Can Multiculturalism Be Exported? Dilemmas of Diversity on Nigeria’sSesame Square

Abstract

While scholars argue that “multicultural education” initiatives are rooted in liberal Western ideals, such projects are increasingly being exported to non-Western countries with significantly different sociohistorical contexts. This article examines the adaptation of multicultural education on the Nigerian version of Sesame Street, called Sesame Square, which is coproduced by a Nigerian company and funded by USAID. Drawing on ethnographic observations, interviews, and episode analysis, I analyze Sesame Square’s efforts to teach intergroup tolerance. While most nations struggle to balance diversity and unity, my research suggests that this endeavor is particularly delicate in Nigeria, where ongoing ethno-religious conflicts threaten to fracture the nation. The fate of multicultural education may depend less on its pedagogy than on the sociopolitical contexts in which it takes place. Paradoxically, multicultural education may be a luxury reserved for countries with some preexisting level of intergroup cohesion.