Rights to dducation and employment for persons with disabilities in Nigeria : towards a human rights model of disability

Abstract

Nigeria is a party to several international and regional instruments including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and more recently the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development which guarantees explicitly the education and employment rights of persons with disabilities. These international instruments impose obligations on states including Nigeria in the implementation of education and employment for persons with disabilities. Therefore, this thesis evaluates Nigeria’s progress in achieving the (Sustainable Development Goals) SDGs by considering whether Nigeria is meeting its international obligations for persons with disabilities in education and employment. Applying the 4As (Adaptability, Acceptability, Availability, and Accessibility) and disability human rights frameworks, this thesis contends that although Nigeria has made some progress towards achieving the SDG goals 4 and 8, and has adopted some measures to protect and promote the education and employment rights of persons with disabilities, yet the country is still failing to meet its obligations to make education and employment acceptable, adaptable, available, and accessible to persons with disabilities. Moreover, Nigeria continues to promote the moral/medical approaches to disability rather than the human rights model of disability in its domestic framework and practices relevant to persons with disabilities in education and employment. For Nigeria to comply with its international obligations, it needs not only to move towards a human rights model of disability in its domestic laws, policies, and practices relevant to persons with disabilities in education and employment but also, shift towards protecting and promoting the rights of people with disabilities in these areas, by providing more financial resources and making procedural, institutional, substantive, and cultural changes. A shift towards a human rights model of disability by Nigeria will significantly improve the situation of persons with disabilities as well as ensure Nigeria’s progress in achieving inclusive quality education and full productive employment for persons with disabilities in line with the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.