United Nations convention on the rights of a child: Implementation of legal and administrative measures in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper critically analyzes the general principles of implementing the rights of a child in Nigeria vis-a-vis the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These administrative and legal measures are the yardstick upon which one could text and evaluate the effectiveness of the Convention on the Nigerian child. The method used for this work is analytical and critical. In this wise, the paper finds that to realise these measures, Nigeria domesticated the Convention stepped down as it were in the Africa Charter on the Right and Welfare of the Child, and further stepped down in Nigeria’s Child Rights Act. Though recognising some administrative procedures in place like Protocols, there still exist some inadequacies. These inadequacies are the major challenge to the effective implementation of the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child in Nigeria. This is true as a lot of administrative machinery is not in place. In all, the paper advocates that child protection be transferred from the concurrent list to the exclusive list so that the Act governs the entire federation.

Keywords: Convention, Rights, Child, Implementation, Administrative, Nigeria