INTRODUCTION:
It is indeed an honour to be recognized and accorded the privilege to deliver this keynote address for our Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Bwari Branch Law week 2022. Therefore, I want to specially express my profound gratitude to our noble Chairman Monday adjeh Esq and other Executive members of our noble association and the Chairman Law Week Committee 2022 Paul B. Daudu Esq and his team for finding me fit and well experienced to agitate and stimulate our minds on the discourse: “State of the Nation; Where are the Lawyers?”.
IN CONTEXT:
The state of our nation Nigeria has generated concerns from citizens from all works of life and many, including my humble self, have used various media to address the challenges facing our nation and the urgent need for solutions. This discourse cannot be well situated without highlighting some of the problems confronting Nigeria. The state of Nigeria was depicted simpliciter in the words of Bishop Matthew Kukah, the Bishop of SokotoCatholic Diocese, to wit;
“With everything literally broken down, our country has become one big emergency national hospital with full occupancy. Our individual hearts are broken. Our Family dreams are broken. Homes are broken. Churches, Mosques, and infrastructures are broken. Our educational system is broken. Our Children’s lives and future are broken. Our politics is broken. Our economy is broken. Our energy system is broken. Our security system is broken. Our roads and rails are broken. Only corruption is alive and well.”
The above description which represents a situation of brokenness in all ramifications of our national life, may appear too harsh or too extreme, but in my opinion it portrays the clear picture of the state of our nation. For clarity, the challenges our nation currently battles with are too many, but for this discourse, I shall briefly dwell on the following: failure of leadership, insecurity, governmental disregard for the rule of law and poor economy etc.
The state of Nigeria as a nation is the mirror image of itspolitical leadership. Irrespective of the colossal human and mineral resources at the disposal of this nation, Nigeria has since 1999 moved from the so called giant of Africa to the obviously recognized dwarf, with no visible sign of redemption. Among the elites in Nigeria, many have argued that poor leadership is just one of the problems of Nigeria, I plead to insist that poorleadership is the main problem of Nigeria, and once we take the right steps and elect a visionary leader, who is endowed with the intellectual proficiency needed to assemble capable hands to drive the affairs of Nigeria, things will take a dramatic turn for change.
In other words, the situation in Nigeria is the ripple effects of years of political leadership failure. Nigeria has over the years recycled persons in political leadership offices who can best be described as career political leaders and who see the various political offices as instrumentality through which they can enrich themselves and their generations yet unborn and not a platform for service to the citizens.
These kind of bad political leaders perceive leadership as a mere occupation of a position and not the active performance of a role. In the words of Keating,
“Leadership is service, in the sense that it seeks to meet the needs of another or of the group by performing needed functions… Leadership serves the needs of the group.”
Nigeria is in this state today because we have lackedpolitical leaders with genuine quality who contest for political position just because they are well equipped to render requisite essential services. For instance, in the present day Nigeria under the leadership of President Mohammed Buhari, it is evident that the president merely occupies the office and does not engage in governance. His Excellency leads a country where there is no respect for rule of law, where there is high levelnepotism and misappropriation of public funds and lack of transparency and accountability. In describing the extent of failure of leadership under the present government, Yahaya Balogun, a Columnist with Guardian Newspaper stated thus;
“Unfortunately, while Nigeria is brimming with vibrant, jobless young, and impeccable human resources, President Buhari’s gerontocraticgovernment is entwined with sluggishness, deliberate indifference, and nepotism. Buhari’s gerontocracy is a system whereby the old group of senile leaders with no clues about how government functions isadministering a virile society like Nigeria. This has destroyed the remnants of his frugal and hyped integrity and ultimately fizzled out his moral conscience and consciousness. People’s hope and aspirations in the President have dwindled. Nigeria is now a country in graveyard of horror. Our leaders have turned a potentially great nation into a potential mortuary where talented citizens are morbidly deposited daily with no hope on the horizon.”
The terror visited upon Nigeria by the failure of the leadership of President Mohammed Buhari is monumental and strangles the economy, education, international relation, internal peace and security, rule of law and fosters abuse of human rights. The problems with the Nigerian political leadership currently include, but are not limited to the following:
Egocentrism; our political leaders are focused on pilfering the wealth of the nation for their personal aggrandizement.
Zero sense of sacrifice; the problems of the country is not their problem, therefore, even if the country is facing harsh economic conditions, they will never agree to slash their humongous salaries and allowances.
Nepotism; they are willing to sacrifice the provisions of the law to enthrone actions that will benefit persons from their tribe and remove others who are not from their tribe from positions which they occupy statutorily.
Lack of vision; many of our political leaders focus onprojects that will guarantee immediate result for their personal egos and not ways of creating sustainable wealth for posterity.
It is my view that where political leaders and other leaders in Nigeria eschew the above selfish or self-serving tendencies and focus on governance, there will be drastic transformation in Nigeria. In the words of Sameul Oluwole Ogundele in an article published on the Nation Newspaper titled “Tackling Nigeria’s Cumulative Leadership Failure”, he stated thus,
“In most cases, Nigerian leaders cannot separate politics from governance. Consequently, the conversion of local natural resources to wealth for the common good has no place in the popular lexicon of political leaders over the years. Nigerians are mere consumers of what are being produced in other climes and cultures. Primordial arrogance. A gross lack of vision. And selfish interest defines the Nigerian leadership style. Are we going to waste the 21st century?”
So, clarity has been given to my perspective, from the beginning of this discourse, to identify poor leadership as the major problem of Nigeria. This presupposes that it is the failure of leadership that breeds the following societal challenges facing Nigeria, to wit; insecurity, corruption, abuse of human rights, poor economy, lackof quality education, among others.
According to Lucky Idowu Ojo in his paper “Effective Leadership; Tool for Achieving Poluitical Stability and National Development in Nigeria.” Published in Journal for Education and Practice (www.iiste.org), he agreed with me that failure of leadership is at the heart of poor governance in Nigeria. In his words, he stated;
“Leaders make things happen; they are wave makers. A society without talented and committed leaders will retrogress or at best remain stagnant. That has been the problem with Nigeria. A careful examination of the attitude and behavior of the leaders of post-colonial Nigeria shows that many of the civilian, as well as, military leaders, were mired in the pursuit of selfish personal goals at the expense of broader national interest or needs. In other words, they were ‘instrumental’ leaders or what David Apter called “consummatory” leaders.(Dike 2008)”
Therefore, the major cause of the state of the Nation Nigeria today is failure of leadership and by extension, cumulative failure of leaderships over the years.
The Nigeria state is facing issues of insecurity from almost all it geo-political zones.
Nigerian security situation has exacerbated over the years owing to failure of political leadership. The state of nation is portrayed with myriads of security challenges ranging from Boko Haram insurgency, kidnappings and hostage takings, herdsmen and farmers’ clashes, organized armed robberies, ethnic militias, threats of secession by dissatisfied groups within the Nigerian state, banditry, home torture centersmasterminded by clerics, human trafficking, massive decline in roads infrastructures across the nation, corruption and electoral violence. The prevalence and propensity of the afore mentioned challenges are on the increase on a daily basis with no solution from the political leadership which tends to affirm the fact that Nigeria is dwindling towards the status of a failed state.
One may ask what are the existing indices responsible for the growing insecurity in the country? The answer is not far-fetched. The problem of insecurity in Nigeria is elite driven, deriving mainly from poor political leadership; compromise by security officials and unemployment and poverty.
In the words of a lead Columnists Boma M. M. Pepplein his article published on the Guardian Newspaper titled “The Issue of Insecurity in Nigeria” he stated thus;
“For over a decade, Nigeria has been fraught with insecurity challenges, from Boko Haram and their ISWAP counterparts to Bandits and unknown gun men, in the midst of all this, the statistics of unemployed youths and graduates in the nation has been rising to an alarming rate, the basic development infrastructures like electricity to enhance the industrialization of the nation in order to create employment opportunities has been lacking, thereby crippling other efforts to drive the economic resurgence of the 7th most populous nation in the world. It’s a fact that the issue of insecurity in the nation has invincible social sponsors like poverty and unemployment; these contributes to frustration and anger that can result to one taking to armed robbery, kidnapping or pitching tent with agitators calling for dissolution of the nation under the guise of revolutionaries thereby creating more panic in the society.”
With the above prevailing situation in Nigeria, many authors have agreed that a country battling insecurity in all it facets can hardly engender developmental strides. This is why section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that the primary duty of government is the provision of security and welfare. In other words, the failure of Nigerian government to secure this country is classically evident in the unprecedented waves of different but overlapping security crises bedeviling the country, to wit: clashes between herders and farmers, banditry and kidnapping, separatist insurgency, oil militants etc.
In view of the afore stated, I can safely state that the state of Nigeria is that of large scale insecurity with no hope in sight.
The state of Nigeria presents a state where the government has eviscerated the heart of rule of law and sacrificed same on the altar of nepotism, political interest and affiliation, corruption, greed, and religious sentiments. A state where the executive arm of government has crippled the constitutional powers of the other arms of government.
The Socio-Economic Rights Project (SERAP), whilst addressing the present government disregard for rule of law in a statement published on the Vanguard, stated that;
“The rule of law crisis in the past six years is illustrated by your government’s persistent failure to obey court decisions of Nigeria Courts; failure to consistently combat corruption and push for transparency in asset declarations by high-ranking government official, and the failure to protect Nigerians’ right to life and security. Persistent disobedience of court judgments by your administration represents a systemic threat to the rule of law, as this has infringed upon judicial independence and undermined legal certainty, as well as exacerbated the “chilling effect” on the victims’ access to justice and effective remedies. ……. TheJudgements your government is yet to obey include at least seven judgments obtained by SERAP. The first is the judgment by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagariordering your government to tell Nigerians about the stolen asset it allegedly recovered to date, with details of the amounts recovered. The second judgment, by Justice Mohammed Idris (as he then was) ordered your government to publish details on the spending of stolen funds recovered since 1999, while the third judgment, by Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor, ordered your government to publish details of payments of billions of naira to allegedly corrupt electricity contractors and companies since 1999…….”
The above is just to refresh our minds on the thread of the reckless disregard for the rule of law in Nigeria and help us to appreciate the urgent need for intervention. In a country that respects rule of law, there is usually respect for human rights. But in present day Nigeria, we have witnessed extra-judicial killings, ranging from lynching to mob action and police brutalization. It was the police extra-judicial killings in Nigeria that led to the cry of the citizens in 2020 for the #ENDSARS which became a national movement. Again, the Nigerian police illegally used unreasonable force to quell the peaceful protest, wherefore, it resulted in more police brutality and extra-judicial killings.
According to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) in a statement published by IhuomaChideibere on their website-www.icirnigeria.org, the Acting Inspector General of Police Usman Baba was quoted to have said the following whilst addressing his men in Enugu on 18 May, 2021; “Don’t mind the media shout; do the job I command you. If anyone accuses you of human rights violation, the report will come to my table, and you know what I will do. So, take the battle to them wherever they are and kill them all. Don’t wait for the order”.
For a country that supposedly practices democracy, where rule of law and human rights should be respected, the above unguarded command to disregard human rights in the quest to secure a nation is needless and only orchestrates brutalization and reckless human rights abuses by the Nigerian Police force.
In a statement published by Amnesty International on their website, it stated that the Nigerian Authorities are not doing enough to protect lives, it reads thus;
“Alarming escalation of attacks, abductions for ransom and frequent killings across Nigeria have left people feeling more unsafe, showing utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to protect lives and properties…..We are concerned that the civic space is shrinking and the fear of violence by the security forces and sponsored thugs are undermining the right to peaceful protest, and having profound impact on other human rights”
The sad development arising from the above thread of human rights violations in Nigeria, and the inability of government to prevent same and protect citizens, is that the citizens have resorted to self-help and found comfort in assuring themselves that even the courts that were the last hope of the common man have been denigrated by the present government to the point of no relevance.
The Courts that used to wield so much power in protecting human rights have been exposed under this government with constant invasion of judges’ residence on unfounded allegations of corruption and use of force to coerce judges to comply with the avaricious biddings of the government. This has engendered a state where human rights violations are prevalent and the government have failed to take proactive actions to address same.
Therefore, I can safely conclude that the following represents the state of rule of law in Nigeria: inequality before the law, rampant abuse of human rights, faulty administration of criminal justice, abuse of the powers of the judiciary, disregard for court orders and judgments, corruption, police brutality, extra-judicial killings etc.
It is a common knowledge to even those who may not understand the dynamics of economic development that Nigerian’s economy is in shambles. Nigeria has seen a persistent surge in inflation rates, reaching the highest levels in four years, amid skyrocketed food prices and poor purchasing power.
The indicators of why the current Nigerian economy is not developing under the current administration are anchored on the failure of government to tackle structural issues such as inadequate infrastructure, poor rating on the ease of doing business, obstacles to investment (portfolio and direct investment), lack of confidence in currency valuation and limited foreign exchange capacity.
In other words, the economic condition of Nigeria is such that one can rightly say that the government has no feasible plan of action. The state of the economy of any country is a reflection of who is at the leadership sphere. Therefore, the current Nigerian economy has no structure and portends difficulty in predicting its outlook, or short and/or long term fortune.
The afore mentioned issues merely represent a highlight of the state of the nation Nigeria and it is conspicuous therefrom that Nigeria is a state in dire stress; essentially in all ramifications of human venture. Thus, the state of Nation Nigeria is caused by failure of leadership which culminated into lack of quality education, epileptic power supply, lack of other social amenities, poverty, hunger, insecurity etc.
WHERE ARE THE LAWYERS?
The above question may seem rhetorical but it is indeed deserving of answers in consequence of the state of Nigeria as stated herein before. In a democratic nation like ours, the lawyers are expected to play invaluable roles as the custodians of justice and the promoters of the rule of law. In the words of Alexis De Tocqueville, he stated;
“When one visits Americans and when one studies their laws, one sees that the authority they have given to lawyers and the influence that they have allowed them to have in government form the most powerful barrier today against the lapses of democracy”
There is no better way to understand the quote afore stated than to focus on the expectations of lawyers in every society, and the question that comes to mind is if the lawyers in American, where governmental indicators of performance are working, are required to serve as powerful barriers against lapse in democracy, how much more the lawyers in Nigeria, what are the expectations?
In this discourse, we shall examine the roles of lawyers in the Nigeria democratic experience vis-à-vis where the Nigerian lawyers have disappeared to in the scheme of the debilitating state of affairs in the country.
In Rule I of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners in Nigeria 2007, herein after referred to as the RPC, it states thus;
“A lawyer shall uphold and observe the rule of law, promote and foster the cause of justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and shall not engage in any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner.”
Extrapolating from the afore mentioned, it is clear that a lawyer is an agent of change, a symbol of hope to his people and/or fellow citizens, and a defender human rights.This presupposes that a Lawyer in Nigeria is not just expected to satisfy his self-interest of using his professional knowledge to earn a living, but he is expected to take a position and involve himself in serving as a promoter of good governance. The role of a lawyer in Nigeria is apparently more demanding given that the democratic contraption in practice in Nigeria exudes various negative issues, such as human rights violations by individual and government, disobedience of court ordersand judgments by government and in summary total disregard for the rule of law. In examining the roles of a lawyer in Nigerian democratic government, Justice Ola Orojo, the Chief Judge of Oyo State (as he then was), aptly stated thus;
“The Nigerian Legal Practitioner(as in other developing countries) bears a much heavier responsibility to this society than his counterparts in a highly developed country….Nigeria legal practitioners must be able not only to perform their traditional functions of catering for the professional needs of the citizens, of administering justices and manning the various legal institutions, but they must also be involved in social change; they must be committed to law reform to ensure harmonisation of the law with the culture of the people and they must strive to ensure a strict adherence to the rule of law.”
I am not ignorant of the various impediments the lawyers may individually face in battling to enthrone rule of law in Nigeria, which impediments includes general insecurity which make normal law practice impracticable, judicial corruption, inefficient and ineffective public institutions and lack of democratic culture, but permit me to state that even though the state of our nation permits and accommodates the above dispensation, it does not totally absolve the lawyers from the responsibility to take certain steps to promote good governance and advance the restoration of the rule of law.
I appeal at this juncture to use myself as a case study, one of my guiding principle in my continual quest to challenge this current government’s tolerance for corruption and indulgence in disregard for rule of law in Nigeria is my belief that the responsibility to save this country lies in our hands to use our knowledge to cause a change.
In the afore said light, I have instituted actions against the Nigerian government during the time the government sought to extend tenure of the then Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu in the case of Maxwell OparaVs. President Federal republic of Nigeria & 3 Ors, andin the said suit, I challenged the flagrant disregard to the law that established the statutory retirement age of the occupant for the said office. This suit achieved its purpose, because before the matter could be heard on its merit the said Inspector General of Police was removed by the President.
I also filed an action challenging the lopsided appointment into various executive offices within the Federal Capital Territory in the case of Maxwell Opara Vs. Minister of FCT & 3 Ors; where I stated that the appointments were made without regard to the Federal Character Principleswhich resulted in the appointment of only persons from the North to man the said offices. The matter is ongoing.
A suit was instituted by me in the case of Maxwell OparaVs. Attorney General of the Federation whereat I urge the Federal High Court to declare the provisions of section 27 of the Terrorism Prevention Act as amended void for empowering the State Security Services to approach the court vide Exparte application to detain a suspect for 90 days, without fair hearing as enshrined in section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and in contravention of their freedom as enshrined in section 35 of the afore said constitution, which 90 days detentionduration is renewable. The matter is on-going.
When the Imo State House of Assembly were amending the Imo state Administration of Criminal Justice Law, the Governor influenced them to insert the law that gave him the power to arrest and detain any person at his pleasure, I instituted an action in the case of Maxwell Opara Vs. Imo state Governor whereat I urged Court to declare the provisions null and void and of no effect.
The State Security Services in the cause of carrying out their functions decided to disregard the provision of the constitution of federal republic of Nigeria and formed the habit of violation of People’s rights not only the ordinary citizen of the country but that of Lawyers. But sometime in August 2021 when I went to visit my client under their custody, they grossly violated my right in flagrant of the constitution; I instituted an enforcement of Fundamental Human Right action against the SSS in the case of Maxwell Opara Vs.DSS whereat court awarded N50m in my favour and directed them to tender a written apology to be published in 2 National Dailies.
When I noticed that some greedy politician were making arrangement to move out certain huge amount from CBN without due process I instituted an action against the CBN Governor, Minister of Finance and Accountant General of the Federation in the case of Maxwell Opara Vs. Governor Central Bank of Nigeria & 3Ors.
In view of the afore said, I have demonstrated one of the steps expected of Nigerian lawyers; where there is insecurity, corruption, misappropriation of public funds, disobedience of court orders and judgments, violation of human rights and in summary bad governance, are expected to indulge in, so as to hold the government accountable and demand for respect for the rule of law.
However, the task of being a lawyer in a country like Nigeria where the tenets of democracy have been bastardized is prodigious, such that it is expected that a more proactive and co-operative stance should be taken by all lawyers in pursuing similar objectives. In other words, in Nigeria there exists an association of lawyers known as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
It is said that the strength of a broomstick is in its numbers, and I believe that what a lawyer could not achieve, the Nigeria Bar Association, being the association every lawyer called to bar in Nigeria is expected to be registered with, can pull its institutional mandate and collectively demand for better governance in Nigeria. Sadly, in a country like Nigeria; where the government have truncated all the tenets of democracy and enthroned lawlessness, police brutality, corruption, illegal detentions, ineffective institution, inter-tribal wars and engendered secessionist agitations; it is expected that the Nigerian Bar Association should speak up and take legal steps to demand for better governance, but that has not been the case in Nigeria.
In fact, over the years in Nigeria, the NBA has lost its relevance and some senior lawyers have accused the NBA of aiding and abetting abuse of rule of law and human rights in Nigeria. In the words of Femi Falana, SAN on the News Desk January 8, 2020, he stated thus;
“We have had a history of struggle in the past. Under the previous military regimes in Nigeria, the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, stood its ground. Our judiciary, too, stood its ground in protecting and defending human rights. That is no longer the case.
I am talking of when human rights were put in abeyance by military dictators. Our judges insisted that the Rule of Law will have to be fully complied with. Nobody, no regime was allowed to treat court orders with contempt or disdain without recourse. I do recall in 1987 when the late Alaowas the NBA president and, by coincidence, the current Secretary to the Federal Government, Mustapha Boss, was the chairman of NBA in Yola, the old GongolaState. The Babangida junta disobeyed court order and the then NBA president summoned the NEC of the NBA and went on boycott of court.”
In other words, the NBA as an institution of Law has over the years failed to act as a legal instrument for social change by using the law to hold government accountable viz always opposing any of the government policies and programs that is undemocratic, compelling government to take the rightful decision and policies at all times, to ensure that the government runs it’s affairs equitably and in accordance with the law, to challenge any of the government policies that is against the rule of law or any policy that will pose as an infraction in the constitution.
Since the Judges cannot speak out to defend themselves, the NBA should always be the mouthpiece for the Judges whenever they are intimidated or harassed by the Executive. The foregoing expected roles of the NBA is not unrealistic and wishful, but forms the core essence of the existence of the association as highlighted under the Constitution of the NBA. The NBA has a lot of aims and objective, but cardinal among them is; “Promotion and protection of the principles of the rule of law and respect for the enforcement of fundamental rights, human rights and people’s rights”
Flowing from the afore stated objective, it presupposes that the NBA should stand firm to champion democratic ethoswithin which it must lead the vanguard as watchdog of good governance and observe and check the respect for rule of law, respect and enforcement of the fundamental rights by the people and government and act against illegal detention cum extra-judicial killings by government agencies.
To underscore the relevance of the foregoing, may I refer to the words of Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, where he stated; “In an oppressed society like Nigeria it is the duty of all lawyers to defend the defenceless, protect the rights of the people, guide against all forms of oppression and inhuman treatment. The lawyer as an individual or body of lawyers in a nation must live up to his or its responsibility as a dogged fighter of the oppressed, as a beacon of light hat will penetrate the darkness of the environment, as a courageous voice of the hopeless and heartless and, perhaps, the sane and lonely voice that will bring powers and principalities to the path of rectitude whenever they go wrong.”
It may sound or appear that the learned silk was very harsh on the NBA vide his assertion above, but we as lawyers should properly examine what was said and see that indeed, we have not been living up to the expectations and the standards we set for ourselves through our constitutional objectives.
For instance, we have had several instances of illegal detentions of citizens of Nigeria in disregard to court orders and rule of law, and nobody or association held the government accountable and this further emboldened them.
Currently, it had degenerated to invasion via commando style of the residential premises of a then Supreme Court Justice and no institution or government was questioned on the said aberration of the rule of law.Not to mention the audacious and illegal invasion and barricade of the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Department of the State Security service in the ongoingMazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case which resulted in halting the business of courts and lawyers.
Therefore, it can be said that there is a growing reluctance on the part of the NBA in challenging the atrocious violence being visited on the rule of law in Nigeria and the exacerbating state of human rights abuses. The reality is that the NBA’s objectives and roles in our society are clearly spelt out, but what is lacking is the doggedness and tenacity needed to galvanise a movement to actively propel the government in Nigeria to act in accordance with the Law.
NBA AND ACTIVISM;
Activism is the well-known hallmark of the NBA and every lawyer is expected to collectively and individually take steps to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law and enforce violations of same. Unfortunately, the NBA in Nigeria has decided to take the back seat on the issue of human rights activism, demand for economic development, demand for good governance etc.
Sadly, the NBA has relinquished its prime position to Non-governmental organisations like the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project(SERAP), who are now at the forefront championing the move to test the veracity and validity of several governmental decisions of the government of Nigeria through different approaches, inclusive but not limited to instituting several civil suits, both in municipal and international courts to challenge governmental decisions and actions in different ramifications of governance.
To further portray the potent responsibility of the NBA as an activist group, the learned silk Mrs. Funke Adekoya, SAN, stated that lawyers must imbue the disposition of taking up public interest litigation and pro bono matters; “the most skilled at the Bar must make their services available to sensitive cases that are fundamental to the interpretation of basic freedoms and public rights.”
This position was re-emphasised by my lord Honourable Justice Nnamani, JSC(as he then was) when he stated thus; “a courageous, honest, industrious, vigilant, independent, knowledgeable Bar is a necessary instrument for the protection of the rights of the society.”
Deducing from the above, all lawyers are by call and needs of society: activist and accordingly, the NBA as a union of lawyers must live up to its objectives as follows; an activists group, promoters of the rule of law and protectors of the integrity and independence of the Bar and the Bench.
Following the foregoing well explained roles of the Lawyers and the NBA in a democratic society like Nigeria, can it be said that given the state of the Nigeria Nation afore stated that the lawyers in Nigeria are living up to the expectations and/or fulfilling the objectives of their existence?
In my unbiased view, the lawyers in Nigeria, who constitute the NBA, are hiding, discouraged, disenchanted, nonchalant and have failed to help to foster the rule of law, defend the defenceless, champion the cause of justice, enforce violation of human rights, promote good governance and defend the judiciary.
CONCLUSION:
Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst state of insecurity, development, economy, education, inter-tribal peace, corruption, inefficiency in public institutions, among others and this is the time for the lawyers under the auspices of the NBA to seriously activate it objectives and effectively channel all its human and material resources towards canvassing for good governance, peace and security and challenging the government’s failure on all ramifications of national life.
It is not a time to be sleeping, it is the time to serve as watchdog and stand firm against every violations of human rights, illegal detentions, corruption, extra-judicial killings, and take proactive steps through litigation and dialogue to achieve its objectives of fostering the rule of law and good governance.
Thanks.
