too often, cases of child abuse, trafficking, exploitation, and neglect are ignored or poorly prosecuted. Many families depend on child labor for survival because of widespread poverty and unemployment. Tackling child exploitation must go beyond legislation; it must include economic empowerment for families, social welfare support, and access to affordable education.”
According to UNICEF, two out of every three Nigerian children live in multidimensional poverty, lacking access to healthcare, nutrition, education, clean water, and protection. More than half reportedly experience some form of violence before age 18. In many communities, child marriage continues to cut short the dreams of girls, with reports showing that two in five Nigerian girls are married before age 18 in some areas.
Interventions and the Way Forward
There have been interventions. The Federal Government’s National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, reintroduced in 2016, was designed to improve nutrition and increase school enrollment among children from low-income homes. Studies indicate that the programme has helped improve attendance in several public primary schools.
Dr. Alonge believes Nigeria must place children at the center of national development planning. “Children should be at the center of national development planning, not an afterthought. Failure to prioritize children in our national development agenda remains a stain on our collective conscience. At Child Health Advocacy Initiative, we believe education must also include practical empowerment opportunities. This is why we support girl-child education through free vocational and technology-based training programs that equip young girls with practical skills for employment and entrepreneurship. Investing in education is not charity; it is nation building. Countries that prioritize education consistently experience stronger economic growth and social stability. As we celebrate Children’s Day, we must remember that children are not just the leaders of tomorrow; they are citizens of today who deserve protection, dignity, opportunities, and a voice. We cannot talk of progress in Nigeria when our children are on the streets begging for money to eat. Now is the time for Nigeria to invest deliberately in children and accelerate progress toward a healthier, safer, better educated, and more prosperous future for every Nigerian child.”
Founder of Beyond the Classroom, Raquel Kasham Daniels, said the use of children as economic support systems did not begin overnight. “Parents using their children as part of survival is not something that started today. In some communities, girls are betrothed at birth, children are sent out to work very early, and some are pulled out of school because the family simply cannot survive otherwise.” While condemning the practice, Daniels insisted that conversations around child protection must also confront the wider economic realities facing families. “If a parent cannot feed their family, cannot afford school fees, or has no stable income, the pressure on children becomes heavier.”
For children displaced by conflict and insecurity, the consequences are even more devastating. Daniels recalled her interactions with girls in Internally Displaced Persons camps during one of her organization’s projects. “One thing that stayed with me was how many of them talked about interruption. Interrupted school. Interrupted childhood. Interrupted dreams. Some had not been in a classroom for months. Some for years. And honestly, that is what insecurity and conflict do. They disrupt everything.”
Psychological and Developmental Impact
The emotional and psychological damage often goes unnoticed. Child psychologist, Eunice Nwigwe, warned that millions of vulnerable Nigerian children are effectively invisible within the country’s healthcare and social support systems. “For children involved in street trading, displaced by conflict, orphaned, abused, or living in extreme poverty, these gaps become even more severe.” According to her, the long-term effects of neglect extend beyond physical deprivation. “Psychologically, many of these children develop long-term trauma-related conditions such as anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Constant exposure to fear, violence, exploitation, and survival stress can negatively affect brain development and emotional regulation.”
She noted that many children eventually normalize abuse and exploitation because it becomes part of daily existence. “Physically, these children often suffer from malnutrition, untreated illnesses, injuries, exhaustion, and exposure to unsafe environments. Many are denied access to healthcare and proper nutrition during critical developmental years.”
The implications for national development are enormous. “We lose human potential when children are denied education, safety, and healthy development. Cycles of poverty become deeply entrenched, particularly for girls who experience exploitation, early pregnancy, or forced caregiving responsibilities. Government must also prioritize early childhood development. The first five years of life are foundational to a child’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Investment in maternal healthcare, nutrition, immunization, early learning, and parental support programs should be treated as national priorities. Children’s Day should not simply be a moment of celebration. It should be a call to action and accountability. Every year we delay meaningful intervention, more children are lost to preventable suffering, exploitation, and neglect.”
