Introduction

This paper, delivered at the Colloquium of the Association for the Promotion of Arbitration in Africa, explained the historical, legal and business context of commercial, construction-industry, and investment arbitration in Nigeria. The author discusses the statutory authorization for arbitration in his country, analyzed impediments to enforcement of arbitral awards, and commented on progress toward judicial acceptance of this dispute-resolution method. Mr. Akinbote concludes that arbitration is an increasingly important tool.