By Ukes Baha | 01 April 2025
In political systems that call themselves democracies, language is the first battlefield. When officials and media call every statute a "law," they’re not just being lazy — they’re reinforcing an illusion: that all government power is lawful, just, and moral by default.
But legislation is not law. And calling it law is not a mistake — it’s a strategy. One designed to dull public resistance, expand unchecked authority, and mask injustice beneath a veneer of legality.
Law, in its truest form, is grounded in enduring principles: truth, equity, reason, and human dignity. Legislation is simply a tool — a set of rules made by people in power. It is shaped by language, culture, politics, and time. It can be fair — but it can just as easily be corrupted.
Slavery was legal. It was never lawful. Apartheid was legal. Land theft was legal. Forced sterilisation, genocide, and segregation — all legally endorsed, legislatively protected, and socially normalised in their time. This is the power of calling legislation "law." It gives injustice the mask of legitimacy.
This trick — the misuse of the word "law" — is not innocent. It is deliberate. It is how power justifies itself without accountability. And it’s why so many colonial nations like New Zealand, Australia, and Canada still remain structurally unsovereign. Unlike many African nations that legally rejected their colonial frameworks, these settler states keep theirs intact — rebranded, legislated, and normalised. We make fun of African corruption, but at least it’s visible. Ours is written in clean documents, dressed in suits, and called "democracy."
Legislation today can be exported through trade agreements, hidden in international tribunals, and written by offshore interests. It can be passed under urgency. It can be copy-pasted from lobbyists. It can be used to override local voices, natural rights, and even constitutional principles.
We must stop treating all legislation as sacred. We must say what things really are. Language is not neutral — it shapes how we resist. And when we confuse legality with legitimacy, we surrender the truth.
So let’s speak with precision:
Legislation is not law.
Legal is not always right.
Consent is not silence.
Compliance is not citizenship.
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