Volume 9 Issue 1

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THE LAND USE ACT AND LAND ADMINISTRATION IN 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA: NEED FOR REFORMS

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Akintunde Otubu*

ABSTRACT

Land administration is important in the sustainable use and management of land. Despite its importance, however, the administrative structure under the Nigerian Land Use Act is inconsistent and devoid of clarity of functions and purpose. This article examines the administrative structure under the Land Use Act, focusing on its effectiveness in light of the general principles and policy that motivated the promulgation of the Act. Given the observed lacuna and inconsistency in the administration of the Act, the article calls for legislative intervention to review its provisions. It also recommends a uniform right of occupancy regime, single administrative structure for land administration in the country, and a repeal of the governor’s adjudicatory powers in the Act.

Keywords: Land, Land Administration, Right of Occupancy, Constitution, Reforms

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v9i1.5

* PhD, Senior Lecturer, Department of Private & Property Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. Email: bullet20042003@yahoo.com. Tel: +2348023253416. The author is grateful to the Trustees of Femi Okunnu Research Grant in Property Law in Nigeria for providing the funds for this research.

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MUCH ADO ABOUT FOOD SAFETY REGULATION IN NIGERIA

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Jane Ezirigwe*

ABSTRACT

About 1 in 10 people in the world fall sick after eating food contaminated through improper farming, processing, preservation and services. In Nigeria, more than 200,000 persons die of food poison annually, caused by contaminated foods. The cost of illnesses associated with foodborne diseases in Nigeria is estimated at US$ 3.6 billion per annum. Though there is poor data collection on foodborne outbreaks, evidence exists to show that these contribute to ill health and death in the country as well as reduce productivity and economic growth. Studies and existing facts reveal that law makers, enforcement officers, regulators, food handlers and even the consuming public do not take food safety very seriously. This article examines the varied cases of foodborne outbreaks in Nigeria with the aim to assess the role and ambit of food safety regulations in Nigeria. It seeks to determine whether the present regulatory framework permits adequate regulation of the informal sector that serves the majority of the Nigerian consumers. While observing various challenges that may be encountered by the regulators, it offers recommendations on issues that require legislative reforms and pragmatic approaches in tackling the regulatory challenges. It concludes that the intergovernmental and the multi-agency cooperation envisaged by the National Policy on Food Safety and its Implementation Strategy, 2014, will be better achieved if the definition of “food” in the food laws are extended, in line with best practices and current realities, to allow for comprehensive regulation and coordination of the food chain system.

Keywords: Food Safety, Foodborne Illnesses, Food Regulation, Food Security.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v9i1.6 * LLB (Hons.) Abuja, LLM (London), MBA (EBS),

* LLB (Hons.) Abuja, LLM (London), MBA (EBS), Research Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. Doctoral Scholar, University of Cape Town, South Africa. email: ezirigwejane@gmail.com

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TROPHY HUNTING: TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN? LEGAL PATHWAYS FOR ZIMBABWE IN THE AFTERMATH OF CECIL THE LION

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Precious G. Makuyana*

ABSTRACT

This article examines the legal framework and tools for achieving sustainable trophy hunting in Zimbabwe. Trophy hunting is part of wildlife tourism, in which wealthy tourists visit Zimbabwe to hunt for a unique, iconic wildlife with desirable phenotypic characteristics at a very high cost. The trophy hunting system was developed to achieve the tripartite objectives of conserving wildlife; providing local communities with economic opportunities and income; and incentivizing local communities to support environmental conservation initiatives. This article, however, highlights the blurred lines between the purported sustainable trophy hunting and its unsustainable implementation which now resembles “legal poaching.” This dichotomy was heightened by the killing of Cecil the Lion, a tourism icon in Zimbabwe when it was not listed under the quota system for trophy hunting. The wellintentioned legal frameworks on sustainable trophy hunting in Zimbabwe are weakened by broad exceptions that render them toothless to achieve the intended tripartite sustainability objectives. As demonstrated in this article, these tripartite objectives can be fulfilled by effective enforcement mechanisms that do not currently exist. Proposals are recommended to promote these objectives through reformation of the existing legal frameworks. The option to ban trophy hunting is examined through a socioeconomic analysis in Zimbabwe to determine whether it would be possible to support a complete ban. Zimbabwe’s current socioeconomic realities confirm that banning trophy hunting would be unlikely as doing so would devastate the tripartite objectives. Undertaking effective and sustainable policies is the more effective path for Zimbabwe at this time.

Keywords: Sustainability, Trophy Hunting, CITES; CAMPFIRE, Zimbabwe

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v9i1.7

* JD Candidate, College of Law, Florida A&M University, United States. Email: precious1.ndebele@famu.edu

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TOWARDS AN EFFECTIVE CATTLE GRAZING AND REARING LEGAL FRAMEWORK: AN IMPERATIVE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

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Tolulope Ogboru* and Oluwatoyin Adejonwo-Osho**

ABSTRACT

When scholars write about environmental degradation in their publications, they hardly mention cattle grazing and rearing as one of its causes. Nevertheless, this activity, which has impacted the environment adversely, is a direct cause of land degradation, threatens the resources and ecosystem’s services that biodiversity provides, and is a threat to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15. Livestock pastoralism has intensified in Nigeria in recent times, leading to greater environmental concerns and conflicts over access to natural resources. A close scrutiny of Nigeria’s municipal laws shows the absence of any statute that provides for the protection of the environment from this economic activity except the recent anti-open grazing laws enacted by some states. This seems to account for the unsustainable management of cattle grazing lands among other factors. The recent conflicts, killings and destruction of properties between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria is one of the consequences of ineffective management of access to natural resources (land) and an ineffective regulatory framework for addressing the environmental degradation resulting from unregulated grazing, which are both exacerbated by climate change. An effective cattle grazing legal framework, it is argued, is imperative to complement existing environmental laws in addressing the environmental challenges occasioned by cattle grazing and ongoing tensions.

Key words: Nomadic Pastoralism, Pastoralist, Transhumance, Ranching, Grazing Reserve

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v9i1.4

* PhD, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Jos, Nigeria. Email address: ogboruit@yahoo.com.

** PhD, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria. Email address: oadejonwoosho@yahoo.com.

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THE SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION IN POST-COLONIAL AFRICAN STATES

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Aare Afe Babalola*

INTRODUCTION

The Director of the African Studies Centre and Rhodes Professor of Race Relations, Professor Wale Adebanwi; members of the Senior Leadership Team of Oxford University here present; distinguished faculty, staff and students; ladies and gentlemen. I consider it a great honour to be invited to deliver this lecture at the world’s leading centre for the study of Africa – the Oxford African Studies Centre. All noble and self-respecting Africans, including my humble self, have reasons to be exceedingly proud of the great work that this Centre has championed since its establishment, most especially its vision to consolidate the rich and important relationship between the continent of Africa and the prestigious Oxford University. Oxford University has, over the past century, nurtured some of Africa’s most prominent leaders. As you know, the long list includes John Kufour, former President of Ghana, Pixley Ka Isaka Seme (1881 – June 1951), the intelligent South African who founded the African National Congress in the early 20th century; Bram Fischer, the antiapartheid activist and lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela at his treason trial; and of course Nigeria’s most famous Oxford University graduate, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. It may also interest you to know that on my entourage today is Professor Damilola Olawuyi, an Oxford Doctorate in Law graduate, and a Professor of Law at Afe Babalola University

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v9i1.8

* OFR, CON, SAN, LL.D, FNAILS, FCI.Arb. President Emeritus and Founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti. This keynote lecture was delivered on 1 May 2018 at the African Studies Centre, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

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RECONCILING HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A PROPOSAL TO INTEGRATE THE RIGHT TO FOOD WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE 2030 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

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Ana García Juanatey*

ABSTRACT

This article examines the utility of the human rights-based approach (HRBA) in tackling environmental challenges that face achievement of the right to food in coming decades. So far, such approach has been quite useful in the consideration of equity, discrimination and accountability issues. Nevertheless, the HRBA’s utility to tackle the effects of environmental degradation, natural resources depletion and climate change on food security is not that clear, as human rights law and practice has evolved in parallel with environmental concerns until recently. Therefore, this article poses the following question: is the human rights-based approach to food security sufficient to address the environmental problems and constraints that infringe directly on the right to food implementation? And, how can we integrate the needs of future generations in current human rights-based policies and deal with the tradeoffs between present and future needs? This article examines how last years’ international legal literature has portrayed the linkages between the environment and human rights, principally in relation to the right to food. Moreover, it also intends to explore possible avenues of convergence, pinpointing opportunities to connect the right to food and sustainable development in the context of the 2030 Agenda. In more concrete terms, it suggests that a greater integration between the right to food and a set of principles of sustainable development law may open new avenues for research and advocacy on the right to food.

Keywords: Human Rights, Environment, Right to Food, Human RightsBased Approach, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development Law

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v9i1.2

* PhD (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Visiting Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Research Fellow at Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). This article is based on the research conducted at the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) between January and March 2015. I thank Juan Carlos García Cebolla and the rest of the Right to Food Team for their warm welcome and help during that period. Part of the views reflected in this article are included too in my PhD thesis entitled, “An Integrated Approach of the Right to Food and Food Security in the Framework of Sustainable Development” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2016), supervised by Professor Ángel J. Rodrigo Hernández.

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ADDRESSING GENDER GAPS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN AFRICA: COMPARATIVE CASE STUDIES FROM TANZANIA, MALAWI AND UGANDA+

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Asa Torkelsson* and Francis Onditi**

ABSTRACT

This article examines why, in most African countries, women farmers achieve lower productivity in agriculture than men. It contributes to this debate by interrogating whether or not addressing gender gaps in agricultural production significantly contributes to socio-economic well-being (resilience) of women as well as the gross domestic product (GDP). The Living Standards Measurement Studies-Integrated Survey for Agriculture projects was adopted to produce estimates for three countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda). The article draws from a research report and collaborative study by UN Women with UNEP and World Bank. The result shows that although female farmers individually manage slightly more than 25 per cent of all plots in Malawi and Uganda and about 20 per cent of all plots in Tanzania, Malawi shows the largest difference in mean productivity where women’s plots are, on average, 28 per cent less productive than men’s while Tanzania and Uganda reported 16 per cent and 13 per cent gender gaps, respectively. This result implies that the importance of other productive resources other than access to land may be key – for instance, the need to tackle constraints related to women’s access to “household male labour” and policies that help women farmers to access labour-saving technologies. Keywords: Land Access, Gender, Agricultural Productivity, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v9i1.3

* PhD, Country Representative, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

** PhD, Senior Lecturer & Head of Department, School of International Relations & Diplomacy, Riara University, Nairobi Kenya. He specializes in African Affairs in International Relations.

+ This article expresses the views of the authors and not the institutions to which they are affiliated. This article draws from a research report and collaborative study by UN Women Eastern and Southern African Office (ESARO) with UNEP and World Bank. The findings and policy options have been published in UN Women, UNEP and World Bank (2015), but this is the first specific focus on access to land and other factors of agricultural production. One of the authors of this article (Dr Asa Torkelsson) was part of the lead team of investigators on the original research report. We have collaborated very closely with UNDP-UNEPPEI and World Bank on this assignment. Authors of this article wish to express special acknowledgements to Moa Westman and David Smith of UNDP-UNEPPEI and Niklas Buehren and Markus Goldstein of the World Bank. We are also indebted to UN Women Country Representatives, Ms. Clara M. Anyangwe (Malawi), and Hodan Addou, Uganda/Tanzania for inputs.