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Speaking Truth to Power: Nigeria in the Wilderness

At this time and juncture my nation, a land that should be showered in hope and adorned in glory, Nigeria, is shrouded in impenetrable uncertainties more than at any time in our history. Now as I write today, I grapple around in the dark seeking a clear path forward. The ‘re-election’ of Muhammadu Buhari fetches not bright sparks in the firmament nor a clear indication of any path to progress. This despair is heightened by the time it has taken to assemble a team and his lack of deftness in response to the challenges presented.

My return from our weekly Sunday Church service, which focused on ‘resolve’, in the midst of the gloom, greying and murkiness of the skies, with splashes and dashes of water engulfing the roads as the tyres of our vehicle threaded our race towards home, I lapsed into deep thought.  The depth of the thoughts rummaging through my mind traveled to far away Ibadan, Nigeria as I questioned my usefulness and relevance of my life towards the betterment of my country.

I sank into the comfort of our brown leathered sofa with cob of bleached white bread, sandwiched in freshly fried potato chips, sprinkled with salt, laced in vinegar and a cup of freshly brewed tea to cleanse my palate and refresh my restless body.  I switched on our sizeable flat screen television, tuned in to a You Tube documentary, ‘King in the Wilderness’.  A powerful portrayal of how much one man surrounded by so much pessimism, violence and struggle impacted American society.

A compelling watch, which ended in tears streaming down my face, bathed in tears, questioning emotions so raw why my generation and I blessed with so much have been unable to impact Nigeria dominated. I was also struck by the fact that Martin Luther King Junior had made his peace with death.  Fear could not hinder him as he hurtled towards certain death.  All that mattered was how much and how soon he could effect social change to his society.

I believe that once in a lifetime every generation and every society is blessed with leadership that can effect and leverage transformation but not all take advantage of it. Indeed many treat it as a luxury they can so easily dispense with and utilise the illusion of time to defer enthronement of transformatory leadership. The Black Americans took advantage of the leadership of Dr. King, but my nation; Nigeria has never really taken hold of the once in a lifetime leadership opportunity we have been afforded. So where does that leave Nigeria today? Some suggest an oscillation between progress and retrogression?

In the 50s Chief Obafemi Awolowo bestrode governance in the West making great strides. I draw from a letter written by the late Major General Adeyinka Adebayo to Asiwaju Tinubu sometime ago, a reminder of the achievements of the colossus and the failure of the current occupants of the offices of state in various States.

“Let me talk about roads, housing and infrastructure . The first dualized road in Nigeria, the Queen Elizabeth road from Mokola to Agodi in Ibadan was formally commissioned by Queen Elizabeth in 1956. The first Housing Estate in Nigeria is Bodija Housing Estate (also in Ibadan) which was built in 1958. The state of roads in the Yoruba nation has become pathetic. Our hinterland are still largely rural. Even some state capitals like Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti are big villages when you compare them to towns in the South East. How many new estates have been built over the last decade? Even Ajoda New Town lies in ruins.

We have abandoned the farm settlement strategy of the Western Region and only pay lip service to agriculture. Instead of feeding others like we once did, others now feed us. We plant no tomatoes, no pepper and the basic food that we require. The Indians have bought the large expanse of water body that we have in Onigambari village. The water body in Oke Ogun of Oyo State can provide enough fish to feed the whole of the South West. From being a major cocoa exporter many years ago, one can point to just a few vestiges of factories that still deal with Cocoa in the Yoruba nation. 80% of Cocoa processing industries in the South West have been shut down. The Chinese have taken over the cashew belt at Ogbomoso in Oyo State. They have even edged out the indigenes as brokers. They now come to the cashew belt to buy from the local farmers, sell on the spot to other Chinese exporters who now process the cashew nuts and import them back into Nigeria at a premium. Sir, there are only 7 major cashew processing plants in Nigeria and you can check out the ownership. The glory has departed from the Yoruba nation.

Apart from Asejire, Ede, Ikere Gorge and Oyan dams built ages ago, where are the new dams to cater for increased population and water capacity for the Yoruba nation? How have we improved on what our heroes past left us? Maybe apart from certain areas in Lagos State, others can't even supply their citizens with pipe-borne water.”

Today, we have a government at the Federal level, which is backed and enabled by Asiwaju, with limited success achieved and no discernable road map forward. No clear economic plan to cope with our racing population growth, nothing but plotting and scheming for power, power for its own sake and not power to secure lives, transform lives or create wealth, acquiring power to propagate and not to elevate.  We seem to have lost the one in a lifetime opportunity and our current leadership shows no inclination to lift Nigeria out of the wilderness to a new progressive era, they have made no pact with sacrifice but simply a reduction to short term tactics to remain relevant in power.

In the despair, I look up towards to heavens for inspiration, draw from the past and I am re-inspired to resume speaking truth to power that it might ignite a revolution in our governance and say so help me God.

Olu Ojedokun, PhD, is an academic from Lead City University Ibadan    

Defining Nigerian Administrative Law through the Clinical Lens

*Olu Ojedokun

(B.L., LL.B, Ph.D)

Faculty of Law

Lead City University, Ibadan

Employlawone@aol.com  +2348153344265

and

**Jamila Bisi Aduke Suleiman

(LL.B, B.L, MA. Law & Diplomacy, MA English for Specific Purposes)

Centre for Peace and Security Studies

Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola. Adamawa State, Nigeria

jamilasuleiman120@gmail.com +234803 3760 239

Abstract

Experiences gathered from a significant amount of discourse relating to the study of Administrative law is usually found around its definitions, Oyelowo (2016), pp.12-15. In some instance these are found to be very academic and obtuse.  There is a suggestion from anecdotal evidence that this sometimes limits the understanding or appreciation of the extent, scope and its relevance to the areas of the rule of law, separation of powers, Remedies, Judicial Review, Natural justice, the Constitution and Delegated legislation amongst others areas.  The paper argues that many definitions proffered do not usually go far enough to the root of Administrative law and usually creates a disconnect from its true utility or functional value. This paper seeks to unravel a cleverage and open up future discourse, which connects the academic to the more clinical and more functional. In other words this paper will show ways in which a discourse of Administrative Law may be made more accessible.

Keywords: Administrative Law, Definitions, Constitutional Law, Pictogram

Introduction

Muhammad (2019) argues that Administrative law is the bye-product of the growing socio-economic functions of the State and the increased powers of the government. He suggests that Administrative law has become very necessary in the developed society, the relationship of the administrative authorities and the people have become very complex. He opines that in order to regulate these complex, relations, some law is necessary, which may bring about regularity certainty and may check at the same time the misuse of powers vested in the administration. There is a contention that historically the most significant development of twentieth century is the rapid growth of Administrative Law. According to Thomas (2018) Administrative Law was not even accepted as a separate branch of law until the 20^th century. 

Ozumba (2014), p. 97, continues in the historicity stating Administrative Law in Nigeria was imported into Nigeria by means of local legislation in 1863, and then later in 1914 it became part of the Supreme Court ordinance, which introduced into Nigeria the rules of general application. He opines that it is also important to state that Administrative Law has much to do with constitutional law, that in fact, Administrative Law is part of constitutional law.

He suggests that in formulating Nigerian constitution, the administrative processes of government were taken into consideration and these laws were formulated to guide the operations of administrative agencies. He concludes that though Administrative Law is very important, in Nigeria it has not yet attained its full operational capacity, it is this full operational capacity that we suggest may be found in the functional and the clinical definitions of Administrative Law.

The reason the lack of operational capacity is alluded to Is that in this century is that the philosophy as to the role and function of the state has undergone a radical change. It is said that in the ancient society the functions of the state were very few and the most prominent among them being protection from foreign invasion, levying of taxes and maintenance of internal peace and order. However, today the state is not merely a police state, exercising the sovereign function, but as a progressive democratic state. It seeks to ensure social security and social welfare for the common man.

So Muhammad (2019) argues that Administrative law is that branch of the law, which is concerned, with the composition of powers, duties, rights and liabilities of the various organs of the government. However, problematic in trying to contain a definition or definitions of Administrative law is that it is indeed difficult to evolve a scientific precise definition of administrative law. Some definitions are found too broad and some are too narrow. This paper suggests a clinical approach may be a way of addressing this conundrum but recognises that it can only rest upon that conclusion only after we have considered quite a few definitions both textually and in case law.

Some Definitions

Nzebuchukwu (2016) draws from Igbinedon (2016) in arguing against a generally accepted definition of Administrative Law explaining that one of the reasons given for the difficulty is the wide field that it covers.  He however suggests that two things be taken into account in the attempt of understanding and defining Administrative Law.  That it is in its concern with the manner of exercising governmental power and secondly it cannot fully be defined without due regard to the functional approach, in order words the functional approach should be the underlying element of any definition.  That is why this paper proceeds beyond using the functional approach through clinical in its attempt to capture a more contemporary definition of Administrative law. It proceeds at this stage to highlight and commence with a few definitions deployed by scholars that is of concern to this paper.

Malemi (2012), pp.2-4, states:

“There is no generally accepted definition of administrative law. There are many definitions as there are writers.” 

He then draws upon a few of the writers starting with Sir Ivor Jennings who argues that:

 “Administrative Law is the law relating to administration. It determines the organisation powers and duties of administrative authorities. ”

In the case of Prof. E.C.S. Wade and Prof. A.W. Bradley they say:

“Administrative Law is a branch of public law which is concerned with the composition, powers, duties, rights and liabilities of the various organs of government which are engaged in administration, or more concisely, the laws relating to public administration.”

According to Prof P.A. Oluyede:

 “Administrative law means that branch of our law which vests power in administrative agencies, imposes certain requirements on the agencies in the exercise of the powers and provides remedies against unlawful administrative acts.”

Prof B.O. Iluyomade and Hon. Justice B. U. Eka stated that:

 “Administrative Law is the body of rules which aim at reducing the areas of conflict between the administrative agencies of the State and the individuals.”

However, it will appears that Prof. H.W.R. Wade’s definition mirrors more closely the quest to achieve a clinical less academic one of administrative law. He argues that:

 “…is the law relating to the control of governmental powers.  This …is the heart of the subject.  All…powers are…subject to legal limitations; there is no such thing as absolute or unfettered administrative power.  It is always possible for any power to be abused….And the court will invalidate it, ….if it infringes the limits which parliament has ordained.  The primary purpose of administrative law therefore, is to keep the powers of government within their legal bounds so as to protect the citizen against abuse.  The powerful engines of authority must be prevented from running amok.  As well as power there is duty. It is also the concern of administrative law to see that public authorities can be compelled to perform their duties if they make default….. Administrative law may be said to be the body of general principles which govern the exercise of powers and duties by public authorities.”

In Oyelowo (2016), he opines that:

 “There are several definitions of administrative law from different jurisdictions. Indeed, from its common law origin in England administrative law has been defined differently by different authors and academic writers.  The kernel according of the whole subject of administrative law, according to D.C.M. Yardley, is the control of power within its lawful compass.”

A more descriptive definition of modern administrative law and practice is provided by Leyland (1999), pp.1-2:

 “Normally it is regarded as the area of law concerned with control of governmental powers, which originate in primary legislation or in the prerogative. Or the subordinate powers exercised by individuals and bodies acting under the power given by primary legislation  (or legislation of a binding nature emanating from the European Community). It may, then operate in respect of controlling the prerogative powers of ministers, but it might equally well apply to the minutiae of administration in central and local government.  It embodies general principles, which can be applied to the exercise of the powers, and duties of authorities in order to ensure that the myriad of rules and discretionary powers available to the executive conform to basic standards of legality and fairness. The ostensible purpose of these principles is to ensure that as, well as observance of the rule of law, there is accountability, transparency and effectiveness in the exercise of powers in public domain”.

Whilst many of the authors and academics appear to echo the general understanding that Administrative Law is the law that regulates administration Wade in his own case more specifically attempts to mirror the more clinical aspect of Administrative Law. The focus always seems to rest more substantially on the abstraction that the more academic definition offers.  The use of diagrams or pictogram in the trying to elucidate or explain the definitions in major texts such as Malemi (2012), Oyewo (2016) and Emiola (2011) is simply another way of capturing its clinical and functional essence.  So in the midst of all these how do we bring the clinical to bear on the understanding and explanation of Administrative Law?

Pictogram of Administrative Law Definition

 

This paper argues that to obtain a better understanding of Administrative Law we need to be more clinical in our approach and use pictorials such as the above to explain it in functional terms.

The pictogram above places the administrator or executive at the centre and surrounded and circumscribed around it are some of the curbs on his power, the circumscribing of the power, limiting the ability to exercise power indiscriminately. In order words the circumscribing is necessary to prevent power from corrupting and from absolute power from corrupting absolutely. The Administrator is curtailed by the various principles such as Rule of law, Natural Justice, Remedies, Separation of Powers and even more.  This allows and provides the law teacher the opportunity to proceed further breaking the curriculum and study of Administrative law into the various sub circles mentioned providing a tangential link that is visible to the eye. Whilst pictograms may are usually used in subjects such as leisure, tourism, and geography there is no reason why it cannot be deployed in the study of law if it aids in the grasping of basic concepts.

An Experiential Definition

According to Frank (1973) Administrative Law helps to achieve peace, if the law does not help the poor, the solution is to change the law, not change the form of government. He agrees Administrative Law cannot solve all our problems, they are economic and social as much as legal, however, failure to observe the law will take the country backward, it might end the possibility of helping the poor. Laws are different in each state, the reasons for poverty, the background and living conditions of the poor are different in each state, the attitudes of politicians and public servants towards the poor is different in each state. But he goes on to highlight its limitations, mentioning, limited scope, difficulty in interpretation, level of enlightenment, general case of corruption, general underdevelopment and poverty

The leads to the experiential, which, is based upon observation, trial and error or experience can also play a role in opening up the definition of Administrative law to better understanding.  The use speed bumps on the road to slow down vehicles, reduce their speed and save lives is a measure of control it ensures that even though vehicles have enormous speed at their disposal the bumps act as breaks and circumscribe the power of the administrator.

A picture of a speed bump.

Riding with a student who is driving can be related to the administrator/executive and how their propensity to abuse power is limited by the speed bumps of Rule of law, Natural Justice, Remedies, Separation of Powers, etc. Hence a student is able to grasps concept principles with ease. This will help bridge the gap between the theory and practice of law. 

Conclusion

In a world where social medial, pictorials, pictograms and more experiential is used in deploying complex concepts, law cannot afford to be absent or escape its use. Pictograms present information in a fun and new way, and can be very effective for communicating a message in an emotionally evocative way. Pictograms now form part of our daily lives through their use in medication, transport, computers, etc., because they indicate - in iconic form - places, directions, actions or constraints on actions in either the real world (a town, a road, etc.) or virtual space (computer desktop, Internet, etc.). A pictogram is better than a label, and recognizing an image is easier than reading text (Norman, 1990) and so there is no reason why the study and research of law should not be fully engaged.

This paper attempts to open a small window in which the study of law could become more clinical, functional and more experiential to the learner and the budding researcher.

*Acting Dean Faculty of Law, ** Lecturer

Bibliography

·       Emiola, A (2011). Remedies in Administrative Law. Emiola (Publishers) Ltd: Ogbomosho

·       Endicott, T (2018) Administrative Law 4^th Edition. Oxford University Press: Oxford

·       Frank Parker S.J (1973) The Law and the poor, Orbis book Maryknoll, Newyork.

·       Igbinedon, Simeon (2016), Course Guide on Administrative Law National Open University, pp. 11

·       Leyland, P and Wood, T. (1999).  A Textbook ON Administrative Law, 3^rd edn. Blackstone Press Ltd.    

·       Malemi, E (2012). Administrative Law. Princeton & Associates: Ikeja

·       Muhammad, H (2019), Assignment on Administrative Law, Meaning, Functions and Importance downloaded, 8^th May 2019 from https://www.academia.edu/27310418/_Assignment_on_administrative_law_meaning_functions_and_importance_

·       Norman, D (1990), The 'Problem' with Automation: Inappropriate Feedback and Interaction, not 'Over-Automation' Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences 327(1241):585-93 

·       Nzebuchukwu, S (2016), Administrative Law, Being a Seminar Presentation in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for The Award of LLM Degree downloaded 9^th May 2019 from https://independent.academia.edu/NzubechukwuSamuel

·       Oyewo, O (2016). Modern Administrative Law & Practice. University of Lagos Press and Bookshop: Lagos

·       Ozumba, L (2014), Approaches and Effects of Administrative Law in Nigerian Political and Administrative Setting. Journal of Integrative Humanism – Ghana March, 2014

·       Thomas, T (2018), All You Need To Know About Administrative law download 9^th May 2019 from https://blog.ipleaders.in/administrative-law-1/

Published in 

Maiduguri Journal of Arts and Social Sciences. Volume 18 2019 - ISSN: 0189-9716