Paper short abstract:

The African child in the Africanist design can only be called to participate in the running of the Society by means of his/her assigned roles within the social system. His/her autonomous capacity to migrate and work within the West African sub-region is diagnosed in this research.

Paper long abstract:

Child labor in the West African sub-region is a policy concern that transcends the social sphere to mainstream scientific approach. Indeed, theories of child labor construct an ideology that several motivations lead these children to migrate to agricultural and economic units according to economic and social incentives, which are raised by parents in most cases. Diallo (2000) affirmed that many factors do determine the supply of child labor. Among such are the socio-cultural environment (social norms), dysfunctional credit markets, household poverty, the weaknesses of the education system and legislative factors. But very minimal scientific work had addressed what children experience in the course of migration in West Africa. The ability for a child in the process of deciding to go for work is a theoretical field that deserves to be visited. Although the CODESRIA Institute for Children (2011) did raise significant concerns on the processes involved in children's decision-making and its relationship to the economy, however its transnational connotation in a globalized environment vis-à-vis the process of regional migration and integration in West Africa deserves attention.