By Joseph Jibueze, Deputy News Editor and Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) got a clarion call yesterday some eminent Nigerians: rise in defence of the masses.
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Ibrahim Muhammad, who was represented by Justice Mary Odili; Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, who gave the keynote, urged the NBA to also fight for good governance.
They spoke at the opening of NBA’s Annual General Conference (AGC) with the theme: Take the Lead, in Port Harcourt, the River State capital.
The CJN decried rising insecurity and criminality, and underscored Judiciary’s role in addressing the challenge.
He said: “Reports of bloodbaths continue to occupy the front pages of our national dailies. Agitations for secession and resource control have taken a front seat in various national discourses rather than how the nation can collectively face its challenges as a united front.
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“I have tasked all our Justices and judges to take on the challenge pushed at us by the times. In various fora, I have encouraged my brother judges and Justices to see the administration of justice as one of the fundamental solutions to some of the nation’s crises.
“The peace of the nation rests on the balance of the scale of justice and our courts must ensure that justice is served at all times, irrespective of the pressures from within.”
Wike criticised the NBA for failing to fight for the masses in recent years.
The governor urged the association to do more to promote good governance and hold the government to account.
He said: “A little moment of introspection would reveal that the NBA is not what it used to be before the estimation of Nigerians in terms of the quality and commitments of its disposition to the struggle for the rule of law, social justice and national development.
“Since the birth of this nation, Nigerians have relied on the law and our legal system to settle disputes, prevent crime, promote democracy, protect human rights and regulate virtually all aspects of both private and public life…
“But the central question is whether the NBA has been living up to its credo and responsibility.”
Bishop Kukah emphasised the need for what he called “the urgency of judicial activism”. This, he said, was especially needed as Nigerians were fast losing faith in the government.
“Everywhere I go in Nigeria, one statement keeps coming out: ‘I am tired.’ Most people you talk to will tell you: ‘I am tired.’
“Collectively, Nigerians are exhausted: mentally, psychologically, physically and spiritually.
“However, it is not time to trade blames but to ask ourselves: how did we end up with a country that is unable to perform?”