Law and Morality: Perspective from Yoruba Cultural Jurisprudence

Western jurisprudence is replete with several but seasoned debates concerning what the precise relationship is between law and morality. In those discussions, durable notes and deeds of intellectual antagonisms exist between legal naturalism that affirms a relationship of inseparability and legal positivism that affirms a relationship of separation. Given these hordes of controversial conversations, the objective of this paper consists of establishing the contribution that Yoruba cultural jurisprudence, a non-western narrative, presents concerning this substantive but serious and significant subject matter of mainstream, conventional and orthodox jurisprudence. The methodology adopted in this paper consists of textual analysis, hermeneutical reflection and philosophical argumentation. The paper findings show that law-morality relationship represents something controversial in jurisprudence thereby necessitating revisions away from the existing narrative. This necessity is informed by the availability of non-western narratives. The existing narratives in Yoruba jurisprudence, for example, did not assert but only assumed cultural bases concerning law-morality connection. A truly cultural base necessarily affirms a conceptual complementary connection between law and morality. The endorsement of a conceptual complementary connection within Yoruba cultural jurisprudence suggests inseparability although both are not the same concepts. Moreover, Yoruba cultural practice of judicial cross-examination represents an illuminating and enlightened authentication of a conceptual complimentary connection between law and morality. The paper concludes that law and morality are products and properties of culture thereby necessitating the recourse towards a Yoruba cultural jurisprudence perspective.