Navigating the Future of Legal Education in Contemporary Nigeria: Effective Strategies for Addressing Current Challenges and Proposals for Reforms
Keywords:
Legal Education , Nigeria, Legal Profession, Nigerian Law School , Council of Legal Education , Body of Benchers , National Universities Commission , NUC, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), LAW Teacher, Students , Ngige, UdemezueAbstract
This paper is the second leg of an extensive two-part scholarly expedition into the legal education landscape in Nigeria. The first leg of the discussion, titled “Pedagogical Renaissance: A Disquisition on the Changing Face of Legal Education in Contemporary Nigeria,” discussed various aspects of legal education in Nigeria, touching on the meaning, nature, legal and institutional regulation, and objectives of legal education, while tracing its historical development, and outlining existing structure and organisational framework for legal education administration in Nigeria. In addition, part one highlighted major impacts of legal education on Nigeria and Nigeria’s legal system and offer some recommendations. In the present segment, the authors identify some of the major challenges facing legal education in present-day Nigeria and undertake a critical examination of the challenges, shedding light on a wide range of issues while juxtaposing these challenges with the potential opportunities for growth and improvement within the legal educational fabric, and then proposing practical strategies for addressing the identified challenges, and proffering recommendations for reforms aimed at enhancing the quality and effectiveness of legal education, strengthening the legal profession, promoting good governance and constitutional democracy and fostering socioeconomic development in Nigeria. Overall, and apart from highlighting pressing issues within the current system, this paper also offers innovative perspectives on how legal education in Nigeria can evolve to meet the demands of modern-day Nigeria and prevailing global benchmarks. The authors hope that implementing strategies and recommendations put forward in this paper could reposition the Nigerian legal education system to better serve present and future needs of relevant stakeholders and the wider community.
References
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