5 Children Exploitation in the Labour Process: Empirical Exposition from Ile-Ife, Nigeria Dixon Olu Torimiro Introduction Engaging children in economic activities is a contextual issue. In a typical African setting, for instance, children are normally socialized into work. In this context, it is commonly perceived that through such a process, work culture and tradition are sustained (Odetola and Ademola 1985:57–68; Torimiro and Lawal 1998). This African context of work is being globally contested in recent times, as the children are now engaged in many questionable labour activities, perhaps, as a consequence of the poverty situation engulfing many African families (Grootaert and Patrinos 1999; Kilbride et al. 2000:60). Children are engaged in economic activities for a variety of reasons, the most important being poverty and the induced pressure upon them to escape from its trap. For instance, studies have shown that children are often prompted to work by their parents because of the poor household economic situation (Torimiro and Lawal 2001:70–4, 2002). Schooling problems may also contribute to this phenomenon, owing to the inaccessibility to schools or lack of quality education, which may spur parents to engage their children in more ‘profitable’ pursuits. Traditional factors such as rigid cultural and social roles in certain communities may further limit educational attainment and increase child labour (Torimiro et al. 2003:185–92). Further, working children have become objects of extreme exploitation in terms of toiling for long hours for minimal pay. Their work conditions are especially severe, often not providing the stimulation for proper physical and mental development. Many of these children endure a life of pure deprivation. The Ghanaian experience described by Verlet (2002:78–9) led him to the critical use of the dialectics of ‘good-will’ and ‘willingness’ in describing the working conditions of Sstitre-1 13/05/2009, 11:56 63