Multiculturalism Contested: Freedom Of Religion, Human Rights And The Changing Narratives Of Public Education In Nigeria

Abstract

The article interrogate and problematise the concept of religion, freedom and human rights in Nigeria’s public education sector which is marked by religious diversity. The paper raises the question of whether multiculturalism can serve as the appropriate means to deal with diversity in a culturally divided federal State like Nigeria with public schools. Through survey and secondary data, the paper examines the different ethno-religious issues that have reinvogorated freedom of religion, human rights and public schools in Nigeria. Through this examination, the paper shows how religious freedoms and rights are enmeshed in a crisis of claims and have affected the expression of human rights, especially on religious symbols and modes of dressing. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the fights over the place of religion in public schools are changing the perception of public education in Nigeria, with a lesson for other African countries with similar religious and ethnic diversity.