Emerging Nigerian Muslim Fear over the Implementation of Child’s Rights Act

Abstract

This paper examines the Nigerian Muslims’ apprehension on the implementation of the child’s Rights Act. This is due to the fact that Islam being the religion of the significant segment of Nigerian population has exposed them to the rights of children other than the child Rights Act. Such rights as provided by Islam include right to proper upbringing, right to education, right to caring, right to equal treatment, right to love and affection, and right to life and equal life chances. The Muslims in Nigeria therefore express fear that if the Child Right Act is implemented, it will affect negatively their Islamic religious practices and promulgations on the Rights of the child based on Shari’ah (Islamic law). The paper recommends the domestication of the child Rights Act to allow for religious and cultural understanding of the act.