Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Nigeria. Constitution'

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Dept. of Political Science, 2006.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-03, Section: A, page: 1086. Adviser: Elinor Ostrom. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed March 16, 2007."

The thesis examines child rights protection in Nigeria particularly in the context of problems created by the constitution and culture in establishing an effective child rights framework. Its central argument is that the peculiar constitutional arrangement hinders the effective implementation of the Nigerian Child Rights Act (CRA) 2003. It also argues that cultural perceptions with respect to children also serve as formidable opposition to the recognition of children as rights holders. Having argued along these lines, the thesis proposes certain reform measures that may be adopted in resolving the problems created by these factors and assesses their suitability to the Nigerian society.

This thesis is a study of the constitution making processes in Nigeria from the colonial inception to the 1989 Constitution which is scheduled to usher in a putative third republic. Although apparently covering a wide scope, its boundary is limited by its perspective. Constitution making in any polity is essentially a political process where all the major, relevant and active interests seek to protect and advance themselves. Consequently, the focus of the research is on determining these competing interests, their interactions, compromises, winners and losers, etc. Attempts were made to provide the criteria for class identification in Nigeria to serve as a guide for determining class based action. The value of the work is threefold. First, it makes a modest but important contribution to an ongoing debate on whether or not Nigeria's post independence constitutional processes in particular were grounded in class interest, in the tradition of Charles Beard's interpretation of the constitution of the U.S.A. Second, it disputes and in large measure seeks to contradict some of the earlier widely held assumptions and assertions regarding the making of some of the constitutions, especially the Macpherson Constitution, 1951.Finally, it attempts to provide a complete and realistic account of the constitutional evolution of Nigeria less the military rule, from its inception as a country up to 1989. The method of investigation was largely analytical using official records, official reports, communications of key officials, biographical data, etc. Theoretical guidance was significantly drawn from political economy writings in politics, history and law. Eventually, the analysis revealed the existence and interplay of important interest configurations, reducing class to a subtle rather than an obvious phenomenon in the constitutional process. But overwhelmingly, the entire process was elitist and self serving with the mainstream of the population left in the margin in the composition of the constitutional bodies, the setting of agenda and the institutions and mechanisms established for governing the country. Finally, it found that there was a great deal of continuity of the values and institutions established for colonial ends with little or no will manifested in the constitutional process to break with the past. Rather what transpired was an expansion of institutions and creation of formulae in the constitution to accommodate a new breed of elites who were able to manipulate potential cleavages in the society to serve personal ends.

This thesis proposes a new constitutional framework for ownership and control of natural resources in the federation of Nigeria. It identifies exclusive federal ownership of natural resources as a tool of ethnic domination by Nigeria’s three dominant ethnic groups of Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo against the oil-producing minorities of the Niger Delta region. It is argued that the inextricable link between federal ownership of natural resources and the economic and political interests of the major ethnic groups denotes that the current system of natural resource ownership has become a divisive and destabilizing feature of Nigerian federalism. Considering that Nigerian multi-ethnic federalism is designed primarily to prevent the domination of one ethnic group by another and also encourage each constituent unit of the federation to develop at its own pace, it is arguable that exclusive federal ownership of natural resources negates these underlying principles of Nigerian federalism by entrenching the domination of the Niger delta oil-producing minorities and depriving the oil-producing states of the right to develop at their own pace. These circumstances have triggered waves of ethnic nationalism and armed insurgency in the Niger delta region with grave implications for national stability. The thesis argues therefore that only a new system of natural resource ownership which recognizes both national and regional interests in natural resource ownership and development can conduce to peace in the troubled Niger delta region of the federation. It proposes constitutional devolution of ownership rights over onshore natural resources from the federal government to the constituent units of the federation under an arrangement whereby the federal government retains its legislative and regulatory powers. It is argued that this framework, among other benefits, will preserve the underlying principles of Nigerian federalism and halt the drift toward instability in Nigeria’s Niger delta region.

This dissertation addresses the issues of crafting a constitution for Nigeria that would meet the criteria of being visible, sustainable, and durable for national political unity, social and economic development. Specifically, it focuses on the years 1978 — 1995 during which several high profile systematic, constitution crafting exercises were undertaken. These included the establishment of a Constitution Drafting Committee to craft a constitution, and a Constituent Assembly. Ultimately, these exercises have proven to be only partially successful. The goal of producing an endurable constitutional framework for Nigerian politics remains elusive. The two core questions pursued in this dissertation focus on: Why did the military pursue these constitution crafting activities? What are the pressing political issues that the constitutional framework will have to manage? The dissertation pursued these issues through surveys, interviews, a review of government documents and reports, participant observation, and a review of existing literature regarding constitution development, federalism and Nigerian history and politics. Key research findings uncovered pressing political concerns ranging across ethnic fears, gender and youth concern, institutional restructuring and economic subordination. Our findings also related to the elite background of participants in these constitutional exercises, and the intrusion of religion, class, and geographical interests into the deliberations of the assemblies. The continued violation of constitutional provisions by the military was highlighted. The widespread call for a Sovereign National Constitutional Conference to shape a new popular constitution for the country was also a prominent concern. Key recommendations focus on the need for a national constitutional conference free of political interference and constricting mandates.

Human rights became a global issue after the atrocity and barbaric genocide unleashed on over six million Jews, Sinti, and Romani (Gypsies), homosexuals, persons with disabilities and the 'Negro' (blacks) during the second world war by Nazis regime of Germany. Initially, individuals' rights were not the subject of international law, because the norm of the international law is to regulate relationship amongst member states as sovereign nations; thus, United Nations [(UN) founded in 1945] were reluctant to interfere in state parties' affairs. The unfortunate wanton abuse and violation of human rights at the domestic level by governments of the state parties were not addressed, as such issues are the remit of nationals; until it culminated to genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and war crimes which received an international attention at Nuremberg and Tokyo trials of the Nazis war generals and the subsequent punishment of the defeated countries' officials. From this point, individuals became subject of international law with the subsequent declaration of human rights in 1948. Charged with the peace and security; promotion of human dignity and economic wellbeing of the world, the UN established Economic and Social Council [(ECOSOC) in article 7 of UN Charter 1945] with the responsibility to initiate studies and to report on international level socioeconomic matters. Invariably, article 68 of UN Charter empowered The Council to set up commissions for promotion of human rights. Subsequently, Human Rights Commission (HRC) was established and headed for the first time by Ms. Elizabeth Roosevelt (the wife of then president Franklin Roosevelt of America). The Commission prepared the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Universal Declaration or UDHR), 10 December 1948 which was a declaratory standard of human rights promotion and protection expected of the state parties and not legal binding document. An international legal binding instrument was sought for; in 1966, HRC created International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) with the twin document, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) which form the International Bill of Rights together with Universal Declaration. CESCR and CCPR are meant to be complimentary and indivisible but due to western bloc politics and cold war; western scholars privileged civil and political rights above economic, social, and cultural rights; arguing that CPR is expressed in clear language and does not place an obligation on government for their implementation: Whereas ESC rights depends on government to perform their obligations to guarantee them and is expressed in vague language which renders it unenforceable. They maintain that socio-economic rights are political aspirations/goals or directive objectives of state policies which can only be realized progressively and not of immediate actualization or enforcement. This poor attitude towards socio-economic rights led so many countries of the world including Nigeria to treat ESCR as fundamental objectives of government policy to be progressively realized. In Nigeria jurisdiction, the issue of locus standi, was a clog on the wheel of litigating socio-economic rights; however, this issue has been put to rest by the Chief Justice of Nigeria who made a new rule of court in section 3(e) of Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, which provides that no human rights case should be struck out or dismissed on the grounds of want of locus standi. The dissertation will be making comparative analysis of two legal systems comprising India and Nigeria as common law countries and as an emerging economy, although India is well ahead of Nigeria right now and both countries' Constitutions made socio-economic rights Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP). The study enunciates the definition and historical development of human rights from the inception of UN and delves into the challenges in the two countries chosen as samples of the research, and considers the virile attitude of India's judicial authority towards a liberal interpretation of socioeconomic rights and juxtaposes it with Nigeria's dismal and reluctant attitude towards implementation and enforcement of ESC rights. The work proceeded to prove that socioeconomic rights can be justiciable in Nigeria, if the judicial attitude in administration of justice can positively change to that of enforcement driving. It drew lessons from Indian system and what could be emulated from their integral approach and public interest litigation, because the world attitude towards ESC rights has revamped towards enforceability and concludes with recommendations
Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Centre for Human Rights
LLM
Unrestricted

In response to competing group claims and the challenge to achieve pre-set triple national goals - recognising and accommodating ethnic diversity, achieving national unity and political stability, successive Nigerian governments from the colonial era to the present, have at various periods negotiated, constitutionalised and/or decreed state building strategies. This thesis offers detailed discussion and evaluation of some of these competing group claims and strategies using principles derived from the theoretical arguments of Michal Walzer, Charles Taylor and Will Kymlicka, and prescriptions based on the empirical arguments of Crawford Young, Eric Nordlinger, Donald Horowitz and Donald Rothchild. The thesis argues that some of the strategies adopted in response to the competing group claims were defensible in the very circumstances in which they were introduced, but were either not deep enough to offer an adequate political inclusion, or lacked the appropriate instruments that would have minimised recurrence of ethno-political conflicts and institutional instabilities. There were some strategies that either generated tension among groups, or were purely driven by strategic considerations for national unity, but were defensible. There were other strategies that were pragmatic at the very period they were adopted, but not defensible. The core theoretical finding of the thesis is that, the normative and empirical prescriptions validate the country’s various strategies for coping with diversity. However, application of some elements of the prescriptions in the Nigerian multicultural society has the potential to generate tensions leading to ethno-political conflicts and institutional instabilities. The important empirical finding of the thesis is regarding the role the inherent tensions between the triple national goals and the state building strategies play in the generation and recurrence of ethno-political conflict and institutional instabilities. The thesis argues that the underlying factors responsible for the prevalence of ethno-political conflict and institutional instabilities in the country include among others, the ascension of the military to power and its costly dominance of the political scene for about thirty five years, the immediate post-civil war period which coincided with the era of petroleum boom that created a deepening crisis of corruption, the perpetuation of large scale electoral and financial corruption, and manipulation of ethnic loyalties. Given the above underlying factors, this work observes that state building and Constitutional politics in Nigeria’s multi-ethnic society is a difficult task, especially taking into account the ethno-political conflicts and institutional instabilities associated with the Armed Forces over the years. On the basis of a detailed and interdisciplinary analysis, the thesis recommends constitutional and institutional safeguards for mitigating ethno-political conflicts and institutional instabilities in the course of future political development of Nigeria.

Democratization is a fragile process, easily reversed when and where its advance is most recent. African countries present particular challenges to democratization, given generally low levels of economic and social development, often combined with ethnic and cultural fractionalization. Debates about democratization have not been sufficiently developed with the African context in mind. In particular, assessment of the effects of presidential systems on democratization has not been sensitively applied to African cases where most regimes are Presidential. Moreover, a particular feature of African democracy, the dominant party within a multi-party system, also raises questions that have not been so pertinent elsewhere. Debates about the merits and demerits of electoral system options for democratic consolidation also require more empirical analysis in Africa. This study is based on the assumption that debates about the relationship between political institutions and democratization in Africa can only be advanced by recognition of the interactions that can be identified between the institutions of presidential, parliamentary and party systems, particularly within the dynamics of one-party dominance. Empirical leverage takes advantage of an important case with a parliamentary system and proportional representation: South Africa. The most appropriate comparator from the Presidential and majoritarian camp is Nigeria. These are the two largest and most important states in Africa, sharing a British colonial heritage and a federal system and each dominated by a single party for about two decades. The thesis conceptualizes democratization in terms of legitimation and institutionalization. Legitimation focuses on the micro-level: the quality of elections and the voting process, the presence or absence of government-sponsored violence or coercion, the extent of public confidence in politicians and public support for democratic principles and practices. Institutionalization is focused at the macro-level: elite compliance to constitutional norms, political accountability, and the absence of violent intervention against the state, by the military or other internal forces. The thesis finds that leadership transitions within the parties take place with more accountability in South Africa than Nigeria. While corruption is a problem in both countries, it is more pervasive and there are more incentives to generate it in Nigeria due to a combination of the candidate-centred nature of politics, the country’s great dependence on oil exports, and its lower accountability in leadership transitions. Mechanisms to promote consensus politics differ in both countries and within-party arrangements call into question an assumption that one-party government is necessarily majoritarian. Although the process of legitimation has advanced well in both countries, they share many problems associated with lack of development. The main threat to democracy in Nigeria lies partly in the mutual distrust occasioned by the unsettled issues of ‘power rotation’, ‘resource sharing’ as well as the widening economic disparity between regional blocs of the principally Islamic North and largely Christian South with possible central state responses that might increase rather than reduce the conflicts, while in South Africa the threat lies in the high level of inequality between the white and black communities. Radical political action to address this inequality might increase the already high level of violence in the country. Such tension could ultimately lead to the break-up of the ANC, but an end to dominant-party politics in South Africa could as well destabilise rather than consolidate democracy. Similarly, in Nigeria, a break-up of the PDP, which has been nearly made possible due to a crisis of confidence in an ‘elite consensus’ on power rotation among the regional blocs, could as well constitute a threat to democratic consolidation and national integration.

Customary law existed before the enactment of formal laws to govern the affairs of Nigerians. It started as behavioural norms that grew to be widely accepted by the community and became law. Inheritance rights are recognised under Nigerian customary law. Most customs provided for a way in which a person's properties could be distributed upon his death. However, most of these customs did not make provision for women in the distribution of a deceased estate. This disparity between the inheritance right of a man and woman was very prominent in the distribution of landed properties. Upon the demise of a man, his estate becomes family property and his eldest male child inherits it on behalf of other male members of the family. Where the deceased dies without a son, his brother inherits the estate. Notably, the Constitution did not abolish laws that existed prior to its enactment. It provides that these laws shall continue to exist subject to its provisions, the Constitution provides for its supremacy over every other law, and that the court has a duty to invalidate any law that is inconsistent with its provisions. The Court found the opportunity to alter the unfair discriminatory position against Nigerian women and develop customary law in line with Constitution in the case of Anekwe v Nwekwe. Here, the defendant (brother of the deceased) sought to evict the plaintiff (widow of the deceased and her female children) from the property of the deceased because she had no male child. He claimed that based on their customary law female children are excluded from inheriting property. The Supreme Court then invalidated this customary law of male primogeniture for being repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Although the decision of the court solved the problem of discrimination, it failed to develop customary law by invalidating only the discriminatory aspect of the customary law. Lessons can therefore be drawn from the minority decision of the South African Constitutional Court in the case of Bhe v Magistrate of Khaylistha, where recourse to developing the customary law was posited. This study will examine to what extent the court has applied customary law to bring it to conformity with the Constitution, drawing from other African countries especially South Africa. It utilises literature review and case law analysis, arguing that the court needs to review the Anekwe v Nwekwe case and make a more declarative position that brings customary law up to date with modern realities. It will recommend that the courts should in consultation with the people develop the customary law of inheritance.

Cette thèse met en lumière l’apport considérable du juge constitutionnel de la 5ème République nigérienne, dans l’œuvre de la protection audacieuse du principe de la suprématie de la Constitution (du 09 août 1999). L’exposition du schéma organisationnel de la justice constitutionnelle s’opère sans préjudice du nécessaire rappel de l’histoire socio-politique mouvementée du Niger, qui n’est pas étrangère dans l’originalité qui fonde le modèle nigérien. L’évocation de l’activité constitutionnelle va s’atteler à la mise en évidence des grandes décisions de la Cour, aussi bien dans le cadre de la défense des droits fondamentaux garantis, que celui de la régulation constitutionnelle du fonctionnement des institutions de la République. La jurisprudence relative au Président de la République, qui bénéficie d’un chapitre entier est au cœur de la problématique de la consolidation de la démocratisation du Niger post-Conférence nationale de 1991. L’étude fait ressortir une trajectoire d’analyse ambivalente. D’une part, la ré-fondation de la justice constitutionnelle par la consécration d’une juridiction spécialisée et indépendante, a eu pour effet de plonger le Niger dans l’ère de la démocratie constitutionnelle. D’autre part, l’audace du juge constitutionnel s’est avérée insuffisante, face à la dérive autoritaire du Président de la République de l’été 2009 (dissolution de la Cour). Il n’en demeure pas moins que, le constitutionnalisme démocratique ébauché sous la 5ème République semble bien demeurer la révolution appropriée de lutte contre toute résurgence autoritaire
This dissertation highlights the considerable contribution of the constitutional judge of the 5th Republic of Niger, in the audacious protection work of the supremacy of the Constitution principle (the 9th of August, 1999). The presentation of the organizational structure of constitutional law requires taking into account Niger’s sociopolitical history, which has contributed to the model of constitutional justice of Niger. The evocation of constitutional activity underlines the major decisions of the Court, regarding the defense of the guaranteed basic rights as well as the constitutional regulation of the functioning of the Republic's institutions. An entire chapter is dedicated to the case law regarding the President of the Republic, which has been in the center of the issue of strengthening the democratization of Niger since the National Conference of 1991. The research results in the ambivalent analysis. On the one hand, the re-foundation of the constitutional justice through the institution of a specialized and independent jurisdiction marked Niger's entry into an era of constitutional democracy. On the other hand, the constitutional judge audacity has proved deficient facing the authoritarian trend of the President of the Republic in 2009 (dissolution of the Court). Nonetheless, the democratic constitutionalism designed under the 5th Republic of Niger seems to remain an appropriate revolution to fight against any authoritarian resurgence

Les États semblent ériger les Cours constitutionnelles en meilleur garant de la protection des droits fondamentaux. Cette étude propose une délimitation des compétences, voire des responsabilités constitutionnelles. Elle démontre que si l'inneffectivité de la protection des droits a été mise en évidence en dépit de l'existence des mécanismes de justice constitutionnelle et des ratifications massives des conventions internationales, c'est la recherche des défaillances de la protection constitutionnelle qui s'impose. La confrontation « des engagements internationaux aux défaillances de la protection des droits fondamentaux » pose la question du contrôle qui est censé être exercé par le juge constitutionnel. Au regard des expériences française et internationale, le Niger offre un exemple parfait des paradoxes de ces mécanismes de contrôle tant a priori qu'a posteriori. Ces défaillances apparaissent à travers les limites constitutionnelles de l'intervention du juge constitutionnel, voire du juge international. Cette étude à la fois micro et macrocomparative, révèle le décalage entre la justice constitutionnelle nigérienne et française. Bien plus, elle illustre le déficit de la protection constitutionnelle, y compris de la France, par rapport aux véritables exigences internationales de la protection. Au-delà, cette thèse propose des pistes d'une protection conventionnelle efficace, voire effective des droits fondamentaux conventionnels
States seem to assign a more important role to Constitutional courts to protect fundamental rights. This study proposes a delimitation of powers and constitutional responsibilities. It shows that if the ineffectiveness of human rights has been highlighted despite the fact that there are mechanisms of constitutional justice and massive ratifications of international conventions, research focusing on constitutional protection deficiencies remains crucial. Comparing “international commitments and deficiencies in the protection of fundamental rights” raises the issue of control which is supposed to be exercised by the Constitutional court. In the light of the French and international experiences, Niger provides a perfect example of paradoxes of the pre-control and post-control mechanisms. Such deficiencies appear through constitutional limits of the intervention of the Constitutional judge and the international judge. This micro and macro comparative study reveals the difference between the Nigeren and the French constitutional justice. It also illustrates the shortfall of the constitutional protection including France in the face of the real international requirements of the protection. Furthermore, this doctoral thesis proposes courses of action for effective and efficient protection under the convention

Over time, news about Africa has not been encouraging, whether in relation to poverty; incessant and sporadic conflicts; ineffective leadership; or in relation to the failure of the continent to develop in spite of the vast natural resources with which it is endowed. The failure of good governance in Africa epitomises the plight of the continent, and is the result of many factors including; diverse ethnic divisions across the continent, imposition of foreign systems through colonialisation, to name a few. This thesis also identifies an important factor which is the challenge to the rule of law on the continent. For the rule of law to be established in a society, the law first has to be an integral part of the society, and has to be legitimate, and internalised by the society. For laws and the law-making processes to be legitimate, there needs to be the consent and participation of the people which the law seeks to bind. This is lacking in most African countries where laws are often vestiges of the colonial era, and where the post-colonial law-making mechanisms have not induced confidence. These situations have led to a deficit in the legitimacy of the law in Africa, and the inability of such laws to structure and govern the people; because the people have more often than not been excluded from the law-making process, nor given their consent to be bound by the laws. The resultant effect of these realities is that the laws generally lack legitimacy and are adhered to only when sanctions are attached. This thesis investigates the Constitution as the foundational law in two former British colonies in Africa, namely Nigeria and South Africa and in particular, the way in which it is made; the resultant legitimacy, and the effects on the peoples’ response and interaction with the law. This is in order to draw a nexus between the lack of legitimacy of laws in Africa (as evidenced in the constitution making processes), and the challenges faced by the rule of law on the continent, using the cases of Nigeria and South Africa.
Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
Public Law
unrestricted

The cultivation of a culture of constitutionalism remains the greatest challenge to Nigeria’s constitutional democracy. Militarism affected in a very substantial way Africa’s efforts to develop a culture of constitutionalism in the continent. Nigeria typifies the failed African effort in trying to establish an enduring democracy and constitutionalism. After ten years of transition from militarism to constitutional democracy and the euphoria of the country’s return to democracy, the country is still on a slow march in the entrenchment of the practice of constitutionalism. This work primarily sets out to investigate the state of constitutionalism in Nigeria. Human rights and judiciary as constituents of constitutionalism are the main focus of that investigation. A crucial question that encapsulates the main objective of the study is how can Nigeria entrench a culture of constitutionalism? The study, therefore, investigates the question whether constitutional formalism or textualism without more can guarantee constitutionalism. It advocates that constitutionality does not necessarily lead to constitutionalism. The work further probes into the nature, extent and reasons for the past failure of constitutionalism in the country and its current state. The study also embarks on an exploration into the mechanisms for the protection of human rights, the problems and challenges in Nigeria. The challenges include the introduction of the “new Sharia” by some States in Nigeria; the failure to accord socio-economic rights due consideration in Nigerian jurisprudence and the poor pace of the domestication of human rights norms. The work demonstrates the relationship and linkage between human rights, democracy and judicialism in the study of constitutionalism.
Public Constitutional and International Law
LL.D.