The Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour and the British American Tobacco, Nigeria (BATN), have warned against child labour.
They organised a forum to commemorate this year’s World Day Against Child Labour.
At the event held at Itesiwaju Local Government in Oke-Ogun, State Controller of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity Ayodele Olaniyi said children should not be allowed to operate machines or do hazardous work.
Deputy Director of Rural Development in the Ministry of Agriculture Ramoni Afeez said over 200 million children in the world are subjected to child labour.
He urged parents to stop exposing children to danger, adding that a study showed that children who carry heavy loads are “liable to suffer mental retardation”.
Azeez urged uneducated parents to enrol in adult education sponsored by the state government, so that they can be better informed.
Secretary of the State Steering Committee on Child Labour Pastor Marcus Williams said the agency has been fighting child labour since 1996, adding: “We found some children this morning labouring far away from their parents. You buy groundnut from many of these children, but do you ask them where their parents are?
Head of Leaf, BATN, Iseyin Agronomy Ltd, Thomas Omofoye said children are not allowed to work on tobacco plantations, adding that any farmer who engages the services of minors would be punished.