Jedrzej George Frynas (PhD Student)

Research Trip to Nigeria

My second trip to Nigeria in February/March 1998 allowed me to gather all remaining primary materials needed for my PhD thesis. The main purpose was to distribute survey questionnaires among Nigerian lawyers. The survey, conducted with the support of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Civil Liberties Organisation in Lagos, was immensely important for the PhD thesis because it investigated the functioning of the legal system and the role of oil company related court cases. It was the first time that such a comprehensive survey was being undertaken in Nigeria.

In addition, I conducted interviews with lawyers and was able to speak with the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, formerly the Federal Revenue Court, on legal changes in oil industry related litigation. The insights gained from these interviews and from the survey required several hectic weeks in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial centre, rushing from one law chamber to another. In order to save money, I usually took the bus, which is a very different experience from Western bus rides. A Nigerian bus is usually an old minibus with around 15 passengers tightly cramped next to each other. There are no signs, no time tables and often no discernible bus stops. A boy shouts the direction of the bus ruote to passers-by. This seemingly chaotic system, however, functions well. I never had to wait for a bus for longer than five minutes. In some respects, the system allowed faster movement than the London tube, albeit it could be very hectic, particularly during the rush-hour. Adding to the hectiv nature of Lagos, the weather was always very dry and hot around 30 degrees Celsius. The heat was, nevertheless, preferable to the rainy season during the summer whent the roads are flooded and mosquitoes are everywhere.

Nigerians were often very curious seeing a Westerner using their buses and walking down the road. Children would sometimes exclaim 'oyibo' (white man), a word which originated from the word 'ghost' in the Yoruba language of Western Nigeria. Since Nigeria is a poor country and Westerners are expected to be wealthy, children and beggars descend on each 'oyibo' who crosses their neighbourhood. Once you make friends, Nigerians are extremely hospitable, however. On one occasion, I got to know a Muslim lawyer on a bus and started chatting to him. In the end, he insisted on paying for my bus fare in order to welcome me in Nigeria.

Having made friends on my first trip to Nigeria in 1997, it was relatively easy for me to make contacts with lawyers, to arrange interviews and to distribute the survey. In Nigeria, personal contacts are very important. The heat and the hectic daily routine made me exhausted at the end of my stay, but I was able to obtain the results I wanted and I made new friends.