Minister Denies Advocating Child Labour For Toothpick Production, Cites Vocational Training

The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy, has denied advocating child labour in her proposition of local toothpick production, saying her position has always been about empowering schoolgirls.

Kennedy, who appeared on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, was responding to reports credited to her where she purportedly proposed that Nigeria model China in the involvement of schoolchildren to produce commodities like toothpicks on Fridays.

“I never said the children will be used for the production of toothpicks. I don’t know why you people keep mentioning toothpicks,” she said.

Kennedy reiterated her commitment to providing vocational training opportunities for children, emphasizing that she never suggested using children for toothpick production.

“I never said the children should produce toothpicks. I said I want to put vocational machines in schools where these children will learn skills,” she said.

The women’s affairs minister emphasized the importance of vocational education, highlighting that these centers would empower young girls to acquire skills that could help them become financially independent by the time they reach 18.

She stressed that her vision involves creating a factory-like environment within these centers, where both practical training and the production of useful items would take place, generating income to support the student’s education.

“I equally said I will not bring just ordinary people to teach them; I will have it as a factory there so that while they are being taught, the factory can equally be producing that same thing and be making small money to empower those girls when they leave school and turn 18,” she said.

The lawyer also cited an example of a school, where similar vocational centers have successfully taught various skills, including plumbing and furniture production.

“I will tell you there’s a school in Dariki. I have said it before and I’m saying it again, I hope the Nigerian people won’t get bored of my repetition of these things.

“This school I went personally to visit has a lot of acquisition centers, they have for plumbers, they have for people that produce chairs. These children go there and a lot of girls are planning to be plumbers in the future,” she said.

Kennedy encouraged the media to promote such initiatives that align with the national agenda.