What are Africa legal systems like? In this discussion we looked at Africa legal systems: Nigeria in focus. Not surprisingly, Nigeria’s legal system has features of the legal system of British due to colonial history. For many countries, the legal systems in use to this day resemble those of countries they closely related to in the past. In some cases, even the present relationships influences a legal system.
But what is a legal system? Our panelist defines it as the rules and laws, the jurisprudence and the structure of courts in a country. In Nigeria for instance, there is a court system where the judge presides over matters. The constitution is the supreme law of the land in Nigeria. Further, Nigeria enjoys rule of law hence laws are legislated to govern various aspects of Nigeria’s society.
Should Africa have retained its customary laws?
We explore this interesting question in the discussion. The proponents of this argument state that Africa did not need to inherit a colonial legal system. Rather, Africa should have retained its customary laws. What do you think? You can listen for the panelist’s and host’s views on this.
Listen to the discussion on podcast or on YouTube. You can also find our past podcasts here. We would love to have you join our discussions. You can write to us on social media @africaishare.
We hope you enjoyed listening to the discussion on Africa legal systems: Nigeria in focus.
