The Nation Newspaper

Tag: failing

  • Political parties failing Nigerians yet again

    SIR: The lack of internal democracy, mobilising political support along tribal and regional lines, and using violence to intimidate rivals or force certain opinions are some features of some of the political parties in Nigeria today. They are also used as vehicles of transporting leaders from one election to another with very little activity between the elections.

    From 1999 on, the parties seems to have been articulating the communal and personal interests of their respective leaders. Personal interests were conflated with communal or ethnic interests. How parties mobilised political support along ethnic lines widened social and political schisms. The parties have also failed to promote a culture of internal democracy, accountability, and good governance. Although they are required to foster internal democracy through free and fair elections, the last eighteen years have witnessed increased internal conflicts within the parties. Where parties have attempted to conduct internal elections, the results have largely lacked credibility.

    This period has also witnessed conflict between the interests of party leaders and the interests and aspirations of voters. Party supporters clearly prefer to have the local leaders they can trust to articulate their interests. But the founder members or the national leadership of the party prefers individuals who are loyal to them.

    All this is happening because the mechanisms by which voters can hold their party leaders accountable are not in place. The various political parties are owned by the party leaders; party members have no voice in the running of party affairs. The alliances also represent the individual interests of the founder members of the parties comprising the alliance.

    Importantly, political parties in Nigeria, have no data base verifiable to the general public. My visit to the national secretariat of some of the political parties in Nigeria discouraged me from participating in the 2019 general elections. None of the national secretariats of the major political parties in Nigeria have an idea of their membership strength. This makes it easy for party leaders to change the party register at anytime to favour their preferred aspirant during political parties primary elections.

    The Independent Electoral National Electoral Commission (INEC) has also shown little or no interest in addressing the problems in the political parties. The Commission is so fearful of political parties and their leaders, that it cannot take action on any party or party leader who has committed an offence. It’s well known that INEC has not sued any political party leaders who have been accused of hijacking party process to their own favour, all these pose a lot of danger to our democracy.

    Lastly, it should be known that once the masses loose interest in democracy, doom and anarchy awaits our country. We must save our democracy now as  rebellion will continue to build up if we keep suppressing the wishes of the majority.

     

    • Comrade Ahmed Omeiza Lukman, Former Chairman, Nigeria Community In Ukraine.
  • Why foreign trained doctors are failing MDCN examination, by minister

    Why foreign trained doctors are failing MDCN examination, by minister

    Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has blamed unaccredited institutions for the high rate of failure recorded in the November 2017 Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) assessment examination for foreign trained medical and dental graduates.

    He explained students who attend unaccredited institutions would always find it difficult to pass the MDCN examinations.

    Of the 686 medical and dental candidates who sat for the November examinations, only 249 passed, representing 35.7 overall success rates.

    All the 437 foreign medical students who sat for the examinations at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) failed.

    The successful ones were inducted recently in an elaborate ceremony held in Abuja.

    The MDCN assessment examination is a routine professional examination to assess candidates trained outside Nigeria and obtained medical or dental qualifications recognised by the individual medical regulatory body of such countries.

    The conduct of the examination is a check of knowledge and skills to ensure the standards of training for which these foreign graduates were given from the various countries match what obtain in Nigeria.

    In addition, a success at this examination is a major requirement for the eligibility of new practitioners by MDCN.

    Speaking at the induction ceremony, Adewole expressed concerns over the number of students that passed the assessment examination.

    He blamed the high rate of failure on the institution attended by some of the students.

    The Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Osarenoma Uwaifo, therefore advised parents planning to send their children and wards abroad for training to ensure they are trained in accredited institutions.

    He said: “This is a very poor performance and suggests that we should be mindful of where we send our children and wards to for medical and dental training.

    “They should contact the various health regulatory agencies to obtain this information. It is very disheartening for me to hear that certain candidates are not able to sit for the Assessment Examination of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria because their training institutions are not listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS).

    “WDOMS has been developed through a partnership between the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER).

    “It is important that parents and prospective medical and dental students are well guided to prevent a misadventure in foreign training that would lead to their not being able to get registered and practice in Nigeria.”

    Registar of MCDN, Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, said candidates who were not successful still have the opportunity to retake the examination.

    He explained MDCN does not play any direct or major role in the conduct of assessment examination.

    “Let it be known to the public that MDCN does not play any direct or major role in the conduct of the assessment examination.

    “The council only chooses a fully accredited teaching hospital as the examination centre and appoints external examiners to supervise the examination to ensure quality control.”

     

  • Father arraigned for ‘failing’ to pay son’s bill

    Father arraigned for ‘failing’ to pay son’s bill

    A 45-year-old man, Bashiru Olamilekan, who allegedly refused to pay his son’s N325, 000 bill and abandoned him in hospital for seven months, has been arraigned at an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    The accused, a bricklayer, who lives at 15, Babayemi Street, Alagbado, a Lagos suburb, is being tried for breach of peace and refusing to pay his son’s bill.

    Prosecutor Clifford Ogu told the court that the offences were committed between June 25, 2017 and January 2018 at Rem-Yem Hospital, Ijaiye, Lagos.

    He said the accused’s eight-year-old son was knocked down by a driver and was taken to hospital.

    “Since then, the accused refused to show up, leaving the son and his wife to fend for themselves.

    “The driver who knocked down the boy gave the accused money, but he refused to pay the bill,” Ogu said.

    He added that the accused person’s son had been in hospital since then and was discharged last September.

    “The hospital management wrote a petition against the accused and he was arrested. The hospital bill is N325,000 ,” the prosecutor said.

    The offences violate sections 166(d) and 321 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.

    The Chief Magistrate, Taiwo Akanni, granted him bail at N100,000 with two sureties and adjourned the case till February 26.

     

  • Why Nigeria is failing – 1

    More than a few times, I have said in my university class lectures, and in public speeches, that America is not merely the greatest country in the world but the greatest country in the history of the world. I say it now again. America is simply an incredible country. America is great because America’s systems work. And America’s systems work because Americans are phenomenally loyal to the systems of their country.

    I have taught courses on the American Idea in various American universities. Yet, one frozen winter morning not long ago, as I drove in my car and listened to an interview on my car radio about an American public institution, I was still simply awed. The interviewer was asking questions from an author who had just written a book on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – the highest police and secret service institution in America, the equivalent of the Federal Police and Secret Service in my country Nigeria. To listen to that interview about the FBI is to listen to the best expert lesson on how to make a country work – how to make a country stable – how to make a country prosper. For me as a Nigerian the message was clear.  My country does not work because my country’s systems do not work.  It is almost impossible to find a Nigerian public servant who believes that the public system he works for was really meant to do the task it was designed and created for. We Nigerians simply do not have any aorta of concept or consciousness of systems loyalty or systems integrity.

    The author who was being interviewed told this story at one point: An American president was being investigated once for some alleged wrong doing. As part of the investigation, two FBI agents went to the White House with authorization to collect forensic evidence (in form of blood) from the president’s person. The president had no choice. He rolled up his shirt sleeve and let the FBI agents pull the blood from his arm and go their way!  Think of it:  The president of America is the most powerful man in the entire world. Shouldn’t he be above that kind of thing? In America, the answer is NO. The American president is the most powerful person on earth, but he is the servant of the American system that is more powerful than any person in America!

    The voice of the lady interviewer in that radio interview was quivering as she asked, “Are you then saying that it is impossible for anybody, no matter how high in office, to hide any misdeed done in the American government?” The author answered, “Well, it is virtually impossible for any public office holder to hide anything, or to get away with any misdeed, in America’s government, federal, state or local. Somehow or other, the truth will come out. Someone will do his duty and reveal the truth. And then the justice system will go into action.”

    Can we Nigerians imagine that? Can we imagine a country in which even the highest public officers cannot easily hide, or get away with, any shady act they do in the government? Our Nigeria is a country in which loads of crooked deeds are perpetrated, hidden, and gotten away with, hour by hour, in our practice of governance.

    But in America, it cannot be done; nobody can do it. The integrity of the system – the readiness of the people to uphold the system – always wins in the end. The justice system is more powerful than any person in America, no matter his or her office or popularity. There is no shrine in America that the FBI, or even the lowest local police, cannot enter. And trying to bribe one’s way out of an FBI investigation, or even out of a local police investigation, is literally like trying to commit suicide.

    Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that Americans, or rulers of America, are above corruption, crookedness, criminal behaviour.  Not at all. Human beings are human beings everywhere in the world.  In the government of any country, there are many individuals who can act illegally or criminally, and who can take advantage of their positions to appropriate some things improperly to themselves or their families or friends.

    The difference always is in the integrity of the system – in how much support the system enjoys among its people to maintain integrity; how each person employed to work in the system will, on the aggregate, do his or her little job in it; how, ultimately, the general citizenry, on the aggregate, has been conditioned by history and culture to view and regard the system.

    Of course, people do all sorts of inappropriate things, illegal things, crooked things, criminal things, in the portals of America’s government. The beauty of the American experience in this matter is that most, or at least a good many, of such people will find the justice system coming after them and will be made to suffer the punishment they deserve.

    For instance, it does not look odd to Americans when their country’s Attorney General, who is appointed by the President, institutes some criminal investigation against the president that appointed him.  I was a young visiting professor in an American university when President Nixon was facing investigation in the Watergate allegations in the early 1970s.  I saw a lot of things that would be inconceivable in my country. For instance, a Special Investigator appointed by the Attorney General was digging up lots of evidence that could destroy the President; the President told the Attorney General to fire the Special Investigator; and the Attorney General refused to fire him.  And in the end, it was the president’s own Chief of Staff that advised him that the game was up – as a result of which the President offered his resignation.

    I have seen the American justice system tear a Vice President apart because of allegations that he had evaded taxes years before, when he had served as governor in his state. I have seen them pursue him relentlessly until he gave up the job of Vice President.

    Like most Africans of my time, I loved President Clinton during his presidency.  Therefore, I watched every minute, every twist and turn, of his travail at the hands of the justice system during the investigations of his alleged misdeeds with Monica Lewinsky. I was unhappy about what my friend was suffering, but I loved and respected the awesome majesty of the system.

    In America, I have seen many state governors facing criminal investigations, I have seen many forced to resign from office, and I have seen some arraigned before criminal courts or sent to jail.  I have avidly followed the cases of many erring members of Congress, many Senators, as the American justice system has dealt with them.  I have seen many popular and powerful members of Congress or Senate, when the justice system steps into their lives, lose the support of their once adoring colleagues.  I have seen many city mayors wriggling in the hands of the justice system, and I have seen quite a few go to jail.

    That is the American way. Nobody is above the law in America. And that is one secret behind America’s stability, strength and success.

    And, let’s face it; no country can succeed without having systems that have integrity – systems that work as they were designed to work – systems whose integrity enjoys the loyalty of its people.  In spite of Nigeria’s many other weaknesses, if we had made it a high priority from the beginning to make our systems work, we might have given our country a fair shot at stability and success.

    We Nigerians generally attach little or no importance to giving integrity to our systems, and that is a major reason why our country has fallen into ruins in our hands. In our country, corruption of all kinds and sizes, even criminal actions as big as murders, have become part of the privileges of men and women in high places.  Just see what our public officials are capable of doing today to stall the ongoing war against corruption. See how accused public officials easily get the support of their colleagues in office, or the support of their political parties, or bribe important functionaries of government for support – and thereby avoid punishment for their crimes against our country. Given all these, what chances of survival and success does Nigeria have in the world?

  • Why Nigeria is failing, by Nda-Isaiah

    Nigeria is reeling due to corruption and bad governance, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Sam Nda- Isaiah, stated yesterday.

    Speaking on Kaduna- based Liberty Radio programme as guest of the week, Nda Isaiah said Nigeria is in urgent need of rescue.

    He pointed out that the country is exhibiting serious signs of a failed state such as lack of quality education and lack of quality health care.

    According to him: “Our country needs to be rescued quickly as a matter of fact. This is why I want to run for the presidency on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    “What is happening is the consequences of corruption. This country has collapsed as a result of corruption and bad governance.

    “We are at a point in this country when our dear country needs to be rescued. Nigerians should actually be sorry that we didn’t do more than we talked.

    “We are at this point of rescue. This is not a time that we will lie to ourselves; we are about to lose a country that we all love. This is not a time to play with the sorry state of our country.”

    Speaking on the state of the nation, he said: “I don’t think there will be enough adjective to qualify what is happening to us now. All of us should be scared of what is happening to us as a nation.

    “We are tired because it is like Nigeria has become very hopeless. This is a classical definition of a failed state. The government is incapable of protecting it citizens, its children and the women.”

    He, however, expressed confidence that the situation is redeemable, saying “the good thing is that a failed state like Nigeria is reversible with quality leadership.

    “Our biggest problem to national security today is the incompetence of our leaders.”

    He insisted that there was no need for the country to spend so much money convening a National Conference.

    Nda-Isaiah argued: “I am critical about the national conference because it is very funny. They are discussing what the President should be doing and I think that they should pack their luggage and leave the stage.”

    The presidential aspirant opposed the creation of state police.

    He said: “I am against it because the state governors are going to use the police the same way the federal government is using the federal police today.

    “And if the governors use the state police the same the president use the federal police, then there would be a civil war between the state and federal police in the states. We are just not ready for state police.”

  • Nigeria,failing nation: where are the lawyers?

    Nigeria,failing nation: where are the lawyers?

    The story of Chief James Onanefe Ibori,the immediate former Governor of the oil rich Delta State, is still very fresh in our minds. A federal high court judge in Asaba, Delta State found Ibori, strangely though, not guilty in a 171-count charge of misappropriation of public funds, outright embezzlement of State’s funds and other grievous offences which can be likened to crime against humanity. In what later appeared like an “outsource” of criminal justice, he was found guilty by a United Kingdom court. Ibori’s case exposed the rot in the judicial process in the country as he was found guilty in London court. A man who through his Nigerian lawyers pleaded not guilty in Nigeria later pleaded guilty in the UK and has since been jailed alongside his collaborators, his wife – Theresa Ibori, sister, Christine Ibori-Idie, mistress, Udoamaka Okonkwo and his London-based lawyer Bhadresh Gohil.

    Delivering his address on March 9, 2011 in a landmark judgment, Justice Christopher Hardy sitting at a packed Southwark Crown Court in London told Bhadresh Gohil, a partner at Arlington Sharma Solicitors and James Ibori’s lawyer; “you have brought shame on your family, your profession and your country. You were a solicitor of the Supreme Court and holding out as a man of integrity. It’s sad the real villains are in Nigeria, but this fraud required special expertise and you lent yourself to it”, Justice Hardy concluded. Gohil was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud and money laundering as well as sharing in the proceeds of Crime. Lawyers being sanctioned by the courts in other jurisdictions in cases like this are a common scenario, but lawyers in Nigeria who commit worse offences in form of unethical practice, more than Gohil are walking freely. In fact, some of them are paraded as leaders of the Bar in this country!

    Not until Nigerian lawyers do what is right, not until Nigerian judges act responsibly, our quest for a better society, rule of law, good governance and justice may be a mirage. The situation requires that the bodies put in place to sanitize the bench and bar become alive to their responsibilities so as to restore the peoples’ confidence in our judicial system. Many cases are taken out of this country because the people no longer trust that our courts are capable of administering justice. Companies and businesses are moving to other African countries that appear to guarantee justice in their system and that should be a concern for any citizen that desires national growth.

    We cry of lack of jobs, lack of economic opportunities and general apathy, what the lawyers can do to make the situation better is just to stick to the rules of their profession. Lawyers need to uphold the ethics of the legal profession because that is the only way the justice system can earn the trust that has evaded it. We have become a laughing stock in the comity of nations due to the precarious situation of the legal system and if we do not arrest the situation now, the country may collapse due to impunity. This has led to situation whereby most commercial agreements that contain arbitration clauses insist on having disputes resolved outside Nigeria. Owing to lack of confidence in the legal profession Nigerian lawyers and judges are no longer given serious consideration in international appointments. This is particularly embarrassing as many Nigerian lawyers and judges distinguished themselves in a number of countries where they had served in the past.

    I am not unaware that some lawyers have made suggestions on how to curb the menace of corruption in the country. For instance, two senior counsel: Yussuf Ali (SAN) and Niyi Akintola (SAN) are curiously involved in the campaign for the amendment of the anti-graft laws to prescribe the death penalty for offences relating to official corruption. With respect, the proponents of the death penalty should be made to appreciate that the death penalty has failed to serve as a deterrent in curbing violent crimes in any society. In the case of Nigeria, the death penalty was prescribed for armed robbery in 1970. That was 43 years ago. Today, armed robbery is on the ascendancy due to mass unemployment, poverty in the midst of plenty, corruption and moral decadence. I have always maintained that there are enough legislations to deal with corrupt practices, drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism and other dangerous offences. It is the lack of political will on the part of the ruling class coupled with the manipulation of the legal system by powerful litigants and senior lawyers which have continued to frustrate the investigation and prosecution of corruption cases. No society can successfully challenge criminality where impunity is the order of the day.

    No doubt, Nigerians were justifiably angry over the light sentence awarded Mr. John Yussuf by the Federal Capital Territory High Court after admitting his role in the N23 billion police pension scam. As far as I am concerned the attack of the trial judge is rather misdirected. Hence, in a recent interview on the criminal justice system I was compelled to observe that: “The light sentence which has angered Nigerians merely followed a consistent pattern. Ex-governor Lucky Igbinedion was charged with stealing N4 billion. He pleaded guilty and was fined N3 million. He paid and went home. Ex governor James Ibori was acquitted as the trial judge dismissed the 170-counter charge. The EFCC and the Delta State government are currently embroiled in a controversy over the ownership of the $15 million with which he bribed the then EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu. In a deliberate move to free Mr. Ibori, the judge refused to order that the $15 million bribe be forfeited to the Delta State Government which has now come up to lay claim to the money. In her own case Mrs. Cecilia Ibru was convicted of N190 billion fraud and jailed for 6 months. The trial judge even went outside the law to direct that she should spend her prison term in a highbrow hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos. Frankly speaking, I wonder why Nigerians are surprised at the turn of events.”

    It was my further observation that a few of our judges who have, in spite of pressures and temptations, continued to discharge their duties in line with their oath of office have been subjected to undue harrassment by the system. Hence I stated that: “I only pity the EFCC and the judges who might have been led to think that the system is committed to the fight against corruption. Justice Olubunmi Oyewole who had the courage to sentence Chief Bode George to a 2-year jail term was posted from the Criminal Division to the Probate Division in Lagos State. The reassignment was designed to stop him from jailing more members of the ruling class. There wasn’t much problem when the judge jailed 419 people like Ade Bende, Mrs. Anajemba, Nwude etc. But he was called to order when he jailed Chief George. Did the Federal Government not roll out the drums for the ex convict? Was he not given a triumphant entry to Lagos from the Kirikiri prisons when he completed his jail term? What the trial judge, Justice Abubakar Talba did in Yussuf’s pension scam case is an act of class of solidarity.”

    While Nigerians are critical of the mockery of the criminal justice system exhibited in corruption cases it is sad to note that the handling of drug related cases is by far worse. I am in possession of the report of a Committee set up in 1985 by the Federal Government on the reform of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The Committee found and confirmed that several offenders who were convicted and sentenced to prison terms by the Federal High Court never saw the four walls of the prison as they were illegally freed by a criminal syndicate of NDLEA prosecutors, defence counsel and prison officials. Thus, the Committee found that “out of the 143 drug convicts for the year 2006, 96 of them were never brought to prison. Similarly, another 101 drug convicts for the year 2005 were never brought to the prison, bringing the total convicts evading jail to 197 within this period.”

    For some inexplicable reasons the Federal Government has refused to implement the aforementioned recommendations of the Committee which would have repositioned the NDLEA to fight the menace of drug trafficking and consumption in Nigeria. Thus, the unpatriotic officials who were found to have engaged in recycling of confiscated hard drugs, prison evasion by drug convicts, corrupt practice and other vices have been treated like sacred cows. Consequently, the menace of drug trafficking has been on the increase in Nigeria.

    It may also interest Nigerians to know that persons convicted of illegal possession or use of hard drugs or narcotics are freed after paying meagre fines through questionable bargaining plea arranged by the Directorate of Prosecutions contrary to section 11 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Act (CAP N30) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 which has prescribed imprisonment of not less than 15 years but not exceeding 25 years. I am of the humble view that the NBA ought to set up a Committee Against Impunity to ensure that all indictable offences are prosecuted to a logical conclusion. The Committee should also be tasked with the responsibility to hold a watching brief in certain cases pertaining to corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism etc. This is the only way to stop the government from wasting scare resources and energies on cases that are deliberately programmed to fail.

    It is worthy to observe that the judiciary has responded positively to the concern of Nigerians. In the past one week, the courts have committed Mr. John Yussuf, Messrs. Farouk Lawan and Boniface Emenalo as well as Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of the Jigawa State governor to prison custody before ruling on their applications for bail. This has sent a clear message to Nigerians that the treatment of influential criminal suspects with kid gloves has stopped. In the circumstances, Nigerians should keep up the pressure on the judiciary.

     

    The way forward

    I believe that Nigerian lawyers are in a vantage position to ensure that the country is operated under the rule of law. To achieve the objective the NBA has to be re-organized to take over the management of the legal profession in the overall interest of its members and the society at large. This can only be done if the NBA is truly independent. To ensure such autonomy the natural officers of the NBA should nominate independent minded lawyers to represent Nigerian lawyers in statutory bodies. A situation whereby the national officers appoint themselves and some of the secretariat staff to represent the NBA in statutory bodies should stop. The decision to ban the elected officers of the NBA from accepting any post from the Government was aimed at preserving the independence of the Bar. The ban should be extended to all statutory bodies including the National Judicial Council as the membership of elected national officers in such bodies has compromised the independence of the NBA in recent time.

    Over the years, it has been agreed on all hands that the disciplinary machinery of the legal profession is weak and ineffective. To arrest the anomalous situation the NBA should urgently take concrete measures to re-organize and reform the disciplinary committee to deal with cases of professional misconduct without fear or favour. In this regard i have just requested the NBA leadership to reconstitute the Body of Benchers’ Disciplinary Committee to reflect the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee v. Chief Gani Fawehinmi (1985) 2 NWLR (PT 7) 300. Unless the Disciplinary Committee is reconstituted and peopled with members who are prepared to rid the legal profession of bad eggs the impunity that has been associated with lawyers will continue unabated. The NBA should equally demand the reconstitution of the National Judicial Council with a view to removing serving judges from the body. The Katsina Alu\Ayo Salami imbroglio has made a strong case for a judicial disciplinary body that is detached from the undue influence of serving judges.

    Both the disciplinary committees of the bench and bar should collaborate and synergies to restore confidence in the legal profession. Individual judges should take control of courts manned by them and refer cases of professional misconduct by lawyers to the National Disciplinary Committee. Lawyers who run foul of the Rules of Professional Ethics should also be reported by their colleagues and members of the public.

    Finally, Nigerian lawyers should go beyond the defence of political and civil rights or fundamental rights which are meaningless to the majority of economically disadvantaged citizens. Nigerian lawyers should team up with the human rights community in the enforcement of all welfare laws made pursuant to the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. Unless the socio-economic rights of the people are recognized and enforced, law and order cannot be guaranteed in the society.

    Conclusion

    In William Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2, there was a rebellion. Dick the butcher was a leading member of the rebellion. Convinced that lawyers would invoke the law to oppose and put down the rebellion Dick said:

    “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

    Many Nigerians share the view of Dick that all lawyers ought to be killed to prevent them from standing in the way of the “Nigerian revolution” which they believe is imminent. As far as such Nigerians are concerned lawyers have committed unpardonable crimes against the Nigerian people. In particular, they are accused of resorting to technicalities to perpetrate injustice colluding with judges to justify the rigging of elections, and setting corrupt public officers free while jailing petty criminals.

    Although the general perception of lawyers and their role in the society may be erroneous it cannot be denied that Nigerian lawyers have contributed to the imminent collapse of the country. However, I believe that the dangerous situation can be reversed if the Body of Benchers’ Disciplinary Committee and the National Judicial Council are re-positioned to monitor lawyers and judges who subvert the legal system. Unless the Nigerian Bar Association is democratized and freed from the tiny grip of Senior Advocates of Nigeria it cannot discharge the duty of defending the rule of law in the interest of the country. In my study of the crisis of the justice sector I have discovered, rather painfully, that most of the cases relating to election petition and corruption cases which have brought the judiciary to ridicule were handled by Senior Advocates.

    Finally, the lack of internal democracy in the Bar has had adverse impact on discipline among lawyers. If the current trend continues the legal profession is doomed. She rule of law is endangered if the practitioners of the law continue to operate in an atmosphere of impunity. Professor Yemi Osinbajo, one of those who believe that the situation can still be remedied has called for “a serious commitment to implementing well thought out, practical and measurable solutions”. As I am not as optimistic as the learned Professor permit me to conclude this lecture with the parting words of Brutus to Cassius in Julius Caesar when he said:

    “There is a tide in the affairs of men’

    Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

    Omitted, all the voyage of their life

    Is bound in shallows, and in miseries;

    On such a full sea are we now afloat;

    And we must take the current when it serve, or lose our ventures.”

     

  • Why reform is failing in Nigeria

    Why reform is failing in Nigeria

    SIR: The nation’s budget for year 2012 is largely dependent on oil to the tune of about N5 trillion despite the fact that India is expecting, for the same period, $70 billion (N10.5 trillion) from software exports alone.

    Perhaps we need to remind ourselves of where both India and Nigeria are coming from. In the 1980s, when the Delta Steel Company (DSC) was being built by a consortium of foreign companies, Mecon of India was serving as consultants to DSC. Mecon seconded many of its experienced engineers to DSC, helping to groom their Nigerian counterparts.

    While these highly experienced expatriate Indians were chauffeur-driven in brand new, air-conditioned, official Peugeot cars, people in DSC were usually surprised to hear of how some of them were receiving letters from their home office, informing them of the approval of their motorcycle loans!

    This was at a time fresh Nigerian graduates looked forward to buying new cars after just a few years of working. This was before our present addiction to”tokunbo” products. But India has since transformed into one of the sensational economies including Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) while Nigeria is retrogressing deeper into poverty, which according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has worsened from 54.7 in 2004 to 61.9 in 2011.

    Our state governors are busy bickering over statutory allocations, while their counterparts across the world are aggressively harvesting the infinite opportunities created by globalization. While we remain on revenue allocation, the world is moving in the direction of technological creativity.

    The real tragedy is that even with the pitiable state of our nation, our entrenched interests are still fighting viciously to ensure that nothing changed. More tragic is the fact that they are using the rest of us, to bring down anybody that tries to change things! We are helping our entrenched interests to ensure that nothing changes, and to deal with each officeholder that refuses to toe their line.

    The Goldman Sachs’ research report for 2007 listed Nigeria among its ‘Next 11’ group of countries expected to catch up to the fastest developing BRIC economies.

    That reform might even have been most providential, considering what could have become of the Nigerian economy if the global meltdown that soon followed had met us with a financial sector driven by fragile, under-capitalised banks!

    Similarly, the all-important Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which had clearly forgotten the destination of the 12-year journey it started since 2000 with President Olusegun Obasanjo’s “Oil & Gas Reform Implementation Committee”(OGIC), is now suddenly contemplating reality!

    This means that all those years of regulatory uncertainty, blocking billions of dollars of oil-sector investments, are coming to an end. Again, for the first time in our petroleum history, we now have a “Nigerian Content Development Act”, which has transformed the capacity for local participation in the sector.

     

    •Gabriel Zowam,

    Reform & Process Improvement expert, Abuja.