Self-Determination as a Right of the Marginalized In Nigeria: A Mirage or Reality?

Abstract

The world over, agitations for self-determination, whether internal or external (secession), are intriguingly recurring phenomena. The existence of some form of lingual, racial, religious, economic, cultural differences, among others, is exploited as a basis for such demands. In Nigeria, there has been a handful of such demands that have slightly been quieted by the roller-coaster spinning of political power; however, they keep coming back like a nightmare. The question at this point is, do the movements agitating for external self-determination qualify to assert this right under Nigerian municipal law or international law? This work contends that since the Nigerian constitution does not guarantee the right to external self-determine; and the more so that there is arguably no legal remedy for them under international law (their peoples' human rights not having been aggressively oppressed like the case in Southern Sudan and Kosovo) it is a questionable right in this context.