The Right to Self-Determination Under International and Nigerian Law: A Myth or Reality?

Abstract

The agitation for self-determination has become a recurring trend in Africa and around the world. This is due to the socio-cultural diversity that exists in society. There have been repeated demands for self-determination, but the same has been nip in the bud, with the promise of equal or rotational power sharing, which has yet to see the light of day. Therefore, the demands still raise their heads like an immortal viper. Under Nigerian law, there is no constitutional right to self-determination, and assuming but not conceding that the rights of any agitating group have not been grossly violated to ground self-determination under international law, like in the cases of South Sudan and Kosovo. The position of international law on the right to self-determination is still uncertain, as resolutions, conventions, and covenants keep engulfing a vicious circle. Therefore, this discourse examines the right to self-determination under international and local law and submits that, while the right to self-determination is a reality, the law makes no express or save provision for it; therefore, no clear-cut parameter is theorised to determine the same.