Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to compare the proposed natural person
debt relief procedures in Nigeria with South Africa’s existing and
proposed measures. It is the first time that the proposed Nigerian system
is analysed. The comparison is made in order to determine whether
Nigeria can learn from South Africa’s experience regarding natural person
insolvency law. South Africa is chosen as a comparative jurisdiction
because it has a wealth of documented experience relating to insolvency
law. Furthermore, Nigeria and South Africa boast the two largest
economies on the African continent and consequently share economic
and developmental challenges. These challenges are intrinsically linked
to natural person insolvency law, since they determine the context in
which an insolvency law system must be developed and within which
it must function. As a subtext, the research considers whether Nigeria
complies with some of the more pertinent international principles and
guidelines regarding natural person debt relief. To achieve this objective,
the Nigerian system is measured against the yardstick of the World Bank Report on the Treatment of the Insolvency of Natural Persons. Two key
foundations of effective and efficient natural person insolvency systems
highlighted by the World Bank’s report relate to (a) access to insolvency
systems and (b) the eventual discharge of debts that such systems
should result in. The research concludes that the Nigerian natural person
insolvency law reforms do not meet the required international standards
in these respects and that the jurisdiction may learn from South Africa’s
successes and failures within the field, particularly from the circumstances
leading up to and its recent proposals for reform.
