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nonso@nsu.edu Norfolk, VA, USA

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CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS AS ANSWER TO A NORMLESS NIGERIA

otable criminologists theorize that crime and other forms of deviance derive from a normless condition in which the governing rules of society have broken down or have been so weakened that they are no longer capable of regulating conducts (Emile Durkheim, 1952, Suicide, translated by John A. Spaulding and George Simpson. London, England: Routledge and Kegan Paul; Robert Merton, 1968, Social Theory and Social Structure, enlarged edition. New York, USA: Free Press). This theory applies to conditions in which there are conflicting rules. A rules-conflict situation similarly creates uncertain behavior expectations in a society. Black (Donald Black, 1976, The Behavior of Law. New York, USA: Academic Press) offers the law versus custom thesis as follows: The formal rules (laws) of a society become stronger as the informal rules (customs and traditions) become weaker. Conversely, the informal rules become stronger where the formal rules become weaker. Thus, the informal and formal rules of a society are inversely related. Based on my observations during a summer 2005 trip to Nigeria, this essay analyzes the historical and contemporary relevance of the two hypotheses in Nigerian social control.

Nigeria's history reveals an important period when Black's (1976, pp. 6-7, 107-111) law versus custom hypothesis is relevant and another important period when Durkheim's (1952) and Merton's (1968) anomie is pertinent. Prior to all forms of European intervention in the communities now called Nigeria, but in particular before the colonization of Nigeria, Nigerians in their various community groups maintained effective, efficient, and high quality social control through their various customs and traditions. In the absence of "modern" State institutions, the various pre-Western community institutions maintained proper community standards. Many research projects show that pre-colonial Nigerian communities were stable and advanced (example, Nonso Okafo, 2002, Law and Justice in Post-British Nigeria: Conflicts and Interactions Between Native and Foreign Systems of Social Control in Igbo. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press). When they arrived in Nigeria, British colonists thought differently.

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Colonial Britain concluded erroneously that Nigeria's native social control systems, expressed through customs and traditions, were weak, backward, and devilish, and were thus to be discarded. Hence, Britain forcefully and deceptively substituted or attempted to substitute various aspects of Nigeria's native customs and traditions with British native customs and traditions. In view of Black's (1976) hypothesis, was the substitution a legitimate example of strengthening (creating) formal law, that is English law, to replace informal law, that is, Nigeria's native customs and traditions? Research on social control in pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial Nigeria shows that Nigeria's native customs and traditions were (and remain) effective social control instruments (examples, Nonso Okafo, 2002 - see above; Nonso Okafo, 2005, "Political Challenges to Indigenizing Justice in Post-British Nigeria". In Comparative and International Criminal Justice: Traditional and Nontraditional Systems of Law and Control, by Charles B. Fields and Richter H. Moore, Jr., eds., Second Edition, pp. 339 - 351. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press). Thus, the reason for the British action in Nigeria lies, most likely, in Britain's desire to dominate and exploit the Nigerian land space and its people.

Following the British colonial-era substitutions in Nigeria, social control in contemporary Nigeria is based on a mixture of English law and Nigeria's native customs and traditions. However, before departing Nigeria in 1960, Britain set up a Nigerian State in which the English law dominates Nigeria's native customs and traditions, not because English law is more effective than Nigeria's native customs and traditions (English law is not more effective), but because colonial Britain gave preeminent powers to English law in Nigeria. Nonetheless, most Nigerians continue to use their respective native customs and traditions to manage disputes and to relate to one another more than the English law.

The contrasts between the official English law in Nigeria and the country's native customs and traditions have created a confused or anomic condition in which Nigerians either do not know or do not accept the official rules governing the citizens. Often, the official English law dictates one thing, whereas the citizens' history, experiences, and preferences (native customs and traditions) mandate something else. No doubt, this anomie negates effective social control. Moreover, research evidence shows that the English law is ineffective and inefficient in social control in Nigeria. The English law is thus weak.

A major consequence of the weak English law in Nigeria and the consequent anomie is the proliferation of churches by the various christian denominations. Like English law, christianity was brought to Nigeria by the Western imperialists. Each of the christian denominations claims to be the sanctuary for the confused citizens and to have the answers to all the citizens' problems. Far more often than not, these dubious religious shrines are sources of crime and nuisance in the neighborhoods, streets, public roads, and other places. The protagonists of these churches habitually invade other citizens' spaces and routinely condemn those that challenge the protagonists. All these occur while there is a deep chasm between what the christians preach and what they do - they routinely violate the christian injunctions for personal gains.

As a weak system of social control in Nigeria, English law exacerbates the Nigerian anomie. The injection of English law in Nigeria has led to conflicts between English law and Nigeria's native customs and traditions, and confusion over the proper rules of conduct in Nigeria. Despite the enormous resources at the disposal of the British-created official governments at the Local (Divisional), State (Regional), and Federal (National) levels, the English law (formal law) in Nigeria is a weak system of social control. To check the country's further slide into a normless condition, Nigerian postcolonial policy makers should take steps to strengthen the country's native customs and traditions (informal social control) because scientific evidence supports the conclusion that most Nigerians prefer their customs and traditions (even if with some modifications) to the imposed English law.

Based on the foregoing, I recommend the following course of action. For a more effective and efficient social control in Nigeria, the official Local, State, and Federal governments, through their respective legislatures, should pass legislations adopting the country's native customs and traditions (customary law) as the grundnorm (basic law), that is, the fundamental sources of Nigerian law. Formal adoptions (by legislations) of the native customs and traditions will strengthen the customs and traditions. Thereafter, other sources of laws, such as English law, will be used to supplement the basic Nigerian law. While urging the proper Nigerian authorities to reinforce the country's native customs and traditions over the English law, it is equally important to point out that unreasonable, unpopular, and outdated customs and traditions should be discarded and replaced with more progressive principles. Like every postcolonial society, Nigeria should strive to achieve a modern society that maintains a reasonable balance between the welfare and freedom of its citizens and the progress and orderliness of the State. Of course, the Nigerian Bar and Bench will be invaluable partners in these efforts to reengineer law and justice in the country and deemphasize English law.