I wasn't sure where to place this thread, so i decided to create it in the politics section.

I have a serious concern about Nigerian lawyers and Judges wearing white wigs (or whatever it's called).
This was one of those white supremacist idealogies (that we ought to imitate them with everything even with our judicial system). This has been into play since the colonial era.

Do you guys think this should continue or not?

law is a profession that has it origin in the west and it has its tradition which has been kept over the years.if you most know it is very conservative.the idea of the wigs is merely symbolic and its origin is in britain.then it was believed that it is only wise men who can do justice and the business of the court room is meant for the so called wise people.the hair actaully symbolises grey hair and thats why the judges own is longer cos they are supposed to know more than lawyers as they are experinced lawyers themselves. they tradition was passed on to all countries where britain has had influence.only the us has stopped using it.it merely symbolic

I don't like anything symbolizing colonialism, but the truth is that the attire makes them look the part. I wouldn't take a court seriously where the judge is wearing a dashiki.
Have you seen the AU court, their outfit makes me want to laugh.

Meanwhile point of correcting: the wigs originated from England and was passed along with their legal system to all their colonies, but law itself did not originate from England. There was law in ancient Egypt and kingdoms before it.

the hair actaully symbolises grey hair and thats why the judges own is longer because they are supposed to know more than lawyers as they are experinced lawyers themselves.

At this present age, I believe we can now move past mythologies and symbolisms. Hence, our judges and lawyers do not need to wear wigs to demonstrate their wisdom - besides, it too pretty damn hot for wigs.

I wouldn't take a court seriously where the judge is wearing a dashiki.

Be careful not to be charged with contempt
By the way would you take the Court more seriously if Judge wore a suit?

it will be more serious if they wore a black one or black rasta wig instead of that unnecessay copy cat style. When they tell people in school don't copy from others in a test but if u feel u have to at least change the words but the worst one is when you copy everything plus the person's name.

Honestly rookie, I don't care if I'm held in contempt, but if I go to court and see the Judge wearing a dashiki, I wouldn't stop laughing. In fact, the more the judge tries to look serious in it, the funnier it'll be to me.

That's ridiculous, does your wig or attire really carry your brain or the quality of your knowledge?. I think a simple suit or just create our own attire secifically for it would be a brilliant idea.

You can look professional even in our own native attires if you set standards!  I am not a fan of OBJ but one thing I loved the man for is that I never saw him wear a suit! Always in our traditionals--always neat and spiffy though ugly!

@rookie
I agree that wig and gown got to go!  In America you don't see that mess because they believe in their individuality. Still deliver the service oh!  I can even tolerate the gown, since it accomodates most of the pot bellies in the judicial system there!   The wig is so ugly and smelly--never washed, attracting flies and stinking up the whole place like ewu nama!  Trust Naija now--everlasting copycats with no originality!  Colonial monkeys! Long hissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

@Denex, if you dont like anything symbolizing colonialism, perhaps stand by your stance and communicate with people through your local dialect.

Why not?  We cannot control what happened in the past with the language tin, but migosh we can control what we wear!  I love our naija outfit oh!  all you colonial pipo! Before your masters came in here did you see suit in any Igwe or Oba's palace? Black and white Ke? Love and reflect what is left in ya own culture jare!

learning how to preserve my culture from americans, shenikwa! The most patriotic pipo in da world!

I don't think this thread was created to exchange anger but rather for our people to wake up and smell the coffee. The language thing I don't think that will go anywhere anytime soon, at least we can get rid of wig and their mourning dress they call gown for heaven's sake. Can't we just customize our own outfit for it if we need to?.

Absolutely! We can pick and choose. Discard the wig, and retain the European language. Wao, how about we just boycott anything colonial, including the internet? This famous writer from Kenya, Ngugi Wa Thiongo eschews writing his novel in the English format, preferring to transcript it in his native Gikuyu. Now, he is a trail blazer in my opinion. Why can't other anti-colonialists follow the same route too, instead of 'picking and choosing' what is they like and dislike, taking to task the latter for its colonial roots.

@Dehning, prior to colonialism, we had our own legal system that was governed by the elders of the village,

Ndipe

Discard the wig, and retain the European language.

- precisely

Speaking the English language has an advantage within the international community, because it is widely spoken all around the world: High population of English speaking people is one of many reasons why American jobs are being outsourced to India, which in turn is helping india become one of the largest emerging economies in the world

Name one important (perhaps sensible) role that the wig plays in the Judicial system and I will rest my case?

Ndipe

how about we just boycott anything colonial, including the internet?

That will be stupid because we stand so much to loose, e.g participate in intellectual discussions of this nature

Rookie, I cited an example of Ngugi, the Kenyan Author who writes his novel in his native dialect and he is sucessful. Why cant you follow the trend by boycotting any vestige of colonialism, including English Language. Our legal system is based on the British Law, and yeah, the judges and attorneys wear a wig, yet you allude that to colomentality common among some of our people. Now, what of English Language? Please dont give me the excuse that it an international language that one should speak, in order to survive. It is still the language of our colonial masters, so you should be prepared to refrain from speaking it, if you are totally serious in avoiding anything that stems from colonialism.

The only thing more ridiculous looking than a bunch of white people wearing sheep-skin rug regalia to court in a cold climate country  like the UK where those sheep heads provide some warmth, is the spectacle of a bunch of profusely sweating black people wearing sheep skin rugs to attend sweltering hot court rooms with dead airconditioners in a country of hot tropical climate like Nigeria.

If the Nigerian judiciary MUST follow foreign traditions like sheep in sheep's clothing, then why not follow the AMERICAN model of lawyers court attire which consigned that sheep-skin rug head-gear to the dustbin of fashion-victim history long ago ?

Can someone give me a reason why I should not say something bad to Ndipe please?. . .See if Donzman acts rude, it's because of people like him who do not think.

Why should our judges be meant to wear wigs that symbolizes "white hair"?. . .Mind you, Canada which also inherited the British legal system do not require their lawyers to wear the wigs.

For someone to compare these wigs to the English language is plain idiotic, hopefully you see this yourself. YES you can pick and choose, cultural change is a regular occurence. You can pick parts of other cultures that makes yours better and helps you function better in a global setting (like the language), and you can drop the crappy wig that is nothing other than a disgrace!

Wao, how about we just boycott anything colonial, including the internet?

How is the internet a colonial legacy?. . .Man you're really dumb!

The Internet was invented by the white race, hence, I associated it as the by-product of colonialism, meaning it is foreign. If we are to abandon the wig, for the ridiculous reason that it is one of the remnants of colonialism, then, lets forego other aspects of colonialism including the English Language. Like I wrote earlier, you just can't pick and choose certain aspects of a foreign culture to suit your need while dissociating yourself from the rest with the flimsy excuse that it robs you of your independence. Adopt a radical stance, by completely boycotting anything foreign.

Now, which is trivial, arguing that Nigerian lawyers should refrain from wearing the white wig, which symbolizes colonialism, OR that the country should overhaul its legal statutes, some of them, derived from the British Law and draw up their own legal system, based on the cultural aspects of the society?

Ndipe -
My prejudice is not against all by-products of colonialism. I simply believe we can do away with those by-products that have proven not be of significant benefits. More so, it will be very difficult to forego English as our official language, one reason being that it will take more than a single generation to do this, and we also have to weigh the pros and cons (not to digres from the main argument, we can leave the afore mentioned for another thread). On the otherhand, dress code for the judicial system can be easily revised.

There is a difference between western civilization influence and colonialism, so simply because the internet was discovered (initially) in the west does not make it a direct by-product of colonialism. Afterall, the west has also benefited from other ancient civilizations. In the same token, we should make do of inventions or resources that are beneficial to us (e.g electricity, technology etc).

Once again Ndipe, can you provide a SENSIBLE answer to my earlier question

Mention one benefit that can be derived from wearing of wigs by Nigerian judges, and lawyers and I will rest my case?

We need to discard the wig and gown for a more comfortable attire that will suit our climate. The sight of average lawyers in Naija sweating it out in their wig and gown is just pathetic. Not to talk of our crowded courtrooms where A/C is a premium.

I don't see why judges can't tie wrapper (or kampala) and wear isi-agu like our forebears did during arbitrations proceedings. Caftan would also be a great attire for judges.

Thank you oh!  @BlackMamba ati azorjiu

We have beautiful attires in Nigeria we can customize to use in any profession!  That Nigerian Nurses'/matrons' uniform is another one that has to go---very unprofessional! Our climate is hot and humid like some of you mentioned!  We cannot do anything about the English Language as a colonial influence since we have too many languages in Nigeria.  We cannot even decide on the inscriptions on our currency, is it a universal language we can adopt?

The English language is here to stay because it is the language of our institutions of learning. Tiill we have another language, if ever that happens-Please! Back to the attires topic!  I do not know why some people are fascinated with the wig and gown!  Nigerians do not even look good in it.  Their faces are black and the gown is black- no aesthetic appeal at all!  What has it got to do with the performances in the Judical sector anyway?  HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!  Maybe a lot!  May be responsible for the redundancy!  Need a complete overhaul please!  The wig especially is annoying on Nigerians!   Especially in the hot climate! Got to go!

The Internet was invented by the white race, hence, I associated it as the by-product of colonialism, meaning it is foreign.

Since when did colonialism become equated with foreign, man you're incredibly dumb. The internet was developed by a team of researchers and people of every origin have worked towards its development. Take your inferiority mentality out of here!

Like I wrote earlier, you just can't pick and choose certain aspects of a foreign culture to suit your need while dissociating yourself from the rest with the flimsy excuse that it robs you of your independence. Adopt a radical stance, by completely boycotting anything foreign.

Why exactly can't you pick and choose?. . .You can choose the aspects of foreign culture with suit your need and discard the rest for no reason at all. Who are you exactly to say you can't pick and choose, you're a clown bro.

It is very ugly, we should do away with the ugliness.

Calling for the abandonment of wearing a wig, on grounds of its colonial origin is tantamount to double standard. Why not abstain from foreign products altogether? Be a radical and adopt a stance, instead of focusing on petty issues like wearing a wig.

Quote from Rookie. Name one important role the wig plays in the judicial system. @ Rookie. Name one important role anything u think should be worn to court will play in the judicial system? (The white wig is symbolic to wisdom i.e grey hair cos as a lawyer, it is believed dat u are suppose to be wise to be able to handle cases and judge).

(The white wig is symbolic to wisdom i.e grey hair because as a lawyer, it is believed that u are suppose to be wise to be able to handle cases and judge).

My friend, you should only get to become a lawyer or judge based on qualifications. No symbols are neccesary.

The wearing of wings did not start in africa,it has been a long time africa started.so i do not think it can be stop now

Ndipe: Calling for the abandonment of wearing a wig, on grounds of its colonial origin is tantamount to double standard. Why not abstain from foreign products altogether? Be a radical and adopt a stance, instead of focusing on petty issues like wearing a wig.

Isolation from mainstream technology and trade is one of the reasons colonization happened in the first place so this is a silly thing to advocate unless you want to be colonized again in 300 years.