A 10-year-old orange hawker was spotted sleeping by the road, on a cold night after he could not finish selling the arranges his ‘aunt’ gave him to sell.
According to the boy, his aunt told him not to return home except he sold all the oranges.
The boy’s story was shared on Facebook by the person who reportedly spotted him in Awka, Anambra state capital.
The Facebook post reads: “What an unfair world. This night as I was entering a popular eatery to feed the worms in my stomach, I beheld this boy of ten years dozing beside the oranges he sells. After taking this pic, I nudged him and when he came awake, I began to ask questions. The summary of what he said is this: he’s from Abakaliki and lives with an aunt in Awka. He’s in primary school. He sells oranges which his aunt has decreed that he must finish selling or else he dare not return home. Thus, even at night when he should be home resting, he’s still on the road trying and hoping to sell all he has on the tray. Tonight, he was tired and shivering in the harmattan cold. He therefore decided to take a nap, as pictured, before continuing to hawk. He told me his aunt maltreats him too. I thought of how to help him and decided to buy all the oranges in order to set him free. He had to follow me to where I parked to keep my oranges. On the way, it occurred to me that this was how bad people could lure him to their place and kill him”.
Social services should step in the boy and the aunt both need help