Bøger af Nkeonye Otakpor

The Papers published in this volume were selected from among the presentations made at the scientific sessions of NAL 2006 and 2007 convocations. It is hoped that other papers from those sessions will be published in future editions. The theme of the NAL Convocation in 2006 was Who is afraid of History? That of 2007 was "Morality and materialism." Professor Oloruntimehin's paper was presented in 2006, while Professors Otakpor and Unah presented theirs in 2007. Professor B. Olatunji Oloruntimehin, Professor of History, is Dean of Humanities at the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo. Professor Nkeonye Otakpor is a Professor of Philosophy, University of Benin, Benin City, while Professor Jim Unah is a Professor of Philosophy, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba.

There has existed the naïve assumption that until the unsolicited advent of colonialism, the so-called "noble and savage" tribes had no legal system worthy of attention. The Igbo people were not exempted from this assumption. Justice itself cannot be realized outside a system of law and its institutions. It is a system in which law is a vital aspect of man's culture and social existence; embodying the collective will of the community and binding the members of that community in a unity of purpose. In all of these, the exercise of reason is essential and indispensable.In the face of the colonial and neo-colonial assumption of the non-existence of law, the evidence on the ground suggests something totally different. If anything, that evidence shows that the assumption was an essential part of the ideology of colonialism and an important psychological armour which, in conjunction with the Bible and gun-powder, helped to bring about the physical, political, economic, and mental domination of non-Europeans. In this book, an attempt is made to elucidate the logical features of some fundamental concepts and phrases related to justice, dispute settlement, and the organization of life and work in Igbo communities in Aniocha north local government area of Delta State.