Foundations of Jurisprudence: Conceptual Pathways for Nigerian Legal Thoughts

This chapter explores the foundational principles of jurisprudence within the Nigerian legal context, offering a conceptual framework for understanding law, legal reasoning, and legal development. It engages with core jurisprudential questions concerning the nature, sources, authority, and functions of law, situating these issues within Nigeria’s historical, social, and constitutional environment. The chapter traces the evolution of legal thought from classical natural law and legal positivism to sociological jurisprudence, legal realism, and contemporary critical theories, examining their influence on Nigerian legal institutions, statutory interpretation, and judicial decision-making. Emphasis is placed on the continuing effects of colonial legal transplantation and the alignment or misalignment of inherited jurisprudential ideas with post-colonial realities. Nigeria’s plural legal system, encompassing constitutional, statutory, customary, and Islamic law, is analysed, highlighting the challenges of normative hierarchy, legal validity, and conflict resolution. The chapter assesses the constitutional framework for recognising and applying non-state legal norms and evaluates the judiciary’s role in mediating tensions among competing legal orders. It further examines judicial contributions to jurisprudential development through interpretative techniques, discretion, and precedent, illustrating how jurisprudence serves both theoretical inquiry and practical guidance in adjudication. The chapter concludes with a call for a context-sensitive Nigerian jurisprudence that reflects social realities, constitutional values, and developmental goals. It argues that a coherent legal framework requires balancing universal legal principles with indigenous normative values to enhance legal legitimacy, coherence, and justice in Nigeria.