Colonial Mentality Part 1 (The Nigerian judge and the wig)
Colo-mentality!!
“He be say you be colonial man
You don be slave man before
Them don release you now
But you never release yourself”
Those lyrics resonate in our hearts especially those who were born before the generation Z demographic. It is the chorus for the satirically composed “colonial mentality” track by the Nigerian afrobeat pioneer and legend Fela Kuti which was released in 1977.
In the track there’s a particular satirical verse that resonates deeper.
“Them Judge him go kack wig
And jail him brothers away
No be so? (He be so!)”
It hits deep with an unnoticeable pace and a majority of listeners might have not fully grasped the context due to the silhouette nature of that particular verse.
So what was Fela really addressing in that particular verse.
The British colonized Nigeria in every single form, from religion to language to dress code and even how we make and interpret our laws i.e the infamous judiciary system.
The judiciary system passed on to us by our colonial masters was marked by a notorious attire (The Court Dress) and most significantly the court wig.
The tradition of wearing horsehair wigs (perukes)’ a term derived from the French word perruque (weaving wig)’ and gowns by the judiciary predates the 15th Century. In the 14th Century, during the reign of King Edward III, the accepted costume for nobles who appeared before the Court of the king was the robe.
Later in the 17th Century, the gown was adopted together with the peruke (horsehair wig) as the formal apparel of judges and lawyers, a bid to differentiate the elite from the commoners.
Revisiting the lyric again
“Them Judge him go kack wig
And jail him brothers away
No be so? (He be so!)”
Fela was addressing the colonial mentality of the Nigerian judges who put on colonial judiciary attires and interpret colonial laws passed on by the British at the disadvantage of their own people who don’t have an equal say on how those laws were drafted.
“The court wig” symbol of colonial mentality legacy
American judges stopped wearing wigs in the early 19th century, and this was partly to show that the US was republican and democratic. The British courts have been in business for hundreds of years, and maintaining tradition is to remind people of that.
Oddly enough, judges in the highest British court wear standard business suits and don’t even wear robes for hearings. The reason for this is that traditionally the highest court wasn’t technically a court, but a committee that heard appeals which they would “recommend” decisions to the monarch.
The British granted Nigeria independence 59 years ago yet the wig survives, along with other relics of the colonial courtroom.
Nigeria still clings to this old English tradition. While the originators of this tradition have long abandoned it. Some Nigerian jurists have pleaded for the abolishment of the legal wigs and gowns, while others embrace it as a symbol to promote and preserve tradition.
Verdict
There is a much deeper meaning to Colo-Mentality than just the outdated court attire. It’s a mentality that goes around here in Nigeria. (It affects not just the lawyers who are much more concerned with status than the review of an old practice).
Nigeria has to understand that the change mantra starts by reviewing a lot of our customs not just in the courtroom, but in our daily lives and businesses. We need to know what is still relevant in today’s society.
