When comparative law became a focus in Africa

Instituted by the prestigious Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma Foundation, the endowment fund has been entrusted in perpetuity with the Centre for Comparative Law in Africa (CCLA), University of Cape Town, South Africa. The funds will be run in collaboration with Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) which is expected to make available its resources base […]

Instituted by the prestigious Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma Foundation, the endowment fund has been entrusted in perpetuity with the Centre for Comparative Law in Africa (CCLA), University of Cape Town, South Africa. The funds will be run in collaboration with Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) which is expected to make available its resources base for scholars selected to benefit from the endowment.
Until now, stakeholders said comparative law is one aspect of legal system that has not enjoyed much attention from scholars and practitioners alike in Africa. Currently, it is said that when Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Indians and others sit at the table of legal development to talk about and defend their respective legal traditions, Africa is not always invited.
“Africa is not always invited at this table. It is assumed that Europeans, westerners can speak for Africa, given that African legal systems are seen as a simple heritage of the former colonial powers, despite rich, peculiar and variegated African legal culture. This is because it is assumed that there is no law out of what has been transplanted during and after the colonial period,” the CCLA chairman, Prof. Salvatore Mancuso said.
Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of University of Cape Town Dr Max Price said one of the challenges being faced by contemporary African countries is the difficulties in accessing the law and even more to have knowledge of what is happening in the legal development within the African continent.
Price said the comparative law is essentially geared towards harmonizing laws in different countries in the continent so as to ensure universal application of justice. He said the CCLA as a topmost university in Africa and indeed the world feels it has something significant which is  worth being shared among African scholars from different countries.
According to the varsity Vice Chancellor, the centre presents an opportunity to develop a discipline that lends itself to optimal application in the plural legal framework within which life is lived Africa. He said it is one of the bases the CCLA offers post graduates programmes in law at master’s and doctoral levels and conducts research on a variety of themes that apply the comparative methodology. He said the centre is therefore in a good stead to offer better services in the search for comparative law knowledge.
“One of the major problems of Africa is lack of corruption and accountability in the public and corporate existence. But if it happens that someone commit fraud in a particular country and runs to another, with effective comparative law in place, such person can still be arrested and try in the new country he has run to while the same legal technicalities can be used to administer justice similar to the country where the offence has been committed.
“So also is in the area of civil rights and human rights. Quite a number of countries in Africa are still grappling with this. But as you are aware, South Africa has had a number of experiences in this regard especially after the apartheid. So we believe this is a knowledge that should be shared with fellow African countries that have not had similar experiences or that are just coming out of military regimes among others,” Dr Price said.
In his address, the founder, TY Danjuma Foundation, Retired General Theophilus Danjuma said the initiative was in recognition of the need to conduct researches and studies that are capable of engendering positive development of African countries especially in the area of law.
According to the elder statesman, the $5 million is not for University of Cape Town but for scholars who will need the fund to further their studies in exploring new way through which African countries can develop their legal system in a way that will make them competitive across the world.
“When this issue was first brought to me, I was really not interested because I felt already we have enough lawyers across the continent and we have so many laws that are not being implemented. But when the issue was raised among the board members of the Foundation, I was surprised that everyone supported it. And I had to agree that since it is for the development of Africa, we will do it. The only proviso we put in there is that the first beneficiary of this gesture must be a Nigerian scholar,”  Danjuma said.
Already, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the TY Danjuma Foundation and the CCLA. A similar MoU was as well signed by the University with Olu Akinkugbe Business Law in Africa fellowship. The latter initiative was meant to give two fellows from Africa opportunity to carry out researches in any aspect of business law on annual basis.
In his speech, the Director General of Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN) described the TY Danjuma initiative as a welcome development even as he expressed the centre’s readiness to collaborate effectively with University of Cape Town, South Africa in providing African scholars who might become beneficiaries of the grants, the needed support in the course of their of their research exercise.
“Gen. TY Danjuma by this grant has clearly demonstrated his love for education, his belief in enduring legacy and his passion to immortalize himself through the instrumentality of this grant. Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies is indeed honoured to be part of this ennobling enterprise and wish to pledge its commitment to judicious and transparent use of the grant. We promised to be accountable and prudent in the management of the funds,” Prof. Azinge said.
The Director General said by partnering with University of Cape Town in the application of the fund, the NIALS will be threading on a similar pathway it has been in the last 35 years.
“On March 17, 2014, NIALS celebrated its 35th anniversary with pomp and pageantry. The thrust of our celebration was the display of our intimidating publications and research undertakings which were adjudged to be major contributions to legal scholarship. We promise to deploy the services of our faculty and indeed the expertise we parade to ensure that the vision that informed the grant to the NIALS and University of Cape Town is fulfilled to the letters,” Prof. Azinge said.
According to the Cape Town Varsity Vice Chancellor, the TY Danjuma foundation with the commitment of $ 5 million is the biggest international donor to the school in the last 10 years. He expressed optimism that immediately Mrs Graca Machel who happened to be the Chancellor of the institution complete her period of mourning, the duo of Gen Danjuma and Chief Akinkugbe will be formally welcome to the inner circle of the university known as; “The Chancellor circuit”.
The TY Danjuma Foundation said as part of efforts to give Nigerian scholars deserved recognition in the disbursement of the grants; it has been instructed that the first beneficiary of the fund should be a Nigerian scholar from any of the universities in the country.