By Daniel Ogunniyi
It is 30 years since countries across the world adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet, to date, the terms it sets out to protect children remain far from reality in many countries.
This is true in Nigeria too, even though its federal government ratified the convention in 1991.
After years of complex negotiations, Nigeria passed a new law – the Child Rights Act – 16 years ago. The law was designed to bring the country into line with the provisions of the convention. The act deals with a range of threats that children might face. This includes child labour and other forms of exploitative practices.
Nigeria has also passed other non-specific child laws that protect children. These include the Labour Act and the Trafficking Act.
Despite these additional statutes, huge gaps remain.
The biggest is that the Convention on the Rights of the Child incorporated through the Child Rights Act does not apply across the country, only 25 states have adopted the Act.
The reason for this is that Nigeria is a federation comprising 36 legally equal states and the Federal Capital Territory. Each state has an independent legislature. Certain laws, including those that pertain to children’s rights – even after they’ve been passed by the federal government – don’t become effective until they’ve been adopted by the lawmakers in each state.
The reason for the hold up in the 11 states is that they disagree with provisions in the act which they argue are in conflict with religious and cultural norms. All 11 states are in the northern part of Nigeria.
