DOING IT RIGHT: A RULE OF LAW CRITIQUE OF PRIVATIZATION METHODOLOGY IN NIGERIA

Sam Amadi*

ABSTRACT

This article undertakes a rule of law critique of privatization as economic reform policy in Nigeria. The rule of law approach interrogates not just the policy rationales of the programme but also its methodology. The article distinguishes between a formal and substantive justice conception of rule of law and argues that the substantive justice conception of rule of law and its policy imperatives, sourced from the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution, provides a veritable framework to realize the strategic goals of privatization in Nigeria.

Keywords: Privatization, rule of law, justice, efficiency, economic growth, equality, fundamental human rights, social justice.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v10i1.4

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* LLB (Calabar), BL, LLM, MPA, SJD (Harvard), Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Baze University, Abuja. Email: samadi29@yahoo.com

HUMAN SECURITY IN THE NIGER DELTA: EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY OF RESOURCE GOVERNANCE, COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND CONFLICTS

Olayinka Ajala*

ABSTRACT

Prior to August 2009, the Niger Delta region of Nigeria witnessed widespread violent conflicts between the government, multinational oil corporations (MNCs) and militant groups. This conflict was widely attributed to deplorable human security, which deprived the indigenes of the region access to their sources of livelihoods due to pollution, by MNCs. In 2009, the government granted amnesty to thousands of ‘repentant militants’ and this programme has achieved mixed results. This article will explore the impact of human security on the outbreak of violence in the Niger Delta and the impact of the Amnesty Programme in addressing issues relating to human security. The article concludes that bottom-up community-driven initiatives offer the best approach to address human security issues in the Niger Delta. The article is based on an ethnographic research carried out in 2013 in three states in the region (Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states).

Keywords: Human security, justice, environment, Niger Delta, MNCs

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.5

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* Department of Politics, University of York, email: oaa511@york.ac.uk

DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CLIMATE POLICY: THE LONG ROAD TO PARIS

Idowu Ajibade*

ABSTRACT

The Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 countries, is the first global climate change instrument to explicitly reference human rights as a guiding principle. The treaty does not expound on the implications of climate change for human rights but the fact that it calls on State Parties to respect human rights when combating climate change shows a significant improvement in international thinking and acceptance of the linkages between human rights and climate change. Indeed, this is no mean feat. The journey to Paris has been a long and arduous process, especially for the broad coalition of indigenous people, gender, human rights, environmental and climate justice groups that worked tirelessly to bring the issue to global focus. My goal in this article is to explore the implications of a human rights clause in the Paris Agreement. Does it carry any legal or political weight? Are State Parties likely to operationalize it? In what ways can they enforce this part of the Agreement? To answer these questions, this article traces the historical account of the connections between human rights and climate change within the United Nations system and examines issues of equity and distributive justice in international climate change frameworks such as the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. The article expounds on opportunities for integrating human rights-based approaches into national and international climate policy and concludes on the need for further integration of both issues in future research and treaty negotiations.

Keywords: Climate change, human rights, justice, policy, Paris Agreement

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v7i2.4

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* Postdoctoral Fellow, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Canada. jajibade@balsillieschool.ca.

THE RIGHT TO A HEALTHFUL ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA: A REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN NIGERIA

Abdulkadir Bolaji Abdulkadir, Ph.D*

ABSTRACT

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria includes in its Chapter Two on “Fundamental Objectives and Directives Principles of State Policy” provisions on the protection of the environment. However, these provisions are made unjusticiable by other provisions in the Constitution that oust the jurisdiction of the court to entertain any matter related to the enforceability of the provisions of chapter two of the Constitution, which includes the protection of environment. These ouster provisions have led to an explosion of scholarly views on the question of how best environmental rights could be constitutionally derived and protected in Nigeria. This paper aims to contribute to these debates. The paper explores how the right to a healthful environment can be derived and secured using other enforceable provisions in the Nigerian Constitution, and through other domesticated international instruments in Nigeria, to enhance access to environmental justice in Nigeria.

Keywords: Constitution, Environment, Health

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* LLB (Unilorin), B.L (Abuja), LLM (Unilorin) PhD (IIUM, Malaysia), Lecturer, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.