Low standard of education has adversely affected the legal profession. Lawyers and educationists, who spoke at the 12th Aelex Lecture, proffered solutions, reports JOSEPH JIBUEZE.
Some lawyers are not worthy of being described as “learned”, first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Folake Solanke, has said.
She said the performance of some of them was “abysmal”, and that she was “appalled” by the shame some lawyers bring to the profession.
According to her, legal practitioners describe themselves as learned, which means knowing the law, yet some lawyers have brought disgrace to the profession.
Mrs Solanke spoke in Lagos when she chaired the 12th annual lecture of the firm of Aelex (Legal Practitioners and Arbitrations). Its theme was: Schooling without learning.
She said the lecture’s theme was “well formulated and apt” even as it was “as germane as it is frightening”.
“Implicit in that bewildering title is the calamity of wasted years in educational institutions without gaining much knowledge,” she said.
Leaned lawyers needed
Mrs Solanke said there was an “abysmal” performance of some lawyers at the bar, with many lacking in advocacy, good appearance, proper decorum, appropriate language, courtesy and learning.
“I confess that I’m often appalled that some bring shame to the learned profession.
“After Law School, there must be a period of pupilage before independent legal practice,” Chief Solanke said.
Some lawyers, she said, behave unprofessionally by pointing fingers at judges, addressing them as “You” rather than as “My Lord”, “Your Lordship” or “the Court”.
“It is an aberration to be rude to a judge. Where were those so-called lawyers trained? In whose law chambers do they practice law? There is no ‘You’ on the Bench. Of course, there must be mutual respect between the Bar and the Bench,” she said.
Mrs Solanke deplored poor reading culture, saying some lawyers merely reproduce others’ work rather than being original.
“Please be reminded that one of the reasons underscoring the poverty of advocacy is that some law students and lawyers do not read. They cut and paste from the internet and do not read and apply their brains.
“Any good lawyer will admit that the reading culture must be cultivated for life. Reading is a life-long addiction for lawyers. They must improve their English – the language of the court – by reading widely,” she said.
According to her, “reading nurtures the soul, expands the reader’s horizon, sharpens the intellect, enhances knowledge, increases vocabulary, refines language, and facilitates social and communication skills”.
“It is a most profitable way of spending time so that our youth are not forever glued to the television, cell phone and the internet with all their merits and of course horrors, like pornography, nudity, etc,” she said.
A partner at Aelex, Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN), who spoke on the sidelines said many graduates are unemployable because they lack sufficient skills despite going to school.
“I’m concerned about the state of all legal education. Legal education is basically tertiary education. What is coming out of the Law School is the product of the previous systems.
“That’s why we’re looking at the whole concept of education generally. If you’ve been to school and you haven’t learnt anything, you can’t be a good lawyer,” she said.
Another Aelex Partner, Adedapo Tunde-Olowu, who recruits lawyers for the firm, said standards had dropped over the years.
He said the fact that some first class university and law school graduates cannot construct simple sentences got the partners worried.
“All they do is just to reproduce what they’re taught. They are unable to think. So, we thought we should address the problem to bring to the fore the problems of our educational system.
“We’ve seen standards drop consistently. We have first class degrees, but there’s no quality in them. They might be good at remembering things and reproducing what you’re taught, but they cannot think outside the box.
“As lawyers, we’re problem solvers. A client is happy when you solve a problem, not to reproduce the law as it is in a textbook,” he said.
Mr Soji Awogbade, also a Partner at Aelex, said legal educations is one of the “direst zones” of education.
“People pay lawyers to represent them, and if you’re not sufficiently educationally equipped, you’re ‘robbing’ them. The development of our legal system is stifled by lack of good material feeding into the system.
“The legal profession mirrors the society, so it’s a zone that can do with a little more effort and energy,” he said.
Another Partner, Emeka Emuwa, in his opening remarks, said the annual lecture was designed to start or encourage debate with the aim of finding solutions to the problem under discussion.
“We don’t claim that we’ll have solutions. At least, let us start the debate. We’re looking at something that affects all of us. We hope to find some solutions to the problems of Nigeria,” he said.
Experts’ recommendations
Former University of Lagos (UNILAG) Vice Chancellor Prof Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, who delivered the lecture, said the education sector is in “doldrums” and that fresh ideas are needed to move it forward.
“Learning is made possible by sets of endogenous and exogenous factors. These variables include funding, teachers’ competencies, teachers’ welfare, the facilities and infrastructure available in the schools, the support of parents as well as the governments’ priority to education, etc.
“We must focus on knowledge acquisition and transformation by value addition to our human resources. As late comers to Emerging Technologies – we must catch up through leap-frogging and stay ahead by innovations.
“There must be an alignment of government, industry and the academia, especially through the National Academies. Given the remarkable feats that Nigerian professionals are achieving overseas, if we turn around our school system, Nigeria should be great again,” he said.
Director, Federal Capital Territory Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Adamu Noma, who was a discussant, called for better funding of education at all levels.
“No nation can grow beyond the level of its educational development,” he said.
He added that people should stop viewing the teaching profession as a last resort for employment. “Someone came to my office and said: ‘Even if it is teaching job, I’d take,” he said, adding that he felt insulted by the statement, being a professional teacher.
According to him, teachers must be well paid to raise the profession’s profile. He condemned a situation where teachers are owed salaries for 15 months.
Noma also backed calls for teaching in local languages. “Must we teach in English? Can’t we teach in Nigerian language?” he asked.
Another discussant, Principal of International School, Mrs Adora Ojo, said there was the need for improved primary school enrolment, adding that early childhood education was crucial.
She said nutrition for children was important, as a hungry child cannot concentrate to learn.
According to Mrs Ojo, parents should stop putting pressure on children to score high marks. “De-emphasise passing of examinations. Emphasis on certification has resulted in graduates without knowledge,” she said
Another discussant, Principal of KYCA Academy, Sagwaza Gora in Kaduna State, Swanta Bonat, said it was “bizarre” to teach a local language and conduct examinations on the subject in English, as some do.
She said those behind the recruitment of the sacked unqualified teachers in Kaduna should be held accountable.
Bonat regretted that those who ended up at teacher training colleges were those unable to secure university admission.
“Those teachers end up in primary schools. So, the problem should be solved at the foundation level. We need to focus on teacher training,” she said.
Mrs Solanke, a former Mathematics and Latin teacher, said it was better to teach children in their native languages first.
“I attended primary school in Abeokuta, and I was taught in Yoruba. We had English lessons, but all other subjects were taught in Yoruba.
“Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe – the exponents of the English language better than the English themselves – speak fluent Yoruba (and Igbo) with proverbs. It’s because they had a good grasp of their language. That’s why they’re exponents of the English language,” Mrs Solanke said.
She faulted the inspectorate divisions of ministries of education for not doing enough to ensure standards.
“The inspectorates, I’m sorry to say, are not doing their jobs. Some of them don’t even go near the schools. And if they go, the principals meet them at the gate, envelops are exchanged, and that’s the end of it. The inspectorates have to be strengthened in the ministries of education,” she said.
Former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing, Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN), who was among the guests, also backed the calls for pupils to be taught in their mother tongue.
“It is important that we learn in our mother tongue, rather than starting with English Language,” he said.
Aelex , one of the largest most diversified law practices in West Africa, was established in 2004 through the merger of SAN’s practice and three other leading commercial law firms.
