Onimisi's Care, Volume 1.2

Page 1 of 218 Onimisi's Care !
Onimisi’s Care, Volume 1.2.
This ―I‘ll strive‖ version of Onimisi‘s Care was first compiled in the year 2018,
and has currently undergone the first update in 2021, which is this copy.
This material belongs to ___________________________________ from

LL.B. _____, Faculty of Law, ______________________________________.
If found, return to the pre-mentioned class/faculty/university, or call
_______________. Thanks for your cooperation.

Contents.
 Short Preface by Ahmed Olarewaju Sikiru.
 Hints to Effective Studying by Hadi Onimisi Tijani.
 English for Legal Writing II (LAW 1310) Lecture
Notes.
 Introduction to Economics (LAW 1206) Lecture Notes.
 Introduction to Sociology (LAW 1204) Lecture Notes.
 Introduction to General Principles of Sharia (LAW
1302) Lecture Notes.
 Logic and Philosophy II (LAW 1314) Lecture Notes.
 Psychology II (LAW 1316) Lecture Notes.
 Bonus (GSP – Library, only).
 Closing Remark by Onimisi – fluent in silence.

Short Preface by Ahmed Olarewaju Sikiru.
The essence of human existence is to serve the Almighty Allah through

service to humanity. This is what inspired the writer of this material in
compiling the precise breakdown of the lectures into the simplest form
anyone can think of.
Being a student, speaker, and English teacher, the writer took his time and
resources in adopting a chronological arrangement of the lectures. The use of
grammatical cum vocabulary construction makes it an all-time reading
material which is a must for any zenith-aspiring student of law and other
related discipline. It is indeed direct from the source.
With this lecture note, you have no excuse to failure.
A.S.O. Ige.
LAW/17/LLB.

HINTS TO EFFECTIVE STUDYING. witches and wizards can make one not to
understand what one studies.
They say; ―I spend 8 to 12hrs reading.‖
a) Discover your reading time — that
And whenever they say so, students be like;
I study very early in the morning
―Wow! I wish I could, also.‖ and understand it doesn't guarantee

your understanding when you also
Most students feel they haven't studied read early in the morning. Some
enough because they still study below 8hrs. people will do well when they read
in the afternoon, evening, or,
Sometimes, they even make mockery of you
mostly, at night. It's very important
by saying; ―he is not a serious type. The
to discover the particular time
highest time he spends studying is an hour?
when you'll read and understand.
OMG!"
Don't follow that your roommate
Don't let what your teachers, friends or who always reads in the evening,
COURSE MATES tell you to deceive you! just because he/she understands it.
My teacher would always say; ―Onimisi, as If you always read at night and you
old as I am, I still spend 8 to 10hrs in reading. discover that you don't always
Try to do the same.‖ One day, I asked him; understand most of all you read,
―Sir, spending up to 8hrs reading can make the witches in your village are not
one to forget what one had learned in the after you, my sweetheart! All you
early 2hrs. Why stress myself to read for need do is to change your reading
8hrs?‖ time — try some other time.
When you read continuously for 8 or more b) Discover your reading place. Hello,
hours, that part which you read earlier when love! Some people can read and
you just started reading will gradually escape understand well when they are in a
from your head. noisy environment — it's not
madness, who knows, that might also
When you're reading to MEMORISE, it's be your best place of reading; you
good to spend 8 or more hours. However, if just haven't discovered it. Some
you're reading to UNDERSTAND, it is very people can read and understand well
wrong to spend up to that. when they are in the room. Some,
when they are in the library. Some
Hello, my prospective lawyers, journalists,
when they are on a swing (in
reporters, doctors, engineers, etc.! Take
Nigerian language, jangolover).
these useful hints. I don't believe that
Most can read and understand better

when in a quiet environment. The with earpiece and you'll see the
most important thing is to discover improvement immediately. I,
the category you belong to. Don't sometimes, record myself reading
follow others to read in the library if lecture notes and in turn listen to them
the library is not your best place. daily. Just take your hand-out and
read aloud and record, start listening
c) Discover your reading activity
to it. Try downloading lecture audio
(activities). Discovering the activity
files of different topics you want and
(ies) that keep you moving while
listen to them. They should be your
reading is very vital. I know of three
music.
geniuses that can read and
understand better when listening to f) Know your reading ability. Honestly,
blues. Some understand better when it is not very advisable for one to read
playing computer games and for 8hrs. Don't follow them. Read for,
reading, simultaneously. Some highest, 2hrs. Try to understand the
understand better when lying down. area you've read; you'll get to
Some understand better in rigmarole discover that you understand better
reading (i.e., moving around and than someone who reads for 8hrs.
reading). Some, the only way they Always go with this slogan; ―If you
understand what they've read is to, want to cram, read for 8hrs and
in turn, teach it or discuss it with above. If you want to read and
others. Just try discovering your understand, read for at most 2hrs.‖
activity and you'll be a guru. Don't 2hrs is even too much. Anyway, just
believe in witches take it.
d) Using YouTube to study. g) Focus! Whenever you read, don't let

Technology has made learning so that your boyfriend/girlfriend come
easier that we no longer have to go into your mind. Once you split your
through much stress again. Any area attention, my love, you're doomed.
you fail to understand, just go to Give all your attention to that which
YouTube and type in the topic in the you read. The moment something odd
search box. Watch a lecture on that (like making your hair, getting new
and you'll understand it. shirts, and so on) starts coming into
your mind while reading, QUIT
e) Every time you're on earpiece, let it
READING IMMEDIATELY, else, all
not just be for music. Try recording
you've read before that minute will
what your lecturers lecture you in
format.
class and listen to them continuously

h) Determination! Don't be too Always believe that, ―I AM THE
determined. Don't say; ―I must know BEST!‖ WALLAHI, YOU CAN DO
this thing today.‖ If you go through it IT. (Meanwhile, don't forget to be
three times and you don't still get it, humble).
stop and try some other time.
l) Don't feel too big to meet people
i) Food! Some people can read and to assist you in areas you find
understand better when they are difficult. Even if those you meet
hungry. Why not try to check it out? humiliate you and embarrass you,
just ignore and don't, because of
j) Sleeping! ―Oh, God! The witches
that, give up! Force yourself on
are after me again! Why is it that
them if there is the need.
whenever I take my book to read, I
always feel sleepy?‖ No witches, m) Edit your friends. Not everyone you
love! Sorcery (wizardry or move with or have a group
witchcraft) only happens in fairy- discussion with actually cares about
tale. Get a cup of coffee when your result. Most of them only care
reading or, take snacks or for their own results. Move with
equivalent. If after taking your cup people who want the best for you.
of coffee, snacks or equivalent, That I smile and always joke with
simultaneously with reading, you you doesn't mean I care about your
still feel sleepy, 'GO AND result.
SLEEP'. Don't force yourself to
Thanks, and God bless.
continue reading when you're dizzy!
By Hadi Onimisi Tijani.

k) Don't ever think that you can't do it.
That you couldn't have up to 3 points hadsbraincalm@gmail.com
in the previous semester doesn't
mean you can't make it this semester. 08142489112.
NO ONE IN THE CLASS IS
LAW/17/LLB.
BETTER THAN YOU ARE.

LAW 1310 – ENGLISH FOR LEGAL WRITING II.
Mallama Samira Abubakar’s Lecture Notes.
Lecture 1.
ANSWERING EXAM QUESTIONS.
The first thing to do when given a question is to identify the question type. The
question type determines what your answer should be. Try to understand what
you're being asked before answering.
Questions can be considered in terms of three main components:
 Topic
 Scope, and
 Type.
It is advisable to know the topic from which the question is asked before
answering.
Things to do in relation to scope are:
 to avoid covering too broad areas (i.e., limit yourself to the area you're
asked a question on).
 not to write too narrowly.
 to deal with all aspects of the question.
Type of Question.
1. The Knowledge Questions: They are usually simple — used to test your
knowledge of something. They usually start with words like: explain,
itemize, list, etc.

2. Comprehension Questions: They require you to use your understanding
of the topic in answering them. They usually start with: discuss,
differentiate, analyse, distinguish, compare, contrast, etc.
3. Application Questions: In these questions, you are required to solve
problems. There are facts that are usually given which you are required to
apply your knowledge of law to solve the problem. They involve the use
of: show, apply, prove, etc.
4. Analysis Questions: They require you to analyse various concepts,
examining the relationship. They involve the use of: compare and
contrast, dichotomize, distinguish, etc.
5. Syntactic Questions: They require you to draft from certain facts.
6. Evaluative Questions: They are questions that require you to demonstrate
knowledge, analyse, and ask to apply your own opinion. They are
basically the combination of all the question types.
Lecture 2.
READING SKILLS.
Using Non-text information.
Non-text items include:
 Table of Contents.
 Index.
 Glossary, and
 Titles.

 Table of Contents.
The Table of Contents (TOC) is an organized listing of the chapters and major
sections of your document. Readers will immediately be able to see how your
manuscript is organized and then skip down to sections that are most relevant to
them. A clear, concise, and well formatted TOC is the first indicator of a good
research paper.
Checklist for Table of Contents.
 Appropriately formatted.
 Lists all main sections of the document starting with the Dedication page.
If the Dedication page is not used, then start with the Abstract page.
 Lists the titles of each chapter, plus all Heading Level 2's -- these are the
main sections within each chapter. Do not list any subsections.
 All titles and headings match what appears in the text exactly.
 All page numbers are correct.
 Index.
In the simplest term, a book index is a key to locating information contained in

a book. It is also known as back-of-the-book index, as it is mostly found at the
end of the book. The words of the Index are sorted alphabetically.
A book Index is different from the Table of Contents (TOC). A Table of

Contents is a brief list of the book contents written in the order it appears in the
book; e.g. chapters‘ titles. It appears at the beginning of the book mostly after
the copyright page.
The main idea of the book index is to help the reader find information quickly
and easily.

 Glossary.
Glossary, otherwise known as a vocabulary, is an alphabetically arranged list of

terms or words related to a particular or specific field, topic, subject area that is
accompanied with explanations or definitions of those terms or words. In other
words, a glossary is simply a mini or brief dictionary. Usually comes at the end
of the text, document or book.
Very useful in texts which contain foreign words or phrases, technical terms,
interdisciplinary expressions not likely to be familiar to the reader.
 Titles.
Titles tell us the topic covered by the text. Titles centre the reader's attention to
a particular idea.
Summary.
While an index is referred to as a list of the contents of an article or book by

reference to the page number or even to a paragraph, glossary is a list of
explanations or definitions of a written work.
While an index appears at the end of a book or other written documents, a table
of contents is situated at the beginning of the document after the title page.
Lecture 3.
USING THE DICTIONARY, SCANNING AND SKIMMING.
 Using the Dictionary.
A dictionary is a reference book with a list of words from one or more

languages, normally ordered alphabetically and explaining each word's meaning

and sometimes containing information on its etymology, usage, translations, and
other data.
Uses of a Dictionary.
1. Meaning of Words — a dictionary provides meaning to words in different

languages.
2. Syllabification — it tells you how a word is broken down for its
pronunciation. Especially for words that have the same spelling but
different pronunciation.
3. Popular Usage — it gives popular usage in abbreviation, acronyms, etc.
4. Grammatical Design — it tells you the use of grammar — how to use a
noun and others.
5. It gives the antonyms and synonyms of words.
6. Transcription — it gives the transcriptions of words to guide learners of
the language in right pronunciation.
7. Geographical Information — it gives you map and some geographical
information of some places.
 Scanning.
Scanning, also referred to as search-reading, means glancing rapidly through a

text, a diagram, a table or a graph for the following purposes:
 to find out if the text is suitable for your purpose.

 to select what you need from the text.
 to find certain words either from dictionaries, glossaries or indexes.
 Skimming.
Skimming is rapidly reading through a text to either get a brief summary of

what the text is all about or see the organisation of the text, and identify the
main points or ideas of the text.

Lecture 4.
DISTINGUISHING MAIN IDEAS FROM SUPPORTING DETAILS IN A

WRITE-UP.
 The Main Idea.
In every write-up, there will always be a central idea. After that, you get
supporting details on the main idea.
In getting this main idea, there are some elements to consider, which are:
 Finding the Topic Sentence — find the topic sentence contained in each
paragraph of the text in order to, from the topic sentences, deduce the
main idea.
 Deducing New Words' Meanings from the Text — there is need to deduce
the meaning of the new words found in the text in other for easy
comprehension as this aids in getting the main idea.
 Recognising the Writer's Intention — a reader should try to recognise the
writer's intention behind his/her subject matter.
 The Supporting Details.
In addition to recognising the main idea, it is necessary to know the supporting

details. In picking the supporting details, certain techniques are used, which are:
 Definition of Terms — the definition a writer gives to a term should not

be mistaken for the main idea. The term, itself, is the main idea while the
definition is just a supporting detail.
 Repetition of Content Points — when a writer continues repeating a
content point, it should be noted that such is not part of the supporting
details, but the main idea.

 Illustration — take a closer look at how the writer does his/her
illustration of points.
 Connectives — you can recognise some of the supporting details by the
use of connectives like: although, however, likewise, moreover,
meanwhile, etc. Connectives are signs of showing supporting details.
 Relative Pronouns — relative pronouns are pronouns that refer back to a
previous idea. Examples of these relative pronouns are; who, that, which,
whom, whose. Whenever any of these precedes an idea, it tells us that the
idea it precedes is not the main idea, but a supporting detail to the
previously mentioned idea.
 Inference Skills.
An inference is an idea or conclusion that is drawn from evidence or experience.

This could be either from actions or sayings of individuals.
A lawyer needs inference skills to:
 give legal advice to his/her client.

 draw a logical conclusion from facts given by his/her client.
Lecture 5.
ESSAY WRITING.
An essay is a piece of writing about any subject matter. Any type of writing –
be it formal or informal – are all forms of essay. An essay is any form of writing
you engage in to show your creativity.

Types of Essay.
Distinguishing between types of essays is simply a matter of determining the

writer‘s goal. Does the writer want to tell about a personal experience, describe
something, explain an issue, or convince the reader to accept a certain
viewpoint? The four major types of essays address these purposes:
1. Narrative Essays: Telling a Story.
It is the kind of essay that tells a story. In a narrative essay, the writer tells a
story about a real-life experience. While telling a story may sound easy to do,
the narrative essay challenges students to think and write about themselves.
When writing a narrative essay, writers should try to involve the reader by
making the story as vivid as possible. The fact that narrative essays are usually
written in the first person helps engage the reader. ―I‖ sentences give readers a
feeling of being part of the story. A well-crafted narrative essay will also build
towards drawing a conclusion or making a personal statement.
2. Descriptive Essays: Painting a Picture.
As the name implies, it describes a concept — abstract or concrete. Examples of

abstract concepts are happiness, sadness, joy, jealousy, love, etc. Examples of
concrete concepts are a book, phone, charger, human, etc. A descriptive essay
paints a picture with words. The aim is to create a picture of what you're
describing in the reader's mind. Some are imaginative. A writer might describe a
person, place, object, or even a memory of special significance. However, this
type of essay is not a description for description‘s sake. The descriptive essay
strives to communicate a deeper meaning through the description. In a
descriptive essay, the writer should show, not tell, through the use of colourful
words and sensory details. The best descriptive essays appeal to the reader‘s
emotions, with a result that is highly evocative.

3. Expository Essays: Just the Facts.
The expository essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a balanced

analysis of a topic. In an expository essay, the writer explains or defines a topic,
using facts, statistics, and examples. Expository writing encompasses a wide
range of essay variations, such as the comparison and contrast essay, the cause
and effect essay, the origin of the concept, and the ―how to‖ or process essay.
Because expository essays are based on facts and not personal feelings, writers
don‘t reveal their emotions or write in the first person.
4. Argumentative Essays: Convince Me.
While like an expository essay in its presentation of facts, the goal of the
argumentative essay is to convince the reader to accept the writer‘s point of
view or recommendation. The writer must build a case using facts and logic, as
well as examples, expert opinion, and sound reasoning. The writer should
present all sides of the argument but must be able to communicate clearly and
without equivocation why a certain position is correct.
Stages of Writing.
There are three stages of writing. They are:
 prewriting stage.
 drafting stage.
 organization stage.
Prewriting is the first stage during which the writer needs to consider three
main factors: topic, audience, and purpose.
You may have to deal with two different types of topics: assigned topics or
chosen topics. If the topic is assigned the directions for the assignment will limit
and determine the approach to take. Instructions must be read carefully and

directions must be followed exactly. If you are free to select a topic, it is
important to reflect on the value and meaning of the finished product. A writer
should select something he is interested in and knowledgeable about, but he
should also anticipate the desired effect he hopes to achieve and the reader's
reaction he is looking for. Any topic can generate an interesting discussion if
one considers the following possibilities: selecting an uncommon topic or using
a new and original approach for an old topic.
Once you decide on the approach, you may begin gathering ideas. Remember
that you can always change the focus of your paper provided that you have
enough time to make the necessary adjustments. If you have trouble limiting the
subject, a prewriting activity may help you find the focus.
Prewriting techniques:
i. Freewriting
ii. Brainstorming
iii. List Making
iv. Asking Questions
v. Keeping a Journal
vi. Reading about a Topic
vii. Outlining
viii. Looping
ix. Organizing the ideas that have been generated so far. Those ideas will
have to be evaluated. Some will be deleted. New ones will be added.
Some will be moved. Some will be expanded. Some will be categorized
(grouped together). Also you need to rank ideas for importance. The
result should be a tentative outline. You may want to use a topic tree.
Drafting — the second step of the writing process involves drafting. During
drafting, the writer puts his ideas into complete thoughts, such as sentences and

paragraphs. The writer organizes his ideas in a way that allows the reader to
understand his message. He does this by focusing on which ideas or topics to
include in the piece of writing. During drafting, the writer will compose an
introduction to the piece and develop a conclusion for the material. At the end
of this step of the writing process, the author will have completed a ―rough
draft.‖
Organisation entails what you have drafted earlier.
Structure of an Essay.
1. Introduction — it introduces the subject matter. It should capture the

mind of the reader. It should tell the reader what you want to discuss in
the essay. It should be precise. The subject matter, background and
others are shown here.
2. The Main Body — it expatiates the points you had drafted earlier. You
put them in paragraphs. Each paragraph for each idea/point — i.e., you
open a new paragraph for every point you introduce.
3. The Conclusion — it is the sum of the main points and your own
suggestion on the topic of discussion.
Lecture 6.
REPORT WRITING.
A report describes a study, an investigation or a project. Expansively, it is a

document providing an event witness, work carried out or an investigation
conducted accompanied by conclusions and recommendations often arrived at
in the end of the report.

The difference between report writing and other forms of essay writing lies in
the fact that the latter are forms of creative writing which emphasize self-
expression and writing to please, whereas, the former is concerned with
effective conveyance of information in a particular situation.
There are three main types of report. They are:
i. the eyewitness report.

ii. the work report.
iii. the investigative report.
 An Eyewitness Report is a form of report given by someone who is
present at the scene of an event — not a hearsay.
 A Work Report is a critical aspect of the co-op work term experience. The
ability to write a strong analytical report is a transferrable skill that will
benefit you in any workplace.
 An Investigative Report — the process of writing the investigation report
can sometimes clarify your thinking and can even uncover additional
questions that provide new insight into a case. Writing an investigative
report is one of the most tedious tasks an investigator undertakes.
Stages in Drafting a Report.
1. The Preparatory Stage — when you want to draft a report, you start with
what should be communicated, what not to be communicated, why you
are making the report, for whom the report is addressed and how to go
about the report.
2. Drafting Stage — you add what you think should be added, you can make
it chronological or non-chronological. The outline includes nature, title,
table of contents, and summary of abstract. The drafting includes the
introduction, the body and the conclusion.

In presenting a report, you are required to give exactly what you have written.
Lecture 7.
SUMMARY WRITING.
By way of definition, experts have given various definitions of summary.
Some defined it as writing something in a long way that the important points in
the original message are retained in a short form.
Another definition reads that ―a summary writing is the ability to extract

relevant information or major facts from what we read and hear.‖
Academically, it is simply defined as a shortened version of a text containing

only the vital/key information.
The purpose of summary usually is to present the reader or the listener with a
short clear account of the ideas already presented.
The skills involved in summary writing are general competence in the use of the
language in which the summary is to be written. This is because it is a means of
ascertaining one's ability to interpret, comprehend and understand.
The skills are showcased in the following ways:
a) The ability to recognise the relevant information.

b) The ability to organise such information in a coherent and logical manner.
c) The ability to use appropriate vocabulary to condense the given
information to reflect the writer's/speaker's intention(s).
There are usually two ways of writing a summary. They are:

 continuous summary.
 itemized summary.
 Continuous Summary — this is a summary done through content
reduction. The style of writing, usually continuous prose writing, is
maintained, but the size of the text is cut down by omission of repetition,
digression, examples, illustrations and analogies. The text can be
restructured by reducing the number of paragraphs and compressing the
sentences to relate only the main ideas.
 Itemized Writing — this is where the text can be summarized using
symbols, numbers, abbreviations, graphics, and diagrams to relate the
vital information of the original text.
Abstract Writing.
This is the most common academic summary. The abstract written in single
language contains the following:
i. the title of the project.

ii. the purpose of the project.
iii. the methodology used (i.e., how you conducted your research).
iv. the techniques used in analysing any data sourced.
v. the major findings and observations.
vi. the recommendation of research.
An abstract is usually a compulsory requirement in any academic writing. It is

simply the summary of what the whole project is all about.
The abstract must not be more than 300 words irrespective of how bulky what
you are summarising might be.

A good summary…
 In a good summary writing, statistics, history, years, and some others can
be omitted unless the pieces of information are very vital.
 Do not give too few details and do not give too much details.
 Whenever you use the itemizing method of summary, do introduce your
summary properly.
Lecture 8.
LETTER WRITING.
Letter writing is the commonest means of written communication between

individuals or organisations.
There are three types of letters.
 Formal/Official.
 Informal.
 Semi-formal.
Structure and Features of a Letter.
1. Address & Date.

 A formal letter has two addresses — the writer's address and the
recipient's address.
 The writer's address can either be at the top right corner of the book or at
the top left corner (it's a matter of choice).
 The recipient's address must, unlike the writer's address, ALWAYS be at
the left side of the book — below the writer's address.

 In writing the writer's address, you are free to include phone numbers,
email addresses, or any other means of contacting you.
 The address can either be block method or indented method.
 Generally, in addresses, you are free to punctuate or leave everything
unpunctuated.
 The date comes immediately after the writer's address.
 The informal letter always has one address — the writer's only.
 The semi-formal letter might, sometimes, go with two addresses or go
with one address.
 The generally accepted forms of writing the date of a letter are:
o July 12, 2018.
o 12th July, 2018.
 Don't write the whole address in capital letters.
 In formal letters, when you decide to put the writer's address at the top
left corner of the book, that means the two addresses are now on the
same side. In this situation, after your address, jump a line and write your
date, then jump a line and start writing the recipient's address — i.e., date
is situated between the writer's and the recipient's address.
2. Salutation.
 The next item after the address is the "salutation".
 For formal letters, use ―Dear sir‖ or ―Dear madam‖ (if you are sure of the
gender). In a situation where you are not sure of the gender, use ―Dear
sir‖.
 For informal letters, you are open to use any salutation you deem
necessary — My friend, My dear Onimisi, Hello sweet, etc.
 Don't forget to put your comma (,) after the salutation — i.e., ―Dear sir,‖.
3. Heading.
 Heading comes after your salutation.

 Informal letters don't have headings.
 Formal letters ALWAYS have headings.
 Semi-formal letters perchance have headings.
 You can write all the characters in the heading using the uppercase
alphabets and you can make it a mixture of uppercase and lowercase.
 When you make it a mixture of uppercase and lowercase, you MUST
underline and make sure to start all the open class words with capital
letters and all the closed class words with small letters.
4. Body.
 It contains the main message of the letter.
 For formal letters, there are some inclusions:
o reference.
o purpose.
o conclusion.
 In some cases, the reference comes at the beginning and it is usually
abbreviated as ―My ref.‖ ―Your ref.‖ — especially in letter-headed. If the
reference is not used at the beginning, during the letter, you can
introduce a clause to include your reference.
 Sometimes, there may be omission, of the Ref. and ―RE:‖ (meaning
―respond/reply‖) is introduced at the top of the letter with the heading of
the letter (especially when you are responding to a previously received
letter.) The ―RE:‖ is just to indicate that there was a previous letter which
you're referring to.
 When using a letter-headed to write a letter, you needn't write your own
address again — as it is already contained in the letter-headed.
 There must be a purpose for your writing the letter. You have to include
your purpose of writing.

 At the tail-end, you must put a conclusion — usually stating whether
there is anything needed to be done. You must state conclusion in formal
letters to show that you have ended it.
 In the body of a formal letter, you have to be very concise and precise —
it should be as short as possible.
5. Complementary Close.
 The generally endorsed complementary close for formal letters is ―Yours
faithfully‖.
 The generally endorsed complementary close for semi-formal letters is
―Yours truly‖.
 For informal letters, you are open to use any form of complementary
close you feel like using — Yours lovely, Yours affectionately, Your
son, Your boyfriend, Your girlfriend, Your enemy, Your crush, Your
rainbow, etc.
 The first word of your complementary close must start with an uppercase
alphabet while the second one starts with a lower case alphabet.
 The complementary close must be at the side the writer's address appears
— i.e., if the writer's address appears at the right, it comes at the right, if
it appears at the left, it comes at the left.
6. Signature.
 This is only applicable in formal letters.
 In formal letters, what follows immediately after the complementary
close is your signature.
7. Name
 In formal letters, the writer's full name is to be written after the signature.
 In informal letters, it is just the first name that is required.
 When writing a letter and you want to address the letter to more than one
person, at the tail-end of the whole letter, write ―CC:‖ which means

―copy‖, then you write down all the addresses that you want the copies of
the letter to be sent to.
Style of the Writing.
In writing a formal letter:
i. The entire context should adopt simplicity, clarity and accuracy of

details.
ii. Simple expressions of correct and relevant information should be used.
iii. No contractions are allowed in formal letters.
iv. Avoid verbose expressions.
However, in informal and semi-formal letters, familiar and conversational

words are allowed. The mixture of short and long sentences is allowed.
Tone of the Writing.
Formal letters are usually strict, formal and official. You are not to plead in
formal letters, you can rather be persuasive.
It is advisable to be cautious of what you write so as not to make the receiver

think you are being rude.
Types of Formal Letters.
 Circulars (written by organisations to the members usually for an

update).
 Memo (written for a particular purpose within the organisation).
 Sales letters.
 Order letters (written to order for something).
 Letters of inquiry (written to inquire for information in an organisation).
 Application letter.

 Appointment letter.
 Apology letter, etc.
Lecture 9.
INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL DRAFTING.
By a way of definition, legal drafting can be seen as a structured method of

writing used by lawyers, judges, legislatures and other legal practitioners to
express legal analysis, legal rights and duties.
Types of Legal Drafting.
There are basically two types of legal drafting.
 Legal analysis drafting.

 Legal draft.
 Legal Analysis Drafting involves the analysis of certain legal issues by
the lawyer or drafter with the view to either persuading the audience or
predicting an outcome, or presenting a piece of advice and
recommendations, using and applying relevant authorities. Examples of
drafting under this type are: motions in court, briefs of argument, minutes
of meetings, notices in companies, legal opinions, and legal letters.
 Legal Draft involves the creation of binding texts which create legal
rights and duties either in the public or private administration. Examples
of drafting here are statutes, rules, and regulations in organizations,
contracts, wills, and other public legal notices.
They are called draft because, unlike the other type, they are usually subject to
rewriting.

Forms of Legal Drafting a Legal Practitioner Engages in.
A legal practitioner engages in the following forms of drafting in the relevant

areas of law.
 Civil Litigation — it is a litigation which involves the enforcement of

personal rights and duties of individual before the court of law.
Examples of drafting under civil litigation include:
 Originating application.
 Application for Summary Summon in the Magistrate Court.
 Statement of claims in the High Court.
 Affidavit in the High Court.
 Vote of Witness in the High Court.
 Written addresses in the High Court, etc.
 Criminal Litigation — it involves the prosecution of criminals by the
state.
Examples are:
 Application for bail.
 Charges in the High Court.
 First Information Report in the Magistrate Court.
 Prosecution written address.
 Defendant written address.
 Cooperate Law Practice — it entails drafting involved in the conduct of
incorporated (registered) companies.
Examples include:
 Registration of companies.
 Minutes of meetings.
 Alteration of the memorandum or articles of association.
 Notices issued out by the company, etc

 Property Law Practice — it involves the acquisition or disposal of
properties.
Examples are:
 Drafting of wills.
 Application for probate.
 Powers of attorney.
 Trusts.
 Mortgages, etc.
 General Law Practices — are all other drafting which a lawyer may
engage in.
Examples are:
 Drafting of statute.
 Drafting of legal opinions.
 Drafting of bills.
 Drafting of legal letters.
 Terms of settlement, etc.
Hints on Effective Legal Drafting.
1. Know your audience — the nature of the recipient/audience of the

document drafted should determine the tone and structure of language to
be adapted in the drafting.
2. Know the purpose and type of document required before engaging in
drafting — you should understand what you are required to do before
drafting.
3. Have a defined structure and use existing precedence.
4. Be formal and avoid overfamiliarity and casual statements.

5. When making a response to an earlier correspondence, be familiar with
the original document, correspondent, or situation, in order to give
appropriate responses.
6. When drafting correspondences or opinions, citations should be avoided.
Conversely, when drafting legal processes, citations and appropriate
authorities must be included.
7. Be conversant with legal terminologies when drafting. Get a law
dictionary or read other law books to help you to be conversant with legal
terminologies.
Two Big Phrases Usually Used in Legal Drafting.
 ―Subject to Contract:‖ The phrase is used in a document, exchanged by

parties during negotiations to denote that the document is not binding or
final. This is usually used in property law documents.
 ―Without Prejudice:‖ It means, ―without detriment to any existing rights
or claims of any parties‖.
When a document is captioned, ―without prejudice,‖ it has the following

implications:
a) Such a document cannot be used as evidence in a court of law.

b) It cannot be taken as the signatories' final words on the matter.
c) It cannot be used as a precedent.

Dr Aliyu Mustapha’s Lecture Notes.
Course’s Outline:
 Legal research
 Stages of drafting
 Drafting process
 Drafting of some selected documents
 Legislative drafting/interpretation of statutes
 Habit to be avoided by a Draftsman.

Lecture 1.
STAGES OF DRAFTING.
The main stages of drafting are: pre-writing, writing, and post-writing.
Generally, there are five stages of drafting a legal document. They are:
 Taking and understanding the client‘s instructions;
 Analysing the instructions;
 General design;
 Composition;
 Editing/ Scrutiny.
Each of these stages is very important; if one of those stages is missed, you may
not likely have a faultless document. Naturally, since they're stages, they must
be followed accordingly.
The first three stages (taking and understanding the client‘s instructions,
analysing the instructions, and general design) are under the pre-writing stage.
The fourth stage (composition stage) falls under the writing stage. The final
stage (editing/scrutiny) falls under the post-writing stage.
 Taking of Client’s Instruction
An instruction is a command, request or anything that someone or a client wants

you to do in assisting him or her get legal assistance. An instruction is not used
in the strict sense of the word like it is used in the military parlance. An
instruction, as used in this context, means those things that a client wants you to
do for him or her. We use instructions in most cases because the client is the

master of the facts who will call-in your attention to render services to him/her
by telling you what to do.
The term ―instruction‖ is used so that you will take it seriously because you (the
lawyer) are rendering what we call professional legal services to act on your
client‘s behalf.
Finally, an instruction is that authority, mandate or an incident when a client

directs his or her lawyer after giving him (the lawyer) the facts, for the lawyer
to weigh and marry it with the law to assist the client professionally.
How to Obtain an Instruction.
 Physical (direct)
 Proxy (representative)
 Other means of communication
o Telephone
o Email
o WhatsApp
o Facebook, etc.
What is important is that there must be a clear authority for the lawyer to act on
the client‘s behalf. In most cases, a formal document described as a power of
attorney is drafted.
A Power of Attorney is the document that gives the donee the power from the
donor to act on behalf of the donor for the donee.

From the legal parlance, Lord Dannie and other erudite scholars and judges,
postulated that "you cannot give what you don't have". You must have the
power and the right before you can transfer it to another person to act on your
behalf. When you've done this, you're now donating, transferring your rights
and privileges for the lawyer to act on your behalf, which makes you the donor,
and the lawyer receiving those rights and privileges from you, the done.
Instructions, as understood earlier, are what the client asks you to do; they are
not in form of commands. A client might not give you direct instructions, i.e.,
he may not ask you to write a letter, a bill of assignment or brief of argument,
etcetera. He may only provide you with the facts, and from the facts given,
you'll be able to determine what to write.
The importance of instructions cannot be underestimated as a lawyer or a

draftsman cannot write anything without having an instruction from the client.
Relationship between Legislative Drafting and Instructions.
It is important to know that drafting of laws is not done ideologically. The

draftsman (state lawyers or in-house lawyers) must receive an instruction from
the legislators. It is also of the fact to note that majority of the members of the
National Assemblies are not lawyers. This makes them lack the knowledge,
skills, and capacity to draft a legislation. The services of a lawyer is needed
while drafting a legislation. Before drafting a legislation, a comprehensive and
adequate instruction from the legislators plays a vital role as well.
Things to Put into Consideration when Taking an Instruction.
If the instruction is taken in an office, things that must be put into consideration
are:
i. The atmosphere of the office;

ii. Manner of approach;
iii. Paying attention to the facts narrated by the client;
iv. Asking relevant questions that will verify the ambiguous part of the
facts;
v. Jotting or streamlining the relevant points;
vi. Maintenance of eye contact, and so on.
 Analysing the Instructions.
Analysis is a stage where you carefully look at the instruction you have taken
and ask relevant questions. Analysis can also be referred to as the stage where
you carefully marry the facts you receive form the client with the branch of law
that is relevant or most appropriate with the issue at hand.
In this stage of drafting, facts received will be related to the applicable law that
will remedy the situation at hand. It is very important to know that some facts
may have more than one applicable law, but whichever way, the draftsman
(before drafting his document) must make sure he has already linked the facts to
the applicable law.
Questions will be asked too in legislative drafting so as to be able to draft the

law required. Questions asked in legislative drafting should be able to link the
draftsman to the area or branch of law it belongs to.
 General Design.
General Design is a stage where you randomly put relevant pieces of

information on a paper in no particular order that you will later compose under
the composition stage. The general design is just like a skeleton of draft that
will be fleshed up. It is a stage where you can put in some things such as: name,

figures, date, amount involved, the address of the recipient of the document,
etcetera. They may not be arranged chronologically.
 Composition.
Composition is a stage where the draftsman actually drafts the document. In

other words, he fleshes up the skeleton which he has created under the general
design. It is a stage where the draftsman must be cautious and practically
employ and put to use all the drafting skills and techniques at his disposal.
 Editing/Scrutiny Stage.
Editing /Scrutiny Stage is the stage of checking the draft document for errors
and mistakes of all forms. It is important for the draftsman to crosscheck issues
of spellings, date, names, amounts, etcetera, to ensure that the document is free
from criticisms.
The stage of scrutiny/editing is a stage where you ask questions, a stage where
you play the devil's advocate well by putting yourself in your opponent‘s shoes
to see whether there are loopholes, grammatical errors, etc.
Lecture 2.
LEGAL RESEARCH.
Issues that will be discussed from this section are:
i. What is a research/legal research?
ii. Why do we conduct a legal research?
iii. Where do we conduct a legal research?

iv. How do we conduct a legal research?
 What is a Research or a Legal Research?
In a very simple language, the word research means inquiry. For example, for
me to write a book about the Class Rep, I have to conduct a research; I have to
investigate; I have to make an inquiry, and, most importantly, I have to ask
questions. The process of asking questions, making an enquiry about who the
Class Rep is, and so on, is called a research.
The process of moving from known to unknown is called research. In order

words, research simply means making an enquiry or an investigation in order
find answers to questions or find solutions to problems. In a nutshell, research is
inevitable, whether you like it or not, you must conduct a research.
Research is conducted in almost all the fields: sociology, medicine, history, and
it is not an exception in the legal profession. We conduct researches in law
either to answer a legal question or to solve a legal problem. The process of
answering a legal question or providing a solution to a legal problem is called
legal research.
According to some authors, legal research is the process of inquiring into legal
issues, matters, rules and even institutions of law. If you're asked to write
something about the Nigerian Law School for example, the Nigerian Law
School is a professional institution of Law, so also the University (an academic
institution). Any organized body with a specific purpose in the society is an
institution.
One of the erudite scholars of law said that "it is not that we know more law
than other people (non-lawyers), but what makes lawyers distinguished is their
ability to know where to find the law.‖ What makes a better lawyer is that he

knows where to find solutions to legal problems; where to find answers to legal
questions. All these are done through the help of a research.
 Why do we Conduct Legal Researches?
Among the answers to this question is that we conduct legal researches in order
to determine how to assist our clients. We also conduct legal researches after
successfully taking instructions from our clients in order to place the facts and
the law to where they appropriately belong.
From the discussions we've been having from first semester, we have been
answering the question ―why do we conduct a legal research?‖ We conduct
legal research in order to solve problems or solve questions, to assist our clients,
to know more about the law, etc. We also conduct legal researches in order to
answer test and examination questions.
The law is a living thing; it grows, it develops with the development of the
society. Now, as the law develops, there is a need for us to also update our
knowledge on various aspects of the law so that we can continue to provide
solutions to societal problems. In the last 30 years, there was little or no
knowledge about the ICT Law because in the 90s there were little or no
cellphones and computer gadgets. Then those ICT gadgets came into existence,
we embraced them alongside their challenges, such as internet fraud, hacking of
those gadgets, etc. So there was the need to develop a branch of law that will
help curb those problems (cybercrime).
The development of ICT in our society is a development that we will have to

embrace but we also have to develop the law. So, experts research to see if there
are laws on ICT. If there are, under which jurisdiction of the world can they be
found? They (experts) will look into those laws and domesticate them.

In all cases and in all circumstances, as the society develops, the law must also
develop and grow with the development of the society since each aspect of
human endeavour is regulated by the law.
More Reasons why we should Conduct a Legal Research.
i. To know where to place laws and the facts;
ii. To advance our arguments in the Court of law;
iii. To validate or verify pieces of information;
iv. To determine whether a particular case is a matter of first impression;
v. To determine the existence or otherwise of precedence;
vi. To find the judicial or statutory authority to support our arguments,

etc.
 Where Do we Conduct Legal Research?
Basically, researches can be conducted anywhere (markets, schools, churches,

mosques, airports, etcetera).
Precisely, researches are conducted either in the library, or the internet.
 The Library.
It is said that the library is a store where pieces of information are kept; a place
where you retrieve data about a particular subject matter. A library is a store
house of information where literatures can be consulted in order to find out
where you can find answers to questions.
A literature is a written document (whether in hard or soft copy) that is used as a

reference material. A literature is a published legal material either in hard or

soft copy that we consult in order to solve our legal problems or answer our
research questions. The hard copies are mostly found in the library and the soft
copies are sometimes found in the internet.
 The Internet.
Searching information through the internet is the ability to search through the
available search engines to obtain some pieces of information. Examples of
such search engines are: Google, Wikipedia, Ask.com Mama.com, etc. A good
lawyer should be able to know what he or she is looking for and not wandering
the internet searching for irrelevant materials.
In a nutshell, a piece of information is not only searched through the library and
the internet. Research can also be done through any other means or places that
are most appropriate and most relevant. Information can also be obtained
through experts in that particular area of study. For example, if you are asked
about the law of evidence, a smart student would start by asking a level 200 or
300 student because he or she might have been taught that course (thereby
making him/her an expert).
 How to Conduct a Legal Research.
How to conduct a legal research is largely dependent on your ability to know

the basic classifications of legal literature. The knowledge of these basic
classifications of legal literature enables one to place importance to it because
literatures are categorized according to their importance and relevance.
Examples of legal literature include: the 1999 Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, A. O. Sani, Legal Methods, etc.
The best way to know how to conduct legal research is to be able to know what
the classifications of literature are. From these classifications, the researcher

will be able to know the pieces of information needed, thereby making
reference to the appropriate literature in time.
Sources/Classification of Literature.
Basically there are more than three sources of literature, but from the legal
perspective, only two will be discussed, thus:
i. Primary source
ii. Secondary source
Primary sources of legal literature are materials that deal with the law, that is,
they are the actual law themselves. Examples are: statutes; the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for example, is a primary source because it is
the law itself; the Holy Qur'an is another primary source because it is the actual
book of law. Another example is case law (judicial precedent), because cases
decided by the courts are themselves authorities (law).
In a nutshell, primary sources of legal literature are those classes of literature

that others draw their sources from.
Secondary sources of legal literature, on the other hand, are books or

materials that explain, interpret or expound the law. Examples include: Ese
Malemi, Legal Methods, etc.
Conclusion.
At any point in time you are to conduct a research, endeavour to visit the
primary sources (actual law), first. Where it is not possible to get in touch with
the primary sources, go for the secondary sources. There is a high tendency of
the secondary sources referring you to the primary sources.

The advantage of referencing is to guide the audience or the reader for clarity to
the sources (primary or secondary) of the literature.
Lecture 3.
DRAFTING PROCESS.
General design and composition are two important stages of drafting.

Sometimes, these two stages are considered as one for the purpose of efficiency.
More often than not, the first draft is not always the final draft. It undergoes the
process of changing, editing, ordering, logical arrangement, etc. This process of
rearranging, reorganizing, and so on, is the movement from general design to
composition.
Since these two stages are the main drafting stages, they will be excluded from
the list and discussed extensively under the topic ―Drafting Process‖. In other
words, these two stages are understood or known as Drafting Process.
Drafting Process is simply the process of putting down your thoughts on paper
and consciously exhibiting or displaying all the skills and techniques of
drafting.
There are Four Steps in Drafting Process.
 Free writing, zero or dump draft;
 Provisional ordering;
 Creating an outline;
 Writing a draft document.

 Free Writing.
We agree that the general design is a stage where you put down your thoughts
and ideas in no particular order without regards to logic or logical arrangement.
You are not concerned with order, logic, grammar or grievance in this stage.
What you are only concerned with is putting your thoughts on the paper.
Technically, this stage of putting down your points (your thoughts) in no
particular order is called free writing, zero or dumb draft.
The essence of dumping in this stage is for you not to forget the important or the
less important points. At this stage, abbreviations, poor grammatical
constructions, vernaculars, etc., are allowed. This stage is the first stage of
writing. Students practice this stage a lot in the examination by penning down
some points in their question papers or, sometimes, even in a rough sheet if
need be.
 Provisional Ordering.
It goes without saying that when you have a zero or dump draft, it is certain that
you are coming back to organize or rearrange it by putting some touches and
grammar. The stage of reorganizing your jotted draft is called provisional
ordering. During this stage of provisional ordering, you are not also expected to
come up with a final draft. Here, you arrange related points and ideas together;
try to crosscheck the headings and subheadings; delete and edit unwanted weed,
and so on.
 Creating an Outline.
After you have put your points in order, then you create an outline. An outline is
a process where you itemize points together to create major topic sentences,
major headings and subheadings and the items that fall under them.

Lecture 4. (final lecture).
LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING.
Legislative Drafting deals with how laws are drafted or written.
The topic is relevant to you because, as a lawyer, you should be able to know
how laws are made.
Legislative Drafting is done by legislative draftsmen (not the legislators) who

are, often and almost in all cases, lawyers. Laws are drafted by lawyers but you
may wonder why we have in the National Assembly or State House of
Assembly elected representatives that are not lawyers. In almost all cases, these
laws are drafted by hired lawyers or draftsmen or legal assistants to these
legislators, and you are expected to display the requisite skill of drafting if you
are one.
The term legislation means a law or statute. This means that, you can either say:
a legislation, a law or a statutory provision. The term legislative is an adjective
of the term legislation.
Why are Laws Drafted?
Laws are drafted for the purpose of implementing the policies of government or
documenting policies in law. The government has targets and good policies that
they want to achieve, and the best way to achieve these policies, sometimes, is
to draft laws that will back the policies up. As a lawyer, you may be invited to
draft the law.

When is a Legislative Drafting Practiced?
Legislative Drafting is practiced in a democratic regime as opposed to the

military regime which uses decrees and edicts. All laws will be suspended in the
military regime and the country will be governed with Decrees and Edicts.
Decrees are the laws enacted by the Federal Military Government while Edicts
are the laws enacted by the State Military Government.
Drafting of legislation is more important in the civilian regime where law is

used as an instrument of social control. Things done in the society must be
governed by law so it will be enjoyed by the members of the society.
Legislative Drafting vs. Legislative Processes.
Legislative Drafting deals with the function of a lawyer in taking and

understanding of the instructions of policy makers or members of the Federal
parliament or the state Houses of Assemblies, using the instructions to draft a
law that will replicate the policy of the legislature.
Legislative Processes, on the other hand, means those internal processes that
are often administrated within the members of the parliament that will lead to
the final declaration of the law.
For instance, in a legislative process, the bill drafted by the draftsman will be
presented to the other members of the house for consideration; it undergoes
several stages: the first reading, the second reading, the third reading and finally
assented by either the president or the governor, as the case may be.
The legislative process has nothing to do with the lawyer; it is only within the
members of National or State Assembly.

It therefore means that legislative drafting comes before the Legislative process.
Legislative Drafting comes in form of a bill. The first draft of law is called a
bill.
A Bill technically is a piece of proposed legislation. A Bill is a proposal and,

when assented or has passed through the legislative process, it becomes a Law.
Therefore, when a lawyer drafts a law and gives it to his client (the member of
the House of Representatives), that drafted document is called a bill. It will only
become a law when it passes the legislative process successfully.
The law passed at the Federal level in a civilian regime is called an Act, while at
the state level, it is called a Law, and at the local government level it is call a
Bye-law.
Reasons why Lawyers should Have a Working Knowledge of

Constitutional Law.
A good draftsman must be able to appreciate not only the knowledge of the law
but also the knowledge of Constitutional Law because you must be able to have
at the back of your mind some factors, and those factors cannot be considered
except you have the knowledge of Constitutional Law.
For instance, you are asked to draft a law to establish another Court that will
entertain (higher in terms of jurisdiction) matters from the Supreme Court, so
that the dissatisfied party from the Supreme Court will appeal to that Court. In
this situation, a good draftsman who has the basic knowledge of the constitution
will refer his client to section 230 which makes the Supreme Court the apex
court of the land. The lawyer will further tell his client that he has no power to
draft any law that is not in line with the Constitution by referring him to section
1(3) of the constitution which says:

―If any other law is inconsistent with the provision of this constitution, this
Constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the
inconsistency, be void‖
In a nutshell, a draftsman should not only have the knowledge of drafting but
also a working knowledge of Constitutional Law.
Things to be Considered before Drafting a Legislation.
i. The power of the person engaging you: A state legislator does not have
the capacity to legislate on the exclusive legislative list. He only has
power within the concurrent capacity. An Exclusive Legislative List is a
list that contains items that only the Federal Legislature can legislate on,
and not the State Legislatures. A Concurrent Legislative List is a list that
contains items that both the Federal Legislature and the State Legislatures
can legislate on.
ii. What lawyers do in legislative drafting;
iii. Matters within Exclusive and Concurrent legislative list;
iv. Working knowledge of the constitution, and so on.
Selected English for Legal Writing II Past Questions.
1. On one of the visits to Bayero University, Kano, the Minister of Education met you at
the entrance of the Faculty of Law and asked you your name and level. When you told
him, he was impressed by your polished English and asked you to write to him on the
Stages of Drafting. Please, oblige the Minister.
2. An LL.B. 2 Direct Entry student challenged you on your understanding of Legal

Research. When you attempted to respond, he objected and insisted that you write
your response to his Constitutional Law lecturer. Formally respond to this challenge

by specifically educating him on what a Legal Research is and its importance to the
study and the practice of law.
3. Law students, like practicing lawyers, are distinct in their writing and research skills.
They carefully extract information from identified sources when they attempt to solve
legal problems. Discuss.
4. Pick and draft a legal document of your choice. Display the drafting skills while doing
so, explaining some of the techniques you require in the pre-writing, writing and post-
writing stages.
5. Write brief but comprehensive notes on any two (2) of the following:
a. Communication and Legal representation.
b. Legislative Drafting.
c. Legal Writing and the practice of Law.
d. Legal literature.
6. What is legal drafting? Explain the stages of legal drafting.

7. Hajiya Hafsat Saad is the CEO of Sharubutu Baby Foods and Wears Nigeria Limited.
On 17/10/2017, she received three letters of offer to buy her company, Sharubutu
Baby Foods, at the sum of ₦50,000,000.00. The three offers were made by Sani
Lamido Ahmad, Farouk Ibrahim Musa, and Scholastica M. Chisom. In one of the
letters, the expression, ―Without Prejudice‖, was written. On the second letter, the
expression, ―Strictly Confidential‖, was used. While on the third letter, the
expression, ―Subject to Contract‖, was boldly written. As a student of English for
Legal Writing, Hajiya Hafsat Saad approached and requested you to:
a. Write a letter of acceptance to Sanni Lamido Ahmad, communicating to him
the acceptance of his offer;
b. Indicate in the letter that the Directors of Sharubutu Baby Foods and Wears;
the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Abuja;
Farouk Ibrahim Musa, and Scholastica M. Chisom will all receive copies of
the letter of acceptance.

c. Explain to her the use of the expressions ―Subject to Contract‖, ―Without
Prejudice‖ and ―Strictly Confidential‖ in letter writing; Oblige Hajiya Hafsat
Saad‘s request.
8. Sequel to an oral allegation of partiality, made by Salamatu Dauda, against LL.B 1
panel of judges, the Dean of Law constituted a facts-finding committee consisting of
Uzairu, Nora, Ummu Salmah, Jeremiah and Mubarak as members, with you as the
Chairman. The Terms of Reference of the committee is to investigate Salamatu‘s
allegation and to give recommendations on how to tackle the problem. As the
Chairman of the committee, write a brief report to the Dean explaining to him your
findings and recommendations.
9. Following a strong allegation of vote rigging in the just concluded BUK-SUG
elections, the Dean of Student Affairs appointed you to head a committee that will
investigate the allegation. During the public hearing organized by your committee, 97
documents were presented, received and submitted to the Dean, as part of the
committee‘s written report. Before forwarding the report to the Vice Chancellor, the
Dean Student Affairs requested Muhd A. Kumo, Sumayya, Moshood, Azeeza.
Muazzan, Ramatu, Nuhu, Nabila, Ojochenemi and you to go and summarize the 97
documents. As a student of English for Legal Writing, explain:
a. Ways/Modes of summarizing a document; and
b. Ethics of writing summary.
10. Write short notes on any three (3) of the followings:
a. Inference skills;
b. Anaphora and Epiphora;
c. Scanning and Skimming; and
d. Distinguishing main ideas from supporting details.
Onimisi – fluent in silence!

INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS (LAW 1206) LECTURE NOTES.
Dr. Ahmad Tijani Abdullahi's Lecture Notes.
Lecture 1.
INTRODUCTION: THE ECONOMICS PROBLEM.
Definition.
Economics is a social science which studies the CHOICES that individuals,

businesses, governments, and the entire society make, as they try to cope with
the INCENTIVES that influence and reconcile those choices.
Basic Concepts of the Definition.
1. Scarcity: It depends on time, money, and price. Scarcity is the inability to

get what you want. Scarcity is the limited supply of resources which are
required for the satisfaction of human numerous wants. Scarcity occurs
when there is shortage of goods or services in relation to the desire or
want for it. As a result of this shortage, it becomes difficult to satisfy all
human wants. Consequently, a choice has to be made in terms of the
factors of production to be used, while on the part of the consumers, a
choice needs to be made on which of their wants that should be satisfied
first.
2. Wants: They are goods and services we desire for consumption. They are
basic desires or wishes or needs a human requires to give satisfaction.
The basic needs are for food, clothing, and shelter. Thus, human wants
are insatiable because they are unlimited while the resources used in
satisfying them are limited.
3. Choice: It is the decision to satisfy your wants based on the resources
available. Choice is a method of selecting or the act of selecting

something out of many others. It involves decision making. Choice arises
because human wants are numerous and the resources for satisfying them
are scarce. An individual is thus faced with the problem of selecting that
which can satisfy his needs. For example, every rational person would
like to eat good food, live in a good house, drive a new car, etc., but not
everyone can afford all these luxury. As a result, one will have to choose
the most pressing need amongst all the listed items.
4. Incentives: They are rewards that encourage actions or penalties that
discourage actions.
5. Scale of Preference: A scale of preference is a list of items an individual
or firm wants arranged in the order of importance or preference. Human
wants are many and the means of satisfying these wants are scarce.
Therefore, a choice must be made in order to choose those that would
satisfy his wants first. To do this, he has to arrange his wants in order of
preference. The drawing of scale of preference will make it easier for
choices to be made.
6. Opportunity Cost: It is the cost of alternatives forgone. It is the sacrifice
one makes in order to satisfy one‘s wants. The opportunity cost of
consuming one commodity is the alternative which must be forfeited or
given up in order to consume such a commodity.
Lecture 2.
TWO BIG ECONOMIC QUESTIONS.
Economics involves two main questions:
 How do choices end up determining what, how and for whom goods and
services are produced?

 Can the choices that people make in the pursuit of their own self-interest
also influence the broader social interest?
Let's look at each question in detail.
Question 1: What, How and For Whom?
What to produce?
We must make choices. As an individual, we make a choice in terms of what

cost to spend, where to stay, the kind of food to eat, and so on. Also, businesses
make choice in terms of where to set up the business, what to produce for the
business and so on. The government also make choices. They make choices on
how and where to allocate their resources. They make choices on if they should
build schools, hospitals, roads, and so on.
This kind of question is answered based on the type of system practised in the
society — i.e., what are produced in a capitalist society, where individual
ownership is rampant, are things that will satisfy the capitalist there.
What we produce varies across countries and changes over time. With the
varying demands and pressures to cope with arising technological advances, it
is critical that production is updated and consistent with arising demands and
pressures.
The question of what to produce depends on:
1. The Economic System — the type of Economic system determines the

kind and quantity of goods and services to produce. For example, in a
capitalist system, the price system with profit motive in mind determines
the type and quantity of goods and services to be produced. But in the
socialist system, the government determines what is to be produced.

2. Availability of Resources — the kind of resources available in a society
determines the kind of goods produced there. For instance, in a society
where there is availability of limestone, cement is likely to be produced.
Likewise, in a society where there is availability of trees, books are
likely to be made, and so on.
How to produce?
In deciding how to go about producing goods, the techniques or methods of

productions must be determined.
Your choice of this method depends on:
1. Nature or Condition of the Economy — if the economic condition is so

horrible that there is a serious problem in unemployment, the
government decide not to use machines in doing most of the works in the
society. The government, instead, employ people to do the work. In
manufacturing, two main methods of production are used. These are:
a. Labour Intensive Method — it involves the use of more labour
and less of capital. Capital in this sense means the machines used
in production process.
b. Capital Intensive Method — it is the use of more capital like
machines and less labour.
Whatever system used, and whatever decisions made, the
preference should be in favour of the least cost method of
production that could benefit the society.
2. The Level of Technological Knowledge in the Society — if the level of
technological knowledge in a country is low, such society definitely can't
adopt the capital intensive method.
3. The Economic System — in a capitalist system where private individuals
and private resources are used, the capital intensive method is used. This

is different in a socialist system where the state and public resources are
used. A private firm, contrary to a government owned organisation, is
usually automatically operated.
For whom to produce?
The question of for whom to produce is a question of what determines the

distribution of goods and services to the society. In simple words, it is a
question of what determines why some are rich and others are poor. The answer
to this is your ownership of productive resources. The more productive
resources you have, the richer you are, and the quicker the distribution of goods
and services reaches you.
Question 2: Can the pursuit of self-interest promote the social interest?
Self-Interest: A choice that an individual believes is the best one available for
him or her.
Most choices that an individual makes is influenced by self-interest purposes.

The use of time and resources are based on what makes sense to you.
Social Interest: A choice that leads to an outcome that is best for society as a
whole.
Social interest has two dimensions: 
 Efficiency
 Equality. 
What is best for society is efficient and fair use of resources. Efficiency is
achieved when the available resources are used to produce goods and services
at the lowest possible cost and in quantities that produce the greatest benefit or
value.

Examples of everyday use of Question 2:
 Globalization — Expansion of international trade, borrowing, lending

and investment Info-age economy
 Climate change
 Economic Instability.
To emphasize more, self-interest is when individuals make decisions that are in

their own best interest. Like when you decide to get up in the morning to go to
work and make money, or when you pay the grocery store for food that you
would like to eat.
Social interest is when choices are made that benefit society as a whole.
Imagine one person, who is all knowing and really cares about the people.
Every action this benevolent dictator made would be in the social interest of the
society. The cool thing about social interest is that it can also be attained by
individual decision makers acting in their own self-interest. This process is what
Adam Smith called the invisible hand.
When individuals act in their self-interest, they go to work and buy things
because it makes them happy. But by working and purchasing things, they are
also contributing to society and the social interest. Think about the creators of
Facebook and WhatsApp, they acted in their own self-interest creating it for
profit. However, in the process, we all benefited from the increased networking
and communication with friends. Now, this is a lecture that was done earlier
today in class, it is getting to you via WhatsApp now— that is you have
benefitted (social interest). Also, my always posting lecture notes here is
actually on my own self-interest because through typing of lectures into the
system, it is a process of me reading and understanding better, and it also assists
me not to go everywhere with my books, but just phone. But everyone benefits
from the lecture notes I post too. Although, I post them on my self-interest, but
it has promoted LL.B.1 social interest. Thus individuals acting in self-interest
can lead to optimal social interest outcomes, just like if a benevolent dictator
was in charge.
Remember: Common questions for this topic include giving you an example of
a business and asking you if they are acting in self-interest or social interest.
Businesses are always acting in their own self-interest, yet by doing this they
are contributing to the social interest. Only by volunteering, donating, or acting
as a non-profit are entities ONLY acting in for the social interest.
The Key Issues in Nigeria in Respect to Self-Interest and Social Interest.
 Unemployment.
 Imported inflation.
 Debt & Budget Deficit.
 Water & Electricity Shortage.
 Election laws.
 Budget over shooting.
 Aids/Hiv/Malaria.
 Subsidy removal.
1. Unemployment — it is a big problem in the society. Every violence and
other odd things in the society are usually results of unemployment. The
question is, 'any choice that leads to unemployment, is it a self-interest
choice or a social interest choice?' The answer is that it is for the
maximization of self-interest. The problem of unemployment in the
society can be viewed as the deviation of social interest to self-interest.
Our inability to include social interest into our own self-interest is the key
cause of unemployment in the society.

2. Imported Inflation — when increasing price as an individual, it is for a
self-interest. When increasing the price, what comes to your mind is how
to make profit — you definitely don't care about the society.
3. Debt & Budget Deficit — the borrowings the government does are not in
the interest of the society? Not only at federal level, even at state level.
The fact is that most part of the money is for self-interest and this usually
leads to budget deficit.
4. Water/Electricity Shortage — every government that comes into power
always gets huge amount of money for the execution of water and
electricity projects, yet, there is no water and electricity — simply
because it's in their own interest.
5. Budget Overshooting — the government always exaggerates and adds
more to the budget usually for their self-interest.
6. AIDS/HIV/Malaria/Polio... — governments always spend huge budget in
addressing all those diseases, but, in fact, it is not on the social interest
but to the interest of the few. The fact is that they already have permanent
cures for all those diseases but they just don't want it to be available to the
society because they don't want the diseases to be totally finished as that
is the way most of them make money.
7. Subsidy Removal — every time subsidy is being removed, we hardly see
the impact(s) of it. It is usually for self-interest not social interest.

Lecture 3.
THE ECONOMIC WAY OF THINKING.
The Economic way of thinking can be viewed as:
 Gun versus Butter Trade-off.
Trade-off is a situation whereby you have to give something up in exchange for

another thing. It is nothing but, ―you cannot eat your cake and have it.‖ It is
either you have your cake and don't eat it or you eat it and don't have it. This is
a typical economic way of thinking.
Gun versus Butter demonstrates the relationship between a nation's investment

in defence and civilian goods. In this example, a nation has to choose between
two options when spending its finite resources. It may buy either guns (invest in
defence/military) or butter (invest in production of goods), or a combination of
both.
There is trade-off in 'what to produce' because you have to give up one goods or
services for the production of other which you consider preferable to you.
Also, there is trade-off in 'how to produce' because you will have to trade-off
one method of production for the other. You can't use the capital intensive and
also want to use the labour intensive simultaneously.
Trade-off also happens in 'for whom to produce' because the cost of you being
rich is mostly at the expense of someone else. A director gets richer at the
expense of his workers; a politician gets richer at the expense of those under
him, and so on.

 Big Trade-off.
The big trade-off is the trade-off between equality and efficiency that occurs as
a result of government programs redistributing income.
If we promote equality, we will have more income redistribution through taxes,

more fairness, and a common living standard. However, economic efficiency
will suffer and our economic pie will grow more slowly. By contrast, economic
competition leads to more efficiency, more entrepreneurial energy, more
economic growth and a bigger pie. And, is it fairer to be able to keep more of
what you earn?
Yes, there are countless other issues. They include the deficit, income
inequality, innovation, the role of government, defining who is rich, and the
unemployment rate. But still, I wonder whether it all comes down to the side
you take for ―the big trade-off‖.
If the government goes for equality, they make sure to distribute social goods
equally either one works hard or not. But when government goes for efficiency,
the goods are distributed based on your efficiency.
Lecture 4.
HOW MARKETS WORK – DEMAND AND SUPPLY.
Demand.
When talking about demand, one needs to note the difference between demand,
and wants.
'Demand' is different from 'want' because demand is backed up by the

willingness and ability to pay for goods and services at a price over a period of

time. Want is a mere desire for a commodity for its sake. It is not backed by the
willingness and ability of the individual to pay for that commodity.
If you demand anything, it means:
 you want it,

 you can afford it, and
 you plan to buy it.
The above three are the characteristics of demand. They must all be contained
before you call it a 'demand'.
Quantity demanded is the amount of goods or services that a consumer plans to

buy at a particular price and time.
Law of Demand.
Ceteris paribus, the HIGHER the price of a commodity, the SMALLER

would be the quantity demanded of that commodity and the LOWER the price
of a commodity, the GREATER the quantity that would be demanded of that
commodity.
Ceteris paribus is a Latin phrase that means, ―all things being equal‖. In a
deeper analysis, it means that unless there is a special case, something is always
true.
So, as used in the law of demand above, it means, if there is no factor of

demand affecting it.
In accordance with this law, the demand curve is said to slope downward from
left to right, thus:

8
6
4
2
Price
Qty 2 6 8 10
Situations Where the Law of Demand does not Apply.
1. Luxury/Articles of Ostentation: Luxury goods or goods of ostentation will

attract more demand when their prices are high. People believe that their
value increases with the increase in their prices. Consequently, at high
price, people tend to demand more. Examples are luxury car, jewellery,
wrist watches, mobile phones, etc.
2. Expectation of Future Change in Price: People may demand more of a
commodity at a higher price if they expect that the price of that
commodity will rise in the future. Trading in stocks and shares are good
examples of commodities that have speculative influences on their prices.
3. Antique Goods: Goods that have historical attachment which people
regard as valuables attract high price. People tend to buy more of such
rare commodities at higher prices.
4. Extreme Case of Elasticity: This happens with necessary goods without
close substitutes. Examples of a good that is necessary without a close
substitute is salt. The quantity demanded will remain unchanged
irrespective of price changes. The demand curve is, thus, zero elastic or
perfectly inelastic. More examples are matches and water.

Bullet Points to Note.
 In simple and more comprehensive words, ‗demand is all the

relationships between quantity demanded and the price.‘
 The most important factor that affects the quantity demanded is the price
of a commodity.
 In most cases, quantity bought cannot be greater than quantity demanded.
 Demand is always a downward slope from left to right showing you that
the higher the price, the greater the quantity demanded and vice versa.
 In demand, there is an inverse relationship between price and quantity
demanded — i.e., there is negative relationship.
Types of Demand.
1. Joint or Complementary Demand: Joint or Complementary Demand is

the demand for products that are consumed together to satisfy one's wants
at the same time. If the demand for one of the commodities increases, the
demand for the other will also increase, e.g., car and fuel, pen and book,
etc. If the price of one of the commodities falls, the demand for the other
increases vice versa. Hence, price has a negative relationship with
quantity demanded here.
2. Competitive Demand: The demand for goods that are close substitute is
called competitive demand. If the price of one rises, consumers will
switch their demand in favour of the substitute. Examples are Tea and
Coffee, Star and Beer, Milo and Ovaltine, Pepsi and Coke, Mirinda and
Fanta, Omo and Klin, Always and Classique, Pampers and Huggies,
Chicken and Beef, etc. Here, there is a positive relationship because if the
price of one of the commodities increases, the quantity demanded of the
close substitute increases.

3. Composite Demand: Composite demand is the overall demand for a
product which can be used for different purposes. This one product is
thus wanted to satisfy different wants. For example, palm oil may be
demanded for cooking food, making soap; wood could be used for
making furniture, building, fuel; flour could he used for making bread,
Shawarma, biscuit, doughnut; etc. If the industrial demand for palm oil
increases, it will affect the demand of palm oil for domestic cooking. The
relationship here is positive because if the price is high for one purpose,
the quantity demanded will be high for another purpose.
4. Derived Demand or Circuitous Demand: Derived demand occurs as a
result of the demand for other commodities. The demand is therefore not
for its direct consumption but for the production of other goods and
services. Therefore, an increase in the demand for one will lead to an
increase in the demand for the other. A good example is the demand for
labour. Labour is not needed for its sake but for the production of goods
and services. The demand for cassava is another instance. Cassava is
demanded not for the direct consumption but for the production of garri
or starch. Therefore an increase in the demand for garri or starch will lead
to an increase in the demand for cassava. Consequently, an increase in the
price of one of the commodities will lead to a decrease in the quantity
demanded of the other commodity. Thus, it is a negative relationship.
Reasons why a Demand Curve Slopes Downward from Left to Right.
When a demand curve slopes downward from left to right, it shows that more of
that commodity will be bought at a lower price than at a higher price. The basic
reasons for this line of action are Income effect and Substitution effect.
1. Income Effect — it is a situation whereby we enjoy indirect increase in

income because the price of the goods we are buying has fallen. When the

price of a commodity falls, consumers of that commodity are left with
more income to enable them buy more. Given the same income,
consumers are now better placed to buy more of that commodity whose
price has fallen.
2. Substitution Effect — it is a situation whereby the prices of goods other
than the ones we are buying whose prices have fallen become dearer.
Consumers are better placed to substitute the commodity whose price has
fallen for those they were buying initially whose prices might still be the
same. This is true if the commodity now being bought has a close
substitute whose price has remained unchanged.
―Change in Quantity Demanded‖ versus ―Change in Demand.‖
A change in quantity demanded is an increase or decrease in the quantity of

goods purchased at a particular time as a result of rise or fall in the PRICE of
that commodity. All other factors that affect demand remain unchanged. Price is
thus the only factor causing changes in the quantity demanded.
A change in demand is an increase or decrease in the quantity of goods

purchased as a result of ALL THOSE FACTORS THAT AFFECT
DEMAND EXCEPT THE PRICE OF THE COMMODITY ITSELF. Thus,
the PRICE of the commodity remains constant while other factors such as taste
and fashion, income distribution, population, etc., change.
If the demand curve shifts inward or outward, then there is a change in demand
(see the first and second curves below).
A situation where the demand curve moves along the same demand curve, it is a
change in quantity demanded (see the third curve below).

D1 D2 D2 D1
P P
D1 D2 D2 D1
Q1 Q2 Q2 Q1
A B
Demand Curves Showing a Change in Demand.
D1
PRICE 10
D1
0 100 200
A Demand Curve Showing a Change in Quantity Demanded.
There are six CHIEF factors that lead to change in demand. They are:
1. Income — the higher your income, the more quantity you demand not
minding if the price of the commodity changes or not.
2. Price of Other Commodities — if the price of one commodity falls,
especially in joint demand, the quantity demanded of the other
commodity increases. Also, in competitive demand, when the price of
one of the commodities increases, people buy more of the other
commodity, irrespective of the price.

3. Expected Future Prices — when you expect the price of a commodity to
increase in the future, the quantity demanded of the commodity for now
increases irrespective of what the price dictates.
4. Expected Future Income — when you expect your income to increase in
the future, you tend to buy more of a commodity at present because you
know there is an expectation.
5. Preferences — it is whatever you like. If you have preference for
something, you buy more of it either the price reduces or not.
6. Population — if the population of a particular house increases, the
quantity of goods demanded by that family increases irrespective of the
price level.
Other factors are...
Weather, festival, fashion, etc.
Supply.
Just like demand, supply also has its three key features.
As a producer, when you supply, it means that:
 you have the resources and technology (knowledge) to produce it.

 you can profit from producing it.
 you plan to produce and sell it.
Supply is a situation whereby a producer plans to combine resources and

technology in other to produce, sell and make profit.
Quantity supplied is the amount of goods or services a producer plans to

produce and sell at a particular price in a period of time.

All the relationships between quantity supplied and prices are what supply is all
about.
Law of Supply.
All things being equal, the LOWER the price, the SMALLER would be the
quantity supplied and the HIGHER the price, the GREATER would be the
quantity supplied.
Unlike demand curve, supply curve moves upward from right to left:
P1
P2
Q1 Q2
Why does this law hold?
The reason why when price increases, quantity supplied also increases is
nothing else but Marginal Cost.
Marginal Cost is defined as the extra or additional cost of producing an extra

or additional unit of a commodity. It is an increase in the cost of production. As
you are giving more goods, you charge higher because you have to settle the
cost of production. Most things in the market, for you to increase their
production, you have to increase their prices.
Generally, goods are categorised into four. They are:
 public goods (goods that are available for everyone to use without
exception. That you are using it doesn't deprive someone else from using

it, neither does it reduce what the person would have received. They are
non-rival and non-excludable).
 private/economic goods (goods that are not available for everyone to use.
When you use them, someone else can't use them at the moment you're
using them. When you use them, it reduces the availability of them for
someone else. Most of the goods we go to the market to buy are all
private goods. They are the ones that are generally used whenever
Economics mentions "goods". They are rival and excludable).
 common resources (goods owned by no one but used by everyone. They
are rival but non-excludable).
 Natural Monopoly (a commodity which has zero marginal cost).
―Change in Quantity Supplied‖ Vs. ―Change in Supply.‖
A change in quantity supplied refers to an increase or decrease of supply as a

result of changes in PRICE of the commodity with other factors remaining
constant.
A change in supply occurs when OTHER FACTORS other than the price of
the commodity change. The factors so mentioned are factors like technology,
prices of other commodities, prices of factors of production, etc.
Influences of Supply (Factors Affecting Supply).
1. Price of the Resources Used in Producing the Goods — if you buy

resources at high price, it means you won't be able to buy more resources
which consequently deprives you from producing more goods and
services.
2. Prices of Related Goods — if you are producing a particular commodity
and you find out that there is another more lucrative and more profitable
good in the market, you definitely would switch immediately. That

consequently makes the supply of the previous goods you switch from to
reduce.
3. Technology — when your technology is greater than someone else's
technology, you produce (supply) more. Technology here doesn't only
apply to material things, it also means 'knowledge (know-how)'.
4. Number of Producers — the more producers in the market, the more
quantities would be supplied, all things being equal.
5. Expectation of Future Change in Price — a situation whereby producers
or sellers believe that price will fall in future would make them supply
more now even if the prices of the commodity are low. Likewise if a
producer expects the price to go high in the future, he or she hoards the
goods.
Equilibrium.
Demand and supply are conflicting because supply keeps pushing the prices up
while demand keeps pushing them down — i.e., the producers always want the
prices to be high, whereas, the consumers always want the prices to be low.
Equilibrium, as a STATEMENT of THEORY, is a situation whereby quantity

demanded is equal to quantity supplied.
(A theory is like a statement of the law which needs advanced knowledge to

understand).
Hence, REALISTICALLY, ―equilibrium means the best deal possible for

producers and consumers.‖
Most things we buy are in equilibrium because they are usually the best deal
possible for the producers and consumers.

Equilibrium price is the price at which buyers and sellers get the best deal
possible.
Equilibrium point is the point where demand curve intersects supply curve.
The Role of Price in Equilibrium.
Price plays two important roles in equilibrium:
1. Regulation of Buying and Selling Plan — buying plan is the plan of

consumers, while selling plan is the plan of the producer. When price is
high, there is excess supply and when price is low, there is excess
demand. It is the price that tells the producer the quantity of goods to
produce. The buying plan of a consumer is regulated by price likewise
the selling plan of a producer.
2. Adjustment of Surplus and Shortage — price adjusts quantities produced
and demanded. When we have surplus, it forces price down and when we
have shortage, it forces price up.
For example:
Given that:
Qty Demanded = 25 – P
Qty Supplied = 5 + P
a. Find equilibrium price and quantity;

b. When price is ₦2, what kind of excess exists?
c. When price is ₦12, what kind of excess exists?
d. When there is tax of ₦2, what is the new equilibrium condition?

Solution
a. Find equilibrium price and quantity.
Step One: you find the Equilibrium Price.
The formula for finding equilibrium price is: Qty Demanded (Qd) = Quantity
Suplied (Qs):
Qd = Qs
25 – P = 5 + P
(…collect like terms)
25 – 5 = P + P
20 = 2p
(…divide both sides by 2)
P = 10 (ans.)
Step Two: now that you have known the value of the Equilibrium Price, find the
Equilibrium Quantity.
To find equilibrium quantity, substitute the value of P, which is ―10‖ in the

equations given in the question, thus:
Qd = 25 – P
Qs = 5 + P
(…replace ―P‖ with ―10‖ in the equation above).
Qd = 25 – 10 = 15

Qs = 5 + 10 = 15
Hence equilibrium quantity is 15.
b. When price is ₦2, what kind of excess exists?
Qd = 25 – P
= 25 – 2
= 23.
Qs = 5 + P
=5+2
=7
From the above, it is apparent that the value of the Qd at the price of 2
naira is higher than the value of Qs at that same price. Hence, the kind of
excess that exists here is excess demand, which is 23 – 7
= 16
c. When price is ₦12, what kind of excess exists?
Qd = 25 – P
= 25 – 12
= 13
Qs = 5 + P
= 5 + 12
= 17

From the above, it is apparent that the value of the Qd at the price of 12
naira is smaller than the value of Qs at that same price. Hence, the kind of
excess that exists here is excess supply, which is 17 – 13
=4
d. When there is tax of ₦2, what is the new equilibrium condition?
Since Tax can only affect quantity supplied (5 + P), to get the new
quantity supplied, tax will now be subtracted from the original quantity
supplied which will go thus:
Qs = 5 + (P – 2)
(…open the bracket)
Qs = 5 – 2 + P
Qs = 3 + P
Before finding the new equilibrium condition, find the value of P (the new
equilibrium price) by equating the original quantity demanded (25 – P) to the
new quantity supplied (3 + P) like this:
Qd = Qs
25 – P = 3 + P
(…collect like terms)
25 – 3 = P + P
22 = 2P
(…divide both sides by 2)
P = 11.

Therefore, 11 is the new equilibrium price.
Finally! To find the new equilibrium condition, put the value of P (11) in
the original quantity demand (25 – P) and new quantity supplied (3 + P)
like this:
Qd = 25 – P
= 25 – 11
= 14
Qs = 3 + P
= 3 + 11
= 14 (the new equilibrium condition).
From the above equation we can finally conclude that tax leads to
increase in price: the initial price (first equilibrium price) is 10 naira
while the new equilibrium price, due to increase in tax is 11 naira.
Lecture 5.
ELASTICITY OF DEMAND.
The elasticity of demand is simply the units-free-measure of the responsiveness

of quantity demanded to a change in the major factors affecting demand, which
are: the price of the commodity, the price of related commodities, and income
of the consumers.

Elasticity doesn't have any unit of measurement, that's why it is a unit-free
measure. When you calculate elasticity, your answer doesn't need any form of
unit (like naira, kg, gram, etc.)
Types of Elasticity in Demand.
1. Elastic Demand — is a situation whereby a change in price brings about

a LARGE change in the quantity of goods demanded. For instance, price
falls by 10% and quantity demanded increases more than 10%.
2. Inelastic Demand — is a situation whereby a change in price of a
commodity leads to SMALL change in quantity demanded. This usually
happens with necessary goods.
3. Unitary Elastic Demand — is a situation whereby a change in price leads
to an EQUAL change in quantity demanded. This elasticity is said to be
neutral because no change has actually occurred.
4. Perfectly/Infinitely Elastic Demand — is a situation whereby an increase
in price leads to the consumer not demanding at all. It is a situation
whereby consumers cease to buy the commodity at all if the price rises.
5. Perfectly/Zero Inelastic Demand — occurs when quantity demanded
remains unchanged irrespective of the changes in price. It is a situation
whereby a change in price doesn't cause any change in quantity
demanded — either the price increases or not, the quantity demanded
remains the same.
Basically, in classifying demand, we have:
 price elasticity of demand.

 income elasticity of demand.
 price-cross elasticity of demand.

 Price Elasticity of Demand.
When you calculate price elasticity of demand, what you have calculated is
called ―price coefficient of elasticity‖ and it is usually written as “Pɛ”.
The formula for calculating ―Pɛ‖ is ― ‖
Where: ―%‖ stands for ―Percentage‖
―∆‖ stands for ―Change‖
―Qty‖ (or ―Q‖ at times) stands for ―Quantity‖
―P‖ stands for ―Price‖.
 %∆ in Qty is calculated as ― × 100‖
 %∆ in Price is calculated as ― × 100‖

 Quantity average is calculated by adding the two quantities and dividing
by 2, as in, ― ‖
 Price average is calculated by adding the two prices and dividing by 2, as
in, ― ‖
 Change in price is simply the difference between the two prices given, as
in ―P2 - P1‖.
 Change in quantity is the difference between the two quantities given, as
in, ―Q2 - Q1‖.
Before we take an example, there are some key things to know about
―coefficient of price elasticity‖.
 Demand is said to be elastic if the coefficient of price elasticity is greater

the 1 but less than infinity. That is, it must not be 0 point something, and

it must not be 1 exactly. It must be greater than 1. Mathematically
represented as ―Pɛ > 1‖
 Demand is inelastic if the coefficient of price elasticity is greater than
zero but less than one. That is, it can be any number between 0 and 1; but
it must not be 0 or 1 exactly. Mathematically shown as ―Pɛ > 0 < 1‖
 Demand is unitary if the coefficient of price elasticity is equal to 1. It
must not be more than one or less than one. Mathematically shown as,
―Pɛ = 1‖
 Demand is perfectly/infinitely elastic if the coefficient of price elasticity
is equal to infinity.
 Demand is perfectly/zero inelastic if the coefficient of price elasticity is
equal to 0. ―Pɛ = 0‖
Example.
The price of rice per mudu falls from ₦850 to ₦800 and the quantity demanded
for rice consequently rises from 1,000 to 1,500 mudus. Calculate the coefficient
of price elasticity and interpret your answer.
Solution
There are six steps involved and all steps must be followed accurately.
Step 1 — interpret the question.
P1 = ₦850 P2 = ₦800
Q1 = 1,000 Q2 = 1,500
Step 2 — find the ―∆ in Qty‖ and ―Qty average‖.
∆ in Qty = Q2-Q1

=1,500 - 1,000
= 500.
Qty Average = .
= 1,250.
Step 3 — find the ―∆ in Price‖ and ―Price average.‖
∆ in P = P2 - P1
= 800 - 850
= 50
Price Average =
= ₦825.
Step 4 — calculate the ―%∆ in Qty.‖
%∆ in Qty = × 100
× 100
= 40%
Step 5 — calculate the ―%∆ in Price.‖

%∆ in Price = × 100
× 100
= -6.06%
Step 6 — finally, you can calculate the ―Pɛ‖
Pɛ
= -6.6 (ans).
Now, going to the second phase of the question which reads, ―Interpret your
answer,‖ the demand is elastic because the coefficient of price elasticity is
greater than 1. Thus, it is a luxury good.
Note:
 When calculating elasticity, it is not advisable to put the unit of

measurement. You are to leave it unit-free.
 Whenever the answer that you arrive at in calculating the ―Pɛ‖ has a
negative symbol (minus -), you ignore the minus symbol and interpret it
as positive.
Importance of Elasticity.
There are two cases where elasticity is important.
1. It is important to business or firms in pricing decisions — It is important

to you whether you should increase your price or decrease your price.

2. It is important to the government in tax policy — it is very important for
the government to take note of price elasticity before imposing tax
because if a commodity is elastic and the government imposes high tax
on such commodity, the producer will be forced to increase the price in
order to augment, and it leads to people demanding less.
Price Elasticity vs. Revenue.
It is important to know the relationship between price elasticity and revenue.
Revenue is a generated income of a producer (seller). It is the income you

generate from selling your commodity. Selling more units of a commodity is
always preferred to selling less units. But what regulates the quantity you sell is
the price.
1. If demand is elastic, a one percent price cut will lead to more than one
percent increase in quantity demanded and the revenue will increase.
Therefore, it pays the producer to reduce the price if demand is elastic.
2. If demand is inelastic, a one percent price cut will lead to less than one
percent increase in quantity demanded and revenue will decrease. Thus, it
pays the producer to increase the price if demand is inelastic.
3. If demand is unitary elastic, a one percent price cut will lead to exactly
one percent increase in quantity demanded and revenue remains
unchanged. Hence, the producer need not alter the price if demand is
unitary elastic.

Price Elasticity vs. Expenditure.
As revenue is to the producer, expenditure is to the consumer.
1. If your demand for a commodity is elastic, a one percent price cut will
increase the quantity you buy by more than one percent and your
expenditure rises.
2. If demand is inelastic, a one percent price cut will increase the quantity
you buy by less than one percent and your expenditure falls.
3. If demand is unitary, a one percent price cut will increase the quantity
you buy by one percent and your expenditure doesn't change.
Determinants of Elasticity.
What makes demand to be elastic, inelastic, unitary, infinitely, and zero?
1. Availability and Closeness of Substitutes — if a commodity has a close

substitute, it will be elastic because the moment one of the commodities
has an increase in price, people stop demanding it and go for the close
substitute. The more available and closer the substitute of a commodity
is, the more elastic it becomes. But in a situation where the commodity
doesn't have a close substitute, it becomes inelastic, because you have no
other option than to buy it even at high price.
2. The Degree of Necessity of a Commodity — necessary goods are inelastic
and luxury goods are elastic.
3. The Degree of Addiction and Preferences — when you are addicted to a
commodity, the commodity becomes necessary, thereby making it
inelastic — even if it is supposed to be elastic. The more addicted you are
to a commodity, the more necessary the commodity becomes and the
commodity therefore becomes inelastic.

4. The Proportion of Income Spent on a Commodity — when a commodity
takes large proportion of income, it becomes elastic and when it takes
small proportion of income, it becomes inelastic.
 Income Elasticity of Demand.
Income elasticity of demand is the degree of responsiveness of demand to

changes in the income of the consumers. It determines how changes in income
influence the quantity of goods.
When you calculate income elasticity of demand, what you have calculated is
called ―coefficient of income elasticity‖ and it is usually written,
mathematically, as “Yɛ”.
The formula for calculating ―Yɛ‖ is ― ‖
―Y‖ stands for ―Income‖
―%∆ in Y‖ is calculated as ― ‖
When you calculate income elasticity of a commodity and it gives you a

POSITIVE answer, the commodity is a NORMAL good. If, however, it gives
you a NEGATIVE answer, the commodity is an INFERIOR good.
Normal goods are goods that when you have more income, you buy more
quantities. They can be ―necessary goods‖ or ―luxury goods‖.
If the commodity is a normal good (i.e., if it gives you a positive answer) it can
either be elastic or inelastic. It is elastic if the positive answer you have is
greater than one and it is inelastic if your answer is less than one. In a situation
where you have your positive answer to be 1 exactly, it is just a normal good
(there is nothing like ―unitary normal good‖).

Inferior goods are goods that when your income is low, you buy. They are
goods usually consumed by poor people.
Example:
The quantity demanded for yam increases from 20 to 30 tubers as a result of pay
rise of an individual from ₦18,000 to ₦20,000 per month. Calculate the
coefficient of income elasticity and interpret your answer.
Solution
Just like ―price elasticity of demand‖, there are also six steps involved in this
which must likewise be followed accurately without jumping any step.
Step 1 — interpret the question (bring out your data).
Q1 = 20 Q2 = 30
Y1 = 18,000 Y2 = 20,000.
Step 2 — find the ―∆ in Qty‖ and ―Qty average‖.
∆ in Qty = Q2 - Q1
= 30 – 20
= 10.
Qty Average =
= 25.

Step 3 — calculate the ―%∆ in Qty‖.
%∆ in Qty = × 100
× 100
= 40%
Step 4 — find the ―∆ in Y‖ and ―Y Average‖.
∆ in Y = Y2 - Y1
= 20,000 - 18,000
= 2,000
Y Average =
= 19,000
Step 5 — calculate the ―%∆ in Y‖
%∆ in Y =
× 100
= 10.5%
Step 6 — finally calculate the ―Yɛ‖.

Yɛ
= 3.81.
Going to the second phase of the question, which reads, ―interpret your
answer,‖ the commodity is a ―normal good‖ because it is a positive answer
(i.e., 3.81) and it is a ―luxury good‖ because the demand is elastic (i.e, Yɛ > 1).
 Price-cross Elasticity of Demand.
Most at times, the reason we buy one commodity is as a result of the price of
the close substitute.
Price-cross elasticity is the responsiveness of demand for commodity to a

change in price of another commodity.
When you calculate price-cross elasticity of demand, what you have calculated
is called ―coefficient of cross elasticity‖ and it is usually written as:
―P12 = ‖
%∆ in Qty X = × 100
%∆ in Price Z = × 100
Price of one commodity say, ―Z‖, can lead to the demand of another
commodity say, ―X‖.
In interpreting price-cross elasticity, if your answer is POSITIVE, it is a

CLOSE SUBSTITUTE, but if it is NEGATIVE, it is a COMPLEMENTARY
GOOD.

Example:
150 cars were demanded in February as against the 100 demanded in January.
This is associated with the rise in price of motorcycles from ₦200,000 to
₦250,000 within the two-month period. Calculate the coefficient of cross
elasticity and interpret your answer.
Solution
Six steps are also involved here.
Step 1 — bring out your data
Let ―X‖ be ―Cars‖
Let ―Z‖ be ―Motorcycles‖
Qty X1 = 100 Qty X2 = 150
Price Z1 = 200,000. Price Z2 = 250,000
Step 2 — calculate ―∆ in QtyX‖ and ―QtyX Average‖.
∆ in QtyX = QtyX2 - QtyX1
= 150 - 100
= 50
QtyX Average =
= 125
Step 3 — calculate the percentage change in QtyX

%∆ in QtyX = × 100
× 100
= 40%
Step 4 — calculate the ―∆ in Price Z‖ and ―Price Average of Z‖
∆PriceZ = PriceZ2 - PriceZ1
= 250,000 -
200,000
= 50,000.
PriceZ Average =
= 225,000.
Step 5 — calculate %∆ in PriceZ
%∆PriceZ = × 100
× 100
= 22.2
Step 6 — finally calculate the ―P12‖

P12 =
= 1.8
The second phase of the question which reads, ―interpret your answer‖, it is a
close substitute commodity because the answer is a positive figure.
Lecture 6.
HOUSEHOLD CHOICES.
Generally, there are three main economic factors.
1. Government.
2. Firms.
3. Household.
Our main concern here is "Household".
As a household, the key issue is demand. Household doesn't supply. They buy
goods and services.
The major factor of household is buying.
The objective of any household is to maximize utility — maximum satisfaction

— at the cheapest price.
Household does not have finished goods, but factors of production — like
labour, land, capital.
When examining household, there are two things to consider:

1. Consumption Possibilities — how many quantities you are able to
consume. The 'price' you pay for the goods and services, and the 'income'
you get determines your consumption possibilities. Your consumption
possibility is nothing but the combination of goods you need to buy
based on the price of the commodity and the income you receive. When
income is rising and price is going down, your consumption possibilities
will be high, and when income is going down and price is going up, your
consumption possibilities will be low.
When you put together the various commodities you want to buy and
their prices, and you relate them with your income, it gives you your
consumption possibilities.
Budget line represents the various consumption possibilities of a
household.
2. Preferences — they are nothing but likes and dislikes. Our preferences
are defined by our likings for goods and services. If you like one
commodity more than another, it means you prefer it. The utility attached
to a commodity determines how you like it or not like it.
There is a link between preference and consumption possibilities. What
will determine more of which commodity you buy is your preference.
A good analogy is that in a situation where your income (Y) is ₦30 and
there are two commodities in the market, food and medicine, if the price
of food is ₦3 per unit and the price of medicine is ₦6 per unit, a
consumer can decide to buy more food and buy less medicine or buy
more medicine and buy less food. It is a fact that if the consumer decides
to spend all his or her income on food, he or she, with the ₦30, will end
up buying 10 units of food and 0 unit of medicine. If he or she decides to
buy 1 unit of medicine (₦6), that means he or she will buy 8 units of
food at ₦24. If he or she decides to buy 2 units of medicine (₦6×2=
₦12), then he or she buys 6 units of food at ₦18, and so on.

Utility.
Utility is the satisfaction a person derives from the consumption of a particular

commodity or service at a given period of time.
A thirsty person can decide to drink a bottle of water. The utility is the
satisfaction the person gains at that point in time of consuming that bottle of
water. It must be noted that utility has nothing to do with the usefulness of the
commodity. Satisfaction is not the same as usefulness.
Utility also deals specifically with a period of time. Water may not give any
satisfaction if the person concerned is not thirsty at that point in time. Utility is
therefore psychologically subjective as it is open to individual interpretation.
Utility depends on the quantity we consume.
The unit of measurement for utility is arbitrary — i.e., there is no single unit of
measurement. The unit of a commodity that satisfies you may not be the same
unit that satisfies someone else.
Types of Utility.
1. Total Utility (TU) — it is the overall benefit derived by consuming

certain quantity of a commodity. Or, total utility is the total amount of
satisfaction derived from the consumption of a given commodity at a
point in time. It must be noted that the satisfaction received from the
consumption of particular goods does not increase continuously. There
must be a point where the consumer becomes saturated.
2. Average Utility (AU) — the benefit derived per unit consumed. It is the
total utility divided by the total number of commodities consumed. It is
common amongst items that can be divided.
3. Marginal Utility (MU) — it is the extra or additional satisfaction
obtained from consuming an additional unit of a commodity.

Saturation is a point at which Marginal Utility is zero and Total Utility is
maximum.
Utility Maximisation or Equilibrium of the Consumer.
We maximise utility when Marginal Utility equals to price. Utility

maximization is the point where the Marginal Utility derived from consuming a
commodity is equal to the price of the commodity consumed.
Given that the consumer consumes one commodity, 'X', it will be ― ‖
Given that the consumer consumes two commodities ‗X‘ and ‗Y‘, it will be
represented as ― = ‖
Where:
―MuX‖ = ―Marginal Utility of Commodity X‖
―PX‖ = ―Price of Commodity X‖
―MuY‖ = ―Marginal Utility of Commodity Y‖
―PY‖ = ―Price of Commodity Y‖
A rational consumer must try to maximize the amount of satisfaction he or she

derives from any expenditure. He or she can only do so if the maximum
satisfaction derived from the commodity is greater than the price of the
commodity, vice versa. He or she would therefore spend money on those
commodities which he or she derives more satisfaction than those that gives less
satisfaction. From the above example of two commodities X and Y, the rational
consumer will allocate his or her financial resources among the two
commodities in such a way that he or she derives equal satisfaction from the last
unit of money spent on each of them.

A consumer is in equilibrium when he or she maximises utility such that the
marginal utility per naira spent is equal for all goods.
The higher the price you pay for a commodity, the higher the marginal utility.
Price versus Value.
Price is what we pay for a commodity while value is what we get from a
commodity.
Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.
This law states that as you keep consuming more and more unit of a commodity,
there will be a point where each additional unit will give you dissatisfaction
(less satisfaction). For example, if Onimisi eats three apples, he will get
satisfaction, but as he continues to add more apples, his satisfaction will not be
as much as the first apple he took. The satisfaction diminishes from a certain
point in the process of eating the apples.
Diamond-Water Paradox.
Getting enough water to sustain life typically has a low price, while a piece of
diamond jewellery has a high price. Why does an economy put a much lower
value on something vital to sustaining life compared to something that simply
looks shiny and sparkles? This question is the diamond-water paradox, also
known as paradox of value, and it was first presented by the economist Adam
Smith in the 1700s.
The reasons for this are:
i. 'Water' is abundant and therefore, it is cheap. Because it is cheap, it has

low marginal utility; but 'diamond' is scarce, therefore it is expensive, that
is why it has high marginal utility.

ii. Water has a kind of more consumer surplus and diamond has less
consumer surplus.
Consumer surplus is the difference between the amount a consumer has

budgeted to be spent on the consumption of a commodity and the amount he
actually spent. Let us take for example, the purchase of wedding gown by
Onimisi for his bride. If he is willing to pay as much as ₦7million for the
wedding gown, which in fact, he was able to pay at ₦5million, it would be said
that Onimisi has obtained ₦2million worth of surplus satisfaction. Any amount
above the market price of ₦5million represents the consumer surplus.
P.S. In his works, Smith points out that practical things that we use every day
often have little or no value in exchange. Things like cups, utensils, socks, and
water are a few examples. On the other hand, things that often have the greatest
value in the market have little or no practical use. An example may be an old
piece of art or 1920s baseball card. Other than looking at it, there isn't much
else we can do with the art or baseball card. So, why are things valued this
way?
Understanding why the paradox exists can be helped by understanding the

economic terms known as marginal utility and scarcity. Scarcity can be simply
defined as how readily available a good, skill, or service is. Is there a lot of it
compared to what people are demanding? Marginal utility is the additional
satisfaction or gain someone gets from using or purchasing an additional unit
of a particular good or service. People are willing to pay a higher price for
goods with greater marginal utility.
So, let's go back to water and diamonds. There is plenty of water in most parts
of the world (not scarce), which means that, as consumers, we usually have a
low marginal utility for water. In a typical situation, we aren't willing to pay a
lot of money for one more drink of water. Diamonds, however, are scarce.

Because they are harder to find and attain, our marginal utility (additional
satisfaction), for adding a diamond to our collection is much higher than
someone offering us one more drink of water. If one is dying of thirst, then this
paradox might not make sense, and the marginal utility from another drink of
water would be much higher than the additional satisfaction of owning a
diamond.
Lecture 7.
MACROECONOMICS.
While microeconomics deals with individuals, macroeconomics deals with

aggregate (national) economics.
Since 1750, the issue of output, inflation, investment, etc., were closely
examined.
Macroeconomics came into existence during the Great Global Depression of the
1929 to 1939. The problem was solved by Keynes in 1936.
Economic Growth.
Before you understand Economic Growth, you need to understand what GDP
and GNP are.
GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. It is the market value of final goods
and services produced in a country at a particular period of time. The sum total
of the output of land, labour, capital, and entrepreneur is GDP.
GNP stands for Gross National Product. It is the market value of final goods
and services produced by citizens of a country within and outside the country.

The more goods produced in a country determine the GDP of the country.
Likewise, the more goods produced by citizens of a country (in and out of the
country) determine the GNP of the country.
Having known what GDP and GNP are, Economic Growth is an increase in the
economy of a country over a period of time. The higher the GDP of a country,
the grower her economy.
Economic growth is nothing but a steady increase in GDP. If GDP is increasing

every year, then the economy is growing.
Determinants of Economic Growth.
The list of determinants of Economic Growth is inexhaustible. Some of these

determinants are:
 resources.
 technology.
 population.
 leadership.
 education.
 man power.
...and so on, and so on...
Drivers of Economic Growth.
There are three drivers of Economic Growth. They are:
1. Proper infrastructural base.

2. Investment in human capital.
3. Discoveries of new technology.

Cost of Economic Growth.
The cost of Economic growth is simply the sacrifice of current consumption.
Real GDP vs. Potential GDP.
Potential GDP is when a country uses the potential of her factors of production
(land, labour, capital, entrepreneur) fully.
Real GDP is the GDP that fluctuates around potential GDP based on price
level.
In summary, potential GDP is what you can produce while Real GDP is what
you actually produce.
The fluctuation around GDP is a business cycle.
A business cycle has two phases:
 A recession/contraction.
 An expansion/boom.
Recession is a situation whereby GDP is growing negatively (decreasing).
Expansion is a situation whereby GDP is growing positively (increasing).
For every expansion, there are two points. They are:
 Peak — the point where the economy starts experiencing a decline. It is

the highest part of expansion. It is a part where the economy starts
experiencing recession.
 Trough — the point where economy starts experiencing recovery (i.e., it
starts expansion). It is the worst part of recession.

Okun Gap and Lucas Wedge.
Okun gap is the difference between real GDP and potential GDP. It can be
positive and it can be negative. It is also called output gap. When the real GDP
is greater than potential GDP, then the Okun gap is positive. The Okun gap is
negative when real GDP is smaller than potential GDP.
Lucas wedge is the accumulated loss of output, due to slow growth of potential
GDP.
Income Inequality.
It is a situation whereby income is not distributed equally, which leads to some

being rich and others being poor.
There are two key issues that lead to income inequality.
1. Discrimination — we have discrimination in terms of corruption, gender,

race, job, and it leads to income inequality.
2. Human Capital — the more human capital you have, the greater your
income. Human capital is all about what you can do.
Unemployment.
Unemployment is a situation whereby you have all the qualifications needed

for a job but you don't get a job.
Causes of Unemployment in Nigeria.
 Poor educational curriculum;

 Corruption.

Types of Unemployment.
1. Structural Unemployment — it is due to changes in market provisions.

When the demand for goods and services changes, producers change
their production pattern, and changing production pattern leads to
changing workers which lands the workers you changed into the
unemployment sector.
2. Frictional Unemployment — it is a type of unemployment whereby one
graduates with all his/her requirements and he/she has no job.
3. Cyclical Unemployment — it is a situation whereby people are not
employed because of business cycles (recession, precisely).
Problems of Unemployment.
 Loss of output and income.

 Loss of human capital.
Lecture 8.
INFLATION.
Inflation is a persistent rise in the general price level of goods and services over
a period of time in an economy.
Inflation is not when a price of a particular commodity rises, but when the
general price level of various commodities rises.
Inflation can be imported when goods and services are bought from outer
countries.

How to Measure Inflation.
The tool used in measuring inflation is the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Hyperinflation is that which the general price level is rising very rapidly to the
extent that the value of money is near being worthless. It results from the
excessive supply of money.
Causes of Inflation.
There are two chief causes of inflation. They are:
1. Excess of demand over supply — inflation will occur if there is an

increase in the demand for goods and services without a corresponding
increase in the supply of goods and services.
2. Too much money in circulation — when there is too much money in
circulation, it leads to people not wanting to produce and supply to others
as everyone feels he/she has the money to demand, not supply.
Types of Inflation.
The three principal types of inflation are:
1. Demand-pull Inflation: It occurs when the demand for goods and services
is greater than their supply.
2. Cost-push Inflation: It occurs when there is an increase in the cost of
production.
3. Open Inflation: It occurs as a result of excessive money in circulation. It
is also known as hyperinflation.
Implication of Inflation.
Inflation has a serious problem. It has a camouflaged blessing.

During inflation:
a) investment will suffer;

b) fixed income earners will suffer;
c) it destabilizes credit transactions.
Lecture 9.
MACROECONOMICS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
The Five Key Microeconomics Goals.
The goals of macroeconomics are:
 to increase Economic Growth.

 to keep inflation rate low.
 to reduce international deficit.
 to minimize current deficit.
 to reduce unemployment.
Deficit is a situation whereby you spend more than you receive.
International Deficit is when a country imports more that she exports.
Policies to Achieve Macroeconomics' Goals.
The major policies available to the government to achieve macroeconomic goals

are monetary (credit) and fiscal (budgetary) policies. These are directed
towards altering aggregate effective demand with a view to enabling an
economy achieve full-employment growth in the absence of price level stability.
Fiscal policy works through a change in the government‘s own expenditure or

tax-total or both. Monetary policy works through a change in the lending
policies of commercial banks and thus through a change in the stock of money
in circulation. This is why they are called ‗demand management policies‘.
However, these are not enough and are supported by certain ‗supply
management policies‘; which seek to influence the total output that the private
sector can, and will produce.
Before we move deep into this, first, 'what is money?'
Money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange. A medium of

exchange is anything that is widely accepted as a means of payment.
Now, let's take the two policies one after the other.
 Monetary Policy.
It is any arrangement by central bank through commercial banks to reduce or

increase the amount of money in circulation. Monetary policy is the
macroeconomic policy laid down by the central bank. It involves management
of money supply and interest rate and it is the demand side economic policy
used by the government of a country to achieve macroeconomic objectives like
inflation, consumption, growth and liquidity.
If there is no monetary policy in a country, there will be disaster because people

won't know how to manage money as money will continue being produced and
not created.
How then do we Create Money?
Money is created through the link between the central bank, the commercial
banks, and the general public.

Money, however, cannot be created without the starting point of money (origin),
which is goods and services. Thus, if you want to create more money, you must
create more goods and services.
Just because we can produce (print) money with machines doesn't mean we
have to continue printing and printing and printing.
Printing money cannot solve our problems because of four main reasons:
1. The cost of printing money is higher than the amount you print.
2. Nothing comes out of virtue — when you give them the money, they will
surely come back for more.
3. It leads to serious hyperinflation.
4. We will all starve because no one will want to work for another as
everyone has enough money.
Types of Monetary Policy.
An expansionary monetary policy is focused on expanding, or increasing, the

money supply in an economy. On the other hand, a contractionary monetary
policy is focused on decreasing the money supply in the economy. The central
bank uses its monetary policy tools to increase or decrease the money supply.
The best way for the central bank to implement monetary policy is through
Open Market Operation (OMO).
Key Instruments of Monetary Policy.
1. Interest rate.
2. Liquidity rate.
3. Treasury bills.
4. Bank rate.

Cash Reserve Ratio is the ratio of the money commercial banks reserve in
central bank.
 Fiscal Policy.
Here, we deal with government's expenditure (current or capital) and

government's revenue.
Government’s Expenditure.
It is the amount of money the government spends. The question is, ―why does
government need to spend money?‖ Government needs to spend money:
a) for the general administration of the economy (to create social amenities,
pay workers, and so on).
b) for the establishment of law and order (to recruit police, buy police
uniform, arms and ammunitions, establish courts, pay judges, for the
establishment and maintenance of prisons, etc.)
c) to protect the economy from external aggression (recruit soldiers, navy,
airforce, naval force; pay them, and so on.)
d) for infrastructure.
e) for social security (paying pension).
f) for economic growth and development.
Government Revenue.
It is the amount of money the government gets. The majority of the money
gotten by government in Nigeria is from Oil.
At the end of each year, if revenue is greater than expenditure, it is 'surplus

budget'. When revenue is smaller than expenditure, it is deficit. If, however,
they are equal, it is balanced.

Types of Fiscal Policy.
1. Discretionary Fiscal Policy
Under this, whenever there is a problem, the government sits and plans before
they bring a policy on how to solve the problem. Discretionary fiscal policy is
made more difficult due to lags in recognizing the need for changed fiscal
policy and the lags that occur with enacting the changed fiscal policy.
Implementing the modifying fiscal policy usually requires legislative action,
which takes a long time to implement. There is a concern that fiscal policy
changes may be ill-timed, however. For example, an expansionary fiscal policy
may be enacted when the economy is already recovering from a recession.
Fiscal policy does have an advantage over monetary policy in the sense that
increased government spending leads to an immediate increase in aggregate
demand. The effects of a tax cut may be more moderate and have more of a time
lag because individuals may not immediately spend their increases in disposable
income that resulted from the tax cut.
2. Automatic Stabilizers.
Under this, problems are solved immediately without holding any meeting. It is
in form of a programme that provides solution on what to do immediately there
a problem emerges. Automatic stabilizers, without specific new legislation,
increase (decrease) budget deficits during times of recessions (booms). They
enact countercyclical policy without the lags associated with legislative policy
changes.

Lecture 10.
BALANCE OF PAYMENT.
The balance of payments, also known as balance of international payments and

abbreviated B.O.P. or BoP, of a country is the record of all economic
transactions between the residents of the country and the rest of world in a
particular period of time (over a quarter of a year or more commonly over a
year).
In Balance of Payment, we are interested in:
1. The Account, which can be Current Account, Capital Account, and Gold
Account.
2. Terms of trade.
3. International deficit.
4. Foreign reserves.
5. Remittances.
Major Bullet Points to Note.
 In Balance of Payment, you are looking at the international transactions.

 The rate at which your currency is exchanged with another currency is
Exchange Rate.
 We need exchange rate in order to go into transactions.
 The account in which you record the goods and services you import and
export is called Current Account.
 Current Account has two parts (goods and services).
 Current account can be Visible (i.e., dealing with goods only) or
Invisible (i.e, dealing with services only).

 The difference between the goods (only) you import and the goods you
export is called Balance of Trade.
 The balance between invisible and visible account is called Balance of
Current Account.
 Capital Account is an account that records investments only — either
the one made in your country or outside your country.
 When foreigners come to invest in your country, it is Foreign Direct
Investment.
 You will have a balance of trade if you spend equal amount on imported
goods as what you receive on exported goods.
 The difference between import and export is called Balance of Trade.
 Foreign Reserve is the balance in Gold Account.
 Gold Account is an account that tries to balance deficit and surplus.
 Remittances are the money coming into a country from her citizens
outside the country who own investments over there.
 When you import more than you export, it is called International
Deficit.
Lecture 11.
DEVELOPMENT AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT.
A developed country is also called: an industrialised country, a high income

country, a highly economically developed country, a rich country, or a first
world country.

Characteristics of Developed Countries.
The tool used in determining a developed country is the Human Development

Index, which are:
 high literacy rate.

 per capita income of at least USD25,000.
 low mortality rate.
 high life expectancy.
 high medical attention and facilities.
 low number of people per policeman.
 high access to food.
G8 Countries.
The G8, reformatted as G7 from 2014 due to the suspension of Russia's

participation, was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 until 2014.
The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought
together representatives of six governments: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the
United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six
or G6. The summit came to be known as the Group of Seven, or G7, in 1976
with the addition of Canada. Russia was added to the political forum from 1997,
which the following year became known as the G8. In March 2014 Russia was
suspended indefinitely following the annexation of Crimea, whereupon the
political forum name reverted to G7.
The four most developed countries in the world are: Norway, Australia,
Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg.
The countries that are currently trying their utmost to develop are; Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa, abbreviated as BRICS.

Nigeria belongs to two groups. One of the groups is called Next Eleven which
include: Mexico, Philippine, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria, etc.
The second group Nigeria belongs to is MINT (Mexico, Iran, Nigeria and
Thailand).
G8 countries control 62% of the world economy.
Association of South-eastern Asian Nation (ASEAN Tigers) include: Singapore,

Malaysia, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong.
Characteristics of Underdeveloped Countries.
 Widespread poverty.
 Low standard of living.
 High rate of unemployment.
 Low capital formation.
 Agricultural backwardness.
 Reliance on primary goods as a source of foreign exchange.
 Political instability.
 Lack of infrastructure.
 Inadequate skilled labour.
 Corruption.
 High rate of illiteracy.
 Vulnerability to external forces.
 Insurgency.
 Dualism (there is always a division).
All the above characteristics cannot be found in developed country.

Underdeveloped countries are also called: developing countries, less developed
countries (LDC), less economically developed countries (LEDC), low income
countries, and (if you want to be vulgar), poor countries.
MARKET.
 Short-run is a period of production when some factors are fixed (cannot

be changed) and others are variable (can be changed).
 Long-run is a time of production when all factors are variable (can be
changed).
 Perfect competitive market is a market that:
o has large number of buyers and sellers.
o sell homogenous (the same) product.
o has free entry and free exits.
o has no government intervention.
o has profit as the only goal.
o has no preferential treatment.
o perfect mobility of factors of production.
 Perfect competitive market is not real (it does not exist).
 In reality, the market we have is monopoly. It is a market situation
where there is a single seller or producer of a product which has no close
substitute.
 A monopolistic competitive market is a market where there are large
numbers of sellers producing close but not perfect substitutes. It is the
most realistic market all over the world. It is a market that:

o has large number of sellers and buyers.
o has no free entry and free exits (entry and exits are restricted).
o the product of each firm is heterogenous (not the same).
o has government intervention.
 Oligopoly is a form of imperfect competition where there are only a few
producers or sellers of a commodity.
Selected Economics Past Questions. 6. The classical reason for

government involvement in
Section One: Multiple Choice economic activities is to (a) Collect
Questions. tax (b) Establish property right (c)
maintain law and order (d) Provide
Choose the correct answer from the public goods
options lettered a – d. 7. All the following are drivers of
economic growth except one (a)
1. When all resources are put to their
Anti-Corruption policy
best possible use, the output is (a)
(b)Adequate infrastructure (c)
GDP (b) Real GDP (c) Potential
Investment in human capital (d)
GDP (d) Lucas Wedge
Discovery of new technology
2. The choices that we make depend
8. The quantity demanded for a good
on (a) alternatives available (b)
is fundamentally determined by (a)
resources available (c) incentive
Price of the good (b) Income of the
that we face (d) the scarcity we
Consumer (c) Prices of related
face
goods (d) Expected future income
3. When money loses its value
9. The balance on the combined
woefully due to its abundant
capital and current accounts of a
availability and too much
country is called (a) Balance of
circulation, the situation is (a)
Trade (b) Balance of Payment (c)
Open inflation (b) Hyperinflation
Terms of Trade (d) Balance
(c) Creeping inflation (d) High-
Surplus
inflation
10. A negative value of the income
4. Which factor of production earns
elasticity of demand implies that
the most income? (a) Land (b)
the good is (a) Inferior (b) Close
Labour (c) Capital (d) Entrepreneur
substitute (c) Giffen good (d)
5. The saying that you can‘t have
Normal good
your cake and eat it too is best
11. Our inability to satisfy all our
described in economics by the
wants is called (a) Demand (b)
concept of (a) Trade-off (b) Ceteris
Scarcity (c) Resources (d) Trade-
paribus (c) scarcity (d) Choice
off

12. The marginal benefit of a good to a 19. With change in quantity demanded,
consumer is measured by (a) Price the price of a good changes but
paid by the consumer (b) Quantity everything else remains the same,
demanded (c) Income of the hence there is a shift in the entire
consumer (d) willingness and demand curve.
ability to pay 20. Labour is the most active factor of
13. The quantity demanded for a good production but the least earner of
is fundamentally determined by (a) income.
Price of the good (b) Income of the 21. Choices made in the pursuit of self-
Consumer (c) Prices of related interest also promote social
goods (d) Expected future income interest.
14. If the co efficient of price elasticity 22. A household‘s preference describes
of demand is greater than one, the limits to its consumption
demand is said to be (a) Fairly choices through utility
elastic (b) Perfectly elastic (c) 23. A monopolistic competition is a
Inelastic (d) Unitary elastic firm that produces a good or
15. A positive value of the income service for which no close
elasticity of demand implies that substitute exists and which is
the good is (a) Inferior (b) Close protected by a barrier to entry of
substitute (c) Giffen good (d) other firms.
Normal good 24. A country may grow but not
16. The gifts of nature that we use to develop, but no meaningful
produce goods and services are development can be achieved
called (a) factors of production (b) without significant growth. Hence,
resources (c) land (d) mineral a country like Chile, not China, can
resources be considered as developed.
17. The marginal benefit of a good to a 25. Unemployment in Nigeria can be
consumer is measured by (a) Price partly attributed to the skewedness
paid by the consumer (b) Quantity of self-interest choices away from
demanded (c) Income of the social interest. This is only among
consumer (d) willingness and politicians.
ability to pay 26. Economic questions arise not due
18. All the following are types of to resources being short in supply
demand relationship except one (a) but because we always yearn for
Competitive demand (b) Abnormal more than we can get, which is
demand (c) Composite demand (d) different from what we normally
Complementary demand call scarcity.
27. With disequilibrium, a shortage
Section Two: True or False or pulls the price down and a surplus
Ambiguous pushes the price up.
28. Prices regulate buying and selling
State and briefly explain whether each of
plan and also adjust when plans
the following statement is True, False or
don‘t match. This is only in
Ambiguous

monopolistic competition and 40. According HDI, a high……………
oligopolistic markets and low……………… indicate
29. If the price of a good changes but that a country is developed.
everything else remains the same, 41. …………….. and ……………..
there is a movement along the explain why more is demanded
demand curve when price falls.
30. The reason why higher price 42. Household‘s consumption choices
increase the quantity supplied is are determined by many factors,
that marginal cost increases. the most important of which can be
31. A household‘s budget line summarised in terms of
describes the limits to its ……………… and ……………
consumption choices. 43. The Nigerian monetary authority
32. Audio and Video equipment firm is may print more money and share it
an example of a perfectly among Nigerians to eradicate
competitive market poverty if not because
33. The ordinalit theory assumes utility of…………………….. and
to be measurable while the ……………………………………
cardinalist theory says otherwise. 44. In all fairness, Nigeria is a poor
34. Macroeconomics is the study of the country because both
performance of national economy ……………… and…………..very
and global economy. low.
35. A shortage forces the price up and 45. Incentive is a …..that encourages
a surplus leaves the price as or a ……that discourages an action
flexible as possible. 46. The two major roles of price are
36. Prices regulate buying and selling ………and………
plan and also adjust when plans 47. The per capita income is used as an
don‘t match. This is only in a indicator of economic
monopoly market where there are development. It is calculated by
restrictions to entry. dividing…………………………
37. Both demand and supply can be by ………………………………
interpreted in two ways, either 48. When buying and selling plans of
from price angle or from quantity consumers and producers balance,
angle respectively. there is ………………………..in
38. Labour is the most active factor of the market or what we technically
production call……………………………….
39. Economic questions arises because 49. When any factor that influences
we want more than we can get buying plans other than the price of
the good changes, there
Section Three: Fill in the Blank Space is……………………………….
50. Lower price leads to greater
Fill in the blank spaces below
quantity demanded because of
…………….. and ………………..
51. ……………….. is the collection of
a firm‘s fixed resources

52. The U-shape of the average cost 64. ______________ influences the
curve arises from the influence of selection among various options.
two opposing forces: ……. and 65. With change in the factors
…………… affecting demand, there will no
53. The act of selling a good or service new demand curve and the price is
at a number of different prices is constant.
called ……………………… 66. _____________ is fundamental in
54. Resources to an individual differentiating demand and wants
include time, money, energy 67. Microeconomics deals with
and……………… national economy and global
55. A consumer‘s total utility is economy as against the study of
maximised when ……. is equal for choices of individuals, firms,
all goods government and the entire society
56. Firms in perfect competition are make.
called ………………… because 68. _________ and ________ indicates
they cannot influence the market big trade-off in any economy
price 69. Joint demand is when two or more
57. ……………. is a reward that commodities are demanded
encourages or a penalty that together and composite demand is
discourages an action when one commodity is demanded
58. Normative economics is concerned in place of another.
with ……………………………. 70. Government fixes prices below
59. …………………….. is an equilibrium in order to
exchange, that is, giving up one _____________ the ____________
thing to get something else. and above equilibrium in order to
60. ______________ is another name _________ the ______________
for next best alternative while 71. Individual spends more money on
_____________ is the commodities because they get from
____________ of all our wants in it
order of their importance to us. 72. ______________ is why we have
61. _____________ cost of a particular more access to resources than each
commodity as against monetary other
cost is the concern of economists. 73. Another name for a situation where
62. With the three fundamentals of producer are asked by government
economic, an economy can exist or to fix price above equilibrium is
survive. _______________ and technically
63. Economics is the social science called __________________
that studies the _____________ 74. ________________ is why small
which _____________, firm, quantity is supplied when prices
_________________ and the entire are low
public make as they cope with 75. ______________ is the other name
_____________ and the for change in quantity demanded
_______________ that influence and _____________ is what cause
and reconcile those choices. change in demand

76. A price at which both producers 88. ________________ is cost of
and consumers are happy about the things that do not have resale value
deal is known as ______________ and in the short run, it is known as
and technically called ________________
_________________ 89. Total cost is further divided into
77. __________________ is a method ________ and _____________
where resources are shared 90. Oligopolistic market is a market
according to the need of the people where there is few seller and many
78. The invisible hands that fix the buyer and has no close substitute
forces of demand and the forces of with no price taker
supply work through ___________ 91. _____________ is a serious
79. With change in demand, the price problem which leads to corrupt
changes and there is new demand practices and loss in human capital
curve 92. _______________ is a situation
80. Antiques is one of the factors that where a country import more goods
make demand behave abnormally and services than its export
and preferences as a factors make 93. No preferential treatment is feature
the law of demand to hold of _________________ market.
81. Water has enormous consumer 94. A situation which erodes the value
surplus and diamond is less of money is known as
expensive than water ___________________
82. __________________ is the 95. The most challenging type of
coordinator and organizer of other unemployment is that of
factors of production _______________________
83. ________________, information 96. Externality is one of the causes of
and _____________ are the key market failure and it is divided into
constraints every firm struggle ______________
with. 97. _________________ is the
84. ______________ explains whether unstable increase in the price of
the standard of living is well commodity which is a feature of
85. A situation where resources are underdeveloped countries
shared based on value of 98. _____________, ______________
contribution of an individual has a and _______________ are the
problem called main methods of economic
_________________ and under the inequalities
conservative maxim, the problem is 99. _________________ is the
known as __________________ relationship between Nigeria and
86. ________________ and the rest of the world in term of
_____________ are problems buying and selling
associated with asymmetrical 100. Under price elasticity, when
information coefficient is greater than 1, the
87. A firm has two decision time good is ___________ and _______
frames which is _______________ 101. __________________ is
and ___________ among the determinant of elasticity

102. When there is availability 116. ______________ is
of close substitute, the good is comparing the value of currency in
inelastic relation to other country‘s currency
103. Value of a commodity is 117. A situation where marginal
measured by ______________ of a product is falling but the firm is
commodity. enjoying more factor of production
104. If demand is inelastic, is _____________________
increase in price lead to 118. Advanced countries of the
______________ world borrow loans to third world
105. ________________ is the countries with
relationship between price and _________________
income in terms of the quantities of 119. Total cost is the
goods and services and expenditure made on factor of
combinations a consumer buy. production to produce an output
106. _______________, and total revenue is the amount of
_______________, benefits a consumer gets by
_____________ and consuming all unit of commodity.
_____________ determine the 120. A situation where demand
consumption of people. exceed supply, ________________
107. Marginal utility is written at is the regulate the producer and
___________ point consumer‘s plan
108. _______________ is 121. When demand increase
getting the greatest value from the while supply is constant, there will
price a consumer pay. be ___________________ in both
109. Through _____________, equilibrium price and equilibrium
utility is created quantity.
110. When AP is maximum, 122. When demand curve slopes
____________ is equal to upward as against downward, it is a
_________________ ________________ demand.
111. Price of a commodity
multiple by the quantity sol by a Section Four: Essay
firm is _______________
Question 1:
112. __________________ is a
situation where a country is a) In all fairness, Nigeria is poor
spending more than what it while Germany is highly
generating locally. developed. Explain why.
113. When the real GDP is b) Explain the role of price system in
fluctuating, it is called Nigeria
________________
114. Price of commodity is the Question 2:
same thing as _______________
115. The Poorer a country is, the a) Some of the macroeconomic
more __________________ it has. challenges to Nigeria are to keep
inflation rate low and reduce

international and local deficits. Law student needs to know the
Discuss this statement in relation to basics of Economics.
macroeconomic policy. b) Briefly describe how our LEGAL
b) Discuss the two big economic actions or decisions lead promotion
questions within the context of of either self-interest or social
Nigerian economy. interest in Nigeria.
Question 3: Onimisi – fluent in silence!
a) Define economics in YOUR OWN

word, and briefly explain why a

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (LAW 1204) LECTURE NOTES.
Dr. Abdullahi Maikano Madaki’s Lecture Notes.
Lecture 1.
DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY.
Hundreds of years ago, there wasn‘t anything like social science. All we had
was natural science, trying to analyse things that happen around like, how the
rain falls, how the sun shines, how people are born, how people eat, how food
are made, etc., and give analysis and explanations on them. Natural science has
nothing to do with social activities. Later, it was discovered that natural sciences
cannot tell who human is, how humans relate with one another, how parents
pass down their culture to their offspring, and so on. Then, social science was
introduced.
Sociology is a social science which studies the social relationship between

people as individuals and as groups and the influence of social condition of
these relationships. It is the study of human beings in relation to what they do
right from birth, through adulthood, old age, till death.
Sociology as an academic field of study emerged in the 19 th century and has no

specific definition. Sociology is regarded as the scientific study of social
behaviour and human group that focuses primarily on the influence of social
relationship on people, attitudes and behaviour on how societies are established
and changed.
Auguste Comte is regarded as the father of sociology because he coined the

word sociology from the Greek word, ‗socius‘ (social/society) and Latin word,
‗logos‘ (study/science). The coinage was first used in 1838 before which it was
called ―social physics‖.

What Makes Sociology to Emerge?
The Social Upheavals in Western Europe — they were battling with serious
problems at the time and thus any explanation about sociology cannot escape
these social upheavals especially the one in France and England. People were
into homogeneous society when industrial revolution sets in. That industrial
revolution came along with so many changes impacting the society. In France
for example, the French revolution.
The Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1839) — this was made popular by Arnold
Toynbee. It is chiefly referring to the economic revolution of England and
political revolution of France.
The French Political Revolution (1789 to 1799) — it was about revolt and
agitations, people demanding for their right and overhaul of political system.
Relevance of Sociology to Legal Practitioners.
Law students are expected to be versatile in sociology.
There will never be laws when there are no humans. You don‘t make laws for
animals.
You normally study human beings well first before applying legal provisions.
Lecture 2.
BASIC CONCEPTS OF SOCIOLOGY.
The foundation on which sociology lies are:
1. Social Structure: Every community and every society has a structure,

and this structure is social. The reason we should have a structure is that

no single human being can survive alone. As a human being, you
definitely have a mother — through which you come — and other
relatives, so a social structure has been created there. It is a social
structure because it consists of two or more individuals. No community or
society can exist without a social structure because every human being
needs the support, interference, or attention of others in the society.
2. Social Action: All human beings are acting. This action, how do you act
it and how is the action social? Humans behave in different ways.
Sociologists say that humans‘ actions begin from birth because when a
new born baby arrives, his or her first activity is ‗crying‘, that is where
the social action begins because by the time people around the society
hear the crying, it gives them some sort of information. Hence, the action
is social. As you continue to grow, actions continue changing. There are
behaviours that are tolerable at certain level of development and there are
some behaviours that are intolerable at certain level. The action of the
society that is social is always guided by the actions of human beings.
The only way a society can survive is for there to be presence of action
— talking, moving, sitting, writing, bathing, looking, etc., are all actions
and they are all vital concepts of the society.
3. Culture: Sociology says: every community and society has a culture.
Before you are born, your family, relatives and members of the society
have their culture, which in turn is your culture after conception. Culture
is dynamic — i.e., the culture of one place differs from the culture of
another. In culture, we acquire norms and values. There is a way every
culture dictates one to dress, eat, behave, etc. This culture gives us
individual identity. Every individual has an independent identity with the
beliefs and practices that are recommended in the places they are born.
Many actions that we are acting are recommended by our culture.

4. Functional Integration: Absolutely, everything you see in the society is
functional — it is useful. Even the killings, crime, and recklessness of
people in the society are useful because they are part of what make it a
society. Not only are the activities functional, but also integrated
(connected/linked). It is like a tree which has root, stem, branches, and
leaves. Within this tree, you find culture, politician, market, drivers,
criminals, police, and so on. By the time you take a closer look at this,
you will discover that one cannot work without the other. A typical
analogy is that if there are no criminals, what are the use of the police,
lawyers, waders, prosecutors, and others? Up till the end of the world,
these categories of people will continue to exist because that is what
makes our hospital, courts, prisons, markets, etc., useful.
5. Power: It is the ability to control. When you have the ability to control,
then you have power. In every society, what binds it is the possession of
power by the few — like the father of a family, the president of a country,
etc. Sociology says you must award power to some people to govern the
affairs of others.
Founding Fathers of Sociology.
When we say ‗fathers‘ here, we mean those who initiated the idea of the
discipline, ‗sociology‘. These founding fathers are many. They are also regarded
as the ‗classical scholars.‘ Their responses are ‗intellectual responses‘ because
they critically studied the society and came up with how the society can best be
developed.
For discussion purposes, we‘re going to give just five renowned ones. They are:
 Auguste Comte.
 Herbert Spencer.
 Emile Durkheim.

 Karl Marx.
 Max Weber.
1. Auguste Comte (1789-1857)
a. He is a nineteenth century French philosopher.
b. He is regarded generally as the father of sociology.
c. He coined the word ‗sociology‘ from Greek and Latin words in the
year 1838.
d. He believes that every society passes through three stages of
development:
i. religious.
ii. metaphysical.
iii. scientific.
e. He said that scientific knowledge is needed to understand society
based on social facts.
f. He said that sociology provides guides for human action.
g. He said that knowledge helps to predict, then control a future
occurrence — which he termed as ‗positivism‘ (positive
philosophy).
Long before Auguste Comte, Abdulrahman Ibn Khaldun spoke about sociology,
but he never used the word ‗sociology‘ (which is the single reason he is not
recognised in sociology). He spoke about how society emerges and continues to
evolve and develop.
P.S. Comte (1789-1857) says human beings are born with insatiable desires.
Because human beings have these desires, they have to struggle through to get
it. If you allow human beings to live without speculations on how to satisfy
these desires, there will surely be a disaster. You have to use scientific method
to know what is happening in the society and, by the time you know the
happenings, you will be able to predict and, in turn, control the happenings.

Insatiable desires simply denote ―innumerable number of needs‖. The only set
of people that know an individual best is the individual‘s parents.
According to Comte, ―religious‖ and ―metaphysical‖ approach cannot be used

to solve societal problems because they are built mainly on superstitions. If you
seek for an absolute solution to societal problems, adopt the scientific method
— you‘ll be able to observe, analyse, know the happenings in the society, and
after knowing the happenings in the society, one will be able to predict and
then think of ways to control the happenings.
2. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

a. He is a nineteenth century English sociologist.
b. He believed that a society can be compared to a living organism.
c. He believed that each part of the organism (society) performs
different functions.
d. He believed that all parts are interdependent on one another.
e. His major interest in sociology is evolutionism — changes in the
society and institutions.
f. He said society changes from homogeneity (simplicity) to
heterogeneity (complexity).
P.S. The 19thcentury English man Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) compared

society to a living organism with interdependent parts. Change in one part of
society causes change in the other parts, so that every part contributes to the
stability and survival of the society as a whole. If one part of the society
malfunctions, the other parts must adjust to the crisis and contribute even more
to preserve the society. Family, education, government, industry, and religion
comprise just a few of the parts of the ―organism‖ of society.
Spencer suggested that society will correct its own defects through the natural
process of ―survival of the fittest.‖ The societal ―organism‖ naturally leans

toward homeostasis, or balance and stability. Social problems work themselves
out when the government leaves society alone. The ―fittest‖—the rich,
powerful, and successful—enjoy their status because nature has ―selected‖
them to do so. In contrast, nature has doomed the ―unfit‖—the poor, weak, and
unsuccessful—to failure. They must fend for themselves without social
assistance if society is to remain healthy and even progress to higher levels.
Governmental interference in the ―natural‖ order of society weakens society by
wasting the efforts of its leadership in trying to defy the laws of nature.
3. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917).

a. He is a nineteenth century French scholar.
b. He based sociology on social facts.
c. His emphasis is on the group and not an individual.
d. He said that what binds people together is social solidarity, which
can be ―organic‖ or ―mechanical‖. Mechanical solidarity happens
only in rural areas — in small villages, where you find communal
sense of living, while organic solidarity is found in modern,
civilised, large, and highly social society where people are
dissimilar.
e. He saw religion as a cement of the society.
f. He described religion as a system of belief and practice.
g. He introduced the theory of suicide which states that there are
three types of suicide. They are:
i. Egoistic suicide.
ii. Altruistic suicide.
iii. Anomic suicide.
Egoistic suicide happens when people become detached from the society. It is a
situation where people are not integrated into a social group, they usually think

of themselves alone. It happens when an individual feels depressed and when
an individual faces challenges of life.
Altruistic suicide is a form of suicide whereby one kills oneself for the sake of
others (usually to conceal an intelligent piece of information). It occurs as a
result of over integration into the society or group.
Anomic suicide happens as a result of laxity or normative regulations. It

happens as a result of non-clear roles of guide to behaviour. The individuals
may find no meaning to life.
He says suicide is very common amongst some categories of people and these
people commit suicide based on how they view the society. To Durkheim,
when you want to understand suicide, use these criteria:
i. Age.
ii. Marital status.
iii. Sex (gender).
He says that suicide is common with ―elderly‖ people (age); ―single‖ (marital
status) and male (sex). In simple words, suicide is common amongst elderly
men who are single.
P.S. Despite their differences, Marx, Spencer, and Comte all acknowledged the
importance of using science to study society, although none actually used
scientific methods. Not until Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) did a person
systematically apply scientific methods to sociology as a discipline. A French
philosopher and sociologist, Durkheim stressed the importance of studying
social facts, or patterns of behaviour characteristic of a particular group. The
phenomenon of suicide especially interested Durkheim. But he did not limit his
ideas on the topic to mere speculation. Durkheim formulated his conclusions

about the causes of suicide based on the analysis of large amounts of statistical
data collected from various European countries (not African).
Durkheim certainly advocated the use of systematic observation to study

sociological events, but he also recommended that sociologists avoid
considering people‘s attitudes when explaining society. Sociologists should
only consider as objective ―evidence‖ what they themselves can directly
observe. In other words, they must not concern themselves with people‘s
subjective experiences.
4. Karl Marx (1818—1883)

a. He is a nineteenth century German Philosopher, Economist,
Sociologist, and revolutionary intellectual.
b. He is the originator of the conflict school of thought.
c. He said, ―the primary feature of a society is not stability and
interdependence, but competition and conflict.‖
d. He said, ―All societies are marked by social conflict due to
struggle of forces.‖
e. He believes in class struggle.
f. He said, ―in a capitalist economy, two classes exist, which are: the
bourgeoisie and the proletariat.‖
g. He uses economy determinism.
h. He introduces the concept of alienation.
P.S. Not everyone has shared Spencer‘s vision of societal harmony and
stability. Chief among those who disagreed was the German political
philosopher and economist Karl Marx (1818–1883), who observed society‘s
exploitation of the poor by the rich and powerful. Marx argued that Spencer‘s
healthy societal ―organism‖ was a falsehood. Rather than interdependence and

stability, Marx claimed that social conflict, especially class conflict, and
competition mark all societies.
The class of capitalists that Marx called the ‗bourgeoisie‘ particularly enraged
him. Members of the bourgeoisie own the means of production and exploit the
class of labourers, called the ‗proletariat‘, who do not own the means of
production. Marx believed that the very natures of the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat inescapably lock the two classes in conflict. But he then took his
ideas of class conflict one step further: He predicted that the labourers are not
selectively ―unfit,‖ but are destined to overthrow the capitalists. Such a class
revolution would establish a ―class free‖ society in which all people work
according to their abilities and receive according to their needs.
Unlike Spencer, Marx believed that economics, not natural selection,

determines the differences between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. He
further claimed that a society‘s economic system decides peoples‘ norms,
values, mores, and religious beliefs, as well as the nature of the society‘s
political, governmental, and educational systems. Also unlike Spencer, Marx
urged people to take an active role in changing society rather than simply
trusting it to evolve positively on its own.
Assignment.
What are the MAJOR contributions of Max Weber to the development of

sociology.

Lecture 3.
SOCIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE.
Introduction.
The big question here is, ‗can Sociology be called a Science?‘
It is no longer news that there are two sciences — natural science and social
science.
When natural science wants to analyse why things happen, they apply certain
scientific methods.
What necessitated the emergence of social science was to get a science that
could study the activities of humans after birth. Before birth, Biology, which is
a branch of natural science, can be used to study all the activities that take
place. However, natural science stops after birth and there would be a need for
another science to take over, that‘s how social science emerged.
Initially, social science was just social science alone. But at certain time,
scientists and philosophers said there was need for compartmentalization of the
social science because activities of humans are too numerous to be studied
under one umbrella, which was what lead to the emergence of Political Science
(talking about leadership), Sociology (talking about social relationship),
Economics (talking about choices of individuals), and so on.
What is Science?
Science is simply an orientation that attempts to analyse certain order of the

happenings in the world.

Now, why are Sociologists of the Opinion that Sociology is a Science?
Sociologists are of the opinion that Sociology is a Science chiefly as a result of

two issues.
1. The first one is that Sociology has exactly the same procedure that all
other sciences have. All other sciences, including Sociology, pass stages
called the stages of scientific investigation. These stages are:
a. Identifying a problem.
b. Reviewing existing literature.
c. Forming hypotheses.
d. Choosing the research design.
e. Selecting the method of data collection.
f. Collecting the data.
g. Analysing the data.
h. Data conclusion.
P.S. Identify what you think the problem is; try to explain the nature and
intensity of the problem. After identifying, you review existing literature — i.e.,
what others have said about the problem and the efforts they have made
towards addressing this problem. Then you form hypotheses. Hypotheses are
tentative statements because you are not sure of what you are going to find.
The hypotheses are formed based on the existing literature on the problem.
Afterwards, you choose the research design. You need to determine the best
design in conducting the research that can get you the best findings. Research
designs include: exploration, explanation, description, and experiment.
―Exploration‖ is conducting an original research that you want to know the

main problem; ―explanation‖ simply means you want to explain the situation;
―description‖ means you want to describe the problem — how it looks, and
―experimentation‖ is the design that is mostly used by natural sciences because

it consists of conducting experiment. When you want to conduct an experiment
in social science, two groups formed are explanation and control group.
After being done with the choice of research method, you select the method of
data collection — the method you think can best be used in collecting your
data. The methods can be: ―Questionnaire‖ (giving a form containing a list of
questions; a means of gathering information for a survey); ―Interview‖ (one-
on-one discussion with those experiencing the problem; asking them
questions); ―Observation‖ (it can be participant or non-participant. It is
observing the situation and recording it. It requires you to have the skill and
capacity to condense and interpret what you observe), or ―Focus Group
Discussion‖ (bringing some set of people and discussing with them).
After selecting the method of data collection, you collect the data. Collecting of
data, in some situations, depend on the nature of respondent you want to
collect data from. Collecting data can be dangerous. In many research, you
need to identify the nature of respondents you want to use. Most, at times, the
respondents are difficult to interview. It is important to gather the confidence
for collecting information from respondents. After this, you analyse the data
and finally, you conclude.
2. The second reason why Sociologists see Sociology as a science is the

similarity in the characteristics. Other Science branches have a number
of characteristics which Sociology also has. These characteristics are:
a. Objective.
b. Verifiable evidence.
c. Repeatability.
d. Ethical neutrality.
e. Empiricism.
f. Professionalism.

P.S. Every science, natural or social, is objective — i.e., reporting what you
have collected without alteration. In objectivity, you must relate brutal truth.
For you to have been able to collect data, there must be a verifiable evidence
and the research should be able to be repeated after sometimes. As a
researcher, you have to be very neutral; don‘t go into the research being on a
precise position. All probations are expected to be ethically neutral. Finally,
all sciences rely on empirical evidence — you must make use of empirical
realities, and all scientific researches are conducted by professionals.
Lecture 4.
CULTURE.
As you are aware, culture is, literally, ―the total way of life‖. But, when you say
―culture is a total way of life‖, the challenging question most scholars face is
the origin of culture — how culture begins. If you are an Ebira, Fulani, Hausa,
Igala, Yoruba, Korean, Chinese, British, etc., you definitely can‘t say when
your culture began.
Everyone has a culture and your culture is your lifeline because it gives you
identity. Even a new born baby has a culture.
Culture is so powerful that it remote-controls everyone‘s action — the way you

dress, eat, walk, and relate with others. Even the language you speak is culture;
the way you write is culture. It is a total way of our life.
Sociologists noted that the entire world is compartmentalized and each sector
has a culture. They realised that if you want to understand any human being,
you should understand his or her culture first. Culture influences our
psychology and this psychological influence of culture differs our personality.

Culture got popularity into sociology in the year 1871, when Edward Taylor
said ―Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, religious
beliefs & practices, norms & values, arts, law, morals, customs, language and
any other capabilities and habits acquired by a human as a member of society.‖
Types of Culture.
Fundamentally, in Sociology, there are two types of culture.
 Material culture.
 Nonmaterial culture.
Material culture is culture that is materially oriented — i.e., all physical things
that we can see and touch which are oriented or prescribed by our culture.
Material culture is the concrete aspect of our culture, like; clothing,
architectural designs in building, musical materials, etc.
Nonmaterial culture is the culture that is not materially oriented — i.e., they
are abstract things that we can‘t see and touch, we simply acquire and believe
in them. Examples are: norms, knowledge, religion, beliefs, customs, language,
etc.
Basic Concepts of Culture.
1. Cultural Integration — this is saying, culture, wherever it is, is

interwoven. You find different people from different cultural background
but they live together and get adapted to one another — that is the extent
of the integration of culture. No single culture can exist in isolation.
2. Cultural Diversity — cultures are diverse. Because the diversification
cuts across various geographical areas, it has to continue. Cultural
diversification is on the basis of geographical design that says you must

only find Hausas, Yorubas, and so on, each, in a particular geographical
area.
3. Ethnocentrism — it is a situation where someone believes his own
culture is superior to any other person‘s culture.
4. Xenocentrism — it is the opposite of ethnocentrism. Here, you believe
other peoples‘ culture is better than your own.
Significance of Culture to Legal Practitioners.
Laws are derived from norms, values, knowledge, religion, beliefs, customs,
language, etc. For someone to understand the origin, nature and development of
any law in any part of the world, you have to understand the norms, values,
knowledge, religion, beliefs, customs, and language of the place.
The relevance of culture to legal practitioners is that it allows you to understand

the culture of the geographical area you operate because you can‘t make laws
for people without knowing the culture of those people.
Some laws, culturally, are recommended and law must recognise that.
You cannot achieve what you want to achieve as a lawyer in a society until you
know and recognise their culture.
Assignment.
What do you understand by the term ‗socialisation‘, and how relevant is it to a

legal practitioner in Nigeria?

Lecture 5.
SOCIALISATION.
Socialization is the process through which a person, from birth through death, is
taught the norms, customs, values, and roles of the society in which he lives.
This process serves to incorporate new members into a society so that they and
the society can function smoothly. It is guided by family, teachers and coaches,
religious leaders, peers, community, and media, among others.
AGENTS OF SOCIALISATION.
a) The Family — the family is perhaps the most important agent of

socialization for children. Parents‘ values and behaviour patterns
profoundly influence those of their daughters and sons.
b) Peer Group — When you were a 16-year-old, how many times did you
complain to your parent(s), ―All of my friends are doing so and so. Why
can‘t I? It isn‘t fair!‖ As this all-too-common example indicates, our
friends play a very important role in our lives. This is especially true
during adolescence, when peers influence our tastes in music, clothes,
and so many other aspects of our lives, as the now-common image of the
teenager always on a cell phone reminds us. But friends are important
during other parts of the life course as well. We rely on them for fun, for
emotional comfort and support, and for companionship. That is the upside
of friendships.
c) The Mass Media — the mass media are another agents of socialization.
Television shows, movies, popular music, magazines, web sites, and
other aspects of the mass media influence our political views; our tastes
in popular culture; our views of women, people of colour, and gays; and
many other beliefs and practices.

In an ongoing controversy, the mass media are often blamed for youth
violence and many others of our society‘s ills. The average child sees
thousands of acts of violence on television and in the movies before
reaching young adulthood. Rap lyrics often seemingly extol very ugly
violence, including violence against women. Commercials can greatly
influence our choice of soda, shoes, and countless other products. The
mass media also reinforce racial and gender stereotypes, including the
belief that women are sex objects and suitable targets of male violence. In
the General Social Survey (GSS), about 28% of respondents said that
they watch four or more hours of television every day, while another 46%
watch two to three hours daily.
Theories that tell us about Socialization.
A. The Theory of Charles Hooton Cooley (Looking Glass Self Theory) — his
theory is the concept of ‗self‘. He said that people develop the concept of
‗self‘ clearly and perfectly. The question is, ‗how do we develop this
self?‘ It is developed through how people see you — you see yourself in
other people.
The theory is anchored upon three points:
a. what we think others see in us.
b. how we imagine they judge us from the way they see us.
c. how we feel about these judgements.
B. The Theory of George Herbert Mead — he said as we are born, we
become impulsive about our actions. For him, two ways we can get this
socialization are:
a. Your significant other (family)
b. The General other (friends, media).

Social Stratification.
When a system of social inequality is based on a hierarchy of groups,

sociologists refer to it as stratification. Social stratification is a structured
ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuate unequal economic rewards
and power in a society.
DEVIANCE AND CRIME.
 Deviance.
Deviance is behaviour that violates social norms and arouses negative social
reactions. Some behaviour is considered so harmful that governments enact
written laws that ban the behaviour.
Relativity of Deviance.
Deviance is relative over four complex level:
1. Over Place (Space) — a given behaviour may be considered deviant in

one society but acceptable in another society.
2. Over Time — a behaviour in a given society may be considered deviant at
one time, but acceptable many years later; conversely, a behaviour may
be considered acceptable at one time but deviant many years later. In the
late 1800s, many Americans used cocaine, marijuana, and opium,
because they were common components of over-the-counter products for
symptoms like depression, insomnia, menstrual cramps, migraines, and
toothaches. Coca-Cola originally contained cocaine and, perhaps not

surprisingly, became an instant hit when it went on sale in 1894. Today,
of course, all three drugs are illegal.
3. Over Consequences — deviance is not a quality of the act the person
commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules or
sanctions to an ―offender.‖ The deviant is one to whom that label has
been successfully applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so
label. An analogy is; ―when you drive a car and get into a minor accident,
the first question you will be asked is, ‗do you have a driver‘s licence?‘ If
you have a licence, then you have been covered in that aspect, otherwise,
you have committed deviance.‖
4. Over Status — harmful behaviour committed by corporations and
wealthy individuals may not be considered deviant, perhaps because
―respectable‖ people engage in them. For instance, if a man with a higher
status breaks the traffic rule, he goes free, but when a common man does
same, he has committed deviance.
Universality of Deviance.
There are actions that are not condoned in all societies, in all cases, and at all
time. Examples are; rape, armed robbery, theft, murder, etc.
 Crime.
A crime is an intentional act of commission that contravenes a particular law

and which carries sanction. It is an action and intention that contravenes the law
which has punishment.
Typologies of Crime.
Basically, there are four typologies of crime. They are:
1. Conventional Crime — it is subdivided into two:

a. violent crime — crime that is against person; assault, battery, rape,
etc.
b. property crime — crime relating to property; armed robbery, theft,
burglary, etc.
2. Organised Crime — crimes that are highly specialised and systematic
that require some specialised knowledge. For example, syndicate crime.
3. White-collar Crime — crimes that involve the abuse of trust either public
or private. Mostly, crimes committed by officials in the discharge of their
duty are white-collar crimes. Examples are; corruption, bribery, etc.
4. Victimless Crime — crimes that do not have clear victims and might not
be related to only an individual. They are crimes that attack moral
conduct and society consensus. For example, prostitution, gambling, etc.
Social Control.
Social control refers to ways in which a society tries to prevent and sanction
behaviours that violate norms. Just as a society has informal and formal norms,
so does it have informal and formal social control. Majority of social control are
being carried out by the informal group. Generally, informal social control is
used to control behaviours that violate informal norms, and formal social
control is used to control behaviours that violate formal norms. We typically
decline to violate informal norms, if we even think of violating them in the first
place, because we fear risking the negative reactions of other people. These
reactions, and thus examples of informal social control, include anger,
disappointment, ostracism, and ridicule. Formal social control typically involves
the legal system (police, judges and prosecutors, corrections officials) and also,
for businesses, the many local, state, and federal regulatory agencies that
constitute the regulatory system.

Selected Sociology Past Questions.
1) Provide your understanding of Sociology vis-à-vis the conditions that led to the
emergence of the discipline.
2) Which among the types of authority identified by Weber has its roots from formal
laws? Support your answer with examples.
3) What is ethnocentrism? Explain the significance of culture or otherwise to a legal

practitioner.
4) Provide your understanding of Sociology and explain the conditions that led to the
emergence of the discipline.
5) Present the contributions of Emile Durkheim to the development of Sociology.
6) With examples, examine the relevance of Sociology to the students of law and legal
practitioners.
7) Examine the differences between crime and deviance. Support your answer with
examples.
8) What is Socialization? Identify and explain the main agents of socialization.

INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SHARIA (LAW
1302) LECTURE NOTES.
Dr Muhammed Kaugama’s Lecture Notes.
Lecture 1.
DEFINITION OF SHARIA.
When we say sharia, just like any other concept, it is defined via two major
perspectives — literally and technically.
Literally, Sharia means to explain or clarify; and at the same time, it may mean
a place where we have water in abundance, like a spring or oasis.
To an Arab who is born and bred in Arabian Peninsula, when you say 'Sharia',
what comes to his/her mind is that you want to clarify or explain something.
Sharia may also mean to set, to determine, to establish, or to prescribe. Sharia in

this sense can be found in Quran 42 vs 13.
―The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on
Noah - the which We have sent by inspiration to thee - and that which We
enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that ye should remain
steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein: to those who worship other
things than Allah, hard is the (way) to which thou callest them. Allah chooses to
Himself those whom He pleases, and guides to Himself those who turn (to
Him).‖
Another literal meaning of Sharia is a "path" or "walk-way". This can also be

seen in Chapter 45 vs 18 of the Quran.
―Then We put thee on the (right) Way of Religion: so follow thou that (Way),
and follow not the desires of those who know not.‖

Now, let's consider the meaning of Sharia in its technical term.
The Arabic word, "Sharia" means whatever Allah has established for His
worshipers to perform as an act of faith.
Another technical meaning of the term is: ―it is the totality of the firm
judgement revealed by Allah in the Quran and Sunnah, and whatever is derived
from these judgements through jurisprudence.‖
Fundamental Objectives of Sharia.
There are essentially five fundamental objectives of Shari‘ah. They are:
1. Protection of the right to life;

2. Protection of the right to legitimate ownership of property;
3. Protection of the right to dignity;
4. Protection of the right to human sense and intellectuality, and
5. Protection of the right to legitimate reproduction and progeny.
Nature/Characteristics/Features/Attributes of Sharia.
1. Divinity — Sharia is divine. It comes from Allah (S.W.A.) — the

Omnipotent, the Alpha, the Omega, the Creator of the universe. Allah,
being the Creator of human beings, knows what is suitable for us and
what is not suitable for us; He knows the ins and outs of us. Thus, He is
in the best position to make laws for these humans.
2. Comprehensiveness — Sharia makes detailed provisions regarding the
lives of humans. It covers all parts of mankind. It covers what you should
eat, what you should drink, how/what you should talk, how you should
relate with people, how you should dress, how you should work, how
you should walk, how you should ease yourself, and every other aspects

of human life. It is detailed — whatever you want to find, you will find
the provision in the Sharia. That is why we say, it is comprehensive.
3. Morality — Islam attaches importance to morality. Unlike other legal
system where they differentiate law from morality, they are fused in
Islam. Sharia is a moral law because as a man, you have to be morally
upright.
4. Practicability (practicable with ease) — Sharia is mindful of the
capability of people. Everything about Sharia is practicable. It is simple.
Anything with difficulty, Islam pushes it away from the people. Sharia
takes cognizance of your own nature. It takes into cognizance that
circumstance may alter Sharia. That is why it gives exceptions to the
rules. These exceptions made by the Sharia, during analysis, a scholar,
Ibn Nujain classified them into seven categories. They are:
a. ISQĀT — total suspensions of obligations in certain
circumstances — for example menstruating women are allowed to
suspend their prayers. The same thing with someone who has been
unconscious for over 24 hours. Prayer is not obligatory for these
set of people.
b. TANQIS — reduction of obligations — Sharia has prescribed how
you should discharge some obligations but because of
circumstance, the obligation is reduced. For instance, a traveller is
allowed to reduce his or her obligatory prayer.
c. IBDĀL — substituting one form of observance for another — like
if you want to perform a prayer, you need to first perform an
ablution. In a situation where you can't find water, Sharia says you
can use sand or dust (Tayamamun). Also, the initial obligation of
the Sharia for every Muslim is fasting in the month of Ramadān,
but when a Muslim is in a condition that fasting could cause harm

to his or her health, he or she can give other people food to do the
fasting on his or her behalf.
d. TAQDIM — advancement — it means to complete a ritual
obligation before its appointed time. For instance, on the day of
Arafat, if you are on the Arafat ground, you observe Zuhr and Asr
together in the time of Zuhr. Another example is Zakat. If, for
instance, the month you usually pay your Zakat is every June, in
certain circumstance, especially when there's a serious hunger or
famine, you may be asked to pay your Zakat earlier before its
appointed time.
e. TĀKHIR — delaying an obligation beyond its appointed time —
for instance, if you go on Hajj, when you leave the Arafat area,
you will have to come to Mudhaliffa. When you reach Mudhaliffa,
you don't pray Maghrib, you delay it until when it is around 9pm,
and you merge Maghrib with Isha'ah. The same thing with a
fasting person. When a fasting person is travelling, he or she is
allowed to delay his or her fasting till after the journey. He is not
to take fasting while travelling.
f. TARKHIS — special dispensation — ordinarily, alcohol is
forbidden in the Sharia, but you are free to take it for medicinal
purpose.
g. TAGHAYYAR — change — it refers to a change in an established
pattern of ritual events. Example is the prayer of fear (praying in
the battlefield). The established mode for praying is for the imam
to lead the people and the people must observe the same raka'at as
the imam — they must also do whatever the imam does. In a battle
field, this is different. The imam divides the followers into two.
One half with their weapons protecting the other half as they pray
with the imam. After the imam finishes the first two raka'ats, the

first half do salama and stand up to the battlefield while the imam
remains seated. The imam waits for the second half to join so he
leads them for the remaining two raka'ats.
5. Humanity — Sharia is a humane and universal law as it has been
established for the whole of mankind — not for a specific gender, race,
religion, or whatever. This can be supported in Quran 17 vs 70 where
Allah (SWA) says:
―We have honoured the children of Adam; provided them with transport
on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and
conferred on them special favours, above a great part of our creation.‖
P.S. Check the phrase in bold, ―the children of Adam‖. Allah (SWA)
didn't say, ―black race‖ or ―the white race‖; Allah did not say,
―women‖ or ―men‖; Allah did not say, ―old‖ or ―young‖; He didn't say,
―Christians‖ or ―Muslims‖; Allah didn't say ―the rich‖ or ―the poor‖...
He said, ―the children of Adam‖ (irrespective of race, gender, religion
and what have you).
One of the objectives of the Sharia, is to protect life, religion, family,

property, dignity, body and so on, of a human. That is how humane the
Sharia is. Sharia forbids discrimination on any basis.
The general rule of Sharia is that you cannot be responsible for the
actions of others but in the payment of diyar (compensation paid by a
perpetrator when he or she kills unintentionally), the perpetrator is not to
pay the whole 40million naira alone. His relatives are to help him and
pay it within three years — that is how humane Sharia is because Sharia
knows that the perpetrator might not be able to raise the money alone.
Sharia is considerate. Also, Sharia says, if the perpetrator had died and
not killed someone, his relatives would have come to have a share in his

property. If that be the case, they should also take part when he is in
trouble.
Scope of Sharia.
The scope of Sharia is simply the area of application of Sharia — the

jurisdiction of Sharia.
1. Religious Aspect — it is subdivided into two, which are:

a. Aqeeda (faith).
b. Ibadah (worship).
i. Aqeedah — believe in Allah, believe in His messenger, His
angels, His revealed books, and life after death. As a
Muslim, this is the first article of faith. God is the Creator of
the whole of mankind; hence, you have to believe in Him.
ii. Ibadah — Allah, being the Creator, should be the only one
you worship. Nobody deserves to be worshipped except
Allah!
2. Societal Aspect — it deals with the organisation and maintenance of the
societal balance. God has a purpose for creating the whole of mankind.
He wants you to relate, and interact with one another. For this, there has
to be maintenance of societal balance.
3. Political Aspects — political system recognised by Sharia is that which
sees Allah as the sovereign law giver and the real owner of authority.
Whoever is appointed as a leader must do exactly that which is ordained
by Allah — he has to be honest, impartial, trustworthy, and so on. Also,
as part of the political aspects, nobody is above the law.
4. Moral Aspect — Sharia attaches importance to moral responsibilities of
its adherent in all spheres of life. Morality is tied down to your

conscience. This rule of morality requires one to be good and caring to
his or her neighbours, families, friends and even strangers.
Classification of Sharia.
Most of the rules of Sharia can be classified under the following:
1. Iba'adah (worship) — the purpose of God creating us is to worship him.

2. Akhlāq (moral laws) — this governs the relationship between man, his
family, his neighbours and others.
3. Akhwāl Ashaksiyya (family law) — this classification deals with the issue
of marriage, divorce, custody of children, succession, and others.
4. Mu‘amalat (commercial laws) — this aspect of Sharia regulates the
general terms of contract — the signing, the type, the subject matter, and
others.
5. Siyār (rules of war) — Islam covers everything — during peace and
during war, there are rules of engagement.
6. Akhwāl Alsutaniyya (Islamic constitutional law) — this category of
Sharia talks about how to appoint a leader in Islam.
7. Uqubāt — it deals with offences either hudud, qisas, or ta‘azil cases?
Lecture 2.
SOURCES OF SHARIA.
Some scholars classify the sources of Sharia into one, which is the Quran, and
all the other sources are only explanations to the Quran.
Some scholars classify the sources into two, which are, the Quran and Others
(Sunnah, Ijmah, Qiyas, etc.)

Some, however, classify it into two which are; the primary sources (Quran &
Sunna) and the secondary sources (all other sources that are not Quran or
Sunnah).
There are a number of ayah in the Quran which identify the sources of Shari‘ah
and the order of priority between them. However, one ayah in which all the
main sources are indicated is in Sura al-Nisa' (4: 58-59):
―O you believers, Obey God and obey the Messenger and those of you who are
in charge of affairs. If you have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to God
and to the Messenger.‖
From the passage above, 'Obey God' refers to the Quran; 'Obey the Messenger'
refers to the Sunnah; Obedience to 'those who are in charge of affairs' refers to
Ijma', and the last portion of the Ayah which requires the referral of disputes to
God and to the Messenger authorises Qiyas.
The proofs of Shariah have been further divided into transmitted proofs (adIllah
naqliyyah) and rational proofs (adIllah 'aqliyyah). The authority of the
transmitted proofs, Quran, Sunnah, is independent of any rational justification
that might exist in their favour. The rational proofs are, on the other hand,
founded in reason and need to be rationally justified. These are Ijma, Qiyas and
other legal techniques.
Primary Sources of Sharia.
1. The Quran as a Primary Source of Sharia.
According to Kamali, in his book, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, Quran

may be defined as 'the book containing the speech of God revealed to the
Prophet Muhammad in Arabic and transmitted to us by continuous testimony, or
tawatur'.

Some Issues to Take Note of in the Definition.
 The Quran is a direct revelation: The Qur‘an consists of manifest

revelation (wahy zahir), which is defined as communication from God to
the Prophet Muhammad, conveyed by the angel Gabriel, in the very
words of God. Manifest revelation differs from internal revelation (wahy
batin) in that the latter consists of the inspirations (ilham) of concepts
only: God inspired the Prophet and the latter conveyed the concepts in his
own words.
 The Quran is revealed only in Arabic.
 The Quran is both words and meaning: Just like in prayer, it is mandatory
for you to recite some portion of the Quran (even if it is one verse). You
can't substitute that requirement with reciting a translated version of the
Quran. You cannot replace any part of the Quran with a translated version
of it. When you want to recite the Quran, it must be recited in its original
language (Arabic).
 Tawatur: It means it comes through different people (continuous
testimony) but the words of the Quran still remain the same without
alteration — that is to show you that it is from Allah directly. No addition
to it neither is there a subtraction from it, despite the fact that it comes
through different people to the people of the current generation.
The Quran was revealed through a period of 23 years. Some portion (85) were
revealed in Makkah and the remaining (29) were revealed in Madinnah! The
revelation of the Qur‘an began with the Sura al-'Alaq (96:1) starting with the
words 'Read in the name of your Lord' and ending with the ayah in sura al
Ma‘idah (5:3): 'Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed my
favour toward you, and chosen Islam as your religion.‘ There are 114 suras
and 6,235 ayat of unequal length in the Qur‘an. The shortest of the suras
consist of four and the longest of 286 ayat. Each chapter has a separate title.
The longest suras appear first and the suras become shorter as the text
proceeds. Both the order of the ayat within each sura, and the sequence of the
suras, were re-arranged and finally determined by the Prophet in the year of his
demise. According to this arrangement, the Qur‘an begins with sura al-Fatihah
and ends with sura al-Nas.
During the lifetime of the Prophet, the text of the Qur‘an was preserved not
only in memories, but also in inscriptions on such available materials as flat
stones, wood and bones, which would explain why it could not have been
compiled in a bound volume. Initially the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, collected the
Qur'an soon after the battle of Yamamah which led to the death of at least
seventy of the memorisers of the Qur'an. Zayd b. Thabit, the scribe of the
Prophet, was employed on the task of compiling the text which he
accomplished between 11 and 14 Hijrah. But several versions and readings of
this edition soon crept into use. Hence the third Caliph, 'Uthman, once again
utilised the services of Zayd to verify the accuracy of the text and compiled it
in a single Volume. All the remaining variations were then destroyed. As a
result only one authentic text has remained in use to this day.
Contents of the Quran.
The contents are classified into three:
1. Aqeedah (matters of belief): In the Quran, there are verses that declare
believing in God and all the things He created.
2. Akhlaq (ethics or morality): There are verses in the Quran talking about
morality, how to attain purity and other moral and ethical stuff.
3. Al-Ahkām (ruling of Sharia): There are some verses in the Quran talking
about rulings and punishment of offenders. There are provisions relating
to the punishment of every ill action.

Characteristics of Quranic Legislation.
1. Ta'alil (ratiocination): It means ―reasons‖ or ―causes‖. Whenever Allah

asks you to do anything or not to do something in the Quran, He always
provides reasons for giving that command. For instance, He gives reason
He asked us to pray, get married, do pilgrimage, not to take alcohol, not
to fornicate, and others.
2. Asababul-Nuzul: It is revealed gradually within the period of 23 years to
prophet Muhammad (SAW). Gradualism in the revelation of Qur‘an
afforded the believers the opportunity to reflect over it and to retain it in
their memories. Revelation over a period of time also facilitated
continuous contact and renewal of spiritual strength so that the hostility
of the unbelievers toward the new faith did not weaken the hearts of the
Muslims. Furthermore, in view of the widespread illiteracy of the Arabs
at the time, had the Qur‘an been revealed all at once, they would have
found it difficult to understand. The Qur‘anic legislation concerning
matters which touched the lives of the people was therefore not imposed
all at once. It was revealed piecemeal so as to avoid hardship to the
believers. The ban on the consumption of alcohol affords an interesting
example of the Qur‘anic method of gradualism in legislation, and throws
light on the attitude of the Qur‘an to the nature and function of legislation
itself. Consumption of alcohol was apparently, subject to no restriction in
the early years. Later, the following Qur‘anic passage was revealed in the
form of a moral advice: 'They ask you about alcohol and gambling, say:
in these there is great harm and also benefit for the people, but their
harm far outweighs their benefit' (al-Baqarah; 2:219). Then offering
prayers while under the influence of alcohol was prohibited (al-Nisa',
4:43). Finally a total ban on wine drinking was imposed (al-Ma‘idah,
5:93) and both alcohol and gambling were declared to be 'works of the

devil ... the devil wants to sow enmity and rancour among you'. This
shows the gradual tackling of problems as and when they arose.
3. Ahkām-Alkhamsa (the five values): As a characteristic feature of Qur'anic
legislation, it may be stated here that commands and prohibitions in the
Qur‘an are expressed in a variety of forms which are often open to
interpretation and ijtihad. It does not only divide things into good or bad
but rather it also allows for gradation of actions/provisions.
4. Brevity and Detail (al-ijmal wa'l-tafsil): In some of the provisions of the
Quran, detailed information is usually given to things, but some give
general provision without giving detailed information. For issues that
cannot change right from the inception of time till the end if time, Allah
gives specific and detailed information to them in the Quran, but for
issues that are liable to change or further interpretation in the future,
general information are usually given. Examples of matters that are liable
to further interpretation are issues of amputating the hand of one who is
found guilty of theft; issue of contract between two or more individuals,
and so on.
5. Qat'i & Zanni (definitive and speculative): Definitive means ―unable to
accommodate another meaning‖ while speculative means ―able to
accommodate another meaning‖. Some portion of the Quran is definitive
while some portion is speculative.
6. Ijā'z (inimitability) of the Quran — each of the prophet that came before
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) came with a specific miracle. Prophet
Muhammad also has a miracle. His miracle is called Ma'alawiyya
(intellectual miracle) as opposed to the other form of miracles given to
the other prophet, Ma'adiya (material miracle). The prophets before him
were sent to a particular society, community, nation, people, and so on,
but he (SAW) was sent to the whole of mankind. All the prophets of God
were given one form of miracle as a proof to their people that they were

sent from God. All the miracles given to them were Ma'adiya (material
miracle) — miracles that are presentable practically to their people. The
reason they were given material miracles was that they were sent to a
particular nation. Allah (SWA) gave Prophet Muhammad Ma'alawiyya
(intellectual miracle) because he was sent to the whole of mankind. Since
he was sent to the whole of mankind, there was need for him to be given
an everlasting miracle (Ma'alawiyya, the Quran) that would exist even
after his demise.
The five items under ijā'z are:
a. Linguistic Excellence — the Quran distinguishes itself in terms of
eloquence, description, arrangement of words, meaning, etc. This
in itself makes the Quran inimitable because you can't come up
with something similar to it. That was why Allah (SWA), in the
Quran, challenges the Kufar to bring a verse that will be equivalent
to a verse of the Quran but no one could pick up the challenge.
b. Narration of Historical Events — you see, the Quran, through the
prophet, narrated a number of historical events — some of which
occurred even outside the Arabian Peninsula. Prophet Muhammad
was able to give historical events of the prophets that came before
him through the Quran, even though he didn't witness their era. No
other book, aside the Quran, has a number of historical events like
this.
c. Accurate Prediction of Future Events — you find some verses in
the Quran which predict what will happen in the future and people
will stay and watch it come to pass. Like during the time of the
prophet (SAW), there was a war that the prophet's few army were
to take against battalions of kufars. Allah revealed in the Quran
that Prophet Muhammad and his army will be victorious in the
battle, and to the surprise of everyone, it came to pass.

d. Declaration of Scientific Information Concerning the Creation of
Man, Earth and Plenary System — as one of the features that make
the Quran inimitable is the detailed explanation on how man is
created (from water to blood, then flesh). It was just in the previous
century or the last two centuries that some scientists started
discovering how man is created. It was revealed over 1,400 years
ago in the Quran.
Also, the creation and how the plenary system (moon, sun, stars,
and all the other creatures hanging in and outside the earth) work
were all explained in the Quran long before some scientists started
discovering it. All these were revealed to someone who was
unlettered, yet he recited the verses contained of this information.
e. Efficacy of its Legal and Political Concept and Reforms — In
Islam, the legal concept came to be enduring right from the time of
the prophet till this stage. Like the issue of equality before the law
was revealed in the Quran, starting from the time of the prophet
and it has existed ever since. In Islam, there is nothing like
immunity no matter how high placed you are. In the issue of
inheritance, more than three places in the Quran give provisions on
how to share a diseased man's property. Establishment of rights
was done in the Quran (during the time of Prophet Muhammad).
Before this period, there was nothing like rights of women or
whatever. The Quran was the book that came and established the
rights of women. Islam gives full rights to women. They can enter
into contract; they can inherit, and so on. All these are legal
concepts that the people before us didn't enjoy.
For further study, read Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. Everything is

contained there exactly.

2. The Sunnah as a Primary Source of Sharia.
Sunnah as a source of Sharia is sometimes referred to as 'Hadith', 'Khabar',

'Athar', in various literature. They all, however, mean the same thing.
Sunnah is the saying, actions or approvals of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
Literally, Sunnah means a clear path, but it has also been used to imply
normative practice, an established conduct or custom. The opposite of Sunnah is
bid'ah, or innovation, which is characterized by lack of precedent and continuity
with the past.
To the Ulama of Hadith, Sunnah refers to all that is narrated from the Prophet,
his acts, his sayings and whatever he has tacitly approved.
Basis of Sunna as a Source of Sharia.
Why is Sunnah considered as a source of Sharia?
Firstly, in the Quran, God commanded the believers to obey Prophet

Muhammad (SAW). Some scholars now defined ‗obeying the prophet‘ as
‗obeying his Sunnah‘ — i.e., following what he said, what he did, and what he
saw people doing without disapproving it.
The Quran uses the word 'Hikmah' (wisdom) as a source of guidance that
accompanies the Quran itself. In Sura Al-Jum'ah (62:2), for example, we read
that God Almighty sent a Messenger to educate and to purify the people by
'teaching them the Book and the Hikmah'. According to al-Shafi'i's
interpretation' which also represents the view of the majority, the word 'Hikmah'
in this context means the Sunnah of the Prophet.

In more than one place, the Quran enjoins obedience to the Prophet and makes
it a duty on the believers to submit to his judgment and his authority without
question. The following Ayah are all explicit on this theme:
Quran 59:7
―And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you,
abstain from it.‖
Quran 4:59
―Obey God and obey the Messenger and those who are in charge of affairs
among you. If you happen to dispute over something, then refer it to God and to
the Messenger...‖
Quran 4:80
―Whoever obeys the Messenger obeys God.‖
Quran is also categorical to the effect that the definitive rulings of the Quran
and Sunnah are binding on the believers in that they are no longer at liberty to
differ with the dictates of the divine will or to follow a course of their own
choice:
Quran 33:36
―Whenever God and His Messenger have decided a matter it is not for a faithful
man or woman to follow another course of his or her own choice.‖
Quran 4:65
―By thy Lord, they will not believe till they make thee a judge regarding
disagreements between them and find in themselves no resistance against
accepting your verdict in full submission.‖

Also, in the Quran, you have provisions that are general in nature; it is the
Sunnah that provides detailed explanation on how the general issues in the
Quran should be done. For instance, in the issue of prayer, Allah only says in
the Quran, ―establish prayer‖. But how do you establish the prayer? It is the
Sunnah that gives detailed explanation on how the prayer should be established.
The Sunnah gives you an explanation on how to comply with the
commandments given by Allah (SWA) in the Quran. The Quran also talks
about "Zakat". It only says, "Give out Zakat to the poor" (it only makes
specification on the categories of people to give the Zakat to). It doesn't give us
the quantum we should give out as Zakat. It is the Sunna that gives more
explanation on the quantum.
In a Hadith, the Prophet is reported to have said, ―I left two things among you.
You shall not go astray so long as you hold on to them: the Book of Allah and
my Sunnah.‖
Finally, there is a consensus of all the Sahaba (Ijmā) that the Sunna of the
prophet is a source of Sharia.
Differences between Sunnah and Hadith.
Although Sunnah and Hadith are used interchangeably, the two terms have
meanings of their own. Literally, Hadith means a narrative, communication or
news of an event. Hadith is narration of precept and practice of the Prophet.
Sunnah presents the law deduced from this narration. Hadith in this sense is the
vehicle or the carrier of Sunnah.
Given that the Sunnah of what is said and done by the Prophet are easily
understandable. Let us then look at tacit approval. An example of tacit approval
is the report that one of the prominent companions, had a wet dream in the
night, but owing to extreme cold he did not take a bath but instead performed

the morning Salat with Tayammum. He then related this to the Prophet, who
laughed but said nothing, which would imply that the act in question is
permissible in similar circumstances.
Differences between Quran and Sunnah
Quran was reduced into writing during the lifetime of the Prophet while Sunnah
was collected after the Prophet. The Companions used to verify instances of
doubt concerning the text of the Quran with the Prophet himself, who would
often clarify them through clear instruction. This manner of verification is,
however, unknown with regard to the Sunnah.
The entire text of the Quran has come down to us through continuous testimony
(Tawatur) whereas the Sunnah has in the most part been narrated and
transmitted in the form of solitary, or Ahad, reports. Only a small portion of the
Sunnah has been transmitted in the form of Mutawatir.
The Quran in none of its parts consists of conceptual transmission, that is,
transmission in the words of the narrator himself. Both the concepts and words
of the Quran have been recorded and transmitted as the Prophet received them.
The Sunnah on the other hand consists, in the most part, of the transmission of
concepts in words and sentences that belong to the narrators.
Whereas the Ulama have differed in their understanding/interpretation of the

text of the Quran, there is no problem concerning the authenticity of the
contents of the Quran. But disagreement over the Sunnah extends not only to
questions of interpretation but also to the authenticity of its contents.
The Sunnah and the Quran are unanimous in their pursuit of the three-fold
human needs: protecting the necessities (Daruriyyat), complementary
requirements (Hajiyyat) and the 'embellishments' (Tahsiniyyat).

Classification of Hadith.
A Hadith in its classic form has two parts, the chain of narrators who have
transmitted the report (the isnad), and the main text of the report (the matn). By
the way, the Hadith is also certified through the same channels. Individual
Hadith is classified by Muslim jurists in accordance with its source as Sahih,
Hasan or Da'if.
Hadith is classified as Sahih or authentic when its isnad (chain of transmitters)

is traced all the way back to the Prophet consisting of upright persons who also
possess retentive memories and whose narration is free from any defects.
The Hasan Hadith differs from the Sahih in that it is a Hadith that falls between
Sahih and Da'if. Although its narrators are known for truthfulness, they have
not attained the highest degree of reliability and prominence.
The weak, or Daif, is a Hadith whose narrators do not possess the qualifications
required in Sahih or Hasan. It has a weakness in its chain of narrators, in its
textual contents or the narrator‘s integrity and piety is in serious doubt. A weak
or Daif Hadith does not constitute a legal authority. For the above evaluation
some compilations have more acceptance than others.
The most esteemed collectors of Hadith are:
1. Imam Al-Bukhari
2. Imam Muslim
3. Imam Abu Dawud
4. Imam Al-Tirmidhi
The Concept of Naskh (Abrogation).
The term Naskh may be defined as the suspension or replacement of one

Shariah ruling by another, provided that the latter is of a subsequent origin, and

that the two rulings are enacted separately from one another. The requirement
that the two rulings must be separate means that each must be enacted in a
separate text. For when they both occur in one and the same passage, it is likely
that one complements or qualifies the other, or that one may embody a
condition or an exception to the other.
Abrogation applies almost exclusively to the Quran and the Sunnah. And even
then, the application of Naskh to the Quran and Sunnah is only confined to the
lifetime of the Prophet. There is, in other words, no Naskh after the demise of
the Prophet. But during his lifetime, there were instances when some of the
rulings of the Quran and Sunnah were either totally or partially repealed by
subsequent rulings. This was due, mainly, to the change of circumstances in the
life of the community and the fact that the revelation of the Quran spanned a
period of twenty-three years.
Certain rules were allowed at the early stage of Islam like mutàh, or temporary
marriage, which was initially permitted but was subsequently prohibited. An
example of explicit abrogation in the Quran is found in Quran 2: 142-144, with
regard to the change in the direction of the Qiblah from Jerusalem to the
Ka'abah.
Ijma' cannot abrogate the rulings of the Quran, the Sunnah, or of another Ijma'
which is founded in the Quran, Sunnah, or Qiyas. However, a subsequent Ijma'
may abrogate an existing Ijma` which might be founded in considerations of
public interest, or Maslahah.
Significance of Following the Sunna.
The significance of following the Sunnah as a source of Sharia lies in two facts:
1. The Quran emphasises that following the prophet (SAW) is the right way
for you to attain prosperity in this world and the hereafter. God said that

in this Prophet, there is a life worthy of emulation. If you want to meet
Allah in good condition, follow the prophet.
2. The Prophet, before departing this world, is reported to have said, 'I left
two things among you. You shall not go astray so long as you hold on to
them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah (sunnati)‘
Roles of the Sunna in Relation to Quran.
I. Explanation of the Quran — like we said, the bulk part of the Quran
provides provisions that are general in nature. So, you need the Sunna to
give details on the general provisions. The Sunna is to explain those
provisions of the Quran that provide general provisions.
II. Establishing Rules that are not Expressly Provided in the Qur‘an — like
in the Quran, the punishment for fornication is hundred lashes of a cane.
The Quran never establishes a rule concerning adultery. It is the Sunnah
that says, 'for someone who commits adultery, he or she should be stoned
to death.' Also, in the issue of inheritance by a grandmother, the Quran is
silent on that. There is no specific provision in the Quran that says a
grandmother should be given a share of her grandchild's property. But
during the time of the Prophet, a lady came to meet the Prophet and told
him that her grandson died but she wasn't given any share of the property.
The Prophet, after some seconds of meditation, said she should be given
one sixth of the property.
III. Practical Exemplification of the Rules of Quran — during the time of the
prophet, people would meet him to complain to him that a particular rule
in the Quran is impossible and hard to carry out. The prophet would, in
turn, practice it for them, to show them that they are practicable and
achievable to do.

Classification of Sunna.
Generally, the Sunna is classified into two. They are:
 classification based on the channel through which a rule is established.

 classification based on the channel it is transmitted.
Under the first classification, classification based on channel through which

the rule is established, Sunna is divided into three. They are; Sunna Qawliyya,
Sunna Fi'iliyya, and Sunna Taqriyya.
 Sunna Qawliyya — they are the rules established through the

SAYINGS of the Prophet (SAW).
 Sunna Fi'iliyya — they are established through the ACTIONS of the
Prophet. The actions of the Prophet are divided into three. They are:
o Actions of general nature (walking, sleeping, talking, etc.)
o Actions that are specific to him alone (marrying more than four
wives, fasting three days without taking anything, etc.)
o Actions that are meant to establish the rule of Sharia or explain
the provisions of the Quran. All laws established by the prophet
under this division are very important for us to obey.
 Sunna Taqriyya — it refers to the actions done by the companions of
the prophet either in his presence or narrated to him and he kept mute
and didn't say anything about it.
Under the second classification, classification based on channel through which

the Sunna is transmitted, Sunna is grouped into two. The first group is 'Sunna
Muttasil' and 'Sunna Mursal' while the second group is 'Sunna Tawatur' and
'Sunna Ahad'.
 Sunna Muttasil is a Sunna that all the transmitters are completed,

starting from the Prophet to his companions; from his companions to the
tābi, from the tābi to the tābi tābi'in, down to us, while Sunna Mursal is
a situation whereby there is a missing person (group) during the
transmission.
 Sunna Tawatur is a Sunna that was narrated from Prophet Muhammad
through many sources — through various companions, while Sunna
Ahad is a Sunna that was narrated through single source. It is a Sunna
that not all the Sahabi (companions) heard it from the Prophet — maybe
one or two Sahabi.
NOTE: All acts of Ibadah cannot be established through Sunna Ahad, but
Sunna Tawatur.
Secondary Sources of Sharia.
1. The Ijma' (Consensus of Opinion) as a Secondary Source of Sharia.
Ijma` is the verbal noun of the Arabic word Ajma'a, which has two meanings: to
determine, and to agree upon something. Technically, Ijma` is defined as the
consensus of the scholars of the Muslim community of any period following the
demise of Prophet Muhammad on any matter. Although the theory refuses to
impose any restriction on the subject-matter of Ijma`, in practice, Ijma' has
always been selective in determining its own subject-matter. Most especially
issues of law.
Practice of Ijma` was started by the Companions in the city of Madinah.

Following the demise of the Prophet, the Companions used to consult each
other over the problems they encountered, and their collective agreement was
accepted by the community. After the Companions, this leadership role passed
on to the next generation, the Successors (Tabi'un) and then to the second
generation of Successors.

The essence of Ijma` lies in the natural growth of ideas. It begins with the
personal Ijtihad of individual jurists and culminates in the universal acceptance
of a particular opinion over a period of time. Differences of opinion are
tolerated until a consensus emerges, and in the process there is no room for
compulsion or the imposition of ideas upon the community.
Ijma' plays a crucial role in the development of Shariah. The existing body of
fiqh is the product of a long process of Ijtihad and Ijma`. Since Ijma` reflects
the natural evolution and acceptance of ideas in the life of the community, Ijma'
ensures the correct interpretation of the Quran, the faithful understanding and
transmission of the Sunnah, and the legitimate use of Ijtihad.
Ijma` also enhances the authority of rules which are of speculative origin.
Speculative rules do not carry a binding force, but once an Ijma ìs held in their
favour, they become definite and binding. For example, where the Companions
have, by their Ijma', upheld the ruling of a solitary Hadith. In such cases, the
ruling in question is elevated into a binding rule of law. That was the case of the
prohibition of simultaneous marriage to the close relatives of one's wife. It was
a definitive ruling which is based on Ijma `, despite the fact that the basis of this
Ijma` is a solitary Hadith – namely the Hadith that prohibits simultaneous
marriage to the maternal or paternal aunt of one's wife.
Proof of Ijma.
Authorities from Quran…
Quran 4:59 is explicit on the requirement of obedience to God, to His

Messenger, and `those who are in charge of affairs', the Ulu-al-amr.
Another Ayah which is most frequently quoted in support of Ijma' is Quran

4:115:

―And anyone who splits off from the Messenger after the guidance has become
clear to him and follows a way other than that of the believers, We shall leave
him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell. What an evil refuge!‖
The commentators observe that `the way of the believers' in this Ayah refers to
their 'agreement and the way that they have chosen', in other words, to their
consensus. Adherence to the way of the community is thus binding, while
departure from it is forbidden.
Moreover, Quran is expressive of the dignified status that God has bestowed on
the Muslim community. Thus in Quran 3:109:
―You are the best community that has been raised for mankind. You enjoin right
and forbid evil and you believe in God.‖
This Ayah attests to some of the outstanding merits of the Muslim community.
It is argued that this Ayah gives some indications as to the meaning of the
phrase `the believers' way'.
Authorities from Sunna…
The Ahadith which are most frequently quoted in support of Ijma' reads:
―My community shall never agree on an error.‖
―Whoever separates himself from the community and dies, had died the death of
ignorance (Jahiliyyah).‖
Examples of Ijma.
i. No marriage of women outside the fold of Ahl al kitab.

ii. Women cannot lead prayers.
iii. Missed prayers must be made up.

Importance of Ijma.
Ijma ensures veracity of new legal content emerging from Qiyas and Ijtihad, as
check against its fallibility. Universal agreement of an entire Community (Ijma
of Community) is generally confined to obligatory duties (Faraid). Generally
Ijma represents average general opinion of a region, setting aside stray opinions.
2. The Qiyas (Analogical Deduction) as a Secondary Source of Sharia.
Literally, Qiyas means measuring or ascertaining the length, weight, or quality

of something, which is why scales are called Miqyas. Qiyas also means
comparison. Technically, Qiyas is the extension of a Shariah value from an
original case, or Asl, to a new case, because the latter has the same effective
cause as the former. The original case is regulated by a given text, and Qiyas
seeks to extend the same textual ruling to the new case.
The Ulama have defined Qiyas as the application to a new case (Far'), on which
the law is silent, of the ruling (Hukm) of an original case (Asl) because of the
effective cause ('Illah) which is in common to both. Thus it is by virtue of the
commonality of the effective cause, or 'Illah, between the original case and the
new case that the application of Qiyas is justified.
To illustrate this, we might adduce the example of the Quran 5:90, which
explicitly forbids wine drinking. If this prohibition is to be extended by analogy
to narcotic drugs, the four pillars of analogy in this example would be:
Asl Far` Ìllah Hukm
wine drinking taking drugs the intoxicating effect prohibition

Proof of Qiyas.
Notwithstanding the absence of a clear authority for Qiyas in the Quran, the
Ulama have validated Qiyas and have quoted several Quranic passages in
support of their views, like Quran 4:59 which reads, in an address to the
believers:
―Should you dispute over something, refer it to God and to the Messenger, if
you do believe in God.‖
The proponents of Qiyas have reasoned that a dispute can only be referred to
God and to the Prophet by following the signs and indications that we find in
the Quran and Sunnah. One way of achieving this is to identify the rationale of
the rules of law and apply them to disputed matters, and this is precisely what
Qiyas is all about.
The proponents of Qiyas have further quoted, in support of their views, Quran
3:13, which provides:
―In their narratives there was a lesson for those who possessed vision.‖
There are two types of indication in the Sunnah to which the proponents of
Qiyas have referred:
Qiyas is a form of Ijtihad, which is expressly validated in the Hadith of Muàdh

b. Jabal. Muàdh where he told the Prophet that as a judge to the Yemen, he
would resort to his own Ijtihad in the event that he cannot find guidance in the
Quran and the Sunnah, and the Prophet was pleased with this reply.
It is reported that Umar b. al-Khattab asked the Prophet whether kissing vitiates
the fast during Ramadan. The Prophet asked him in return: ‗What if you gargle
with water while fasting?' Ùmar replied that this did not matter. The Prophet
then told him that `the answer to your first question is the same.‘

The Companions are said to have reached a consensus on the validity of Qiyas.
We find, for example, that the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, drew an analogy between
father and grandfather in respect of their entitlements in inheritance. Again,
when the Companions held a council to determine the punishment of wine-
drinking, Àli b. Abi Talib suggested that the penalty of false accusation should
be applied to the wine drinker, reasoning by way of analogy, 'When a person
gets drunk, he raves and when he raves, he accuses falsely.
It is thus concluded that Qiyas is validated by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the
Ijma' of the Companions.
Please note that there cannot be Qiyas where there is a clear text of either Quran
or Sunna. Zahiri School does not approve of Qiyas and considers it a mere
conjecture.
Qiyas is a method of discovering a law laid down in the Quran and the Sunnah
through analogy. Laws based on analogy, have to be proved from the two
primary sources.
Other Shariah Techniques.
These are techniques applied to complement the primary and secondary sources
of law which allows for greater fluidity and adaptability of Islamic law. They
are:
 Takhayur (Process of Selection): This technique is used in choosing a

less restrictive legal opinion from among other legal opinions;
 Istihsan (Preference): This is also known as equity. It involves setting
aside an established analogy in favour of an alternative ruling which
serves the ideals of justice and public interest in a better way. Examples
of this are the second caliph Ùmar b. al-Khattab‘s decision not to enforce
the Hadd penalty of the amputation of the hand for theft during a period

of widespread famine, and the ban which he imposed on the sale of slave-
mothers (Ummahat al-awlad). Umar set aside the established law in these
cases on grounds of public interest, equity and justice, which is advised
by the Qur‘an and Hadith, thus: ―God intends facility for you, and He
does not want to put you in hardship.‖ (Quran 2:185); the Prophet is
reported to have said: ―The best of your religion is that which brings ease
to the people.‖
 Maslaha (Public Interest): This technique is employed in interpreting
the law for general public good;
 Darura (Necessity): This makes prohibited things lawful on the ground
of necessity;
 Maqasid al-Sharia (Objectives of Sharia): This permits for overcoming
obstacles in implementing Sharia;
 Urf (Custom): As a judicial technique, Urf approves of what people
generally consider as good is a good law. For example, prevalent Arabian
customs not expressly overruled by the Prophet are held to have received
his tacit approval and become part of what is known as Sunnah
Taqririyyah.
There are instances where Arabian custom has been upheld and
incorporated within the Sunnah of the Prophet. An example of this is the
rulings of the Sunnah concerning the liability of the kinsmen of an
offender (i.e. the Àqilah) for the payment of blood money, or Diyah.
Similarly, the Sunnah which regulates certain transactions such as
mortgage (Rahn) and the requirement of equality (Kafa'ah) in marriage
have their roots in the pre-Islamic custom of the Arabs.
 Istishab (Presumption of Continuity): This technically means the
maintenance of status quo until a proof is furnished in favour of its
changes. It is the presumption of the continuation of both the positive and
the negative until the contrary is established by evidence.
Under this technique, if a specific rule was proved as positive in the past,
it will continue to remain positive until an evidence which proves it as
negative is furnished. So also, if a specific rule was proved as negative in
the past, it will continue to remain negative until an evidence which
proves it as positive is furnished.
An example of the application of this judicial technique is if a person
leaves his house for a work and does not come back, nothing is known
about his life and death. Hence, it will be decided on the basis of the
principle of istishab that he is alive until an evidence of his death is
produced.
Another example is that if A buys a hunting dog from B with the proviso
that it has been trained to hunt, but then A claims that the dog is
untrained, A‘s claim will be accepted under istishab unless there is
evidence to the contrary, for istishab maintains the natural state of things,
which in the case of animals, is the absence of training.
(Some parts of this topic are gotten from the work of Dr Sulaiman
Abdussamad.)
Selected Sharia Past Questions.
Question One:
Legal historians have divided the historical development of Islamic law into a number of
periods. The aim of the division is to ease the study of Shari‘ah. List the periods and discuss
one.
Question Two:
Define the term Shari‘ah and discuss the general characteristics of Shari‘ah as a legal system.
Question Three:

Write short notes on the following:
i. Istihsan – Preference
ii. Maslaha – Public Interest
iii. Urf – Custom.
Question Four:
There are some interests and objectives which are identified with Shari‘ah. Discuss.
Question Five:
Explain the nature and significance of the Sunnah as a source of Shari‘ah.
Question Six:
The primary sources of the Shari‘ah are said to be the basis upon which other sources of
the Shari‘ah derive their authorities. Critically examine the two sources and their
distinctive characteristics.
Question Seven:
While considering the types and the essential requirements of Ijma, discuss in details the
authorities that provide for its basis.
Question Number Eight:
There is a nexus between the literal meaning of Shari‘ah and the technical meaning in the
sense that: ―just as water is vital to human life, so the clarity and uprightness of Shari‘ah
is the means of life for souls, minds and practices of mankind‖. Discuss.
Question Number Nine:
Qisas as a source of legislation under Islamic Law has been a subject matter of discourse
between its proponents and rejecters. Examine the proof of Qisas and its essential
requirements.
Question Number Ten:

―A consideration which is proper and harmonious with the objectives of the Shari‘ah; it
secures a benefit or prevents a harm; and the Shari‘ah provides no indication as to its
validity or otherwise‖ is said to be the crux of Maslahah Mursalah. Discuss.

LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHY II (LAW 1314) LECTURE NOTES.
Dr. Nasiru Aliyu’s Lecture Notes.
Lecture 1.
MEANING, CONCEPT BACKGROUND, AND IDEA OF PHILOSOPHY.
Definition.
The term philosophy‖ is derived from the combination of two Greek words,
―Philos‖ (love) and ―Sophia‖ (wisdom).
What philosophy is, or should be, is, itself, a philosophical question that
philosophers understood and treated differently through ages.
 Philosophy is a specific set of ideas of a person or groups.

 Philosophy is a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live.
 Philosophy is an academic discipline that exercises reasons and logic in
an attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about
knowledge, life, morality, and human nature. Therefore, philosophy is the
root of all knowledge — it is considered as the ―mother of all sciences.‖
 Philosophy helps to coordinate the various activities of individuals and
the society.
Concept Background, and Idea of Philosophy.
The first thinker to describe himself as a philosopher was probably Pythagoras,

in the year 570BC. However, the term was traditionally closely identified with
Plato and his subsequent followers.
For Plato, wisdom is a condition or a state which individuals seek to attain as a

result of many years of education.

By achieving wisdom, Plato believed that, an individual was able to apprehend
truth and reality, and through it, acquires virtue — knowledge of how to live
rightly.
Who is a Philosopher?
A philosopher is a person who studies ideas about knowledge, right and wrong,
reasoning, and value of things.
Also, a philosopher is someone who practices philosophy which involves

rational inquiry into areas that are outside theology or science.
It is hard to identify any limit to the subject of philosophy or philosophical

questions.
Traditionally, philosophy has addressed questions about human nature, the

nature of reality, knowledge, value, beauty, reasoning, and so on and so on. But
in recent decades, philosophers have turned their focus to an even wider sample
of topics: medicine, law, family, race, sports, business, gender, technology,
religion, and so on and so on. So it does not seem as if the defined
characteristics of philosophical questions are what it asks about.
The characteristics of a philosophical question are:
1) A philosophical question tends to be general. A real philosophical

question should be general in nature not specific. This is not to deny that
we are often motivated to ask philosophical questions by a very specific
concern. We might be motivated to ask the philosophical question, for
example, ―what makes a person morally responsible for our actions?‖
2) It often requires analysis of investigation into the concepts found in
questions or even a meaning of a word. For example, ―does God exist?‖
this is, for instance, a question which we need to have an understanding

of what God refers to before we can coherently investigate the question.
More examples are; ―could honesty be a virtue?‖ or ―what is the value of
knowledge?‖
3) A philosophical question tends to be such that cannot be answered by
straight-forward empirical methods. Logic, for example, is not an
empirical science: conclusions about what kinds of claims are entailed by
other kinds of claims are not reached by conducting experiments, making
observation or formulating skills.
Very often, philosophical disputes revolve about whether the question can be
answered through a straight-forward empirical means or not. For example,
―what is the nature of consciousness?‖ It is a philosophical question in parts
because some philosophers believe it can be answered through empirical
investigation in Psychology, in Science, etc. Whereas other philosophers deny
that it can be answered through those kinds of investigations.
For the fact that there is dispute about applicability of empirical methods in
answering these questions is a good indicator of the questions being
philosophical in nature.
Philosophers ponder such concept as existence of being morality or goodness

knowledge, true and beauty.
Historically, most philosophers either centre on religious beliefs or science.
Philosophers may ask critical questions about the nature of this concept such
as: questions typically outside the scope of science.
Philosophy begins by asking the questions, ―what is philosophy itself?‖

Because philosophers are motivated by specific questions such as what is
truth?‖, ―how or why do we identify a statement as true or false?‖, ―how do we
reason?‖, ―what is wisdom?‖, ―is knowledge possible?‖, ―how do we know that

we know?‖, ―is there any difference between morally right and wrong actions?
If so, what is the difference?‖, ―which actions are right and which actions are
wrong?‖, ―are values absolute or relative?‖, ―in general and particular term,
how do I live?‖, ―what is reality?‖, ―what things can be defined as real and
unreal?‖, ―what is the nature of space and time?‖, ―what is the nature of
thought and thinking?‖, ―what is it to be beautiful?‖, ―how do beautiful things
differ from every day?‖
Branches of Philosophy.
The areas of discussion of philosophy are traditionally broken down into five
categories. They are:
 Logic.
 Epistemology.
 Ethics.
 Metaphysics.
 Aesthetics.
1. Logic.
Logic is derived from the Greek word, ―logos‖, originally meaning ―word‖ or
―what is spoken‖, but coming to mean ―thought‖ or ―reasoning‖. It is most
often said to be the study of arguments.
Although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy amongst

philosophers, logic is the attempt to qualify the rules of rational thoughts.
Logicians explore the structure of arguments that deserve proof or allows the
optimal extraction of knowledge from evidence. Therefore, logic is one of the
primary tools philosophers use in their inquiries.

The precision of logic helps philosophers to find a solution or bring about an
idea to their thoughts.
2. Epistemology.
It is derived from the Greek words, ―episteme‖ (knowledge) and ―logos‖

(words/speech). It is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin,
and scope of knowledge. It is a branch of philosophy that investigates the
origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.
Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself.
3. Ethics.
It is a general term for what is often described as the ―science (study) of

morality‖.
In philosophy, ethical behaviour is that which is ―good‖ or ―right‖. The western

tradition of ethics is sometimes called ―moral philosophy‖.
4. Metaphysics.
It is derived from the Greek words, ―meta‖ (beyond/after) and ―physics‖

(nature).
It is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of ―first principles‖ and

―being (ontology)‖.
Metaphysics is the study of the nature of things.
Metaphysicians ask what kinds of things exist and what they are like. They
reason about such things as to whether or not people have free will, in what
sense abstract objects can be said to exist, how is it that brains are able to
generate minds, and whether or not there is God.

5. Aesthetics.
It is a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty. In

Greek, it means ―to perceive‖. So, it is a philosophy of ―beauty‖ and ―art‖. In
philosophy, aesthetics is the branch which deals with questions of beauty and
artistic taste.
Argument.
Arguments are reasons given in support of an idea, action, or theory. In

philosophy, it is a set of propositions (claims/statements) which contains
premises that are offered to support the truth of a conclusion. So, for one to
make an argument is to provide a set of premises as reasons for accepting the
conclusion. Propositions are reasons supporting or helping to support a
conclusion.
Importance of Argument in Philosophy.
Arguments help us learn to classify our thoughts and articulate them honestly
and accurately, and to consider the ideas of others in a respectful and critical
manner!
PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS OF LAW.
Philosophical schools of law are those legal theories that seem to conceptualize
the meaning and nature of law. They just try to tell you what their
understanding of the nature of law is.
These schools are many but there are seven main ones from which we will take
five:

 the Naturalist School.
 the Historical School.
 the Socialist School.
 the Positivist School.
 the Realist School.
 The Naturalist School of Law.
The naturalist school of law posits that law can be deduced by man from reason
as to what is right and what is wrong. This school argues that there is an innate
ability in humans to distinguish between what is right from what is wrong.
Thus, law is simply what is right, just, and fair. The chief proponents of this
school include: Thomas Aquinas, Grotius, and Zeno.
 The Historical School of Law.
The major proponent of the historical school of law is Sir Frederick Carl Von
Sir Vidney. This school posits that law should be made in accordance with the
custom of the people which binds them together. They argued that if the law
was contrary to the customs of the people and their ways of life, it would be
violated.
 The Sociological School of Law.
Eugene is the major advocate of the school. The school argues that law
emanates from human interaction — i.e., the way the society interacts
determines the kind of law that should be laid down for them. This school
argues that if the law fails to acknowledge societal actions, it is bound to fail.

 The Positivist School of Law.
This school is of the view that law is the command of the sovereign, handed
over to his inferiors whose commands must be obeyed, and violation of which
attracts sanctions. For the positivist, a law is not a law until it has a punishment.
The positivist school defines law as the command of the uncommanded

commander backed up by sanction.
John Austin is the most prominent philosopher in the positivist school.
 The Realist School of Law.
It looks at the reality of what happens in the society. They argued that law is
what the court says — it is not what is contained in statute books, but the view
of the judge and the jury. The major proponent of this school is Oliver Wendell.
It originates from America.
The Concept of Justice.
Justice has both dictionary and philosophical definitions. It originates from the
Latin word, ―jus‖, which literally means ―right‖ or ―law‖. A just person,
therefore, is someone who does things that are morally correct. Philosophers
like Aristotle, Plato, Thomas Aquinas, and others, have each defined the
concept of justice.
For Plato, justice is a moral virtue establishing social order in the society.
To Aristotle, justice is given to each person their due or putting things in their
appropriate place.

Sources of Knowledge.
There are five sources of knowledge:
1. Perception — things that you perceive through experience.

2. Reason — by critical thinking.
3. Introspection — by self-evaluation.
4. Memory — the storage of knowledge learnt.
5. Testimony — knowledge attests by others and share to you.
Approaches to the Study of Philosophy.
a) Analytical Approach — this lies on the issue that the concept of

philosophy should be reasoned before arriving at the answer. The idea
that philosophical terms must be solved through critical reasoning and
logic.
b) Prescriptive and Descriptive Approach — it is a kind of philosophy that
explains how the world is. It prescribes and tries to see things how they
are and how they exist. It also involves scientific experimental of objects.
c) Speculative Approach — it is a form that goes beyond verifiable
observation.
Selected Philosophy Past Questions.
Question 1.
a. What is Philosophy?
b. Write short notes on the following:
i. Logics
ii. Ethics
iii. Methaphysics.

Question 2.
How many approaches to the study of Philosophy do you know? Briefly explain each of the
approaches.
Question 3.
List and explain the nature and characteristics of philosophical questions.
Question 4.
What is an argument in Philosophy? State two major importance of it in Philosophy.
Question 5.
Write short notes on the following sources of knowledge:
a. Perception
b. Reason
c. Memory
d. Testimony.

PSYCHOLOGY II (LAW 1316) LECTURE NOTES.
Prof. Auwal Muhammad’s Lecture Notes.
Lecture 1.
PREDICTORS OF LONG-TERM OFFENDING.
In the process of committing an offence, there are certain factors that can
provide an insight into the character of a long-term offender. These factors are
normally traceable to some early life experiences of the individual. Some of the
factors that can predict long-term offending amongst individuals include the
following:
1) Low Birth Weight — long-term offending can be predicted on low birth

weight. An individual who measures below the normal or average birth
weight (3kg) at birth may likely exhibit some signs of delinquent
behaviour during his early childhood through adolescence period and
consequently commit offence by the time he reaches the age of
adulthood. This factor is often due to neurological impairment and
cognitive difficulties.
2) Maternal Depression, Stress and Anxiety during Pregnancy —
unnecessary administration of drugs by mothers during pregnancy has
negative consequences on the foetus. Similarly, smoking and drinking of
alcohol by mothers during pregnancy also pave a way for later conduct
disorders in boys. In other words, children that are born by mothers who
take drugs indiscriminately, smoke or drink alcohol may likely develop
some behaviour disorders later in life and consequently become
criminals.
3) Poor Social Support and Antenatal (Prenatal) Care — this is a very
strong predictor of long-term offending. Children born by mothers who

experience poor social support are likely going to exhibit some form of
behaviour disorder.
4) A secure attachment during the first two years of life as a protective
factor as well as postnatal depression can make the development of
secure attachment more difficult. This normally results into
overprotection of the child and parents who adopt this style of child
rearing practices stand the risk of producing children who may exhibit
some form of behaviour disorders later in their life.
5) Antisocial behaviour during childhood period such as troublesomeness, in
school, dishonesty and aggression are common predictors of long-term
offending.
6) Hyperactivity/Impulsivity/Attention deficit including poor concentration,
restlessness, psychomotor impulsivity and risk-taking are also predictors
of long-term offending.
7) Family criminal record, including convicted parents, delinquent older
siblings, and siblings with behavioural problems are ubiquitous factors in
long-term offending.
8) Low intelligence and poor academic records can influence the
development of behaviour disorder amongst individuals.
9) Family poverty, including low family income, large family size, and poor
housing are potential risk factors in the development of behaviour
disorder amongst individuals.
10) Poor potential childrearing behaviour, including harsh and
authoritarian discipline loose and indifferent parental care, poor
supervision, parental conflict and maternal deprivation are potential
factors in predicting longterm offending.

Lecture 2.
CRIME AND GENDER.
According to Harrower (1998), probably the most significant feature of both

recorded and self-reported crime is that more males than females commit
offence, particularly violent crimes, in spite of the claim that women are
becoming more violent in the 1990s or that, because of their inherent
deviousness, they have always been more criminal but have simply been able to
conceal it. Until recently, the ―maleness‖ of crime was taken as an accepted
fact. In contrast to the ―ordinariness‖ of male crime, the few early studies of
female offenders focussed on their ―extra ordinariness‖, as odd or ill creatures
deviating from the norm. In the 1970s, feminist perspectives began to develop
in criminology, and the neglect of gender (especially women) was highlighted.
 Women and Crime.
According to Lloyd (1995), when women commit violent crimes, they are seen
to have breached two laws, the law of the land which forbids violence, and
natural law which says women are passive careers not active aggressors. This
applies especially in cases of maternal filicide (the murder of a child by the
biological parent). The theory about women and crime found explanations from
the cases of Myra Hindley and Sara Thornton. Both women were involved in
murder cases. Myra Hindley was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing her
own biological child while Sara Thornton was charged with the murder of her
husband. Both scenarios revealed that women who commit violent crimes tend
to do it within a domestic context; specifically they are most likely to kill either
their biological child or their male intimate partner. However, it was revealed
that for Myra Hindley to have committed her crimes, she must be especially evil
because ordinary women don't commit or are incapable of committing such
crime.

According to Pearson (1998), the feminists and society should be blamed for
refusing to see women as dangerous and destructive. She opined that women are
naturally aggressive particularly when it involves domestic violence.
Smith (1998) posited that there is also a terror that women are innately crueller
than men. In the case of Sara Thornton, who was initially convicted of her
husband's murder, she argued successfully that the court should have taken into
account the cumulative effect of her husband's violence towards her and this
defence led to her release from jail.
 Men and Crime.
Feminists‘ criminologists have helped to promote the view that ―masculinity‖

itself should be examined more closely in order to understand why so many
young men commit offences and are also victims of crimes. Because of men's
domination of all aspects of crime and criminal justice system, it is only
recently that their gender and the construction of their masculinity have been
considered valid areas for study in their own right.
According to Wilson and Herrnstein (1985), crime is an activity

disproportionately carried out by young men living in large and urban cities.
There are old criminals and female ones, and rural and small town ones, but to a
much greater degree than would be expected by chance, criminals are young
urban males.
Lyon (1998) stated that two major explanations of male domination of crime are
―biological determination‖ and ―social constructionism‖. Relevant questions to
ask in order to understand the position of Lyon are: ―Are men born to take risks,
challenge authority, become violent and commit crime? Or do they earn these
behaviours?‖ And, ―is crime the context in which their masculine identity
develops and affirmed?‖ If, as we have seen, not all males commit crime and

some females do, then there must be some factors over and above gender that
make people more likely to engage in criminal behaviour. Similarly, not all
boys growing up in disadvantaged circumstances become adolescent or adult
offenders. So, although being an urban male significantly increases the chances
of committing crime, psychologists want to know what other influences are
involved.
Hollin (1997) was of the view that while the findings of longitudinal studies are
important in describing the conditions associated with the onset of criminal
behaviour, they also demand an explanation of how they cause delinquent
behaviour. In other words, psychologists still await a ground theory to explain
the process by which the interaction between the young person and his or her
environmental circumstances culminate in criminal behaviour. In the mean time,
we can draw on existing psychological theories, which may be applicable to
criminal behaviour. Some of these theories were postulated by some great
scholars such as Sigmund Freud, Kohlberg, Bandura, Bowlby, etc.
Lecture 3.
PERSONALITY AND CRIMINALITY.
According to Farnham and Heaven (1999), many studies have shown

conclusively that personality factors are related to a wide range of antisocial,
criminal and delinquent behaviours. The vast majority of this research has been
cross-sectional and has looked for links between criminal behaviour and
introversion-extroversion (E), neuroticism-emotional stability (N), and
psychoticism (P).
Eysenck's Personality Theory — according to Eysenck, the criminal is a

neurotic extrovert — i.e., someone who scores high in both ―N‖ and ―E‖.

According to this view, high anxiety functions very much like a drive which
multiplies with habit, so that someone who engages in delinquent behaviour is
likely to persist in that behaviour if he is a high scorer in ―N‖. The high scorer
in ―E‖ is ―stimulus hungry‖ who engages in thrill-enhancing behaviours and is
more difficult to control. Because ―conscience‖ is nothing more than a series of
conditional anxiety responses, the neurotic extrovert is under-socialised and has
an underdeveloped conscience. Eysenck used an instrument called EPI
(Eysenck Personality Inventory) to measure the ―sociability‖ component of
extraversion rather than impulsivity component, which is more relevant to
conditionability. According to Eysenck, more prisoners are found to be among
people who score high on extraversion and neuroticism.
Psychoticism and Crime — ―P‖ is more strongly correlated with crime than
either ―N‖ or ―E‖. According to Farnham and Heaven (1999), it is a well-
established fact that high ―P‖ scorers are also aggressive, uncaring, troublesome,
inhuman, and insensitive to others‘ needs and feelings, tend to not experience
guilt, prefer strange and unusual things and appear foolhardy. Howarth (1986)
found that high ―P‖ scorers are impulsive, tend to be uncooperative, rigid and
lack sensitivity, and Claridge (1981) found close association between ―P‖ and
overt aggression and impulsivity. Not surprisingly, in view of these findings,
―P‖ scorers are well able to discriminate between criminals and non-criminals.
Even though much more work needs to be done on accessing the interaction
between personality and external factors such as; family life, peer pressure,
group norms, etc., in discussing the onset of criminal behaviour.
Antisocial Personality Disorder (Psychopathy).
Psychopathy was first included in the 1959 Mental Health Act, which defined it
as, ―a persistent disorder or disability of mind (whether or not including sub
normality of intelligence) which results in abnormally aggressive or seriously

irresponsible conduct on the part of the patient and which requires or is
susceptible to medical treatment. The Act further emphasized that those with
psychopathic disorder should be compulsorily detained if there was a reasonable
prospect of response to treatment if it can be ascertained that medical treatment
is likely to alleviate or prevent deterioration in the individual‘s condition. The
concept of ―psychopathic disorder‖ can be used interchangeably with
―personality disorder‖. A checklist developed by Hare (1991) measures two
distinct but correlated factors in psychopathy vis-à-vis. Factor one describes a
selfish, callous and remorseless use of others, and factor two, a chronically
unstable, antisocial and socially deviant life style. Essentially, the psychopathic
individual is someone with an emotional disorder who also has a high risk of
antisocial behaviour.
Major Characteristics of Antisocial Personality Disorder.
The followings are the major characteristics of an individual who is diagnosed

with APD:
1. Imbecility — a degree of mental defect intermediate between the idiot

and the feeble minded.
2. Impulsivity — the character of an act as immediate and without
deliberation or violation, on the mere presentation of a situation, either in
perception or in idea.
3. Low Family Loyalty.
4. No Human Feelings in them — i.e., they do not show concern to people‘s
harm, problems, etc. They feel bad when others are happy and feel good
when others are sad.
5. Inhuman Feelings to their Marriage Partners — they do not have
concern in marriage to their marriage partners and children.
6. Violence — they are in bad mood at all time.

Major Causes of APD.
The display of full disorder seems to involve a complex interaction between

social environment and biological predisposition. Social environment such as
the SES influences factor 2 (i.e., biological predisposition) while factor 1 (i.e.,
social environment) is unrelated to SES. This suggests that biological make-up
determines whether individuals show emotional difficulties. But these
emotional factors are risk factors; consequently, an adverse social environment
provides the conditions needed for the disorder to develop.
Like other forms of criminality, parental antisocial attitudes (PAA), inconsistent

discipline, physical punishment, broken homes and childhood separations, all
predict high APD scores in adolescence. However, the quality of parenting does
not influence the probability of conduct disorder in children who display the
emotional difficulties associated with APD — but they do in most children.
It can also be ascertained that the causes of APD can be traced to the
malfunctioning of the brain. This may be due to the malfunction of amygdale
which plays a crucial role in the processing of emotion, especially fear. People
who suffer damages to the amygdale don't show normal fear. Conditioning or
startle reflex potentiating the amygdale has also been shown to be involved in
human emotional response to sad facial expressions. But this response is absent
in individuals with APD.
We may therefore conclude that the causes of APD in individuals, like any other
aspects of development, are the social environment and biological determinism
with some brain dysfunction.
Can APD be Treated?
Personality disorder in individuals is surely the greatest of the areas and the
diagnosis, far from showing the way to treatment, is truly unhelpful for nurses

and patients alike. While the general consensus is that APD, and indeed
personality disorder, is notoriously resistant to treatment, schizophrenia, for
example, was also once thought to be untreatable. Mitchel and Blair (2000)
were confident that research in the near future may allow us to treat APD.
More Characteristics of APD.
 Lack tender feelings and concern for others‘ feelings, so that

relationships are shallow and unstable; sex is pure 'functional' (if male)
and they are highly promiscuous.
 Appear to have no family loyalty and commit their crimes alone; they are
basically loners.
 Have superficial charms and are often socially skilled; their charms can
be very disarming and enable them to manipulate others for their own
good behave callously, as inflicting pain or degradation or acting cruelly
to others.
 Act violently towards their married partners, and their children, whom
they may also neglect, resulting in separation and divorce.
 Are impulsive and fail to strive consistently towards a goal, lacking a
purpose in life; this may be reflected in an unstable employment record.
 Have low tolerance of frustration and a tendency towards violence which
often causes repeated criminal offences; this may begin with petty acts of
delinquency, but progress to callous, violent crimes; their lack of guilty
and failure to learn from experience result in behaviour that persists,
despite serious and legal penalties.
 Commit a number of disproportionate number of violent crimes.

Lecture 4.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR.
As children develop and improve their cognitive skills, they are also developing
self-concept, ways of interacting with others, and attitudes towards the world.
An understanding of these personal and social developments is critical to the
teachers' ability to motivate, teach and successfully interact with students at
various ages.
Like cognitive development, personal and social development is often described

in terms of stages. We speak of the ―terrible twos‖ and not the ―terrible ones‖ or
―terrible threes‖ and when someone is reacting in an unreasonable, selfish way,
we accuse that person of behaving like a 2-year old. The words ―adolescent‖
and ―teenager‖ are associated western culture with rebelliousness, identity
crisis, hero worship and sexual awakening. These associations reflect stages of
development that we believe everyone goes through. The focus as their lectures
centres on a theory of personal and social development proposed by Erik
Erikson, which is an adaptation of the development theories of a psychiatrist,
Sigmund Freud. Erickson's theory is often referred to as ―psychosocial theory,‖
because it relates principles of psychology and social development.
Stages of Psychological Development.
Like Piaget, Erikson had no formal training in psychology, but as a young man,
he was trained by Freud as a psychoanalyst. Erikson hypothesized that people
pass through eight psychosocial stages in their lifetimes. At each stage, there are
crises or critical issues to be resolved. Most people resolve each psychosocial
crisis satisfactorily and put it behind them to take on new challenges, but some
people do not completely resolve these crises and must continue to deal with

them later in life (Miller, 1993). For example, many adults have yet to resolve
the ―identity crisis‖ of adolescence.
Stage I: Trust versus Mistrust (Birth to 19 Months): The goal of infancy is to

develop a basic trust in the world. Erikson (1968, p.96) defined basic trust as
―an essential trustfulness of others as well as a fundamental sense of one's own
trustworthiness.‖ This crisis has a dual nature: infants not only have their needs
met, but they also help in meeting the mother's need. The mother or maternal
figure is usually the first important person in the child's world. She is the one
who must satisfy the infant's need for food and affection if the mother is
inconsistent or rejecting, she becomes a source of frustration for the infant
rather than a source of pleasure (Cummings, Braungart-Ricker, & Du Rocher-
Schudich, 2003; Thompson, Easter Brooks & Padilla-Walker, 2003). The
mother's behaviour creates in the infant a sense of mistrust for his or her world
that may persist throughout childhood and into adulthood.
Stage II: Autonomy versus Doubt (18 Months to 3 Years): By the age of 2,
most babies can walk and have learned enough about language to communicate
with other people. Children in the ―terrible twos‖ no longer want to depend
totally on others. Instead, they strive towards autonomy — i.e., the ability to do
things for themselves. The child's desires for power and independence often
clash with the desires of the parent. Erikson believes that children at this stage
have the dual desire to hold on and to let go. Parents who are flexible enough to
permit their children to explore freely and do things for themselves, while at the
same time, providing an ever-present guiding hand, encourage the establishment
of a sense of autonomy. Parents who are overly restrictive and harsh give their
children a sense of powerlessness and incompetence, which can lead to shame
and doubt in one's abilities.

Stage III: Initiative versus Guilt (3 to 6 Years): During this period, children's
continually maturing motor and language skills permit them to be increasingly
aggressive and vigorous in the exploration of both their social and their physical
environment. Three-year olds have a growing sense of initiative, which can be
encouraged by parents, other family members, and other caregivers who permit
children to run, jump, play, slide and throw. ―Being firmly convinced that he is
a person on his own, the child must now find out what kind of person he may
become‖ (Erikson, 1968, p.115). Parents who severely punish children's
attempts at initiative will make the children feel guilty about their natural urges
both during this stage and later in life.
Stage IV: Industry versus Inferiority (6 to 12 Years): Entry into school brings
with it a huge expansion in the child's social world. Teachers and peers take on
increasing importance for the child, while the influence of parents decreases.
Children now want to make things. Success brings with it a sense of industry, a
good feeling about oneself and one's abilities. Failure creates a negative self-
image, a sense of inadequacy that may hinder future learning. And ―failure‖
need not be real; it may be merely an inability to measure up to one's own
standards or those of parents, teachers, or brothers and sisters.
Stage V: Identity versus Role Confusion (12 to 18 Years): The question ―who
am I?‖ becomes important during adolescence. To answer it, adolescents
increasingly turn away from parents and toward peer groups. Erikson believed
that during adolescence, the individual's rapidly changing physiology coupled
with pressures to make decisions about future education and career creates the
need to question and redefine the psychosocial identity established during the
earlier stages. Adolescence is a time of change. Teenagers experiment with
various sexual, occupational, and educational roles as they try to find out who
they are and who they can be. This new sense of self, or ―ego identity,‖ is not
simply the sum of the prior identifications. Rather, it is a reassembly or ―an

alignment of the individual's basic drives (ego) with his or her endowment
(resolutions of the previous crises) and his or her opportunities (needs, skills,
goals, and demands of adolescence and approaching adulthood)‖ (Erikson,
1980, p.94).
Stage VI: Intimacy versus Isolation (Young Adulthood): Once young people
know who they are and where they are going, the stage is set for the sharing of
their life with another. The young adult is now ready to form a new relationship
of trust and intimacy with another individual, a ―partner in friendship, sex,
competition, and cooperation.‖ This relationship should enhance the identity of
both partners without stifling the growth of either. The young adult who does
not seek out such intimacy or whose repeated trials fail may retreat into
isolation.
Stage VII: Generativity versus Self-Absorption (Middle Adulthood):

Generativity is "the interest in establishing and guiding the next generation"
(Erikson, 1980, p.103). Typically, people attain generativity through raising
their own children. However, the crisis of this stage can also be successfully
resolved through other forms of productivity and creativity, such as teaching
and so on. During this stage, people should continue to grow; if they don't, a
sense of stagnation and interpersonal impoverishment develops, leading to self-
absorption or self-indulgence (Erikson, 1980, p.103).
Stage VIII: Integrity versus Despair (Late Adulthood): In the final stage of
psychosocial development, people look back over their lifetime and resolve
their final identity crisis. Acceptance of accomplishments, failures, and ultimate
limitations brings with it a sense of integrity, or wholeness, a realization that
one's life has been one's own responsibility. The finality of death must also be
faced and accepted. Despair can occur in those who regret the way they have led
their lives or how their lives have turned out.

Implications and Criticisms of Erikson's Theory.
As with Piaget's stages, not all people experience Erikson's crises to the same
degree or at the same time. The age ranges stated here may represent the best
times for a crisis to be resolved, but they are not the only possible times. For
example, children who were born into chaotic homes that failed to give them
adequate security may develop trust after being adopted or otherwise brought
into a more stable environment. People whose negative school experience gave
them a sense of inferiority may find, as they enter the work world, that they can
learn and that they do have valuable skills, a realization that may help them
finally to resolve the industry versus inferiority crisis that others resolved in
their elementary school years.
Erikson's theory emphasizes the role of the environment, both in causing the
crises and in determining how they will be resolved. The stages of personal and
social development are played out in constant interactions with others and with
society as a whole. During the first three stages, the interactions are primarily
with parents and other family members, but the school plays a central role for
most children in Stage IV (industry versus inferiority) and Stage V (identity
versus role confusion).
Erikson's theory describes the basic issues that people confront as they go
through life. However, his theory has been criticized because it does not explain
how or why individuals progress from one sage to another, and because it is
difficult to confirm through research (Green, 1989; Miller, 1993).
Piaget's Two-Stage Theory of Moral Development.
At the onset of his career, Jean Piaget was a biologist who studied molluscs.
However, he soon became interested in the development of knowledge and
thinking, and his interest drifted to human behaviour and learning. He

developed many theories about how infants and children learn about their
environment, naming each stage as they progressed in their development.
Piaget was also one of the first psychologists to specifically outline a theory of
moral development. He began by studying the way children interact and play
with one another, identifying the different rules they applied and their beliefs
about what was right and wrong. Piaget also gathered information by
interviewing children about acts like stealing and lying, noting the differences
in children of different ages. His resulting theory identifies two distinct stages
of moral development.
Stage 1: Heteronomous Morality.
In the first stage of moral development, children follow strict rules and are
completely obedient to authority. Piaget states that this occurs in younger
children in part because of their cognitive development. For young children,
rules are seen as inflexible things that do not change, which Piaget calls moral
realism. Children in this stage can also judge how wrong a particular action is
by its immediate consequences; negative consequences or punishment is seen
as an automatic response to breaking a rule. Piaget also noted that social
relationships between adults and children also support this stage: adults have a
natural authority over children of a young age, and power and rules are handed
down without discussion.
Stage 2: Autonomous Reality.
As children begin to learn new things about the world through their interactions
with other children and adults, they progress into the second stage of moral
development. In this stage, Piaget states that children learn how to critically
evaluate rules and apply them based on cooperation and respect with other
children. Children begin to learn to take the perspective of others in this stage.
Intention is also an important concept in this stage. Children begin to judge

how wrong an action is by the intention of the perpetrator, and punishment is
adjusted accordingly.
Application of Piaget's Theory.
Based on his findings, Piaget suggested that schools focus on providing

students with opportunities to develop and practice specific skills to aid in their
moral development. He purported that children would learn best by situations
that required cooperative decision making and problem solving with other
children.
Piaget believed that this method would be more effective than simply
indoctrinating children with norms and rules.
Kohlberg Theory of Moral Development.
Lawrence Kohlberg reported his studies on developmental changes in moral

reasoning in 1963. Kohlberg arrived at a description of moral development
consisting of six stages grouped into three levels.
Level 1: “Preconventional Morality” (Externalized and selfish orientation).
Level 1 denotes moral thinking that is egotistical. Rules and conventions are
external to the self and adherence is chiefly motivated by the selfish desire to
gain pleasure and avoid pain. Children usually below age 9 are at this level.
Stage 1: punishment and obedience orientation: the child claims that people
should be good and so they won‘t be punished.
Stage 2: Naïve hedonistic and instrumental orientation: Rules should be

followed only when obedience results in benefits or reward for oneself.

Level 2: Conventional level-Internalized Social conformity orientation.
At level 2, moral judgments are called conventional. Here the individual has an
internalized moral code which requires a high degree of conformity to socially
approved rules and conventions. Kohlberg (1976) has found older children,
adolescent and the majority of adults reason at this level most of the time.
Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation: being good means to gain the
approval of others and to conform the proper social stereotypes. At this stage,
interpersonal trust, loyalty, gratitude is important moral values.
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation: rules are seen as fixed within an accepted
social order. Good conduct means to do one‘s duty according to society‘s
prescribed roles, to respect authority, and maintain the established order.
Level 3: Post conventional Level - Self chosen principle orientation.
At level 3 or the post conventional level, individuals may accept many social
conventions, but they distinguish between ―mob morality‖ and their own self
chosen ethical principles.
Stage 5: Social contract orientation: the individual believes that good

behaviour should be based on a democratically formed social contract or legal
code which recognizes basic human rights such as life, liberty and pursuit of
happiness.
Stage 6: Universal Ethical principle Orientation: the highest ethical good is to

follow self-chosen universally valid principles which supersede adherence to
social contracts.

Lecture 5.
CANTER'S APPROACH: PROFILING EQUATIONS.
Youngs claims that there's been an over-reliance on personal judgement, rather

than the empirical analysis required by scientific psychology. Similarly, the
theories about criminals and their behaviour that much offender profiling has
been based on are also open to question.
Canter helped secure the arrest of John Duffy, convicted in 1988 of two
murders and five rapes, for which he was given seven life sentences. The
accuracy of his description of Duffy astonished both the police and the media.
Central to a more scientific approach are the Canter‘s profiling 'equations'

(Canter 1994); these are hypothetical equations that capture the scientific
approach to inferring associations between:
a) what happens during the offence (when and where it happens and to
whom), and
b) the characteristics of the offender (including the offender's criminal
history, background, base location and relationship with the victim).
They're also known as the 'A > C' equations, where 'A' denotes the 'Actions'
involved in the crime; 'C' denotes the 'Characteristics' of typical offenders for
such crimes, and '>' denotes 'in the theory or argument and the evidence for
inferring one from the other.'
Investigative psychologists conduct a wide range of studies of different types of

offences and the offenders who committed them, aimed at establishing
solutions to these equations; the goal is to provide objective bases for the
inferences that detectives make when investigating the perpetrator's likely
characteristics.

According to the differentiation hypothesis, different sets of offenders need to
differ from one other: if every offender offended in the same way, then the
'A>C' equations would provide characteristics that were the same for every
offender. Consistent with the differentiation hypothesis, Canter claims that the
criminal leaves 'psychological traces' or 'shadows' in committing a crime:
Tell-tale patterns of behaviour that indicate the sort of person he is.

Gleaned from the crime scene and reports from witnesses, these traces
are more ambiguous and subtle than those examined by the biologist or
physicist... They are more like shadows (which) ... can indicate where
investigators should be looking for (Canter, 1994).
In addition, we all operate within a social context, so there's an implicit social

relationship between the offender and victim. This again will offer major clues
to the pattern of the offender's life. Sensitive and detailed examination of
victims' testimony can reveal speech pattern, interest, obsessions and ways of
behaving they will also have occurred in the offender's daily life. For example,
rapists may treat their victims as they treat most of the women in their lives —
in the case of Adrian Babb, he actually showed consideration for their feelings,
which reflected a generally considerate attitude to other people.
Canter argues that differences in how offenders carry out their crimes relate to
the role assigned to the victim (the offender's 'mode of interpersonal
transaction').
These roles can be of three types:
a) Victim as Object: the victim is regarded as something to be used and

controlled through restraint and threat, often involving alternative gains
in the form of other crimes (such as theft). Offenders have a complete

lack of empathy; victims are chosen opportunistically, so tend to be
vulnerable individuals.
b) Victim as Vehicle: the victim is a means through which the offender can
discharge his own emotional state (such as anger and frustration). There's
some awareness of the victim as human, but this serves only to help the
victim be used to express the offender's feelings and desires — typically
through extreme violence and abuse.
c) Victim as Person: the offender nurtures the confused belief that through
the assault they achieve some sort of personal intimacy with the victim;
offending actions will include attempts to create a degree of rapport or
connection. Offenders believe they're heroes — one offender is quoted as
saying to his victim: ―Be more careful, next time someone nasty may
attack you.‖
Studies have shown that this general mode does help to understand the specific
empirical differences in offending behaviour found within rape (Canter, 1994),
paedophilia (Canter et al, 1998) and stranger homicide (Salfati and Canter,
1999).
The Treatment of Offender.
According to Honderich (1993), there are two distinct views (both implicit and
explicit) as to why people commit crime:
1. The individual is a rational agent with free will — an individual's

circumstances reflect his/her choices.
2. We're all, to a greater or less degree, products of our environments.
Related to the 'free will' viewpoint are two policies:
a. Provide as few opportunities as possible for choosing a criminal

act.

b. When people are caught, make the consequences as painful as
possible to deter them from future offending.
Based on the second view:
a. If the environmental conditions are implicated in the cause of the

crime, then change is needed in the environment (primarily, the
social structure).
b. The adverse effects on individuals resulting from the environment

need to be addressed.
According to Hollin (1999), in practice, these viewpoints and policies

crystallize into the debate about the relative effectiveness of punishment and
treatment in crime prevention.
Situational Crime Prevention.
If crimes are the result of criminals seizing the opportunity to make a personal,
usually financial, gain, then why not look at the opportunity as well as the
criminal (Hollin, 1999)? This is exactly the approach of situational crime
prevention: analysing and changing the environment in an effort to prevent
crime.
The most straightforward way is to reduce the opportunity for successful crime,
by removing and protecting the target. For example, replacing phone coin
boxes with cards, introducing night transports systems to ensure the safety of
late-night workers, and installing more car alarms, immobilizers, and home
security systems.
In addition, increasing the risk of detection can be achieved through formal

surveillance in places where there's an opportunity for crime. For example,
increased police presence at football matches and city centres at pub-emptying

times, CCTV, electronic 'tagging' of offenders, and neighbourhood-watch
schemes.
When offenders are deterred from committing a criminal act, is crime actually
being reduced or merely displaced onto other victims, times and situations?
There are also civil liberties issues relating to tagging, CCTV and other forms
of surveillance. Deterrence is also found in the harsh punishment approach
(from fines to 'life sentences').
Punitive Prison Regimes.
Overall reconviction rate (recidivism) of people discharged from prisons in

England and Wales for 2007 was 39 percent (compared with 43 percent in
2000), a decrease of 9.4 percent. The proportion of offenders who reoffended
fell by 9.2 percent when controlling for changes in offender characteristics
(Ministry of Justice, 2009).
Punishment-oriented regimes seek to reduce these figures by making the

experience of prison so aversive as to deter ex-prisoners from reoffending.
These include the 'short, sharp shock' (introduced in the UK in the 1980s) and
'boot camps', an American concept involving a short period of incarceration in
a strict military environment, with a rigid daily schedule of hard labour, drill
and ceremony, and physical training (Mackenzie and Souryal, 1995).
Mackenzie and Shaw (1990) found that, compared with offenders sentenced to
traditional prisons, those who went to boot camp were more positive about their
prison experiences and their futures, and held more prosaically attitudes.
Mackenzie and Souryal (1995) also reported a range of positive outcomes for
the boot-camp group, such as being drug-free, physically healthy, believing that
the regime had helped them, and an overall positive effect on their families.

However, those sent to boot camp have been convicted for non-violent crimes
and had less serious criminal histories (Hollin, 1999).
There's little evidence that military regime would successfully change future
behaviour if the 'criminogenic needs of the offenders are not being addressed'
(Mackenzie et al, 1995).
According to Farrington (1995), findings from longitudinal studies point to the

need for strategies to improve young people's academic achievement,
interpersonal skills, parental childrearing practices, and to reduce poverty.
Treatment Programmes.
There's a vast literature on therapeutic approaches, especially with young

offenders (e.g., Hollin and Howells, 1996), but the principles apply to young
and adult offenders alike. Most major therapeutic approaches have been used
with offenders, including psychodynamic psychotherapy, behaviour therapy,
social skills training, and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).
Several multimodal (mixed or eclectic) programmes have also been used in

which several methods are combined. For example, aggression-replacement
training (Glick and Goldstein, 1987; Goldstein and Glick, 1996) combines
structured learning training (including social skills and social problem-solving
training), anger control and moral education.
Does Treatment Work?
There are hundreds of outcome studies using different types of an intervention

conducted in different settings and using different measures of 'success'. As
with outcome studies in the treatment of mental disorder, meta-analytical
studies allow general conclusions to be drawn. According to Hollin (1999):

 Overall, there's a 10 percent reduction in recidivism when treated
offenders are compared with no-treatment controls; but this figure
conceals tremendous variability between different programmes.
 The best results will be obtained with medium to high-risk offenders,
using structured/focused/directive approaches (in practice, this usually
means behavioural methods that incorporate a cognitive component).
 Treatment in the community has a stronger effect on delinquency than
residential programmes.
Deviant Behaviour.
Deviant behaviour and social disorganization are sometimes often used

interchangeably. Both terms signify a potpourri at conditions that are considered
undesirable from the standpoint of the observers‘ values and such conditions
vary at different times and with different observers. Deviant behaviour can be
considered as that behaviour that violates the normative rules, understandings
or expectations of the social systems. Under this situation, crime can be
regarded as the prototype of deviance. Normative rules are inherent in the nature
of all social systems whether they be friendship groups, engaged couples,
families, work teams, factories or national societies. Legal norms are norms
whose violation constitutes deviant behaviour. From the foregoing, one can
deduce that the concept of deviance is the direct opposite of conformity. In
other words, behaviour is deviant if and only if it departs from the normative
rules of some social systems. Deviant behaviour may also be defined as socially
disvalued behaviour and states in general. This definition includes mental
retardation, blindness, ugliness, other physical defects and handicaps, illness of
all sorts, beggary, membership in spiritually unclean castes and occupations,
mental illness, criminality and a shameful past. However, it must be realized
that no society elsewhere succeeds in getting all its people to behave as
expected.
Theories of Deviance – why Deviance?
Sociologists explain the causes of deviance from three theoretical viewpoints.

The viewpoints are as follows:
1. The Anomie Theory.

2. The Labelling Theory.
3. The Cultural Transmission Theory.
 The Anomie Theory.
The theory is derived from the work of Emile Durkheim. This is the condition
of normlessness and total breakdown of laws and orders in the society.
According to Durkheim (1960), an action is a crime because it shocks the
common conscience (collective conscience) which signifies the moral codes of
society. So when moral codes of the society break down which affects both
cultural/traditional life and our public/official lifestyle, it gives room for
anomie.
 The Labelling Theory.
The theory is also called social reaction theory. The theory begins with the fact
that deviation is created by the definition of an act as deviant. According to this
school of thought, we cannot have rule breakers without rule makers.
P.S. Labelling theory is originated from the work of Edwin Lemert. The theory
focuses on the deviant and how such deviant is labelled as a deviant.
The theory states that certain individuals, due to a series of circumstances have
been defined as deviant by others in the society. Unfortunately, the labelling
actually helps to bring about more of the deviant behaviour.
A good example of labelling theory could be the general belief that people who
live in ghettos or slums are criminals. Because of this general belief, those

people may see themselves as criminals thereby behaving in line with the
general belief of the people.
 The Cultural Transmission Theory.
The cultural transmission theory, also known as cultural learning, enculturation,

and socialization, states that all behaviours are learned from the society or
culture that surrounds a person. If a child is exposed to deviant behaviour,
especially at a young age, then that behaviour can become a learned trait.
These behaviours can also be good behaviours or traditional ones. The

celebrating of cultural holidays, religious practices and the correct way to talk to
other people is passed from generation to generation in families and is also
picked up on by friends, neighbours and social exposure. Most of this is learned
in a person's youngest years, usually up to the age of 5, but can continue into
adulthood.
DELINQUENCY.
The concept of delinquency is often used to describe the process by which an

individual, particularly adolescent, commits an offence against the law but the
offence is not so serious to be regarded as a crime. Burt defined delinquency as
―an outstanding sample, dangerous perhaps, and extreme, but none of the less
typical of common childish naughtiness.‖ In other words, the concept of
delinquency is associated with breaking the law of the land but, however, the
offence so committed is lighter and, as a result, it cannot be regarded as criminal
in nature.

Some of the characteristics of a delinquent child include: cheating, lying, sexual
misdemeanours, stealing, persistent truancy, being beyond control, etc.
From the foregoing, one can infer that delinquency is a relative term because it
depends upon breaking the laws of a particular society. This point is further
buttressed by the fact that an act could make a child delinquent in one society
but not in another society. It is worth pointing that the majority of delinquents
are neither neurotic, mentally defective, nor completely devoid of moral
standards, although their standards are sometimes low.
Causes of Delinquency.
Why do children commit delinquent acts?
 Defective Home Discipline: a situation in which the parent's disciplinary

technique is either too strict, too lenient or, worst of all, alternating
between strictness and leniency.
 Instinctual Tendencies in Some of these Children to Commit Crime:
some children are born with the instinct to commit an offence and, as a
result of these instincts, they often find themselves engaging in breaking
the law.
 General Emotional Instability: emotional instability can be a cause of
indiscipline behaviour amongst children and their emotional feelings
would not be stable and, as a result, they engage in actions that are
tantamount to breaking the rules and regulations.
 Mild Morbid Emotional Conditions: it can be in form of morbid self-
assertion which can be caused by wish for power or antagonism to the
father.
 Intellectual Dullness and Backwardness: children often resort to
indiscipline acts when they are intellectually incapable and, as a result,
they cannot perform tasks successfully.

 Family Criminal History or Vices: this is saying that if the family in
which the child is born and brought up has an outstanding record of
criminal activities, there is higher probability that such child would
display some of delinquent behaviour.
 Early Life Experience: sometimes, children misbehave simply because
they have been rejected or they were unkindly treated by their parents
during the first five years of their life, or such children have experienced
prolonged separation from, or change in, the mother-figure during these
years. A child who has undergone such treatment is likely to develop
solitary habits: to be demonstrative, to fail to respond to any kind of
treatment, to show neither sympathy nor affection and to be prone to
indisciplinary acts.
Solutions to Delinquency.
1. One should always bear in mind that providing the child with affection,
security and acceptance is of utmost importance in preventing
indiscipline behaviour in children. The child should be shown that he or
she is being liked and that he or she is part and parcel of the society.
2. Specific moral and social code should be clearly spelt out so that the child
can clearly comprehend the reasons why some actions are acceptable and
others aren't.
3. A strict watch for maladjusted behaviour should be done so that early
treatment can be done to prevent such behaviour from developing into
indiscipline actions.
4. Avenues where the child can direct his or her drives into socially
acceptable channels should be created. Such avenues like; football,
cycling, swimming, camping, and other worthwhile outdoor and indoor
games and hobbies; often give the child something else to think about
and, as a result, make frustration less pressing.

5. The child should be encouraged to talk about, and admit, the existence of
his or her anti-social tendencies. The child should not be condemned for
experiencing such drives, but rather show him or her that it would be
wrong to give way to them.
6. When a child is known to be mixing with undesirable friends either
within or outside the neighbourhood, one should endeavour to have frank
talks with him or her and discuss the possible consequences likely to
result from such an association. Likewise, when it appears that some
emotional tension is mounting in the child, one should do something to
add to his or her security and feelings of acceptance, and not something
that would further frustrate the child.
7. One should make sure to minimize the chances of a child's doing the
wrongs by putting the smallest possible number of temptations in his or
her way.
8. Some posts of special responsibility such as care of equipment, or the
task of preventing other children from committing delinquent acts should
be given to potential delinquents.
9. If it is discovered that the parent-child relationships are not normal, then
one should arrange a situation that the child will be able to form a
personal attachment to some adult particularly the Guidance-Counsellor.
10.Once a delinquent act has been detected, don't foot-drag over it. Make it
clear to the child that he or she has done wrong and if necessary, punish
in an appropriate manner. But once any punishment has been given,
accept the child again as a member of the society.
11.One should always keep trying and not to feel disappointed even if their
efforts fail. A few children seem to slip into delinquency and continue to
commit crime no matter the kind of treatment they receive. Occasional
failures should not blind one to the fact that one may be of great help to
the children.

Selected Psychology II Past Questions.
1. a) What do you understand by the concept of Anti-Social Personality Disorder

(APD)?
b) Briefly explain the major causes of Anti-Social Personality Disorder.
c) As a lawyer, suggest the remedies/treatment options for individuals with Anti-

Social Personality Disorder.
2. ―Eysenck‘s personality theory provides a lawyer with the knowledge of how to

identify people with criminal intention.‖ Explain the theory in details and show how
that can assist you in interpreting human behaviour.
3. a) Explain the psychological concept of ―offender profiling.‖
b) Discuss the profiling equation propounded by Professor David Canter in

identifying serial killers.
c) From a psychological perspective, how can you treat a typical offender?
4. a) Explain five (5) predictors of long-term offending.
b) With relevant examples, distinguish between male and female offenders in term of
criminal tendencies.
c) Identify factors leading to the involvement of women in violence in Nigeria.
5. Write short notes on any five (5) of the following:
a. Jean Piaget‘s Stages of Moral Development.

b. Lawrence Kohlberg‘s stages of moral reasoning.
c. Situational crime prevention.
d. Erickson‘s stages of personal and social development.
e. Punitive Regimes.
f. Treatment Programmes.

BONUS.
GSP — Use of Library, only.
By Onimisi – fluent in silence.
 Public Libraries acquire materials to cover all areas of knowledge. They

are libraries established for the purpose of serving the general public. The
classification scheme used here is Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).
 Academic Libraries include libraries in the institutions of higher learning
like the Universities, Colleges of Education, Polytechnics, etc. The
classification system used here is Library of Congress (LC).
 School Libraries are libraries for lower institutions of learning, e.g.,
Nursery Schools, Secondary, etc. The classification scheme here is
Library of Congress.
 The two specific classification schemes used all over the world are
Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme, and Library of Congress
Classification Schemes.
 The two types of classification available for organizing information
resources are General and Specific Classification Scheme.
 Placing library materials of similar subjects together in a sequence is
called classification system.
 The commonly used tools/methods for organizing information resources
in the libraries are cataloguing and classification.
 Information resources on books and other reading materials in the library
are located on the card catalogue.
 The electronic version of card catalogue is OPAC.

 The number assigned to a book in a library on arrival is accession
number.
 An essential ingredient for development is information.
 Libraries are categorized according to nature of collections, users, and
purpose of setting up.
 DDC scheme was developed by Melvil Dewey in 1896.
 LC scheme was developed by the Library of Congress in America.
 DDC scheme is classified into ten classes.
 LC scheme classified knowledge into twenty six classes (A-Z).
 In LC scheme, 5 classes (I O W X Y) are reserved for future expansion of
the scheme.
 The number of active classes in LC are 21.
 The two most common types of information resources are print and
electronic resources.
HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION

CENTRES.
The history of libraries is the study of the growth and development of libraries
from the earliest times to the present day. The development and the growth of
libraries dated back to ancient times, as far back as 6,000 to 7,000 B.C. This
happened as a result of steady progress through several civilisations such as
those of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, etc. These countries' civilisations
recorded great achievement in several fields of human endeavour such as
writing, agriculture, commerce, literature, medicine, astronomy, religion,
mathematics, etc.
a) The Egyptian Civilisation was one of the earliest civilisations in

history. Three important factors amongst others contributed to the
development and growth of this civilisation, they include: Natural

defence from external aggression for more than 3,000 years. This was
made possible by the natural defence which the Nile Valley had. The
Nile was protected in the east and west by deserts; in the North, it was
protected by the great Mediterranean Sea; and in the south, it was
protected by the great swamps and forests. This made it impossible for
enemies to attack Egypt.
Second amongst the major factors that contributed to the growth of the
Egyptian civilisation was the high fertility of its soil around the Nile
Valley. The Nile River provided water all-round the year for agriculture
as well as other purposes for the Egyptians. The long period of peace
allowed for the cultivation of large farm lands, which resulted in bumper
harvest. The agricultural products created a large market for Egypt and
lots of trading activities were done between the Egyptians and other
nations.
Thirdly, there was the development of a form of writing known as
hieroglyphics which means sacred or priestly writing. It was so called
because the priests invented it and for a long time, this form of writing
was mostly done by the priests. The hieroglyphics was a form of writing
that uses symbols and pictures to denote objects, concepts or sounds.
The art of writing greatly revolutionized the civilisation of the Egyptians.
Prior to the invention of writing, communication in all aspect of life was
oral. However, with the invention of writing, it became possible for
Pharaoh to write out laws for his people to read and send out
correspondence and letters for his rulers to obey. In addition to this,
many scholars were produced and they were able to write down their
discoveries for others to read on many subject areas such as medicine,
astronomy, engineering, mathematics, philosophy, etc.
These trading activities — as a result of the fertility of the soil, the
movements of ships in and out of Egypt, and the development of a form

of writing — brought about the need to keep records of activities and
transactions. It also gave rise to the creation and generation of lots of
literatures, hence the development of two different types of libraries:
i. Temple Libraries: This refers to the collections which were kept
in temples. In ancient Egypt, temples were created in honour of
their numerous gods. These temples were also the centre of
general activities ranging from the worship of gods to
governmental and business activities. The priests who were in
charge of the temples were also responsible for taking care of the
book collections and also records in different format that were
kept in the temple.
ii. Royal Libraries: These are libraries established by kings and
attached to palaces. They were built to keep collections of a
general nature very similar to those kept in temples. However,
unlike the collections in the temple library which had more of
religious related information, collections in the royal libraries were
very much concerned with records in various aspects of human
learning, the activities of the king concerned as well as that of the
previous kings.
b) Mesopotamian Civilisation was also another great civilisation that
played a very important role in the development and growth of libraries.
It started in a land which lies between two rivers know as River Tigris
and Euphrates. Hence, Mesopotamia is called the land between two
rivers. The civilisation took off in the southern part of Mesopotamia in a
town known as Sumer which is the present day Syria, Iraq and Turkey.
The development of the Mesopotamia civilisation was greatly influenced
by two main rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) and it had around it towns like
Sumer, Nippur, Nineveh, Kish, Susa, Assur, Ur, Babylon, Chaldea,
Akkad, etc.

Just like the Egyptian civilisation, the Mesopotamian civilisation was
greatly characterised by bumper harvest from the cultivation of land and
agricultural produce that were made possible by the two rivers, trading
activities, and the development of a form of writing known as
Cuneiform. This is a form of writing made on wet clay using a reed
pen. This clay tablets are then dried or baked for long time preservation
and transmission to later generations. Thousands of clay tablets still exist
in British library in London. However, unlike the Egyptian civilisation
that enjoyed great protection from the Nile River, deserts and forests; the
Mesopotamian civilisation was constantly under attack from envious
neighbours and as a result of this, they went through many phases,
namely:
i. Sumerian civilisation (4,000 - 2,750 BC).
ii. Babylonian civilisation (2,750 - 900 BC).
iii. Assyrian civilisation (900 - 612 BC).
iv. The Chaldean civilisation (612 - 538 BC).
v. The Persian civilisation (538 - 331 BC).
vi. The Hellenistic civilisation (331 - 323 BC).
Each of these civilisations built on the achievements of the previous

ones. In the process, the Mesopotamian civilisation turned out to be very
rich since it was a mixture of many different cultures.
c) The Greek Civilisation was also one among the great civilisation that
played great roles in the development and growth of libraries.
The Greeks moved from their original home around the Caspian Sea to
settle in the Greek peninsula around 2,000 - 1,000 BC. They came in
several groups and soon occupied the whole of Greek peninsula. The
Greeks settle in groups of villages which later developed into city states.
As times went on, the city states became as many as one hundred and

fifty. The most important of these city states were Athens, Sparta,
Thebes, Ephesus, Miletus and Corinth.
Just like other civilisations, Okiy (2008) affirmed that three main factors
accounted for the development and growth of the Greek civilisation:
i. The geography of the Greek peninsula: geographically, the Greeks
peninsula and the Island of Aegean were very mountainous.
Because of this, the city states were cut off from each other and
never became a united nation (they were independent city states).
ii. The freedom loving character of the Greeks: this prevented them
from forming themselves into large cities. They valued their
freedom so much and they disliked any stem of government.
iii. The Greeks also adopted the Egyptian hieroglyphics form of
writing which was imported to them through trading activities by
the Phoenicians. The Phoenician traders were the major suppliers
of papyrus from Egypt to Greece and by the 9th Century BC there
were intellectual activities which produced prolific writers such as
Homer who wrote the Iliad and Odyssey, Socrates, Aristotle,
Plato, etc. The Greeks had one of the greatest libraries at that time,
prominent amongst them were the Alexandria Library
established by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, the Pergamum
Library established by King Attalus I around 190 BC, etc.
d) The Roman Civilisation: After the Greek civilisation came the Roman
civilisation. This was also described as one of the greatest civilisations of
all time. This is due to the contribution to the various aspects of human
endeavour ranging from literatures, languages, laws, libraries, etc. The
Roman civilisation began as a small town near the coast of central Italy
at about 753 BC. The Roman belongs to one of the most important
Italian tribes called the Latins. At the height of its civilisation, they had

expanded and taken over the whole of Europe, North Africa and Asia
minor.
Roman civilisation was based, to a large extent, on the advancement
made in the ancient Greece. This is because the Greeks were one of the
tribes who live not very far from the Romans. When the Romans started
to spread their influence, the Greeks were one of the first tribes to be
invaded. After the invasion, they were able to blend both culture of the
Greeks and that of the Romans to form what was known as the Greco-
Roman culture. Some of the inventions and advancement of the Romans
are as follows:
i. The Roman alphabet and numerals.
ii. Roman literatures.
iii. Roman languages.
iv. Roman laws.
v. Roman libraries both private and public.

Closing Remark by Onimisi – fluent in silence.
Never has there been a greater need to make sure to jot down most part of the
lecturers‘ lectures while the lectures are ongoing in the class. Jotting of lectures in the class
has, to a great extent, been neglected in recent years.
This, chiefly, is not as a result of the unserious nature of the students (even if some
actually fall in the category), perhaps, as some students term it, it‘s as a result of the
inaudibility of some lecturers, and, of course, the twinkle- like method of dictation some
lecturers adopt (factors which are always NOT TRUE). However, students still tend not to
jot in the lectures of some lecturers they see to be audible enough and, as well, dictate
slowly, mainly because, not all students actually fancy jotting in the class, and, of course,
some students miss lectures, intentionally or unintentionally.
But, how do we get these notes we can‘t get from the lecturers due to the above
factors? Does the thought of getting the notes and reading them to pass your examination
fill you with despair?
Don‘t panic, my love!
―Onimisi’s Care‖, A.K.A., ―I’ll Strive…‖ is to help you get all the notes which
you have missed in the class in the most comprehensive and suitable way in preparation for
the examination. In an accessible and friendly way, we will lead you through the
framework of all the lectures.
Meanwhile, I am Onimisi. So, if you‘re too tired to speak, sit next to me for I, too,
am fluent in silence (smiles).
Special thanks to Adaira Muhammed Jamiu for his contributory efforts towards the success
of this update.
Proudly anchored by the entire crew of Onimisi’s Care!

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Page 1 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

Onimisi’s Care, Volume 1.2.

This material belongs to ___________________________________ from

Page 2 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

 Short Preface by Ahmed Olarewaju Sikiru.

 Hints to Effective Studying by Hadi Onimisi Tijani.

 English for Legal Writing II (LAW 1310) Lecture

 Introduction to Economics (LAW 1206) Lecture Notes.

 Introduction to Sociology (LAW 1204) Lecture Notes.

 Introduction to General Principles of Sharia (LAW

1302) Lecture Notes.

 Logic and Philosophy II (LAW 1314) Lecture Notes.

 Psychology II (LAW 1316) Lecture Notes.

 Bonus (GSP – Library, only).

 Closing Remark by Onimisi – fluent in silence.

Page 3 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

The essence of human existence is to serve the Almighty Allah through

With this lecture note, you have no excuse to failure.

Page 4 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

―Wow! I wish I could, also.‖ and understand it doesn't guarantee

Page 5 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

d) Using YouTube to study. g) Focus! Whenever you read, don't let

Page 6 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

By Hadi Onimisi Tijani.

Page 7 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

Mallama Samira Abubakar’s Lecture Notes.

ANSWERING EXAM QUESTIONS.

Questions can be considered in terms of three main components:

Things to do in relation to scope are:

Page 8 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

Using Non-text information.

Non-text items include:

Page 9 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

Checklist for Table of Contents.

In the simplest term, a book index is a key to locating information contained in

A book Index is different from the Table of Contents (TOC). A Table of

Page 10 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

Glossary, otherwise known as a vocabulary, is an alphabetically arranged list of

While an index is referred to as a list of the contents of an article or book by

USING THE DICTIONARY, SCANNING AND SKIMMING.

 Using the Dictionary.

A dictionary is a reference book with a list of words from one or more

Page 11 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

1. Meaning of Words — a dictionary provides meaning to words in different

Scanning, also referred to as search-reading, means glancing rapidly through a

 to find out if the text is suitable for your purpose.

Skimming is rapidly reading through a text to either get a brief summary of

Page 12 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

DISTINGUISHING MAIN IDEAS FROM SUPPORTING DETAILS IN A

 The Main Idea.

In addition to recognising the main idea, it is necessary to know the supporting

 Definition of Terms — the definition a writer gives to a term should not

Page 13 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

An inference is an idea or conclusion that is drawn from evidence or experience.

A lawyer needs inference skills to:

 give legal advice to his/her client.

Page 14 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

Distinguishing between types of essays is simply a matter of determining the

1. Narrative Essays: Telling a Story.

2. Descriptive Essays: Painting a Picture.

As the name implies, it describes a concept — abstract or concrete. Examples of

Page 15 of 218 Onimisi's Care !

The expository essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a balanced

4. Argumentative Essays: Convince Me.

Onimisi's Care, Volume 1.2

Onimisi's Care, Volume 1.2