The Nigerian Child as a Subject of Rights : Dovetailing the Statutory and Shari'a Law Norms in a Diverse State

Abstract

Making law to fit diversity has always been a complex undertaking in the midst of the lingering debates on cultural pluralism, cultural relativism, cultural imperialism and postmodernism. These complexities are evident in the lack of contemplation of diversity both in international human rights and municipal law. The Convention on the Rights of the Child appears to bear symptoms of this discrepancy as does the Child Rights Act 2003, which is the Nigerian domestication of the Convention. This article applies the rights perspectives of another law system i.e. the Shari'a to illuminate what are and what ought to be the appropriate scope of the rights of the Nigerian child if the law is truly to grow out of the spirit of the Nigerian people for whom morality continues to be of the essence. The question is whether the law can, in the context of functionalism and enforceability, stand aloof and away from the cultural peculiarities of its subjects.