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ABSTRACT
The concept of adoption is one which can be regarded as one of the most ingenious inventions of humanity. This is because the welfare of children in the society is something which will most likely be of global interest and priority for as long as human beings occupy the earth and as such, societies will continue to seek methods through which this welfare is improved upon and ensured. Adoption is hereby one of such methods which has been devised for the purpose of guaranteeing the security of this welfare. It is also general knowledge that the family has been recognized as the most important unit of society and as such, much importance has been placed on this social group as it creates an avenue through which individuals with the potential to become invaluable members of the society by means of their eventual contributions are groomed and nurtured through their formative years. For a myriad of reasons however, this unit may not take form in the natural or conventional order. Adoption will then pose an alternative means by which the family unit may be constructed. Adoption has therefore been defined simply as the act of legally taking another’s child and bringing it up as one’s own. Where this occurs, a child who has been recognized as being of orphan status will be taken in by a person legally approved as being capable of doing so, thereby establishing the family unit in its own unorthodox way. The essence of this essay is therefore borne out of the need to take a critical look and appraisal of the laws governing the process of adoption in Nigeria- using Lagos state as its case study. Analysis shall be made to the laws and policies provided in the Nigerian legal system with regards to the process of adoption. This work will aim to point out and address the burning issues surrounding the process of adoption in Nigeria, the effect of adoption on the welfare of the adopted child and the adopting parents as well as seek to expose the inadequacies in our laws and proffer necessary proposals for reform with a view to ultimately improve the position of the law concerning this process as well as allaying the misconceptions which surround this practice.
