THE CULTURE & JUSTICE STATUE AT UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, FACUTY OF LAW – A CREATIVE AFRICAN SYMBOL OF JUSTICE – Donated by a proud alumnus, Prince Yemisi Shyllon

The larger than life-size Bronze Sculpture, titled: “Culture and Justice”, donated by me to the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos is my revolutionary concept of better representation of Justice, with the use of Nigeria’s indigenous Cultures. That Bronze monument, in front of the Law Faculty, better represents law and justice in Nigeria than the widely exhibited Greek based concepted exhibits within our Nigerian courts and law institutions. In early 2015, I got Dr Adeola Balogun (with my conceptual sketch) to produce the bronze work in front of Unilag faculty of Law building, a complete departure from the Greek originated symbol of justice, widely exhibited in Nigeria’s courts and judicial institutions. In the conceptual sketch I gave to Dr Balogun, I used the following elements of Nigeria’s indigenous cultures, to send my message across, about the beauty and richness of Nigeria’s various cultures, while conveying the strong presence of justice in those various indigenous cultures, as follows:1) The “EBEN”, held in one of the two well leveled and balanced hands, is the cultural authority symbol, used in providing Justice, by the Oba of Benin, Obi of Agbor, king of Asaba, Obi of Onitsha etc.
2) The “Irukere,” on the second hand, represents the cultural symbol of authority, in dispensing justice by all Oba in Yorubaland and many parts of the North.
3) Thus, the two hands do not require a scale, nor does the figure require to be blind folded, like it is, with the Greek symbol, in balancing law and justice. Why? This is because, the cosmology of Nigeria’s indigenous cultures, have strong inbuilt checks and balances, with severe, retributive and instant punishments, which ensures that its indigenous leaders, dispense fair and unbiased justice, at all times. Every such leader knows it, that doing otherwise, would attract instantaneous, inevitable, and severe retributive punishment and their waterloo. Indeed, Nigeria’s primordial histories confirm this.
4) The Unilag law faculty bronze Sculpture, is observed wearing the JIGIDA of the people of Nigeria’s South South, the ILEKE of the Yoruba, wearing the headress of the Fulani, the ODU of the Igbos on her legs and hands, an Igbo Pendant and Earings, with her hair plaited in Suku hairdo, etc. The more the bronze monument is observed, the more, my intended goal would be appreciated, towards acculturizing the symbol of justice in Nigeria, making our legal system and laws to recognize, indigenize and exhibit Nigeria’s cultures in the administration of justice and in the institutions of law and justice in Nigeria.

Culled from Prince Yemisi Shyllon