Primogeniture: 6th Inaugural Lecture Series Of Tansian University Umunya Focuses On “Diokpala”, Law Of Succession, Inheritance, Distribution Of Estate
Tansian University Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State has held her 6th inaugural lecture series titled; “Obfuscation of primogeniture syndrome and dethronement of ergonomic organogram of the ‘diokpala’ in Nigerian law of succession, inheritance and distribution of estate”.
While primogeniture “denotes the state of being the first born child (generally male) among siblings”, jurisprudentially, the term “connotes the common-law right of the first born son to inherit his ancestor’s estate, usually, to the exclusion of his younger siblings.
Speaking on the topic, the resource person and Professor of Property Law, Very Rev. Fr. Edwin Obiorah, among other things, noted that the primogeniture syndrome has been seriously degraded, if not totally vanquished and obfuscated, by the continued democratization of the society.
Fr. Obiorah, who is also the Chancellor and BoT Chairman of the university, explained that “with the unyielding application of the ‘Repugnancy Test’, statutorily established under Section 18(3) of the Evidence Act, 2011, and the resuscitation of the ‘Right to Acquire and Own Immovable Property’ anywhere in Nigeria, as enshrined in Section 42 and 43 of the 1999 Constitution, the era of primogeniture began to fade into oblivion, if not completely obscured or obliterated”.
According to the Professor of Property Law, now;
*Women married under the ‘Marriage Act’ now have the right to own private property,
*Currently, even women married under the ‘Native Law and Custom’ can now own landed property and fully deal with land on their own names,
*Widows now have the right to inherit their deceased husband’s landed property or estate,
*A female child, whether married or single, can now inherit her father’s estate like her male siblings,
*The customs of ‘nrachi’ or ‘ili ekpe’ are now null and void,
*The custom of a woman marrying another woman to rear children for her deceased husband or family is now abolished,
*… customary ceremony of ‘itugha nkwu’, the Igbo version of levirate marriage, is otiose,
*A child born out-of-wedlock can now partake in the intestate estate of his or her deceased father along with the legitimate children, particularly if the paternity of the child is known or he acknowledged the child, and
*Where a man who marries under the ‘Marriage Act’ dies intestate, his estate is inherited only by the wife legally married to him under the Act and her children.
In their separate remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Eugene Nwadialor, and the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics, Professor Cater-Dike Umeoduagu, noted that inaugural lecture is one of the debts a Professor owes the university and the larger society, which helps in shaping narratives.
