Introduction

Last week, a public notice was issued that the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court of Nigeria will commence digitisation of its registry effective June 23, 2025. From the reports, filing of cases and documents in the court will only be through its e-filing portal. This is contained in a press release signed by the Chief Registrar of the Court.

Commendation for Effective Management of Lagos Division

First, I must hasten to commend My Lord the Honourable the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, the Administrative Judge in charge of the Lagos Division of the Court and all Judges sitting in all the courts of the Lagos Division. You only need to visit the registry in Lagos to experience the pressure arising from the volume of cases being filed and handled in the Lagos Division. I do always marvel at the strength and grace with which the judges handled their cases given the volume of work involved.

The Federal High Court was originally conceived as a revenue court for the Federal Government of Nigeria in an attempt to whittle down the influence of judgments of the High Court of the States and create some balance for the determination of matters relating to the revenue of the Federation. Over the years and especially under the military administration of General Sani Abacha (Retd.), the jurisdiction of the Court was expanded to cover a range of subject matters exclusively. Since then, the workload of the Court has ballooned beyond the capacity of its personnel. This was recently made worse by the amendment to the Electoral Act to grant exclusive jurisdiction to the Court in all pre-election matters with a time limit to hear and determine them.

For some years now, the Lagos Division of the Court has undergone massive improvement in the area of assignment of cases, reform of the registry and the entire architecture of the various courts in the Division except in the area of space and sitting arrangement for lawyers and litigants in the courtrooms, which will soon be a thing of the past with the expected commissioning of the new office complex on Bourdillon Road. These reforms have become so successful and commendable such that most lawyers and litigants prefer to file their cases in the Federal High Court where the law permits a choice. The filing process is simple and friendly and the staff of the registry are very disciplined and they demonstrate a sense of accountability.

Ugly incidences of touting and sharp practice are very rare within the court given the strict adherence to rules and ethics by the entire staff. Within a week of filing any case, you are sure of its assignment to a court, even in the absence of an affidavit of urgency. This has taken commitment and tireless devotion to duty on the part of the leadership of the division no doubt and it is very commendable. One can therefore understand the need for digitisation of the process of filing cases. But there is need for caution, as filing and prosecution of cases go beyond e-filing and processing; they involve the consideration and application of fundamental issues relating to the constitutional rights of the litigants and their lawyers.

Need to Avoid Hasty Implementation

By the content of the press release issued to notify the general public of the commencement of digital filing, there is no option for manual filing of processes in the Lagos Division as from June 23, 2025, which is less than a month’s notice. This is indeed the first issue. The Federal High Court has already issued a notice of commencement of its 2025 annual long vacation from July 28 to September 16, 2025. The implementation of the e-filing regime can be delayed till the new legal year in September 2025 to give enough time for lawyers and litigants to prepare themselves for the new system. The second reason for proposing a postponement of the e-filing regime is that of facilities, space and convenience. All things being equal, the Lagos Division of the Court should relocate to its ultra-modern new court complex very soon. That should be the best time to implement a laudable idea such as this, in order to create appropriate sections and offices that are well-suited for its operations and effectiveness. The registry of the present Federal High Court cannot accommodate the volume of work associated with e-filing, at least going by the current experience in other courts where this has been experimented. But the issue does not even end with postponement of the e-filing as there are many fundamental issues that the proposal has thrown up.

Holistic Digitization

The notice of digitisation issued by the Court limits its application to only filing of cases. Now, there should be no half measures in the application of such robust innovation. It is either we are digitising the court or we are not. Will litigants file their processes digitally and judges will thereafter conduct their proceedings manually? Will it now be possible for lawyers to apply for and obtain certified true copies of record of proceedings, of rulings and judgments digitally? Will the cause list of all the courts in the Lagos Division be made available digitally on the website of the Court for all lawyers and litigants to take notice? Will lawyers and litigants be notified digitally and in advance of the itinerary of presiding judges, especially when for one reason or the other the court may not sit on any given date or occasion? In this proposed e-filing system, deponents to affidavits and statements on oath must still visit the court registry physically to swear before the Commissioner for Oaths for the process to be complete.

I urge My Lords to look into this or else it defeats the whole essence of e-filing. Then comes the issue of service of processes filed digitally. Presently, the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules specify personal service of all originating processes along with the documents filed. Is the plaintiff to file his claim and documents digitally and the court will serve them manually, in cases where the email, phone number or other digital address of the defendant is not known? How will the digital regime affect substituted service of processes on the adversary by posting or by advertisement in the newspapers, all of which are carefully and deliberately provided for in the extant Rules of the Court? Service of originating processes and documents is fundamental because of the issue of fair hearing, as the court must accord due regard to the rights of all persons before the determination of their civil rights and obligations.

Effect of Absence of Durable Infrastructure on Digitisation

Then comes the issue of infrastructure. Nigeria is currently struggling with durable power supply and internet coverage. Many people rely on alternative private power supply, which involves expenses of diesel and petrol. For reasons best known to the telecommunications companies, network coverage has become very challenging. Will lawyers file their processes digitally and then come to argue their cases manually with hard copies of processes and documents already submitted electronically? What about the issue of confidentiality? Presently, documents submitted to the court are classified as strictly confidential, because they sometimes involve very private issues relating to Wills, financial details and other classified documents.

Even in the most sophisticated jurisdictions, hackers have made nonsense of digital platforms and subjected the private lives of persons to public ridicule. What about litigants and lawyers operating in remote areas, where internet coverage is very poor and there is no power supply? How do they catch up with digitization? It is important to ensure that this lofty idea is not implemented in any way that may cause justice to be out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians who are mostly the victims of abuses, violations and denial of rights. Legal practice should not be the vocation of the elites alone, given the express provisions of section 6 (6) (b) of the Constitution which grants unfettered right of access to justice to every person.

Appeal Process Cannot be Digitised

Then comes the issue of appeal and the process of settlement, compilation and transmission of record of appeal. Presently, the Court of Appeal operates a manual registry. Will record of appeal be transmitted digitally from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal to be printed and used manually? This is important because the Federal High Court cannot operate in isolation of other courts that it is statutorily connected and attached to.

Conclusion and Appeal

It is against this background that I humbly appeal to the authorities of the Court to consider suspending or delaying the implementation of the digital filing regime until the Lagos Division has moved to its permanent and new location. Let the staff of the court in charge of this process continue to engage and interact with the Nigerian Bar Association, lawyers and litigants for the purpose of achieving robust enlightenment. And even when it commences, let digitisation run contemporaneously with manual filing until such a time that all those who patronise the court have become accustomed with the new system, just in the same way that the Central Bank of Nigeria has continued to allow the old and new Naira notes to both co-exist as legal tenders. Innovative ideas should not deprive the people of justice that they richly deserve and desperately long.

By Suyi Ayodele

This is a simple way to kill a man that is too powerful for the entire community to deal with. Simply splatter his faeces by his doorstep. Then allow him to do what all powerful men do to such audacity.

I do not lay claim to the ownership of the above theory. And it is not fiction either. There is a true-life story to it. The event happened less than 50 years ago. My generation witnessed it.

There was a powerful man in a community not too far from my hometown. He was the most esoteric man of his time and in his neighbourhood. He was a diviner, a wizard, a witch, a sorcerer and an inner member of the 16 esoteric club (Eléégbé Mérìndìnlógún). He was revered by many, feared by not a few and worshipped even by monarchs.

At one time, he held procreation to ransom in his town. Yes, you don’t have to believe me, but it happened. For three years running, monthly menstrual cycles ceased in women. Those who were pregnant could not deliver; the barren rubbed their camwood-stained fingers on the dry walls (àgàn f’owó osùn ra ògiri gbígbe) and men’s reproductive fluids dried up. All because the powerful man was angry.

Who offended him? Why did he have to punish the entire village? It was a simple matter. A married woman turned down the amorous advances of the powerful man towards her. She would rather die than warm the bed of the initiate. In anger, the man cast a spell on the entire community. He went further by withholding rain for almost a year. The draught was for all forms of productions and reproductions. He was wicked. He was unforgiving!

The town did not sleep over his matter. The elders gathered and took counsel. Enough is enough, they agreed. The powerful man must be eliminated for the community to breathe. Diviners were consulted, sorcerers were engaged, and the services of the owners of the day and night were not left out. But all amounted to nothing.

As many that were involved in the schemes did not live to tell the story. Many who were sent on the mission to other lands over the matter did not return; they perished on the journey. In all this, the powerful man remained in his house, doing his normal things and feeding fat on the limbs of goats as accompaniment of his pounded yam and the torso of the ram to eat his yamflour mash (óhún fi ori ewúré je’yán, óhún fi àgbò mòmò je’ká). He was gaining weight while the town was getting dried up!

The matter came to a head and the oba of the town decided to take the supreme action. After all, it is said that it is better for a man not to ascend the throne than to say he has no control over his domain (àfàì joyè sàn ju enu mi ò ká ìlú). The king decided to open the ancient calabash; he opted to join his ancestors.

The king summoned the last Oba-in-Council meeting. He wanted to properly hand over the affairs of what remained of his domain to the chiefs. That meeting was the worst ever. All attendees were sad. They knew what was to come, especially when the king requested that all attendees must come with their traditional paraphernalia of office.

A princess, the king’s favourite, in her teens, eavesdropped on the conversation. She waited till the last man spoke. Then she stepped into the chamber and announced, defiantly, that she had a solution to the problem.

Many of the chiefs were enraged. What audacity! How would a child step into the chamber uninvited to spew rubbish? What solution could a child have when those older than her father, the king, had died in the process of cracking the hard nut?

Wisdom however, prevailed as someone suggested that the council of elders should listen to the small girl. The chief who spoke in that direction reminded the elders that Ile Ife, the cradle of Yoruba race, was created through the wisdom of both the young and the old (Omodé gbón, àgbà gbón, òhun la fi dá Ilé Ifè). They asked the girl to speak up.

But rather than speak openly, the princess walked up to her father on his throne and whispered something to him for a few minutes. Done, she greeted the elders and went back to the inner parts of the palace to join her playmates.

The oba looked at his chiefs and announced that he would try what the princess suggested. If that failed, he would then take the last option of suicide. But what did the princess say, Kabiyesi? The chiefs asked their king. The oba merely looked at them and stood up. They chorused ‘Kabiyesi’ once more. The message was clear: mòsínú, mòsíkùn ni awo Ilé Ifè (the greatest diviner of Ilé Ifè is the one who keeps secrets in his stomach). The Oba-in Council rose.

Three days after the meeting, as the sun was setting, there was a great wailing from the powerful man’s house. At first, nobody responded. The old fox, the people said to themselves, had come out with another gimmick to kill people. Everybody stayed indoors.

The wailing continued and louder as more wailers joined. It was followed by sharp dirges. Then a man took the risk. He ventured out and tiptoed to the powerful man’s compound. What he saw shocked him. The lifeless body of the man was by his bag of charms. He wanted to be sure. He touched the body and found it cold like the nose of a dog!

The man leapt in joy. He ran to the palace to announce the good news. Sooner, the entire community was out. The news travelled far and near. The powerful man’s compound got filled up such that a needle thrown up had no space to land! The man died! But what killed him? Here is what the powerful man’s wife told the crowd.

Early that morning, as the powerful man stepped out of his house to offer the usual early morning invocation (Ìwúre òórò), he stepped on something. On a closer look, he discovered that it was faeces! Kaasa! He shouted, waking up the entire household. Who could have done this; who had the audacity to defecate by the doorstep of the wicked?

His wives knelt to beg him. An innocent child could have done that, they suggested. They asked him to have mercy, all to know avail. He dashed into his room and brought out his bag of charms. Inside it were the most terrible of the charms one could find.

The powerful man brought out the gourd containing bójówò (die before sunset) and emptied the content on the faeces. He brought out àgbélépòtá (Kill-your-enemy-within the confines of your home) and recited the accompanying incantation. He used èpè (curse), he used àfòse (happen as I say) and he did not spare olúgbohùn (instant answer). He completed the process by dropping a good portion of àbùlé (powdery substance) that had no antidote! Done, he packed his bag, entered the house, instructing that nobody should wash off the faeces until the news of the death of the culprit was broken.

But as the sun was going down, the powerful man felt some sensation within him. Something he could not explain happened to him. He reached for his divination bags and consulted Ifa. Alas, Ifa revealed to him that the faeces by his door belonged to him. Págà! He lamented. His wives and children ran to him to ask what happened. The man ignored them and began incantations to reverse what he did in the morning. Then he realised that he used àbùlé! It was too late. The pain came down like torrents. His system changed. He knew that games are sold in carcasses (òkú ni eléran úntā).

Within the hours, the powerful man answered his creator! His family members wailed. The palace rejoiced. The princess who brought the solution was celebrated. The king caused the most expensive beads (Iyùn) to be put on her neck as she was decorated in camwood lotion.

The king told the chiefs what the princess whispered to him three days earlier. The girl advised that since the powerful man was too big for the community to handle, they should allow him to kill himself. She told the oba to find a way of getting the man’s faeces and splatter it by his door. Knowing that the powerful was wicked, the girl posited that he would likely not spare the culprit.

And that was what the king did. He got his most trusted servant to trail the powerful man to the dunghill where he used to defecate. The servant did as he was instructed. When the powerful man was done defecating, the King’s servant packed the faeces and at the dead of the night, splattered it by the doorstep of the man. The rest is history. People of my generation and those older know this fable as told around Egbeoba then! The theory here is the summary of the name of a friend, Aseniserare.

No man can be more powerful than his community. It is said in my place that while the swaddle of a man cannot go round the community, the swaddle of the community can suffocate a man. This is why the elders counsel that the powerful men of this world should tread gently. Why? The ground slips, our elders submit. And that is true, the ground slips. It does any season, rain or no rain.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the most powerful man in town today. This is not debatable. He was a governor between 1999 and 2007. He had 35 other contemporaries then. Today, those other ex-governors of his era carry his bag. Especially in his South-West, President Tinubu has his fellow former governors who now eat the crumbs from his table. Even those who are old enough to be his father now serve him. Tinubu is a typical Orí àpésìn (the head that others must worship).

Before becoming the President in 2023, Tinubu had played the role of a successful kingmaker. Lagos State, his adopted state of origin, is under his armpit. From the councillor to the governor, he determines who gets what in Lagos. He appoints and removes governors of the state as he wishes.

From Lagos, Tinubu exports politicians to other states. He did it in Osun State by donating this now estranged political son, Raufu Aregbesola, to the good people of Osun State as their governor. He supported Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo State. Ekiti and Oyo States had in the past ‘benefited’ from his political patronage. Ogun State is a ‘customer daada ni’ to the man called Jagaban! Tinubu told the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, to his face that without him (Tinubu), Governor Abiodun would not have smelled the Governor’s House. As far as Tinubu is concerned, the Ogun State governor is Dapo eleyi (this mere Dapo).

President Tinubu also registered his presence in the South-South, particularly Edo State. He made Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s governorship dream come through. The Jagaban’s political signatures can also be seen in Cross River, Delta, partly in Bayelsa and lately in Akwa Ibom States. He has, completely, by proxy, annexed the oil-rich Rivers State!

The Lion of Bourdillon has also spread his tentacles to the North. He was in Kano and Kaduna States. He successfully dislodged the Sarakis from Kwara State. His shadow looms all over the northern political landscape and he is the èrùjèjè (the fearful one) of the South-East.

The people of Imo State for instance, will not forget how he supported the candidate who came fourth in the gubernatorial election to become the governor by the pronouncement of the Supreme Court. Today, if Tinubu sneezes in Aso Rock, Governor Hope Uzodimma is available to inhale the virus!

What about Anambra State? When Tinubu visited last month, Governor Charles Soludo forgot his professorship in Economics as he worshipped the man whose certificate from Chicago State University or University of Chicago is still a subject of debate. Soludo, from a different political party, did not just endorse Tinubu for a second term, he caused all the traditional rulers of the state to confer the chieftaincy title of Dike Si Mba (Warrior from the Diaspora), on the President. Today, again, Enugu quakes under the feet of Tinubu as Ebonyi and Abia States appear conquered by him.

To cap it all, everyone who is something or somebody in the political theatre is ready to endorse Tinubu for 2027. More intriguing, those who declared Tinubu as a “drug baron’ in 2022/2023 are fighting naked in defense of the President! The 2027 endorsement for Tinubu is suffocating. The drumbeat of support is loud enough for the congenitally deaf to hear. President Tinubu has every reason to be happy; he has every justification to roll out the drums in celebration. But like our elders are wont to caution: the ground slips!

The opposition is in disarray like the community in our introductory fable. Tinubu also appears to be steps ahead of the ‘Coalition’ being formed by some old friends and foes. But should the opposition give up? Should those who want Tinubu out by 2027 resign to fate because the man appears to be steps ahead of his adversaries? I will not answer for them!

But I know there is a prince eavesdropping the conversation in the political council chamber. All the people need to do is to allow him to whisper the solution to their ears. Tinubu is not totally impenetrable; he is not completely invincible! No man is! Otherwise, he would not have lost Lagos State to the Labour Party (LP) in 2023!

How did he lose that all-important election in Lagos of all places? The people were genuinely tired of his politics. I am not among those who believed that only the Igbo residents in Lagos did the 2023 magic No! What happened was a combination of all forces, what my people call ogun àpapò (concerted efforts). Everyone dissatisfied with Tinubu’s leadership style rose against him. The battle cut across all tribes. That was why it reverberated.

It is also a feat that I believe can be repeated; it can happen again. It is even more feasible now than then. The Lagos of today is more vulnerable than the Lagos of 2023. The crack is already there, the pretension to the contrary doesn’t matter! President Tinubu himself started it with his inúbíbí (anger) and èdòfùfù (fiery temper).

Like the powerful man, Tinubu’s faeces are fresh out there on the dunghill of Lagos. It is waiting for those who will pack it and splatter it at the Bourdillon palatial home of the President and wait for him to empty his bag of charms. He started the process penultimate Saturday when he openly snubbed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Yes, Governor Sanwo-Olu has called us “people who cry more than the bereaved.” He added that we are “more Catholic than the Pope.” I saw the video of the governor’s visit to Tinubu’s private home over the weekend. Nobody needs any seer to know that Sanwo-Olu is a troubled man, a man in deep agony.

We should not waste time analysing his mien, his composure and utter lack of self-esteem in that video. I don’t want us to focus on his gaunt stature as he spoke to the microphone. A man who does not complain of body pain is not sympathised with for lack of sleep or slumber (Tí alâra bá ní ara ò ro òhun, a kii ki kú àìsùn, kú àìwo) He said Tinubu is his father. Yet he was “grateful that he has given us the audience today to come in and say hello to him.”. Some fathers, some sons!

If the opposition cum coalition thinks that dislodging Tinubu in 2027 is by political rhetoric, conferences and academic appearances on television talk shows, the man they love to hate won’t move an inch. He will continue to spend our money to commission a less than 30-kilometre road out of 700 kilometres and ask us to trek if we cannot afford the tolls.

That is not the language of a man who needs our votes for his second term. Only a man who is sure he has gotten 2027 in his pouch speaks in such an arrogant manner. Only a powerful man talks down that way on the citizenry because he knows that the opposition is too lazy, the coalition too colourless and his political enemies nauseatingly self-serving!

In his euphoria, may God allow President Tinubu the wisdom to know that there is no champion for life! Everyone is endorsing the President, his party is the destination for all politicians, but he must beware of the antics of politicians. May he also know that the masquerade tethered to the elder’s waist cannot afford to dance perilously at the arena. That a man cannot become too powerful for his community.

Many empires have come and gone. No dynasty lasts forever! Our elders say when the cord holding the skin becomes too tight, the Bàtá drum brings out louder sounds. What follows is a disaster: the Bàtá tears! I would have loved to say more here but our tradition forbids a young man to speak to an elder in parables. President Tinubu is an elder!

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

By Sylvester Udemezue

MEMORY VERSE:

(1). “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
~ Albert Einstein

(2). “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~ often attributed to Einstein, Franklin, Twain, or Rita Mae Brown

THE MISCONCEPTION:

Please graciously read my open letter to Nigeria’s National Assembly, titled, “An Open Letter of National Emergency: A Call For Creation of Special States For Fulani Herdsmen” By Sylvester Udemezue, published on 02 June 2025. A common response to my proposal therein, is that Fulani already govern many states in Northern Nigeria. One reader remarked, “Fulanis (not even the ethnic ones) are Governors in all the Northern States except Taraba, Kogi, Benue, Plateau and Kwara.”

MY HUMBLE RESPONSE:

1. Respectfully, the reaction quoted above (as given by a reader) misunderstands the very essence of my argument. With due respect, the presence of a Fulani governor in a state does not make that state a Fulani state. This distinction between political leadership and ethnic identity is fundamental. A state’s identity is not determined by the ethnicity of its governor, just as appointing a non-Igbo as Governor of Anambra would not erase its Igbo identity. Col. Rufai Garba (a northern Muslim) governed Anambra State during the Abacha era (1996–1998); Anambra didn’t become a northern or Fulani state. Ibok Abas, from Akwa Ibom, was Military Administrator of Rivers State. Yet Rivers retained its distinct Ijaw and Ikwerre character. Even as I write, Ibok Abas is the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, appointed for an initial period of six months by President Tinubu following declaration of a State of Emergency in the State. In AG Federation v. Abubakar (2007) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1041) 1, Niki Tobi, JSC said, “In our federating units, identity is largely a matter of historical and ethnic continuity, not mere legal appointments or administrative control.” The states currently governed by Fulani leaders remain, demographically and historically, the ancestral lands of their indigenous non-Fulani populations.
2. The proposal to create special states or territories for Fulani nomads is not only pragmatic but entirely constitutional. The Nigerian Constitution in Section 8(1) empowers creation of states where specific political and procedural thresholds are met, including local government resolutions, referenda, and legislative approval. Section 14(2)(b) provides: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” The perpetual conflict, displacement, and insecurity facing Fulani pastoralists are constitutional red flags warranting urgent and tailored governmental intervention. Section 17(3)(a): “The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that all citizens have the opportunity for securing adequate means of livelihood.”
3. Pastoralism, which is the traditional livelihood of Fulani herders, must be protected and supported by law and policy. The Land Use Act, 1978 in Section 1, provides, “All lands in the territory of each State in the Federation are vested in the Governor.” This Act entrenches sedentary landholding systems, marginalizing nomadic communities whose way of life does not align with state-based land control. It fuels displacement and conflict. Hence my proposal as the last resort in efforts towards achieving peace and improving security.
4. There are some case law authorities endorsing federal flexibility and plural solutions to prevailing challenges. Nigeria’s jurisprudence supports tailored federal solutions for local, ethnic, and livelihood-based challenges. In AG Bendel v. AG Federation (1982) 3 NCLR 1, the Supreme Court underscored federalism’s need for adaptability to regional needs. Creating Fulani states aligns with this doctrine of adaptive federalism. In AG Lagos State v. AG Federation (2003) 12 NWLR (Pt. 833) 1. The Court emphasized decentralization as a key feature of Nigerian federalism. A uniform national policy (e.g., open grazing bans) without alternatives violates this federal principle.
5. Persistent failures of current remedies demand radical rethinking. Despite several efforts, herder-farmer clashes continue. The following have been tried without success: (a). Open Grazing Bans: These criminalize Fulani lifestyles without viable alternatives, leading to escalation of resentment and lawlessness. (b). National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP, 2019): A noble idea, yet poorly implemented, inconsistently funded, and lacking community buy-in or legal backing. The problem is, Fulani herders are functionally stateless, lacking a homeland where their culture and livelihood are recognized and protected. Hence, a viable solution is to create special states (or constitutionally protected territories) dedicated to: (1). Fulani cultural autonomy, (2). Legal and secure pastoralism, (3). Community policing and conflict resolution, and (4). Integrated into Nigeria’s constitutional order
6. Philosophical and Practical Justifications For the Proposal to Create Special States: Peter Drucker said, “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.” Barack Obama said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.” My proposal is not about ethnic favoritism but REALISM and conflict resolution. Nigeria’s history shows that peace is sustained where people have a sense of belonging, identity, and security. Without these, alienation breeds extremism.
7. Comparative Global Illustrations Supporting The Proposal For Special States: Several countries have implemented similar models: (1). Ethiopia’s Federal States are defined along ethnic lines to protect minority identities and prevent inter-ethnic conflict. (2). India’s Nagaland and Mizoram were created for specific tribal groups to preserve culture and avoid national fragmentation. (3). South Sudan broke away from Sudan due to ethnic marginalization, after failed attempts at accommodation. Nigeria must act before a preventable crisis spirals into irreversible disintegration.
8. Creating the special states is a constitutional and moral Imperative. There’s a legal maxim, that “The law must not only follow logic but must also respond to reality.” The consistent bloodshed from the herder-farmer conflict is a national emergency. The creation of Fulani states or constitutionally protected territories is not a luxury; it is a practical, peaceful, and constitutional necessity. This approach will: (a) De-escalate ethnic tensions; (b). Promote federal equity; (c). Protect a legitimate and lawful livelihood; (d). Foster long-term national unity. “The REALITY is: if we want different results, we must do things differently.” Let us stop patching up a bleeding wound with outdated bandages. Let us treat the cause, not just the symptoms, of national instability. Creating special Fulani states is not ethnic indulgence; it is strategic inclusion. May God give our leaders practical wisdom to do what is the best for our country under the prevailing circumstances.
   Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
   Long live Peace, Unity, and Justice.
   Respectfully,
   Sylvester Udemezue (udems),
   Proctor, The Reality Ministry of Truth, Law and Justice (TRM) [A nongovernmental, nonaligned, nonprofit public-interest law advocacy group]
   Tel: 08021365545, 08109024556.
   Email: [email protected].
   (09 June 2025)

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.