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INTRODUCTION
International law takes special interest concerning children worldwide. This is due to the
fact that children are the most vulnerable and powerless members of the society dominated by
adults. World leaders believe that children deserve adequate protection so that they can grow
to preserve the human race. Most times, children are considered to be the future of any
society. The establishment of legal and institutional frameworks were being put in place by
world leaders in other to ensure the protection and promotion of the rights of the child.
In the antiquity, nobody gave special protection to children. In the middle age children
were considered as small adults. In the middle of the 19th century, the idea appears in France
to give children special protection, enabling the progressive development of “minors‟ rights”.
Since 1881, French laws included the right for the children to be educated.
During the 1980s, many child rights activists claimed that, as children are human beings
and the subjects of all human rights, they did not need a special human rights instrument
devoted to them as a group. Yet it is clear from current histories of child rights that children
are viewed as objects of rights in a discourse of welfare concern more often than they are
recognised as subjects of rights. (Judith 2000) The Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) is innovative in making it clear that, with respect to international human rights law,
children are active subjects. They not only require certain forms of protection in addition to
the "normal" entitlements of human rights law, they also require special forms of protection
because they are in a vulnerable position, both legally and developmentally. These
entitlements include the right to have their opinion taken into consideration when adults take
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decisions on their behalf (Article 12), to express their views (Article 13) and to join or form
The modern era of international human rights law can be said to begin with the
establishment of the UN system after the 1939-1945 Second World War, specifically with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Declaration clearly established the
principle that nations that are members of an intergovernmental body, such as the UN, can
intervene in the domestic affairs of other states to ensure that citizens' rights are respected. A
number of other treaties followed the Universal Declaration, dealing with different groups of
persons and rights. But rights are indivisible. The CRC is only conceivable, and can only be
implemented, if it is seen in the context of the international human rights agenda in its
entirety. In the Preamble to the Convention this is made clear through reference to preceding
human rights instruments. Rights that are not spelt out in the CRC, but which applied to
children before it was drafted and adopted, include consideration of their special needs and
organising the 1990 World Summit for Children. This meeting of 71 world leaders in New
York was the largest ever meeting of heads of state and had the objective of obtaining their
signatures to this new human rights document. In this respect it was supremely successful. It
is part of the overall myth of the CRC (appearing to be a compulsory preface to any account -
- historical or otherwise) that no other piece of human rights law has come into force so
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A second objective of the Summit was to ensure that children actually enjoy the rights
provided. (Judith, 2000) The meeting ended with agreement on a Plan of Action that included
twelve broad goals to be achieved before 2000. All signatories promised to develop national
plans of action to this end, and to report on progress at five-year intervals. Yet it is clear that
in this respect the Summit was unsuccessful. In some cases the narrowly conceived twelve
Summit goals have obscured, or well-nigh obliterated, the much broader range of rights in the
CRC. In others, national plans of action have been drawn up but not provided with a budget
sufficient for implementation. Sometimes the only changes made are legal. In some cases,
nothing has happened at all. As Belgian lawyer Eugeen Verhellen has pointed out, it often
seems as if there is more concern to protect children's rights than to protect children.
Children have not always been on the human rights agenda as a separate group.
Indeed, the human rights agenda itself is a relatively recent historical phenomenon. The
question of children's rights was not an issue for the French Declaration of the Rights of Man
in 1780. Children were regarded as a residual category of person, lacking full human rights.
At that time European societies simply thought of children as the property of their parents,
and not particularly valuable property at that. According to Blackstone's 1758 legal
commentaries in England, for instance, child abduction was not theft in the legal sense unless
the child happened to be dressed. The thief was regarded as having stolen the clothes. Apart
from that, child theft was tantamount to stealing a corpse. In the case of both a dead body and
At the beginning of the 20th century, children‟s protection starts to be put in place, including
protection in the medical, social and judicial fields. This kind of protection starts first in
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Since 1919, the international community, following the creation of The League of Nations
(later to become the UN), starts to give some kind of importance to that concept and
elaborates a Committee for child protection. The League of Nations adopts the Declaration of
the Rights of the Child on September 16, 1924, which is the first international treaty
It was not until the late nineteenth century that nascent children‟s rights‟ protection
movement countered the widely held view that children were mainly quasi-property and
economic assets. In the United States, the Progressive movement challenged courts‟
reluctance to interfere in family matters, promoted broad child welfare reforms, and was
successful in having laws passed to regulate child labor and provide for compulsory
education. It also raised awareness of children‟s issues and established a juvenile court
system. Another push for children‟s rights occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, when children
international context, “[t]he growth of children‟s rights in international and transnational law
has been identified as a striking change in the post-war legal landscape. (Wendy, 2007)
Conversely, the notion that children have rights that need to be enforced and protected is a
modern development. It was usually taken for granted that adults have the best interests of the
child at heart and so there was no need to think of the rights of the child. Findings by
UNICEF(1995) shows that all around the world, children are exploited as labourers and
prostitutes, deprived of an education, denied adequate nutrition and health care and they
therefore need help and protection from an adult world that carry out most of this
The world conference on education for All (EFA) (1990), the World Conference on human
rights (1993), the fourth conference on women (1995) and the millennium development goals
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(2000) are other international efforts taken. Measures for protection of dignity, equality and
basic human rights for children started as early as the 19th century. Since then, children have
become a constituency in their own right on whose behalf laws have been enacted providing
for the protection against the abuse of parents and other adults, economic exploitation and
social neglect.
At the regional level, the assembly of heads of state and government of the organization of
African unity (OAU) adopted a declaration on the rights and welfare of the African child at
its 16th ordinary session in 1979. In 1990, the summit of the heads of state of the OAU
adopted a formal convention, the charter on the rights and the Welfare of the African Child to
which Nigeria is a signatory. In 1992, African states adopted the Dakar consensus which
recognizes the principle of first call and exhorts African countries to incorporate the goals of
child survival, development and protection in their development programmes (OAU, 1992).
Nigeria, believing in protecting the best interests of the child, signed the UN Convention in
March, 1991 and by 2003, the convention and the African charter were incorporated into
domestic laws through the enactment of the Child‟s Right Act (CRA) on July 31, 2003. Since
then, not less than 16 states have adopted the Act (Obiagwu 2009). Prior to the 2003 Act,
Nigerian child protection law was defined by the Children and Young Person‟s Act (CYPA),
which was revised later and incorporated into Nigeria‟s Federal Laws in 1958 (RCW 2005).
The federal government has enacted a series of other laws, policies and plans of actions in
various sectors geared towards the protection of children‟s rights. Some of these laws and
The significance of the above global, regional and national efforts lays in the fact that they
demonstrate the commitment of the international community and in particular the Nigerian
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The concern of this project is to examine the theoretical and empirical aspects of Child Rights
Laws vis-a-vis the International Conventions that guides the Rights of Children in Nigeria.
The prevalent of Child Rights Abuse in Nigeria and the consequence of such abuse on the
Nigerian Child motivates this study. The study also seeks to examine the extent of the child‟s
The study is also intended to reveal the various factors militating against the Child Rights‟
The background information provided above shows that inspite of the global, regional
and national efforts put in place for the protection of the right of child and also for the
promotion of the right of the child, there is still an extensive violation of the rights of the
child both globally and nationally .Violation of the rights of the child is a continuous case in
Nigeria. In assessing the child‟s right law in Nigeria, the question to be addressed here
include, how has the provisions of Child Right‟s Act in Nigeria and UN convention affected
the fortunes of the Nigerian child in terms of the child‟s right to life, education, health,
protection against economic exploitation and access to justice? This research seeks to identify
causes of children rights violation and abuse and also recommend how these rights can be
protected and promoted thus preparing the next generation of Nigerian leaders. It is also
intended to examine whether the government of Nigeria have the political will, sincerity and
commitment to enforce and implement the existing child‟s right law in Nigeria.
In assessing the Domestication of International Child Rights Law in Nigeria during the period
under focus, this study intends to ask the following relatable questions:
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- To what extent has the provisions of the UN convention and the child rights act
- Are there any institutional mechanisms to ensure that these laws are enforced to
- Do Nigerian children enjoy all their fundamental rights as provided by the Child
Rights Law?
- What can be considered to be the panacea for the effective promotion and
- To examine the extent in which UN convention and the Child Rights Act have
- To discover whether there are institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of the
- To suggest possible solutions for the effective promotion and protection of Child
Rights in Nigeria.
A hypothesis as described by Kepler (2000) is a prediction of what can be seen in the world
of reality. Its formulation is significant in research work; functioning as a link between the
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world of theory and reality, showing the direction of data analysis and helping in the
organisation of the research report. Hypothesis are assumptions made by the researcher in
order to test the theoretical framework of the research through empirical analysis of data
collected to enable him arrive at a reasonable conclusion as whether or not the hypothesis is
valid or not.
Two types of hypothesis; Null Hypothesis (H0) and Alternate Hypothesis (H1) will be
1. H0 : UN convention and the existing provisions of Child Rights Act have not been
H1 : UN convention and the existing provisions of child rights Act have been
2. H0: The Nigerian government does not have the political will, sincerity and
H1: The Nigerian government does has the political will, sincerity and commitment to
The study is significant in that it concerns a segment of the Nigerian population which
if well-handled can make available necessary basis for fundamental transformation of the
Nigerian society. This is due to the fact that the greatness of any country lies not only on the
adult population but tactically on children that are to be trained to become future leaders of
the nation. The study will also contribute to the analytical framework from which the
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government at all levels will formulate specific programmes and policies in the interest of the
Nigerian child. The study will also create awareness on the part of parents and guardians, the
1. The study is limited to the practice of child rights law in Nigeria between 1999
and 2013.
2. The study is also limited to the Nigerian experience due to lack of adequate
finance to obtain all the logistical data from all relevant stake holders.
sampled population could not meet the needed information within the stipulated
period.
The data collected for this study are basically primary and secondary data. They were
sourced from questionnaires, interviews, journals, newspapers, and internet. The target
population designed to cover the study will be confined to hundred (100) people of which
may consist of the following persons: the prominent workers of National Human Rights
Commission, Public Complains Commission and Ministry of Justice. It also includes the
children population that are affected with the subject matter. The research technique that
will be used in this study is the purposive sampling technique in which a particular group
will be selected from the population to constitute the sample because this group is
considered to cover the whole with reference to the characteristics in question. (Kumari
2008).
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1.9 DEFINITION OF MAJOR TERMS
It is important to clarify some concepts that will come up frequently in the study.
include the following: the child; child rights; and child abuse and labour.
The word „child‟ has various definitions. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(Article 1) and the African charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Article II)
defined a child as a person below the age of 18 years. Section 21 of the 2003 Child Rights
Act of Nigeria provides that no person under the age of 18 years is capable of contracting
a valid marriage. This implies that under Nigerian law, a child is any person less than 18
years of age.
The concept of the rights of the child is a recent development. It is borne out of the
premise that children are the most vulnerable and powerless members of the society
dominated by adults. UNICEF (1995) documented that there were well over a dozen
countries in which conditions for children were far below the norms to be expected for
widespread physical, mental and sexual abuse of girls working as house helps in homes
The International Labour Organization (ILO) (1985) sees child labour as any work
undertaken by children below 15years which endangers or interferes with the basic rights
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of children, such as free play, education, participation in other social and cultural
activities; and generally activities necessary for normal physical, psychic, intellectual and
emotional development. According to Yecho (2008), the concept “child labour” has no
universally accepted definition. This is in view of the fact that what is considered child
For a proper analysis of the work to be achieved, the work will be divided into five
chapters. Chapter one is the general introduction, it contains the background to the study,
statement of the problem, research questions, objective of the study, research hypothesis,
significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study. Chapter two is the Literature
Review. It contains the conceptual clarification and theoretical framework. Chapter three
is about the Research Methodology. It contains a brief history of case study, restatement
method of data collection, Validity and Reliability of instruments. Chapter four contains
the Data Presentation and Analysis. Chapter five will contain the Summary of Findings,
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1.11 REFERENCES
Ajomo, M O & Okagbue, I (1996): Introduction to the Rights of the child; in I. Ayua
& I. Isabella (ed), The Rights of the Child in Nigeria; Lagos: Nigerian Institute of
Allen, K (2009): Global poverty: the Human Rights Dimension; open Democracy;
London.
welcome address: presented on the occasion of the year 2007 Children‟s day. Federal
Global Action for Children (2008): Fighting for Orphans and Vulnerable Children;
Washington DC.
Survival.
UNICEF (1990): Giving Children a Future: The World Summit for Children (New
York).
of the Child.
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United Nations(1995): overview of the Rights of the Child; New York
Congress.
Journal of Family Development, vol.3, June 2008; A Publication of the centre for Family
Development (CEFAD).
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CHAPTER TWO
FRAMEWORK
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Rights Law in Nigeria; 1999- 2013, the study shall begin by first taking a look at the three
major viewpoints on human rights, taking into account that child rights is an essential part of
the international human rights framework. This approach will adequately address the
problems involved in the protection and promotion of children‟s rights not only in Nigeria but
also in other parts of the developing world. The review will be incomplete without first
stating the meaning of human rights and its significance in democratic societies.
Human rights are inalienable rights to which all human beings are entitled,
irrespective of race, nationality or membership to any particular social group (Francis, 2005).
They specify the basic and minimum conditions for human dignity and outline the basic
conditions for human existence. Furthermore, UNICEF (2006) states that human rights
govern how individual human beings live in society and with each other as well as their
relationship with governments and obligations that governments and obligations that
Generally, human rights are categorised into two classes. The first class are the Civil
and Political Rights. The second class are the Economic, Cultural and Social Rights. The
Civil and Political Rights are also called Participatory Rights. According to Enemuo (1999),
these rights have remained at the core of the conception of human rights promoted by the
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advanced capitalist states. Economic and Social Rights include rights to development and a
wholesome environment. According to the scholar, these rights are majorly advocated by
Identification of the basic rights of the citizenry is one of the hallmarks of democracy. It is
unimaginable to think of popular participation without the people enjoying these fundamental
human rights. Surprisingly, concern for human rights has now being propagated. Today,
every modern constitution contains some formal guarantees of human rights. However,
Enemuo (1999) states that a great inequality exists in the level of protection of these rights by
different countries. This indicates that there are noteworthy disparity in the extent to which
The UN convention on the Rights of the Child, according to UNICEF, is the first
legally international human rights instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights.
This implies that children have the same general rights as adults. But children are particularly
susceptible and so have particular rights that recognize their special need for protection.
The three major viewpoints of human rights are the Liberal, Marxists and Cultural Relativity
viewpoint. Many of the writings on human rights are traceable to the Western liberal
philosophy of individualism and the doctrine of laissez-faire (Francis, 2005). Burchill (2001)
states that the idea of universal human rights has its origin in the natural law tradition, the
development of the English Common Law and the Bill of Rights of 1689. According to him,
the idea was highly influenced by the writings of prominent philosophers such as Rousseau
(the social contract) and Locke (Popular Consent; Limits of Sovereignty). He identified major
landmarks in the evolution of the concept of universal human rights to include the American
Declaration of Independence, 1776 and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the
Citizen.
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According to Liberals, the concept of universal human rights is based on the premise
that human beings are said to be endowed purely by reason of their humanity with certain
fundamental rights, benefits and protections. These rights are regarded as inherent in the
sense that they are the birth right of all, inalienable because they cannot be given up or taken
away and universal since they apply to all regardless of nationality, gender and race (Burchill,
2001). Democratization is said to be important as a catalyst for the promotion and protection
of human rights (Kegley, 2007). As an ethical movement, liberals believe that the state exist
for its people and not vice-versa. According to Kegley (2007), liberalism recognizes all
global civil society. Burchill postulates that human rights are founded on the respect for
human dignity and form a legal foundation to emancipation, justice and human freedom.
These assumptions and the attempt by liberal thinkers to extend these rights to all peoples
have led to the creation of important legal codes, instruments and institutions in the post
Second World War period under the auspices of the United Nations Organization (UNO).
The most important instruments are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child (1989), while the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) play a significant role in the protection of human rights (Burchill, 2001).
Through these instruments, International Law has guaranteed universal human rights to all
Eze (1994) asserts that despite the contributions of the American and French
declarations as well as the Social Contract theories to the concept of human rights, they were
principles and philosophy riddled with contradictions. He argues that at the time of the
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American declaration, America was a British colony, a negation of equality of men, with
Enemuo (1999) asserts that civil and political rights have remained at the core of
human rights promoted by the advanced Western countries. He condemns this notion of
human rights and argues that economic and social rights deserve as much emphasis as
political and social rights. UNICEF (2006) posits that all rights are equal and no right is
superior to any other, stating that they are indivisible and interrelated, with a focus on the
individual and the community as a whole. UNICEF speculates further that rights cannot be
treated separately or in distinct categories because the enjoyment of one usually depends on
the fulfilment of other rights. Concluding, the body says that different rights therefore should
Marxists see human rights as being based on the same liberal principles footing
dismissed human rights as mere bourgeois freedoms which fail to address the class-based
nature of exploitation contained within the capitalist relations of production. In the opinion of
Evans (2005), human rights are a means by which the bourgeois maintain and perpetuate rule.
He posits that all the international human rights laws in post-second world war were created
under American hegemony and therefore sees them as tools to protect America‟s sphere of
influence over a much wider area and to gain access to world markets. Eze (1994), in his
contribution, states that Marxists scholars regard law, of which human rights is part, as the
instrument of the ruling class supported by the coercive force of the state with the objective
advantageous and agreeable to the ruling class. Under these circumstances the scope and
substance of human rights are therefore determined by the character of the ruling class.
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Another challenge to the western conception of human rights comes from the Cultural
Relativist. Cultural Relativist contend that human rights are western in origin, irrelevant to
non-Western European societies and therefore constitute another form of cultural imperialism
and an attempt by western societies to interfere in internal affairs of other societies (Burchill,
2001). Onu (1994), in his contribution, submits that it is erroneous to assume that human
rights are a western European invention embraced by Africa in its interaction with the West.
On the contrary, it is the west who robbed the Africans of their human rights during the
period of slave trade and colonialism. He concludes that the question then is not the
recognition of these rights but their promotion and protection. Enemuo (1999) asserts that
cultural relativity viewpoint argues that the notion of human rights is of western origin which
is usually restricted to civil and political rights and that it sees rights as revolving around the
individual whereas in Africa and much of the Third World, there is a strong notion of rights
of the collective and the community. He explains further that the notion of human rights is
relevant to all human beings, even though it has received its most sophisticated elaboration in
the west.
The cultural perspective of human rights finds its expression in the African Charter on
Human and People‟s Rights (1981) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
child (1990). The Charters are built on the African concept of human rights by emphasizing
African traditions and values. According to Owasanoye & Adekunle (1996:6), the African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child recognizes the specific cultural setting in
background and the values of the African civilization which should inspire and
Francis (2005), while examining the application of human rights in Africa, observes a
clash between the universal application of human rights and the cultural specific conceptions
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of human rights. He says the clash is obvious because, while in Africa cultural systems
emphasize duties of the community, the western approach to human rights stresses
individualism. He sees the promotion and practice of human rights in Africa as being
underpinned by the dominant Western liberal political and economic philosophy, which
brings about private power freedom and individual freedom. In his opinion, human rights
have been promoted in Africa as if it were an alien concept to which Africans have to be
initiated or introduced. This, according to him, has made the application of human rights in
Africa problematic.
significant progress has being made to attain global consensus for human rights protection
and promotion, especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Communist Regimes in
Europe. This is evident in the signing and ratification of not less than forty UN legal
instruments in the development of international human rights protection beginning from the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. This has led many scholars to dub the post-
second world war era as the era of International Human Rights Regime (Kegley, 2007).
international treaty, ratified by all but two countries (USA and Somalia), which is being used
policies for children (Smith, 2008). The Convention provides internationally accepted
standards to be applied to basic human rights affecting children. Melton (2005) says that the
Convention is unparalleled in its conceptual breath and that no other human rights treaty
touches on so many domains of life. UNICEF says that the convention is the most widely
ratified international legal instrument in human history. Freeman (1995) argues that, while
the convention is not the final word on children‟s rights (because it is a result of international
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compromise); it goes well beyond any international document and reflects a world consensus
Children rights have being argued for centuries, and the concept touches raw nerves
when adult decisions and actions are put to test (Smith, 2008). She submits that those who are
nervous of children rights tend to focus on the issue of civil and political rights (participation
rights). The idea of children having rights tends to be interpreted as being permissive and
giving them too much power and control, while at the same time taking power and control
from parents (or others in authority over children such as teachers). That is, fear of loss of
control over their children is at heart of objection to children rights by parents. Melton (2005)
calls this attitude as ideological blindness to the facts at hand and interests at stake and
unproductive. However, Smith (2008) states further that these fears are unfounded since the
Convention is a document of reconciliation which treats parents and children with respects.
She stated that the document has had a major impact on law, education, welfare and health
and it is compatible with the rethinking about childhood occurring in contemporary social
science. Human Rights scholars agree that the Convention is very significant in that it
recognizes a new vision of the child which replaces the old adage that says children should be
seen and not heard (United Nations, 1995; Smith, 2008). The UN argues that no longer are
children to be thought of as property of their parents and that children are human beings and
entitled to the same degree of respects as adult human beings. This is to say that the
document helps make children visible, challenges governments and others to question their
assumptions, and values children as people in their own rights today, rather than what they
are poverty and underdevelopment. Alemika (1996) opines that the extent to which rights are
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political framework of society. This implies that the attainment of a reasonable level of
recognize and promote socio-political and economic rights. He finds out, regrettably, that
children‟s rights violations form an integral part of the socio-economic conditions of most
Third World societies, Nigeria inclusive. In these societies child rights violations have been
Nigeria, for instance, over the past three decades has encountered harsh and deepening socio-
economic crises which have seriously affected the wellbeing of individuals, families and
especially the elderly and children, thereby making the realization of children‟s rights a
colossal task. These socio-economic crises have created serious social problems such as
shortages, urban congestion, rural stagnation, juvenile delinquency, ethnic crises, gross
approximately 52 million children under 15 years of age were engaged in child labour, most
of them were from underdeveloped Countries, resulting from the socio-economic problems in
those countries (FGN/UNICEF, 1990). In a pluralistic world, ethnic and cultural diversities
also constitute great challenges to universalizing children‟s rights. This is not to say that child
rights abuses are not recorded in the developed countries. United Nations (1995) sources
estimated that the number of children under 18 involved in prostitution exceeds two million,
one million of whom are in Asia and 300,000 in the United States. Omecha (2010) states that,
in the United States an estimated 1,400 children die each year from abuse and neglect. Smith
(2008) informs that in New Zealand since the 1980s and 1990s, there have been an increase
in the number of children who have experienced poverty. The developed countries of the
West have also been criticized for turning a blind eye to human rights violations, including
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child labour in Far East countries such as South Korea, China, Thailand, etc. all in the name
of spreading the ideology of free trade and comparative advantage of the region in cheap
labour (Burchill, 2001). Despite these shortcomings, the conception of human rights has
received its most sophisticated elaboration in the developed countries due to their relative
sound economies, homogenous societies, stable political systems and political will to enforce
the laws, essential conditions which are lacking in most parts of developing countries.
Nigeria ratified the UN Convention in 1991 and in 2003 domesticated it through the
enactment of the Child Rights Act. Since then, many states of the federation have adopted the
act. The government has enacted many policies and other laws in education, health care, child
justice, social welfare sectors to give effect to the principles and provisions of the Act. The
greatest challenges to the realization of children‟s rights in Nigeria have been attributed to
poverty; negative social and traditional perceptions of the child; harmful traditional and
Government;institutional failures; lack of political will to enforce the law, among other
factors (Owasanoye & Adekunle,1996). However, some optimists argue that the mere
provision of children‟s rights in our laws and constitution represents progress and gives some
ray of hope (The Guardian, June 9 2010). What remains is their position and protection.
It is the opinion of this study that even though the UN Convention and the Child
Rights Act may not have brought intense changes in the daily lives of Nigerian children, its
importance lays in the fact that it provides a legal and ethical grounds to advocate for changes
in matters affecting children. That is why child rights abuse should be a matter of serious
concern to all and various parents, guardians, communities, civil societies and Government.
In the view of Owasanoye & Adekunle (1996), children are and must remain the focus of the
tireless effort for development and growth. International standards set for child survival,
health, education, protection from crime, civil disturbances, unrest, exploitation at home or at
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work, physical and sexual abuse, drugs and prostitution and all other whim of modern society
must be met at all costs as a matter of economic and political priority and exigency. Only
then can the Nigerian child of today compete in the world of tomorrow. There is clearly no
Having dealt significantly with literature review, it is proper at this juncture to clarify
some concepts that will come up frequently in the study. These concepts need to be defined
in order to get rid of conceptual confusion. They include the following: the child; child rights;
The word “child” is actually hard to define. According to Ezeh (2008), it is a stage in
on the Rights of the Child (Art.I) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child (Art.II) define a child as a person below the age of 18 years. Section 21 of the 2003
Child Rights Act of Nigeria provides that no person under the age of 18 years is capable of
contracting a valid marriage. This implies that under Nigerian Law, a child is any person less
than 18 years of age. Owasanoye and Adekunle (1996) affirms that the meaning of the word
“child” must, in every case, depend on the context in which it appears. Outside the legal and
treaty definitions there is the customary definition of a child. The customary definition varies
from ethnic group to ethnic group due to the lack of a uniform customary law in Nigeria
(Federal Ministry of Justice, 1991). In some ethnic groups a boy remains a child until
initiated into the age grade society or until he is old enough to contribute financially to
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community development. In others, childhood lapses at puberty (Azogu, 1991). Prior to the
2003 Act, the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA), defines a child as a person less than
14 years of age, while a young person is between the age of 14 and 17 years (RCW, 2005).
The statutory definition is a comprehensive definition which is not in conformity with the
different systems of customary laws, nor the perception of different ethnic groups in Nigeria
(Otite, 1990). The ambiguity surrounding the definition of the child was put to rest by the UN
Convention and 2003 Child Rights Act. Owasanoye and Adekunle (1996) posit that a
significant shortcoming of the age-based definitions is that they are always arbitrary and
indeed risk the possibility of being rendered obsolete by modern perceptions ad findings on
children. On the other hand, age represents the most objective criterion for determining who
falls within the framework of a child protection policy. In this regard, the study shall adopt
the legal definition of the child in examining the practice of the child rights in Nigeria.
However, it is important to know that whatever legislation may prescribe, the fact remains
that the rights enjoyed by children in different parts of the country, in practical terms, are
dictated by the cultural perception of the rights of children in these areas (Owasanoye &
Adekunle, 1996).
The concept of the rights of the child is a recent development. It is borne out of the
premise that children are the most vulnerable and powerless members of the society
dominated by adults. The general notion that parents and adults have the best of intentions for
children worldwide. Children are not commonly considered a political group, but they are
perhaps the most vulnerable of all humans. Children have rights like all humans and those
24
rights are all too often violated (Ensalaco & Majka, 2005). UNICEF (1995) documented that
there were well over a dozen countries in which conditions for children were far below the
norms to be expected for their levels of economic development. These include gauges such as
malnutrition levels, under-five mortality rates, and percentage of children reaching the fifth
grade of primary school, and low literacy rates for women. This horrifying situation
Organisation (ILO) report recorded by Social Science Academy of Nigeria (2002) cited
disturbing evidence of widespread physical, mental and sexual abuse of girls working as
house helps in homes other than their own. These appalling reports and many others
propelled world leaders to come together to articulate basic human rights in a multilateral
convention geared towards protecting and promoting the interests of children worldwide in
order to preserve them for posterity. Oku(2008) posits that the rights of all children are
justifiable because apart from being human beings, such rights are the best way of protecting
them from harm and ensure that they are not forgotten by their communities and the society
at large. He further went on to state that respect for the rights of children makes it possible for
them to learn to respect the rights of others. These rights, according to the scholar, include
development rights, protection rights and participation rights. These broad categorized rights
are derived from the rights stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They
include Right to life, to identity, to freedom from discrimination and right to protection from
exploitation and inhuman treatment. Oku further stated that child rights are said to be denied
The spectre of children toiling long hours under dehumanizing conditions have
precipitated an intense debate among scholars, policy makers and human right activists over
the past two decades. In the middle of the 19th century, industrial revolution, policy makers
25
and the public have attempted to come to grip with the causes and consequences of child
labour. Coordination of policy response has revealed the complexity and moral ambiguity of
the phenomenon of working children (Bass, 2004). Although child labour has been in
existence through history, the difficult conditions under which children work occasionally has
become more evident. In the middle of the 19th century, child labour became more visible
because children were forced into industrial work. Currently, child labour has become more
visible because of the increase in the number of children producing goods for export (Bass,
2004). In most developing countries due to rapid population growth, high rates of
unemployment, inflation, poverty, malnutrition, bad leadership, corruption and low wages
(Bass, 2004).
According to Yecho (2008), the concept “child labour” has no universally accepted
definition. This is in view of the fact that what is considered child labour in one culture is
seen as child training in another. The scholar cited, for instance, that in the Muslim North of
Nigeria, hawking and street begging are seen as dignified ways of training children; these
may be considered as child labour/ child rights violations in other cultures or societies. The
International Labour Organization (ILO) (1995) sees child labour as any work undertaken by
children below 15 years which endangers or interferes with basic rights of children, such as
free play, education, participation in other social and cultural activities necessary for normal
physical, psychic, intellectual and emotional development. According to ILO, there are 246
million children around the world aged 5 to 14 who are performing more than light or casual
economic work. Article 32 of the UN Convention prohibits child labour which is hazardous
conceptualise child labour to mean: the imposition of labour on children below eighteen
years, and the promotion of such labour to achieve socio-economic motives of the imposer,
26
development of the child. This definition pre-supposes that child labour is an integral aspect
of child abuse.
Although child abuse occurs in Nigeria, it has received little attention. This is
probably due to the emphasis placed on the more prevalent childhood problems of
malnutrition and infection. Another possible reason is the general assumption that in every
African society the extended family system always provides love, care and protection to all
children. Yet there are traditional child rearing practices which adversely affect some
twins or triplets in some rural areas. With the alteration of society by rapid socioeconomic
and political changes, various forms of child abuse have been identified, particularly in the
urban areas. These may be considered the outcome of abnormal interactions of the child,
parents/ guardians and society. They include abandonment of normal infants by unmarried or
very poor mothers in cities, increased child labour and exploitation of children from rural
areas in urban elite families, and abuse of children in urban nuclear families by child-
opportunities in the rural areas in order to prevent drift of the young population to the cities.
Child abuse is an intentional act that results in physical or emotional harm to a child.
The term child abuse covers a wide range of behaviour, from actual physical assault by
parents or other adult caretakers to neglect of a child‟s basic needs. Child abuse is also
sometimes called child maltreatment. Child abuse, like child labour, is a fundamental betrayal
of childhood trust and an affirmation of the powerlessness of being young in a society where
victimization is often not recognized (Macfarlene, 1978). By definition, it refers to any act or
acts carried out by parents, guardians or relatives, against children, in furtherance of the
former‟s self-interests, which are inimical and detrimental to the self-concept, wellbeing and
overall development of these children (Yecho, 2008). Child abuse is viewed by the United
27
Nations as a condition of causing or permitting to occur, any form of offensive or harmful
contact on the body of the child. Adaadaa & Ametefe (2008) define child abuse simply to
mean the various forms of maltreatment, cruelty and degradation meted out to a child by
parents, caretakers or people in a society. It covers taking undue and inhuman physical,
The basic premise of this study is that every social phenomenon of which law is a
part, must be seen within the context of a given mode of production or socio-economic
context (Yecho, 2008). The mode of production here refers to how society creates and
reproduces itself through material production of goods and services. Those who have more
power, which is derivable from their socio-economic strength, are able to control the
activities of others. The mode of production determines the nature of the state and the
character of the ruling class and their relations with other social groups in that system (Eze,
1994). Eze sees the state, in capitalist society, as not a neutral umpire. Rather it exists to
protect and serve the interests of the ruling class at the expense of other social groups which
are in the majority. This helps to propagate inequalities in the society and provides the basis
for the struggle for human rights. Human rights, he continues, tend to restrict the power of
rulers and serve as a reaction against authoritarianism and inequality that could have
This study adopts the Dialectical Method as a tool of analysis in looking at the
practice of the international child‟s right law in Nigeria. The study agrees with the opinion of
28
Eze (1994) which states that Dialectical Method is significant in that it examines the
relevance of the forces of production, class struggle, nature and character of the state and
their relevance to social relations as well as the enjoyment of human rights in the society. The
scholar states that Dialectical Method proceeds by thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis and very
well suited to understanding the struggle of man for human rights. The unequal and
exploitative relationships which characterize the capitalist mode of production estrange the
workers and the masses from the means of production. This invariably leads to conflicts with
the state moderating not as a neutral umpire but as an ally of the ruling class. The masses who
find themselves in the lowest scale of the socio-economic ladder find it difficult to actualize
their rights. It follows therefore that the denial of human rights is seen as a direct
consequence of the unequal and exploitative relationships that take place within the capitalist
system.
This framework rejects the liberal democracies emphasis on civil and political rights,
individualism and private property as too simplistic and narrow minded. Eze (1994) asserts
that this liberal notion of human rights serves to mask the exploitative and unequal
relationships that underline most laws in private enterprise system. On the other hand, the
dialectical method accepts the determinant impact of the nature of the socio-economic system
in the scope and nature of human rights protected and that it forms the bedrock of civil and
political rights since it determines the character of the state and who controls it. In actual
democracies, poverty often prevents the mass of the people from actualizing and enjoying
their political and civil rights while the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, which
constitutes the ruling class, gives the economically privileged minority preponderant political
influence (Enemuo, 1999). This indicates that under conditions of exploitation and inequality,
the capacity of the ruling class to enjoy their rights is enhanced while those of the poor
masses are minimized or eroded due to poverty, socio-economic dislocations and civil strives
29
which are the characteristics of most developing economies. Ake (1993), was of the view that
the recognition of these paradoxes has led to calls for the broadening of the notion of
At the international level, exploitation takes place at the level of exchange between
the developed countries and the developing countries of which Nigeria is one (Momoh &
Hundeyin, 1991). The unequal relationship and exploitation results in harsh economic
disorder characterized by external debt, hunger, poverty, underdevelopment, capital flight and
great social inequalities, among other social ills in the developing countries. Developing
countries have made different attempts to address these harsh economic conditions through
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP). These attempts push these countries into further
cycle of foreign debt and poverty. These conditions have serious implications for the
promotion and protection of children‟s rights in the developing countries. When National
debt is high and Government spends a sizeable portion of its earnings to service debt, very
little is left to develop infrastructure needed for the enjoyment of human rights. Debt service
payments deprive Nigeria of much needed resources needed for poverty reduction, improved
health service, quality of education and provision of portable water. The existing trend of
servicing foreign debts with huge amount of money that the nation can only exacerbate
The peripheral capitalist mode of production is what Nigeria operates on. This is
mainly a direct consequence of its colonial heritage. Eze (1994) postulates that this mode of
production has created a contractor ruling class that is predatory and parasitic. It re-enforces
the primitive capitalist system, with the ruling class, in concert with the state, controlling the
resources of the country to perpetuate their interests at the expense of the majority of the
people. There is, therefore, dialectic between the small ruling class and the majority of the
30
Nigerian people. More and more Nigerians are getting poorer while fewer and fewer are
getting richer and controlling most of the wealth. The majority lacks basic education, health
care, does not have enough to eat or have good drinking water. Government have attempted
to relieve the sufferings of the poor masses through poverty alleviation programmes such as
law and institutional reforms have been met with failures. The dominance of the ruling class
on the other hand, is further enhanced. This widens the inequality gaps between the ruling
class and the poor masses. This situation forces families to release their children into labour
market, exposing them to the risk of physical and sexual abuse as well as enhancing their
risks of coming in conflict with the law. It is no wonder then that the fund for peace, an
international non-governmental organization, in its 2010 Failed States Index (FSI), states that
nearly 70% of Nigerians live below the poverty line, while many government officials have
become wealthy by taking bribes and embezzling public funds (The Punch, June 22, 2010).
The debilitating economic situation since the 1980s has created a needy population and also
affected funding for institutions and bodies charged with the implementation of human rights
of people, including children‟s rights, leading to the deterioration of educational, social and
health infrastructure. The level of poverty has given rise to different crises such as ethno-
religious conflicts and sub-nationalist agitations, social disorder and crimes. Children are the
most affected of these crises because of their vulnerability and dependence on the adult
population, majority of which are poor, illiterate and unable to afford the basic necessities of
life for themselves and their families (Alemika, 1996). In many poor countries, children work
survive the hardships occasioned by worsening economic conditions (United Nations, 1995).
According to the UN, the condition most common to children who suffer, or are deprived of
opportunity is poverty resulting from economic injustice. This has led Teresa Abenez, a
31
onetime special adviser to UNICEF, to conclude that the most perverse form of denial of
child rights is poverty, because poverty makes it impossible to satisfy other needs that are
basic rights. Poverty affects access to quality education, health care, social services and
justice. It is for this reason that some have argued that, to achieve the realization of the rights
of children, there is a need to address the socio-economic conditions in which children are
reared (Alemika, 1996). It is true that government has put in place legal and institutional
measures meant to ensure the promotion of children‟s rights. These measures may not be
Another tool of analysis which this study adopts is the Conflict Theory. This theory
places emphases on power, exploitation, inequality and inequity as factors encouraging crime
and violence against children mostly in poor households. Conflict theory deliberates on these
Firstly, conflict theory assumes that the society consist of groups with different
interest (Neuman, 1994). Child abuse is the result of children being against their caregivers in
such a way that the care givers have special interest in the act of abuse deliberately or not.
Secondly, force and strive to gain power are ever present aspects of human relations.
Children are usually abused because their abusers apply and maintain a position of power and
spreading traditions or using violence if necessary. In most cases of child abuse, children are
open to violence, terror and intimidation. For instance, a poor parent ignorantly tries to verify
his/her power by using violence and terror upon the child. Conflict theory is useful in
determining the impact of social, economic, environmental and cultural factors on levels of
incidence of violence and crime against children. Most children who find themselves in poor
households find it difficult to actualize their rights. It follows therefore that the denial of
human rights is seen as a direct consequence of exploitation, power, inequality and inequity.
32
REFERENCES
Ake, C (1993): Is Africa Democratizing? Text of Guardian Annual Lecture, in the Guardian
Alemika, E E (1996): Child Abuse, In I. Ayua & I. Isabella (ed), The Rights of the Child in
Lagos Campus.
Amatete, M. D & Adaadaa, C (2008): Symptoms of Child Abuse and the Remedy; in The
Journal of Family Development, vol.3, June 2008; A Publication of the Centre for
Azogu, G.I (1991): Women and Children: A dismembered Group under Customary Law in
of Lagos, Lagos.
p.133;Abuja
33
Francis, D J (2005): Peace and Conflict Studies: An African Overview of Basic Concepts; in
S G BEST (ed), Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies in West Africa; Ibadan,
Freeman, M (1995): Children Rights in a Land of Rites; in B. Franklin (ed); The Handbook of
Kegley, C W (2007): World Politics: Trend and Transformation, 11th Edition; New York:
Thomson Wadsworth.
Melton, G (2005): Treating Children like People: A Framework for Research and Advocacy;
Neuman, W.L (1994) Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches,
Oku, O (2008): Protecting the Rights of Domestic House Helps in Imo state, in the Journal of
Family Development, vol.3, June 2008; A Publication of the Centre for Family
Development (CEFAD).
34
Onu, P (1994): The Concept of People’s Rights in Banjul Charter; in O. Agbede et al (ed):
of Lagos, Lagos.
Owasanoye, B & Adekunle, A (1996): Overview of the Rights of the Child in Nigeria, in I.
Ayua & I. Isabella, (ed), the rights of the child in Nigeria; Lagos: Nigerian Institute of
Smith, A B (2008): Child Rights and Early Childhood Education; Children Issues Centre,
University of Otago.
The UN Convention on the Right of the Child (1989) (2010): CRIN Website.
UNICEF Newsletter (2006): The Role of the United Nations, Convention on the Right of the
Journal of Family Development, vol.3, June 2008; A Publication of the Centre for
35
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter provides the steps and procedures used in the collection of data for this
study.
Nigeria, the descriptive survey method will be adopted because it is descriptive in content
using workers of National Human Rights Commission and Public Complaints Commission.
National Human Rights Commission and Public Complain Commission as my case study
statistical means. Survey research has to do with getting information from various groups of
people about their ideas which are related to issues under investigation by asking questions
The target population designed to cover the study will be confined to hundred people
The sample used in this study was composed of 100 participants and the sample was
chosen using purposive sampling technique in which the researcher selects a particular group
or category from the population to constitute the sample because the category is considered to
36
cover the whole with reference to the characteristics in question (Kumari, 2008). I got 70
A research instrument is a tool used in collecting data. This research makes use of
primary and secondary types of data which serves as the instrument of this research. Primary
data is used primarily for this study and is gotten from the questionnaire administered.
Textbooks, journals, articles, internet and newspapers are the secondary source of data used
which supplements the primary data. This study makes use of questionnaire. A questionnaire
is a research instrument that is conducted in such a way that the respondents answer questions
about their own ideas and activities in a written form. A questionnaire is usually structured
open ended or close ended. In my research, I used questionnaire as my primary data source.
The data sampling coverage involves the prominent workers of National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC), Public Complains Commission (PCC). In this research, the
data gathered and the results/findings made are of the highest possibility that they were
The method used for result interpretation is qualitative and quantitative techniques.
Qualitative technique is a simple analytical method based on fact observed in the course of
research enquiry, which comprises of the use of textbooks, journals, newspapers and internet.
assessment of the domestication of international child‟s rights law in Nigeria; 1999 – 2013. It
37
also contains mixed multiple technique and suggestive answers. Using primary and secondary
source of data is important because it helps in the analysis and interpretation of data. Data
sources were carefully selected based on the relevance and validity in achieving the
objectives of this research. The questionnaire response is based on five responses, for
example strongly agree, agree, neutral, strongly disagree, disagree. The questionnaire adopted
multiple dimension area relating to the domestication of child rights law in Nigeria. The
result of the questionnaire will be analysed with the use of tables. The chi – square will be
used in testing the hypothesis. The study was analysed using both descriptive and inferential
statistics, percentages and mean were also used to analyse. Chi- square is a test that compares
the observed frequencies and expected frequencies. Chi-square analysis is used when there is
a need to examine the similarities between two or more populations or variables on some
characteristics of interest. (Other statistical tests do pairwise comparison, but the chi-square
can handle more than one variable or population at the same time). It is often compared to the
t-test for comparing mean since it compares non normal population distributions. Chi- square
is a statistical test applied to sets of categorical data to evaluate how likely it is that any
observed difference between the sets arose by chance. It is suitable for unpaired data from
large samples. It tests a null hypothesis stating that the frequency distribution of certain
38
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents an analysis of the data on the study. Data analysis was undertaken
primarily in terms of percentages and, to a lesser extent, through descriptive analysis. Simple
pie charts, frequency distribution tables were used in presenting data. Data analysis was done
based on the research questions. This chapter deals with the interpretation and analysis of
data collected from the field. A total of 100 questionnaires were distributed but only 70 was
SEX
Valid Cumulative
The table above shows that 38(54.3%) of the respondents were males while 32(45.7%) were
females.
39
AGE
ABOVE
The result shows that age groups 40-49 have the largest number of respondents with 50% of
40
OCCUPATION
Cumulative
EMPLOYED
The table above presents the occupation of the respondents and it shows that the employers
were lesser with 6(8.6%), followed by the self-employed with 31(44.3%) and employee with
41
RELIGION
Valid Cumulative
The table above shows that Islam had the sample population of 27(38.6%) while Christianity
had 43(61.4%).
42
EDUCATION QUALIFICATION
Valid Cumulative
SSCE
CE
The table above shows the educational qualification of the respondents and indicates that
2(2.9%) have WASC/SSCE, 11(15.7%) have NCE, 28(40%) have HND, 22(31.4%) have
43
4.2 DATA ANALYSIS
Cross tab consists of observed frequency (count) and expected frequency (expected count).
Grand Total
Ei is expected count
The analysis in the crosstab below is done by using questions to compare questions. This is
done to test the hypothesis. One question from the questionnaire is used to compare three
other questions in the questionnaire that are similar to each other. In analysis 1,for instance,
Domestication and full implementation of the provision of child‟s right law by all states of
44
the federation is the only panacea to the disturbing incidences of rape and violence against
children is used to compare The provision of the child Rights Law in Nigeria and UN
Convention as well as the Child‟s Right Act positively affects the fortunes of the Nigerian
Child, The existing provisions of Child‟s Right Act have not been effective in preventing
serious challenge in achieving the objectives of the Child‟s Right Act in Nigeria. In analysis
2, The Nigeria government does not have the political will, sincerity and commitment to
influence the Child Right Law in Nigeria is used to compare All forms of corporal
punishment of children in Nigeria should be banned as they are not appropriate corrective
measure in their upbringing, The Nigerian child have not been given adequate protection and
also ignored by the family, society and government and also In pursuance of universal
adoption of Childs Right Act, Nigeria needs to seriously address the challenges associated
with implementation for all tiers of government. The count in each row and column is gotten
45
ANALYSIS 1:
Domestication and full implementation of the provision of child’s right law by all states
of the federation is the only panacea to the disturbing incidences of rape and violence
against children * The provision of the child Rights Law in Nigeria and UN Convention
as well as the Child’s Right Act positively affects the fortunes of the Nigerian Child
Crosstab
STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE DISAGREE Total
DISAGREE Count 0 1 0 1 1 3
Total Count 25 23 13 6 3 70
46
Chi-Square Tests for the above table
Degree of freedom 16
P-value 0.036
In the above analysis, the formula ∑ was used in calculating the Pearson chi
square. That is, chi-square is the sum of the squared difference between observed (o) and the
That is the sum total of (12 – 9.6)2 + (7-8.9)2 + (6-5.0)2 + ......... + (1-0.1)2
The degree of freedom is gotten by using the formula (r -1) (c-1), that is total number of rows
The P-value is also known as the probability value. It is used for testing statistical hypothesis.
In calculating P-value, it is important to know the level of significance which is traditionally
5% which is 0.05 and it is often denoted by the (α) sign. The P-value is calculated based on
the data imputed into the computer. It is calculated using the SPSS or P score calculator.
Once the data is being entered into the data view of the SPSS and the analysis is being run,
the computer will bring out the output in which the P value is inclusive. When using the P
score calculator, it is required to enter the figure of the chi-square and also the level of
significance in other to calculate the P-value. The P-value is defined as the probability, under
the assumption of hypothesis, of obtaining a result equal to or more extreme than what was
actually observed. The P-value is used in the context of null hypothesis testing in order to
quantify the idea of statistical significance of evidence. In other words, if P-value is less than
α value, Ho is being rejected.
47
Domestication and full implementation of the provision of child’s right law by all states
of the federation is the only panacea to the disturbing incidences of rape and violence
against children * The existing provisions of Child’s Right Act have not been effective in
preventing Childs Right violation in Nigeria
Crosstab
STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE Total
DISAGREE Count 0 3 0 0 3
Total Count 5 38 15 12 70
48
Chi-Square Tests for the above table
Degree of freedom 12
P-value 0.003
Domestication and full implementation of the provision of child’s right law by all states
of the federation is the only panacea to the disturbing incidences of rape and violence
against children * Culture/tradition/custom is perceived to serve as a serious challenge
in achieving the objectives of the Child’s Right Act in Nigeria
Crosstab
STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE DISAGREE Total
49
children DISAGREE Expected 1.7 1.5 1.1 .1 1.5 6.0
Count
DISAGREE Count 1 0 0 0 2 3
Expected .9 .8 .6 .0 .8 3.0
Count
Total Count 20 18 13 1 18 70
Chi-Square Tests
Degree of freedom 16
P-value 0.025
Decision rule: Reject H0, if p-value is less than α-value i.e 5% significant level, otherwise
Reject H1.
From table (i) – (iii), it is discovered that p-value i.e 0.036, 0.003 and 0.025 are less than the
Therefore, we reject H0
Conclusion: UN convention and the existing provisions of Child Rights Act have been
50
ANALYSIS 2: The Nigeria government does not have the political will, sincerity and
commitment to influence the Child Right Law in Nigeria * All forms of corporal
punishment of children in Nigeria should be banned as they are not appropriate
corrective measure in their upbringing
Crosstab
STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE DISAGREE Total
STRONGLY Count 1 0 2 1 0 4
DISAGREE
Expected 1.1 1.3 .6 .5 .5 4.0
Count
DISAGREE Count 0 2 0 2 0 4
Total Count 20 22 11 8 9 70
51
Chi-Square Tests for the above table
Degree of freedom 16
P-value 0.04
52
The Nigeria government does not have the political will, sincerity and commitment to
influence the Child Right Law in Nigeria * The Nigerian child have not been given
adequate protection and also ignored by the family, society and government
Crosstab
STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE DISAGREE Total
STRONGLY Count 0 1 2 0 1 4
DISAGREE
Expected 1.5 1.0 .7 .1 .7 4.0
Count
DISAGREE Count 1 0 1 1 1 4
Total Count 26 18 12 2 12 70
53
Chi-Square Tests for the above table
Degree of freedom 16
P-value 0.019
54
The Nigeria government does not have the political will, sincerity and commitment to
influence the Child Right Law in Nigeria * In pursuance of universal adoption of Childs
Right Act, Nigeria needs to seriously address the challenges associated with
implementation for all tiers of government
Crosstab
STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE DISAGREE Total
STRONGLY Count 1 1 1 0 1 4
DISAGREE
Expected 1.0 1.5 1.1 .2 .2 4.0
Count
DISAGREE Count 0 0 2 1 1 4
Total Count 17 26 19 4 4 70
55
Chi-Square Tests for the above table
Degree of freedom 16
P-value 0.007
Decision rule: Reject H0, if p-value is less than α-value i.e 5% significant level, otherwise
Reject H1.
From table (i) – (iii), it is discovered that p-value i.e 0.04, 0.019 and 0.007 are less than the α-
Therefore, we reject H0
Conclusion: The Nigerian government has the political will, sincerity and commitment to
56
4.3 FINDINGS
This research has been carried out on a critical assessment on the domestication of
international child rights law in Nigeria. From the study, it has been established that there are
numerous legal instruments meant to protect the Nigerian Child against economic
exploitation. The most significant is the Child Rights Act, 2003 (CRA).
the Nigerian child against exploitation, exploitation is still a thorn in the flesh. Children are
everywhere toiling as domestic servants at homes, labouring behind the walls of workshops,
hidden from view in plantations. Sexual exploitation, child marriage, child trafficking and
prostitution have become very rampant and many children have been shipped to European
countries as sex slaves. Many reasons have been given to explain the continuation of children
exploitation. They range from poverty, moral degeneration of the Nigerian society, weakness
of the child justice system, cultural and religious practices. The greatest factor responsible for
child abuse has been identified to be the poor economic condition of the country. It is
important for the socio-economic conditions under which children are reared to be addressed
From the responses, UN convention and the existing provisions of Child Rights Act
have been effective in preventing Child Rights violation in Nigeria in the past few years
despite the difficulties faced in implementing some laws in some part of the country. Also,
the Nigerian government has the political will, sincerity and commitment to enforce the Child
Rights Law in Nigeria and this can be seen with its adoption of many provisions of
57
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 SUMMARY
In this study, an attempt to assess the domestication of international child rights law in
Nigeria was made. World leaders began to put legal and institutional frameworks in place
geared towards the accomplishment of the protection of children‟s rights after being
convinced that children deserve sufficient protection so that they can grow to preserve the
human race. This was due to the believe that protecting the human rights of children is
critical to the development and continuity of nations. In the mid-1940s, following the
establishment of the United Nations Organisation (UNO), several human rights conventions
and treaties were negotiated by members of the international community and few of these
instruments were devoted to children. Despite the provisions of these instruments worldwide,
the dignity and rights of children continued to be violated. The UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child is the most successful human rights treaty with regards to the number of nations
that have signed and ratified it. Every sovereign state in the world have signed and ratified
For a proper analysis of the work to be achieved, the work was divided into five chapters.
Chapter one is the general introduction, it contains the background to the study, statement of
the problem, research questions, objective of the study, research hypothesis, significance of
the study, scope and limitation of the study. Chapter two is the Literature Review. It contains
the conceptual clarification and theoretical framework. Chapter three is about the Research
58
design, sample population, sample area, sampling technique, method of data collection,
Validity and Reliability of instruments. Chapter four contains the Data Presentation and
Analysis. Chapter five will contain the Summary of Findings, Conclusion and
Recommendation.
Based on data collected and analysed, the study made and discussed the findings that,
detailed legal and institutional provisions were made by the international community for the
promotion and protection of children‟s rights including Nigeria. The provisions made by the
Nigerian government are yet to be universal due to the fact that some states are yet to adopt
the Child Rights Act. Nigerian Government is collaborating with international bodies such as
UNICEF, ILO, UNESCO, etc to ensure the full implementation of the provisions of the Act.
Limitations to the enjoyment of human rights of children were identified. They include
poverty, underdevelopment, ignorance of the relevant laws, great social inequalities, multi-
ethnic and cultural nature of the country, non-adaptation of the Act by some states, etc. the
utmost obstruction was found to be the economic recession the nation has been experiencing
since the mid-1980s which has made Nigeria to lack necessary resources needed for poverty
reduction, improved health services provision on portable water and quality education leading
to decay in physical and social infrastructures. The extent to which rights are enjoyed
5.2 CONCLUSION
Children are vulnerable members of the society. With the introduction of Structural
Adjustment Programme (SAP) in the 1980s to address the deteriorating economy of the
subsidies from petroleum products and social services such as health, education, transport and
59
of the society including children has been identified. The most obvious impact is in declining
health and educational services which SAP set aside for reduced funding. Accordingly, the
interest and rights of children were dependent on the availability of income. Another negative
impact is the harsh economic conditions which imposes poverty on many families. This leads
to high inflationary rates, high cost of living and an impoverished nation. Reasons for poverty
could be best understood through the Marxist view of Alubo (1988). He sees child rights
abuse as the result of class differences which exists in the country between the bourgeoisie
(the ruling class) and the proletariat (the dominated). He argued that the upper class members
control the economy and formulate policies. This enables them formulate policies aimed at
maximising profit at the expense of the poor which comprises of the low-income workers,
Child labor and child abuses are still rampant in Nigeria with the presence of street
children and children beggars despite the numerous provisions of both international and
national instruments. Corruption in Government has robbed children of the finance necessary
for the implementation of the rights of the child the health care delivery system. The scourge
of the HIV/AIDS in the country is a threat to the right to life and Government has not
addressed the issue. Sexual harassment and abandonment of children are still rampant
exposing them to physical and moral insecurity. The right to education appears to be replaced
by exploitative child labor in some parts of the country. Many parents are still abandoning
their responsibilities towards their children despite the provisions of the laws concerning
children. There is need for more political will and economic power on the part of the
government to implement these laws in the interest of the Nigerian child and also for a better
Nigeria. According to Owasanoye and Adekunle, children are, and must remain the focus of
tireless effort for development and growth. International standards set for child survival,
protection and development must be met at all cost as a matter of economic and political
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priority and exigency. Only then can the Nigerian child of today compete in the world of
tomorrow.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the outcomes of this study, the following are the recommendations made:
1. State must begin to put in place a steady and maintainable political system founded on
democratic norms that will terminate violent ethno- political and religious crisis.
2. The Nigerian economy needs to be restructured to remove conditions that keep people
in poverty owing to the fact that it has established that poverty is a major cause of
NHRC, Legal Aid Council, NCRIC, etc to enable them perform their statutory duties
4. Finally, it is recommended that all stake holders must be properly educated and
enlightened on these rights. Parents, children, families, and the Governments should
be alert to their responsibilities under these laws and pay greater attention to their
implementation.
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REFERENCES
Alubo, A (1998): Child Abuse or Pauperization: a theoretical position; Jos: paper presented at
African Network for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPCAN).
Joel, R.S & Mamman, A (2000): Curbing the Menace of Street Children in Nigeria; Jos; in
Owasanoye, B & Adekunle, A (1996): Overview of the Rights of the Child in Nigeria, in I.
Ayua & I. Isabella, (ed), the rights of the child in Nigeria; Lagos: Nigerian Institute of
62
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ajomo, M O & Okagbue, I (1996): Introduction to the Rights of the child; in I. Ayua
& I. Isabella (ed), The Rights of the Child in Nigeria; Lagos: Nigerian Institute of Advanced
Legal Studies (NIALS), University of Lagos Campus.
Ake, C (1993): Is Africa Democratizing? Text of Guardian Annual Lecture, in the Guardian
Alemika, E E (1996): Child Abuse, In I. Ayua & I. Isabella (ed), The Rights of the Child in
Nigeria; Lagos: Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), University of Lagos
Campus.
Allen, K (2009): Global poverty: the Human Rights Dimension; open Democracy;
London.
Alubo, A (1998): Child Abuse or Pauperization: a theoretical position; Jos: paper presented at
African Network for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPCAN).
Amatete, M. D & Adaadaa, C (2008): Symptoms of Child Abuse and the Remedy; in The
Journal of Family Development, vol.3, June 2008; A Publication of the Centre for Family
Development (CEFAD).
Azogu, G.I (1991): Women and Children: A dismembered Group under Customary Law in
welcome address: presented on the occasion of the year 2007 Children‟s day. Federal
Ministry of Women Affairs and welfare, Uyo.
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Federal Ministry of Justice (1991): Towards a Restatement of Customary Law in Nigeria,
p.133;Abuja
Francis, D J (2005): Peace and Conflict Studies: An African Overview of Basic Concepts; in
S G BEST (ed), Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies in West Africa; Ibadan, Spectrum
Books Limited.
Freeman, M (1995): Children Rights in a Land of Rites; in B. Franklin (ed); The Handbook of
Global Action for Children (2008): Fighting for Orphans and Vulnerable Children;
Washington DC.
Joel, R.S & Mamman, A (2000): Curbing the Menace of Street Children in Nigeria; Jos; in
Survival.
Kegley, C W (2007): World Politics: Trend and Transformation, 11th Edition; New York:
Thomson Wadsworth.
Melton, G (2005): Treating Children like People: A Framework for Research and Advocacy;
Neuman, W.L (1994) Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches,
Oku, O (2008): Protecting the Rights of Domestic House Helps in Imo state, in the Journal of
Family Development, vol.3, June 2008; A Publication of the Centre for Family Development
(CEFAD).
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Onu, P (1994): The Concept of People’s Rights in Banjul Charter; in O. Agbede et al (ed):
Owasanoye, B & Adekunle, A (1996): Overview of the Rights of the Child in Nigeria, in I.
Ayua & I. Isabella, (ed), the rights of the child in Nigeria; Lagos: Nigerian Institute of
Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), University of Lagos.
Smith, A B (2008): Child Rights and Early Childhood Education; Children Issues Centre,
University of Otago.
The UN Convention on the Right of the Child (1989) (2010): CRIN Website.
UNICEF (1990): Giving Children a Future: The World Summit for Children (New
York).
of the Child.
UNICEF Newsletter (2006): The Role of the United Nations, Convention on the Right of the
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Development (CEFAD).
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APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE
February 2015
Dear Respondent,
I am a final year student of the above named university carrying out a research on the
topic; DOMESTICATION OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD RIGHTS LAW IN NIGERIA;
1999 – 2014 for the purpose of an award of degree in International Relations and Diplomacy.
This is a public survey questionnaire which is aimed at identifying and collecting data about
issues, concerns and problems as they affect the domestication and effective implementation
of child‟s right law in Nigeria. I humbly request your assistance in filling the questionnaire.
Your kind and objective response will contribute significantly towards promoting the child
rights law and minimising or removing the problems militating against these rights. Your
responses will be treated with utmost anonymity and confidentiality and it is intended for
academic purpose only.
Yours Faithfully
Suleiman Victoria.
_______________
SECTION A : BIODATA
Please, tick (√) any answer of your choice in the spaces provided
Sex - Male ( )
Female ( )
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Age - 20 – 29 ( )
30 – 39 ( )
40 – 49 ( )
50 – 59 ( )
60 and above ( )
Occupation - Self-employed ( )
Employee ( )
Employer ( )
Religion - Christianity ( )
Islam ( )
OND/NCE ( )
HND ( )
Degree ( )
SECTION B
Please, tick (√) any answer of your choice in the spaces provided below
Agree -A
Neutral -N
Strongly Disagree - SD
Disagree -D
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NO QUESTIONS SA A N SD D
3 The Nigerian Child have not been given adequate protection and have also been
ignored by the family, society and government
5 The Nigerian government does not have the political will, sincerity and
commitment to influence the Child Rights Law in Nigeria
6 The almigiri, the child hawkers and the child beggars are good examples of street
children which calls for outright rejection by Child Right Law of the state
7 The existing provisions of Child Right Act have not been effective in preventing
Child Rights violation in Nigeria
10 Nigerian children enjoy all their fundamental rights as provided by the Child
Rights Law.
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Please fill in the spaces below
I. _______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
II. _______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
I. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
II. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
III. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Thank you very much for your time and timely response.
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