Seventeen years have passed since the enactment of the Child Rights Act, and we’re left wondering if the best interest of the child is Nigeria’s primary consideration.
- Eleven states are yet to domesticate the Child Rights Act of 2003;
- Nigeria still has poor education coverage for its school-age children and the most out-of-school children in the world;
- While Nigeria’s labour force is declining, there’s a teeming demand for child labour- 43% strong;
- Forty-four percent of girls in Nigeria get married before their 18th birthday;
- Nigeria still has ways to go in its pursuit for “real child protection”.
The Child Rights Act of 2003 (CRA) proposed to address threats children face in Nigeria. The law, which is a part of Nigeria’s commitment to the UN convention on the rights of the child, promised protection for the Nigerian child. The law addressed prevention of child labour and other forms of exploitative practices. Also, the law made provision for child health and the right of the child to free, compulsory, and universal basic education. It further prohibited child marriage in the country.
Yet, despite the promises projected by the CRA, Nigerian children have continued to experience different threats. In fact, as of 2019, only 25 states have domesticated this legislation. Eleven northern states refused to adopt the law on account of it conflicting with religious and cultural norms. Some of these states include Bauchi, Yobe, Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Zamfara, Gombe, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa and Kano. Still, some issues the CRA proposed to address are still proliferating in the country; four of which Dataphyte discusses:
Poor education coverage
While the CRA stipulated the right of the child to free, compulsory, and universal basic education, many Nigerian children are still denied education. One in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria. In 2018, the country had 13.2 million out-of-school children. And per UNICEF, only 61% of 6-11-year-olds regularly attend primary school. The situation is worse in northern Nigeria, where net school attendance rate is only 53%; not to mention the uneven gender enrolment for basic education. States in the north-east and north-west have female primary net attendance rates of 47.7% and 47.3%. This implies that more than half of the school-age girls in these two geo-political zones are not in school.
Poor Access to healthcare
Nigerian children are also yet to receive the best of healthcare. And though derelict health facilities in Nigeria is yesterday’s news, women and children are the worst hit. In addition, the poor health coverage in the country does not exempt its young. Perhaps this explains why Nigeria recently overtook India as the world capital for under-five deaths; further averaging an estimate of 858,000 under-five deaths in 2019. Again, under five mortality in Nigeria is 117.2 per 1,000 live births according to UNICEF.
Child Labour
Deplorable, archaic, these are some words that come to mind when you say child labour. Yet, findings show this heinous enterprise accounts for 43% of Nigeria’s children. Children in Nigeria engage in the worst forms of child labour; some of which include quarrying granite and gravel, commercial sexual exploitation, and armed conflict. And their employers, private establishments and homes. What’s more, about 27% of children between 7 and 14 combine school and work. Street hawking by children is also common practice in different parts of the country.
Child Marriage
Nigeria has the third highest absolute number of child brides in the world and the 11th highest prevalence rate of child marriage. As much as 44% of girls in Nigeria get married before their 18th birthday, with north-western and north-eastern Nigeria accounting for the biggest uptake. According to the 2008 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey, the median marriage age in north-western Nigeria is 15.2 years. In the same region, 68% of the women aged 20–49 were married before their 18th birthday.
Looking ahead
Although Nigeria has failed its young in different ways, there is still a chance to change the course of events. First steps could be domesticating the CRA across the country. Beyond the law, Nigeria must operationalize child protection in practice. To this effect, the government must criminalise child marriage and child labour. Also vital are advancements to health and education. Overall, government must provide requisite funding to improve the real protection and privileges enjoyed by Nigerian children.