A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY LAWS IN NIGERIA AND OTHER SELECTED JURISDICTIONS

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide legal perspectives on health and safety standards vis-à-vis
Nigerian laws. The paper also compares the current health and safety practices in Nigeria with other
selected countries who have established legislations on health and safety measures within their
jurisdictions, especially the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU).
The research finds that although Nigeria and the United States of America have well-defined and
established laws including the systems for the protection and the safety of the employees, however, the
enforcement mechanisms of both countries do not serve as a sufficient deterrence for those who violate
the laws. The significance of this study is hinged on its ability to provide valid recommendations that are
relevant to occupational safety and health standards in Nigeria. This remains a necessity given the
observations that occupational safety and health measures are inadequate due to a variety of structural
issues such as weak enforcement mechanisms, lack of skilled manpower including ineffective penalties
among others. While non-deterrent fines and standard adoption are problematic in the United States, in
the EU, implementing the law has been a challenge due to issue on work-related diseases. This is further
compounded by emerging risks, issues related to technologies including demographic changes. The paper
concludes with suggestions and recommendations for better occupational safety and health management
practices in the Nigeria and other selected jurisdictions. The paper adopts a doctrinal research
methodology in the analysis.