Childhood Construction, Child Rights and Development in Nigeria: Trajectories from the Yoruba of South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Child rights issues are becoming very important at policy arena and remarkable efforts and resources have been, and are still being committed to them. To demonstrate the seriousness being dedicated to the issues, particularly in line with international conventions, Nigeria enacted the Child Rights Acts (CRAs) in 2003 and this has been domesticated by some states (over 16) while others are in the process of domesticating it. Especially perplexing to stakeholders, including many academics and policy makers however, is the high degree of incongruence among child rights policies, investments and expected outcomes relative to the right based approach to development. This article therefore explored the relevance of cultural construction of childhood as it interjects child rights definition and protection in the country and the world at large. Although, legal frameworks and associated policies are necessary, the article maintained that they can only be useful to the extent that they are conceived, formulated and implemented with in-depth understanding of the nuanced elements in the cultural domains of the target societies which many subsisting policies and works usually insufficiently appreciate.