By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja
In the year 2015, Harrysong, a popular Nigerian musician sang a song entitled: “After the Reggae, Play The Blues”.
Reggae is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica in the 1960s.
“Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated amongst African-Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, etc.”
Whereas reggae is a fast paced form of music that requires a lot of dancing and sweating, the blues is a form of music that is slower paced, that can serenade a person to sleep.
These two forms of music appear to be apt metaphors for the forms of colonialism that African countries including Nigeria are subjected to.
In the past, Britain and other colonial masters, were using colonialism in the form of reggae music to enslave Africans. Colonialism took the form of reggae, it was loud, no disguising it. At the Berlin Conference of 1884, the European countries divided up Africa amongst themselves!!
However, in modern times, the new form of colonialism (legal colonialism) takes the form of the blues music, slowly and subtly creeping up on its audience, lulling the audience to sleep while the colonialist is free to rampage!!!
What is legal colonialism?
“Legal colonialism” refers to the use of legal systems and concepts by colonizing powers to justify and maintain their dominance over colonized territories, often imposing their own laws and legal traditions while suppressing or disregarding indigenous legal systems.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
Justification of Colonial Rule:
Colonial powers used legal frameworks to legitimize their claims to territory and resources, often claiming that indigenous peoples lacked the capacity for self-governance or that their legal systems were “barbaric”.
Imposition of Foreign Laws:
Colonial legal systems were frequently imposed on colonized populations, replacing or undermining existing indigenous legal traditions and customs.
Disregard for Indigenous Legal Systems:
Colonial legal systems often failed to recognize or respect the validity of indigenous laws and customs, leading to the marginalization and suppression of indigenous legal practices.”
Examples:
Repugnancy Clause : Colonial courts sometimes used the “repugnancy clause” to reject indigenous laws and customs that were deemed “inconsistent with natural justice, equity, and good conscience,” often based on Eurocentric standards.
Legacy of Legal Colonialism:
The legacy of legal colonialism continues to impact legal systems and societies in former colonies, with ongoing debates about decolonization and the need for legal reform to address the historical injustices of colonialism.”
At this juncture, it is important to give thanks to former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) who fought against legal colonialism by the former President of the United States of America (USA) who tried to get GEJ to enact laws to grant freedom and liberty to homosexuals to perform their weddings and other acts in Nigeria. To the contrary, GEJ enacted the Same-Sex Prohibition Act, 2013.
Below is a first-person account of the said episode as follows:
“”OBAMA WORKED ME OUT OF POWER BCOS I REFUSED TO IMPLEMENT AGEGE LAWS INTO NIGERIA”
-Goodluck Jonathan
“Many people call me a weak man because i allowed peace to reign since my ambition was not worth the blood of my country men, women and children.
It all started when Obama called me to tell me his policies which would benefit Nigeria and Africa.
I took time to read through and found it very helpful for sustainable development since i was already on the move of making Nigeria one of the richest economies in the world with special investment in Agriculture and technology and not solely relying only on petroleum.
The only awful thing i found as i read through was embracing and implementing the Agege laws (A law that will permit man to nack man for nyansh).
It is a taboo in Africa for a man to be an Agege, so in the Pan-African spirit, i called my brother late President Robert Mugabe to seek his opinion on this matter disturbing me and his response was in a parable “A man who submits his shitting point has lost credibility to sit in the council of men”.
I also contacted another brother, the president of Uganda Yoweri Museveni and he didn’t even let me conclude with talking when he burst into laughter and asked me “Ebele do you want to see your countrymen on diapers?” we both laughed over it but at that moment i drew my conclusion.
I called Obama and told him i cannot implement Agege on my people because that is against our culture and moral values as African.
He smiled and told me “THE WEST WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU”
©Afrocania
ShekinahGloryTV
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
Executive Director,
Nigerian Law Society (NLS).
