Text of a keynote address by Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) delivered at the Law Week of the Benin branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held at Fourteen Eighty Five Marquee, Benin City, Edo State.
Since our democratic dispensation in May 1999, socio-economics would reveal how Nigeria has progressed, stagnated or regressed and if imbalance is a feature of the economy, to what extent law can be used to redress the imbalance. This is because socio-economic balance is necessary for a country’s democracy to thrive. The characteristics of a democracy allow for socio-economic balance which is essential to the survival of the democracy itself as a total breakdown in law and order is imminent if the hinges come off a country’s socio-economic programme.
The recent insurgencies in Europe and some Arab countries are prime examples. In Nigeria we now have more thugs, robbers, illiterates and destitute persons. This can be traced directly to poverty which stems from the near-absence of socio-economic rights in Nigeria. The status of socio-economic rights in Nigeria will be discussed at length as we move on.
(d) Generation of rights; socio-economic rights
Since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and their entrenchment in successive Nigerian Constitutions, we have taken such rights for granted. These are the first generation rights. We shall contend that despite their entrenchment, their actualisation has been a mirage.
The term ‘socio-economic” basically qualifies social and economic concepts, most especially socio-economic rights. While all rights that accrue to a human being help in achieving social balance, it is the existence of socio-economic rights that helps the society to achieve socio-economic balance. Socio-economic balance refers to a near-perfect state of affairs in a country. The citizens have access to the basic necessities of life; the very things that make life bearable like education, health facilities, housing facilities and water. In more advanced countries, there are social security programmes which aim to ensure that jobless and uneducated individuals (they will always be a part of every country) are afforded the benefit of socio-economic rights as well. The United States of America is a perfect example. When a country finds itself unable to adequately provide these socio-economic rights (and by extension, socio-economic balance) to its people, then there is a problem.
Socio-economic rights exist only on paper in Nigeria as they are non-justiciable rights. In Nigeria, Boko Haram in the North and Militants in the oil rich Niger Delta region were direct off-shoots of socio-economic imbalance. The rise of these groups could be attributed to criminal tendencies and misguided religious inclination but one cannot deny the fact that poverty must have played a substantial role as well. An educated individual who is gainfully employed and can feed himself would not be so easily persuaded to unleash mayhem on the society. We have more diseased individuals, such disease stemming from lack of basic amenities, and lack of basic health care, a fall-out of low purchasing power.
e) The Nigerian Federal
structure
The power structure in a country can take various forms – federation, confederation, imperial or unitary. The structure can also be parliamentary or presidential. In Nigeria, what we have is a federal structure with a presidential system of government. Thus we are in a federation of thirty-six states and seven hundred and seventy four Local Government Areas. In a federation, the task of governance is shared between the federal government and the federating states. A cursory look at Nigeria will reveal that there are socio-economic imbalances arising from the availability of natural resources, absence of basic infrastructure, access to opportunities and the development of the various states in the Federation. Many states in the North and some parts of the south suffer from educational disadvantages while the reverse is the case in terms of basic infrastructure as the north is ahead of many southern states in this regard (better roads, more of a federal presence). Some States are more developed than others. The introduction of concepts like ‘quota system’ and ‘13% derivation’ are ways through which the successive governments have tried to address the socio-economic imbalance prevalent in Nigeria. We will later look at the other ways through which law can be used to address this imbalance.
2. Socio-economic imbalance in Nigeria: Causes.
Nigeria may statistically be a source of joy to all, but beyond the recent, impressive financial projections, a good number of Nigerians still live on less than $1.00 (One dollar) a day, which is about N160.00 (One Hundred and Sixty Naira), and more Nigerians have taken to a life of crime with some becoming ready tools in the hands of some politicians. Poverty reduction and job creation have not kept pace with population growth, implying social distress for an increasing number of Nigerians. One does not envisage a society in which everyone will be rich but it is expected that the vast majority will be able to afford the bare necessities of life. In ascribing reasons for socio-imbalance in Nigeria, it would be important to note that these reasons are cumulative and have collectively brought us to where we are today.
(a) Ethnicity
Even though we hate to admit that this sad vice exists in our polity, it has continued to wax stronger. The average Nigerian government official is self-centered and adjusts every situation to conform to his parochial needs. If he is asked to empower someone from the country, he automatically chooses someone from his state. If he is asked to pick someone from his state, he picks from his Senatorial District. If he is asked to pick from his Senatorial District, he picks from his Local Government and if he is asked to pick from his Local Government, he picks from his village. Hilarious as this scenario may sound, it is definitive of the average Nigerian government official. While it merely supports the popular saying that even if you give a madman a hoe, he will drag heaps towards himself, it does not allow for true quality to shine through as better qualified individuals are sometimes left out in favour of less qualified individuals who are simply lucky to hail from the same state as “the man at the top”. The average Nigerian does not see himself as a Nigerian first; he is Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba first. National figures who are meant to advise against such nuances encourage same in their speeches and disposition. This creates an encouraging platform for ethnic battles and pogroms where members of a particular ethnic group are rendered jobless and poor. For as long as we have jobless, uneducated individuals in the society, we will never lack trouble makers whose stock in trade is crisis.
(b) Religious intolerance
It was Karl Marx who described religion as “the opium of the people”. Nothing intoxicates an individual more than when he thinks his religion has been spat upon. There are Christian employers who are uncomfortable with Muslims and vice-versa. Some of these individuals are highly placed and thus in a position to materially influence the balance of employment, literacy and by extension, poverty levels. Such actions lead to distrust and disharmony, thus paving the way for religious riots and similar vices. Poverty-stricken Nigerians who have nothing to lose, readily spearhead such destructive ventures, the seeds having been sown through religious intolerance.
(c) Non-justiciable Nature of Socio-Economic Rights
Socio-economic rights are required for democracy to thrive in any country (thus giving it socio-economic balance). These rights are only present on paper in Nigeria and are, thus at best, ineffectual. This is because of the provisions of section 6 (6) (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended). Chapter II of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (As Amended) covers sections 13 to 24 and deals with socio-economic rights. In this Chapter, the duties and obligations of the Nigerian Government are clearly stated. For instance, Section 14 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (As Amended) state thus:
“14. (1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice.
(2) It is hereby, accordingly, declared that:
(a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority;
(b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government: and
(c) the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
I feel particularly compelled to refer to Section 18 which states thus:
18. (1) Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.
(2) Government shall promote science and technology
(3) Government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy; and to this end Government shall as and when practicable provide
(a) free, compulsory and universal primary education;
(b) free secondary education
(c) free university education; and
(d) free adult literacy programme.
By reason of the non-justiciable nature of these rights, Nigerians have been tacitly deprived of socio-economic rights. If Section 14 states that sovereignty belongs to the people but the same section is declared non-justiciable, should we really begin to wonder why there is socio-economic imbalance in Nigeria? The truth is that the non-justiciability of socio-economic rights absolves the government of its responsibility to the Nigerian populace. These rights are of course guaranteed by democracy but in the absence of an express and effective provision giving life to them, they merely serve aesthetic and cosmetic purposes. In the absence of any concrete provision therefore, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and other vices continue to reign unchecked because the government cannot be sued either for its part in creating them or for its inability to curb their advent. We must borrow a leaf from either South Africa, India or Pakistan. In South Africa, socio-economic rights are justiciable while in India and Pakistan the courts have given such provisions very liberal interpretations and they are therefore justiciable. Civil and political rights cannot be realized in isolation of economic, social and cultural rights. Indeed, these rights form the basis upon which all other rights are predicated. What we need in Nigeria is public interest litigation and the review of the issue of locus standi. In the case of the first generation of rights (fundamental human rights) the Rules of court have relaxed the requirement of standing.
(d) Corruption:
Corruption is a common word in the vocabulary of most Nigerian citizens. Almost all levels of Nigerian society have been perverted by corruption. It has been described as being endemic and a sub-culture in Nigeria. Section 98 of the Criminal Code has defined corruption as: “the receiving or offering of some benefits, rewards or inducement to sway or deflect a person employed in the public service from the honest and impartial discharge of his duties”.
However in real application corruption applies to both public and private sectors.
In Nigeria, a major cause of corruption is ethnicity otherwise called tribalism in Nigeria. Friends and kinsmen seeking favors from officials may impose difficult strains on the ethical disposition of the official. Many Nigerians having a kinsman as a government official may see such a government official as holding necessary avenues for their personal gain10. Corruption is one of the major causes of socio-economic imbalance as well as the political problems besetting Nigeria. It is a sickness difficult to cure once it infects. It is an evil that spreads terror amongst citizens who are its victims and comforts those who use it as a means to acquire wealth.
Despite the government’s concerted efforts to combat corruption through the establishment of various anti-corruption agencies e.g Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), this endemic problem still persists. Lack of continuity and change in policy framework, lack of political will, low level of public enlightenment and the politicization of policies are some of the factors why most of the anti-corruption agencies can not completely eradicate or reduce the level of corruption.
Noteworthy also is the socio-cultural constraint towards the fight against corruption. Some communities traditionally encourage gratification and this affects the members of such communities in discharging their functions in bureaucratic organizations. Without the eradication of corruption, the future is bleak. Any country with a high level of corruption cannot attain socio-economic balance. Though corruption is a universal problem, other countries afflicted by it have been able to attain development because they have adequate punitive structures/measures in place. One proposed solution to this endemic problem is for an overall social re-orientation through public enlightenment programmes and campaigns to build up a national consciousness against corruption in the minds of every Nigerian citizen.
The Role of Law in the fight against corruption cannot be over-emphasized. The Independence of the Judiciary, Supremacy of judicial pronouncements, equality of citizens before the law and the subjection of all social norms to judicial interpretation will be steps in the right direction. There should be a determined approach towards the elimination of institutional weaknesses that promote corruption in the public sector. Professionalism is an avenue where professional associations can effectively discipline their members by the withdrawal of practising licences. The fear of withdrawal of licences will not allow professionals employed by organizations to engage in corrupt practices.
3. Socio-Economic Imbalance in Nigeria; Effects.
The current socio-economic problems being experienced in the country could be linked to the long years of military rule, but this is fast becoming a lazy man’s argument. Since the advent of uninterrupted democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999, Nigeria has not fared as well as experts believe it should, economically or socially and this is not entirely the fault of the military; the civilian governments should shoulder their fair share of the blame as well. The effects of socio-economic imbalance are self-evident. They include the following;
(a) Illiteracy.
The value of education, in any society, cannot be over-emphasized. It is no secret that the countries with the highest number of educated individuals take the lead in every major organization from the European Union to the United Nations Organisation. In Nigeria, education which is an important factor in economic growth and development8 and which was one of the platforms upon which such a promising country was built, has lost its glamour due to inadequate funding, lack of planning, poor management, lack of infrastructure and poor quality of teachers at all levels, among others, thus leading to the creation of a new group of educated illiterates. It does not help that more and more Nigerians seem inclined to taking the short-cut to success, instead of the patient build-up that education demands.
8FORMULATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL POLICIES IN NIGERIA Dayo Odukoya, Ph.D Education & Development Consultant ERNWACA, University of Lagos, Nigeria
This has further worsened the already fragile security situation in the country. Ethnic, economic and religious militia now hold sway in some parts of the country and while we may not have an ‘Arab Spring’ anytime soon, there is certainly a growing discontent, particularly among our misinformed youth, some of whom pay less attention to education these days, but many of whom could not even afford basic education, if they were to pay attention to it. Free public education means that knowledge is widely diffused among the people and would go a long way in clearing the ignorance that today’s youth suffer from. Unfortunately, however the rising cost of education in Nigeria, and the non-availability of free education in most parts of Nigeria have combined to ensure that the astronomical number of uneducated Nigerians will not be significantly reduced anytime soon. The increasing number of uneducated and unemployed Nigerians is alarming and should be a major cause for worry. About 56 million Nigerians are believed to be illiterate9. In the North in particular, the situation is critical and the region lags behind the rest of Nigeria in this regard. What does an uneducated, unemployed person think about? I am afraid we are starting to find out.
(b) High Rate of Unemployment
It is rather ironic that while Nigeria continues to post impressive financial figures, majority of its citizens live in abject poverty. To cut a long story short, Nigeria has grown richer without making majority of Nigerians any richer. Jobs have suddenly become scarce or totally unavailable. Unemployed people quite naturally flirt with poverty and it does not take too long for a life of crime to beckon. It appears as though the Nigerian population is growing at a rate much faster than the country’s ability to create jobs. When illiteracy and unemployment marry as in the case of husband and wife, the children they gave birth to will certainly include but not limited to poverty, riots, insurgencies and kidnapping.
(c) Poverty
Poverty is every government’s greatest fear. It is a situation in which an individual lives on less than $1.00 (One dollar) per day. A dollar as we know exchanges for N160.00 (One Hundred and Sixty Naira). The horrors of such a state are best imagined. In Nigeria, about 51.6% of the population live on less than a dollar per day10. This however is the lot of many Nigerians.
9The challenges of mass illiteracy in Nigeria- BEN ADOGA, Nigerian Pilot, Thursday, June 20, 2013
10 PRESS BRIEFING BY THE STATISTICIAN-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION/CHIEF EXECUTIVE , NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS, DR. YEMI KALE HELD AT THE CONFERENCE ROOM, 5TH FLOOR, NBS HEADQUARTERS, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, ABUJA ON MONDAY, 13TH FEBRUARY, 2012.
Poverty more than any other factor is the greatest effect of socio-economic imbalance as it breeds angry groups of individuals who are more than ready to do great harm to others.
(d) Insurgency
This is a logical consequence of socio-economic imbalance in any country. The ‘have-nots’ mobilize against the ‘haves’, who are represented by the government and other affluent personalities. Insurgency is said to occur when individuals take up arms against the state. This has occurred in quite a number of countries like Libya and Egypt with tragic consequences. It nearly occurred in England as well but was unsuccessful due to the fact that impoverished individuals constitute the minority. In a country like Nigeria where the “have-nots” far outnumber the “haves”, coordinated insurgencies have proved to be quite damaging. The activities of the Boko Haram sect as well as the Niger-Delta Militants not too long ago have given us a glimpse of what we would experience if all uneducated, unemployed and impoverished Nigerians were to take up arms against the government. Grappling with the sectional insurgents has been tasking enough for the government with lots of collateral damage in-between. This is a major effect of socio-economic imbalance. There was a placard at a riot some years back which read: Very soon the poor shall have nothing to eat except the rich. I hope it never comes to that.
(e) Criminality
Another inevitable fall-out of socio-economic imbalance is criminality. For individuals who are unemployed, illiterate and poor and who are unwilling to create jobs for themselves, a life of crime offers succour, because an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. It is in this life of crime that they can harass and inflict terror on the affluent minority, while keeping body and soul together. As far back as 2006, our crime rates were shocking with a healthy population in prisons11. The activities of criminals in turn, lead to insecurity12 and commercial stagnation (most business ventures close on time for fear of armed robbers). Criminality is certainly the scariest of the effects of socio-economic imbalance.
(f) International Embarrassment
Countries suffering from socio-economic imbalance are regularly at the fore-front of embarrassing international incidents. This is because of the inadvertent exportation of their socio-economic imbalance to other countries.
11 International Centre for Prison Studies – World Prison Brief.
12 Rising crime wave in Nigeria: US laments poor security response. Vanguard Newspaper March 15, 2013.
The socio-economic imbalance is prevalent when a few Nigerians flaunt their wealth recklessly abroad while others struggle to survive (working in bakeries, working as night soil men and joining neighbourhood gangs) just to survive. Recently, two British citizens of Nigerian origin allegedly murdered a British soldier in Woolwich, Southern London. One of them, Michael Adebolajo had been a member of a Somali-dominated gang (Southern London is rumoured to be full of such gangs, their ranks filled with misguided, intoxicated Nigerians). While one may argue that the boys were British citizens, born and bred in Britain, their Nigerian connection cannot be severed. Their parents migrated from Nigeria in the 80s, quite possibly as part of the “brain drain” earlier mentioned. Some years back, a Nigerian was also hanged in Singapore for drug trafficking while Nigerians are deported on a regular basis from Europe and the U.S.A. In international circles, Nigeria regularly makes the news for the wrong reasons. Corruption, fraud “419”, and drug-dealing are fast becoming a Nigerian forte abroad with tighter immigration checks on those with green passports. With the socio-economic imbalance showing no signs of improving, and with Nigerians emigrating on a regular basis, we may have to brace ourselves for such embarrassing occurrences in future.
(g) Weak Democracy
Socio-economic imbalance invariably leads to a weak democracy. The reason for this is not far-fetched. The reason individuals submit to democracy is because they believe their rights will be guaranteed. Democracy is also expected to protect socio-economic rights. When this does not happen, the people lose confidence in the democratic government and may resort to other means to remove that government. This may include violent change of government. It is important to note that socio-economic imbalance is also responsible for the ‘politics of money’ that operates in Nigeria as against ‘politics of issues’.
This is because Politics is the allocation of resources and if a country cannot operate a system that satisfactorily (to the satisfaction of the vast majority) allocates resources without rancour, then the plan is faulty from its substratum. There is a belief by some that the country is unable to organize elections acceptable by everyone as free and fair. Free and fair elections constitute the bedrock of democracy, the accepted form of government in most countries. When the majority of the populace believe that a country’s democracy cannot guarantee their rights, the basis for that democracy can be said to have been destroyed
4. Attaining Socio-Economic Balance in Nigeria Through Democracy; the Role of Law.
It will be recalled that at the commencement of democratic practice in May 1999, two of the laws that challenged the level of corruption and economic crimes were the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Act and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act. Despite the protests by some states that ‘corruption’ was not in the exclusive legislative list, the provisions in Chapter Two of the Constitution proscribing the abolition of corruption and the powers of the National Assembly to enforce these provisions were the authority for the passage of the ICPC Act. The body that sprang from this Act, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has been very active since its establishment. It is therefore baffling that the government utilizes the provisions of Chapter II of the Constitution only when those provisions suit it. If the said Chapter can serve as the platform for the establishment of the ICPC, then there is no reason that Nigerians cannot benefit from all the provisions under the said chapter.
In Nigeria, several legal instruments and policies have been used to address socio-economic imbalance. For example, although some people may argue that the Federal Character Commission Act appears unconstitutional as it discriminates, this law has been used to address imbalance at the Federal level in terms of access to opportunities and positions. This is because Nigeria is a multi-cultural country with over 300 ethnic groups and languages. The moment there is socio-economic imbalance in the sense that one or more ethnic groups feel left out or marginalized, the embers of discontent and insurgency are fanned.
The establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Hydro Power Development Commission in the year 2000 and 2010 respectively through their enabling laws, Niger Delta Development Commission Act13 and the Hydro Power Development Commission Act14 is part of the efforts of government to correct the socio-economic imbalance in Nigeria using the law as a catalyst. Section 1(3) of the NDDC Act 2000 clearly states that the head office of the Niger-Delta Development Commission shall be in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The provision states thus;
13 2000.
14 2010.
“The Commission shall have its head office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and shall establish an office in each member state of the Commission”
Its functions are as contained in section 7 of the Act which states thus:
(1)
(a) formulate policies and guidelines for the development of the Niger-Delta, area;
(b) conceive, plan and implement, in accordance with the set rules and regulations, projects and programmes for the sustainable development of the Niger-Delta area in the filed of transportation including roads, jetties and waterways, health, education, employment, industrialisation, agriculture and fisheries, housing land urban development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications;
(c) cause the Niger-Delta area to be surveyed in order to ascertain measures which are necessary to promote in physical and socio-economic development;
(d) prepare master plans and schemes designed to promote the physical development of the Niger-Delta area and the estimates of the costs of implementing such master plans and schemes.
(e) implement all the measures approved for the development of the Niger-Delta area by the Federal Government and the member States of the Commission.
(f) identify factors inhibiting the development of the Niger-Delta area and assist the member States in the formulation and implementation of pollicies to ensure sound and efficient management of the resources of the Niger-Delta area;
(g) assess and report on any project being funded or carried out in the Niger-Delta area by oil and gas producing companies and any other company including non-governmental organisations land ensure that funds released for such projects are properly utilised;
(h) tackle ecological and environmental problems that arise from the exploration of oil mineral in the Niger-Delta area and advise the Federal Government and the member States on the prevention and control of oil spillages, gas flaring and environmental pollution;
(i) liaise with the various oil mineral and gas prospecting and producing companies on all matters of pollution prevention and control;
(j) executive such other works and perform such other functions which, in the opinion of the Commission, are required for the sustainable development of the Niger-Delta area and its peoples; and…….
(2) In exercising its functions and powers under this section, the Commission shall have regard to the varied and specific contributions of each Member State of the Commission to the total national production of oil and gas.
(3) The Commission shall be subject to the direction, control or supervision in the performance of its functions under this Act by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The location of the Commission in an oil producing state from the South-south region was ostensibly in recognition of the region’s production of the oil relied upon by all Nigerians. Due to the oil exploration and mining that goes on in the oil producing states of Nigeria, a lot of environmental degradation, at the hands of explorers and miners has occurred on their lands although they receive a percentage of the proceeds of crude oil sales. Their natural resources have been hard hit as their lands, natural source of water and wildlife have been steadily destroyed while the other regions benefit from the proceeds of crude oil sales without having to contend with the environmental degradation suffered by the oil producing states. The law of balance therefore necessitated that the region be adequately compensated in that regard.
Like the NDDC Act, the HYYPADEC ACT seeks to achieve some semblance of socio-economic balance by situating the head office of the Commission in one of the Hydro- power producing states of the Federation (in the Northern part of Nigeria). Its membership comprises hydro-power producing states just like the Niger Delta Development Commission comprises oil producing states of the Federation. The Bill was sponsored to address the following issues raised by the communities in the hydro-power producing states;
· Access to electricity for the communities;
· Environmental degradation – loss of biodiversity etc.;
· Flooding of the communities;
· Poverty due to loss of livelihoods by the communities
· Resettlement of communities
· Provision of access to strategic commercial centres in order to revive the economy of these communities.
Both Commissions seek to achieve socio-economic balance by ensuring that a larger part of the revenue derived from resources they produce for the country, is given back to them. One has its head office in the South, the other in the North. While this may further glorify the much maligned quota system, it is necessary if socio-economic balance is to be achieved. This is one of the ways through which the concept of law can aid in a country’s socio-economic balance.
The role of law in attaining socio-economic balance in Nigeria therefore, cannot be overemphasized. As earlier stated, it is law that legitimizes a government. Law protects democracy. It is the presence of, and respect for law that preserves a country’s democracy. Similarly, it is only through the social engineering provided by Law that the socio-economic imbalance in the country can be addressed and corrected. It is Law that states how the state is to be governed and it is in this light that we seek to examine the role of law in respect of Nigeria’s nascent democracy, vis-à-vis the socio-economic imbalance experienced in the country.
In discussing the role of law, I must refer again to the non-justiciability of Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (As Amended) where most of the socio-economic rights are found. It goes without saying that most of the socio-economic rights enjoyed by Nigerians are “hand-outs” by the government and not what we would term “entitlements” legally speaking. The National Assembly might want to take another look at that particular conundrum. Nigerians would do wonders if they were afforded free water, free education etc, and the country would attain the levels of the likes of America where although education is not free, there is a high level of literacy and citizens are entitled to social security if they have no means of livelihood. If America is too far gone, then we might want to pattern our social-security program after Ghana or South-Africa (Nigerians have emigrated to these countries so they must be doing something right).There is the need for Nigeria’s legal system to pick up the gauntlet and address the country’s socio-economic problems. Law would play several roles in this instance and ensure the following:
· The Rule of Law. This is self-explanatory. The Law reigns supreme.
· Periodic Popular Elections. Elections are held as at when due.
· A Legal Framework for the attainment of Socio-Economic Balance. This could also include some form of social security. We could take a look at the American Social Security system for guidance. In America, social security compasses several social welfare and social insurance programs15.
· Tougher immigration laws. While this may present a bit of a problem due to our ECOWAS commitments which render it unnecessary for citizens of ECOWAS member states to obtain visas before visiting other member states, certain checks can still be made at the point of entry to ensure that aspiring visitors do not intend to rely on public funds. This ensures that the security system benefits Nigerians only and not Chadians and Nigeriens.
· Constitutionalism. This simply connotes that the Constitution is followed to the last letter.
· Separation of Powers16. There must be explicit constitutional limits, or checks, on concentrated power and those checks will only remain effective where there is some countervailing power to enforce them. Thus every concentrated power should be balanced by some other concentrated power in order to prevent any particular part of the government system from grasping excessive power and nullifying the constitutional checks.
· The amendment of section 6 (6) (c) of the 1999 Constitution (As amended) to ensure that matters under Chapter II of the Constitution are made justiciable.
15 ^ [42 USC 7] “US Code—Title 42—The Public Health and Welfare”. Archived from the original on October 12, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2006
16 Democracy: A Social Power Analysis By Dr. John S. Atlee, with Tom Atlee
Law has been described as a means of social engineering by Dean Roscoe Pound and in no other instance is this definition more apt. By preparing a legal framework for the attainment of socio-economic balance, the Government would have nipped the growing insecurity in the country in the bud. Socio-economic rights would become justiciable and the government would feel obligated to address issues like poverty, unemployment and illiteracy as it could be sued for its part in creating them. Issues like resource control would be better addressed and no individual or group of individuals would feel deprived. No expenses should be spared here. A poor country may not be able to afford a good legal system, but without a good legal system, it may never become rich enough to afford such a system. Law is the glue that holds society together and the responsibility therefore falls on this much vaunted concept to somehow restore some balance to the Nigerian Socio-economic landscape.
5. Conclusion
Domestic challenges, continue to undermine Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and its potential as a major economic and diplomatic power. Such challenges—insecurity, poverty, unemployment and low quality education —must be addressed if Nigeria’s democracy is to survive the test of time. In the meantime, Nigeria trudges along, socio-economically, like a drunken giant on the legs of a mosquito and is in need of a massive re-engineering.
I have no doubt that our country is destined for great things as long as there is strict adherence to the rule of law and contradictory provisions in our laws are amended so as to eradicate illiteracy, poverty and criminality. The eradication of illiteracy, discrimination, poverty and criminality is what determines if a country is socio-economically balanced but this does not imply that these vices are totally absent in a fully developed society (after all, some misguided individuals in Woolwich, London, recently killed a serving soldier despite the existence of some semblance of socio-economic balance in the United Kingdom and there have been recent riots in Sweden and Turkey), it simply means they have been substantially curtailed. That way, insurgency, which is a consequence of socio-economic imbalance becomes a rare exception and not the norm. This is the aim of the law; to act as a catalyst for socio-economic balance. It is hoped that when all is said and done, we would be able to say that we have attained socio-economic balance in Nigeria using the Constitution and legal instruments as catalysts.
Thank you and God bless.
Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, MFR, SAN, FCIArb. (UK).
Honorary Bencher/Barrister at Lincoln’s Inn.
NBA did not call for dissolution of Governors’ Forum.
By Emeka Obegolu
Following the critique and misrepresentations that trailed the by the NBA president, Okey Wali (SAN) for the Nigerian Governors Forun (NGF) to dissolve itself if it cannot resolve its crises and face the challenges of governance, the General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Associatrion (NBA) Emeka J’ P. Obegolu in this piece, examines the circumstances and true import of the NBA Presidents speech.
Recently, Nigerian Newspapers, online publications and faceless bulk text messages have been awash with grave misrepresentation of the position of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on the crises rocking the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF). The reading public have been “informed” that the NBA President, Okey Wali, SAN called for the proscription/banning/de-registration or the scrapping of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum if they could not put their house in order. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
Perhaps a brief narrative of the background of the proceedings at the NBA NEC Meeting held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State will suffice to throw more light and enlighten readers on the factual basis for the position that will be adopted by this writer. Let me also state that as the General Secretary of the NBA with the duty to record and keep records of the proceedings of NEC, I feel a sense of responsibility to set the records straight and afford our members, and indeed Nigerians the factual records for all of us to make our deductions there from.
The NBA President, Okey Wali SAN, whilst making the traditional President’s speech to the NBA NEC traced the history of the Governors’ Forum to the United States of America (USA), where he identified the vision of the National Governors’ Association of the USA as a body formed to identify priority issues and deal with matters of Public Policy and Governance at both National and State levels. He listed the NGA’s interventionist schemes through working committees and special committees, all designed to raise the bar of good governance for the benefit of Americans.
Coming home, the NBA President noted that the Nigerian Governors Forum has failed to model itself after the NGA where the whole idea derives from. He opined that the existence of such a body should be for altruistic reasons and as such in the best interest of the nation, Nigeria.
Okey Wali, SAN concluded thus “The NBA calls on our Governors to quickly resolve their crisis and get on with the business of governance which was why they have been elected Governors. If they cannot resolve their crisis very quickly, and face delivery of democracy dividends to their electorates, they must dissolve the body and stop this distraction as sooner than later, Nigerians will call on them, in or out of Government to give account of their stewardship.”
Page 7, of the Presidential address.
The NBA NEC thereafter adopted this presidential speech as a NEC resolution. By the adoption, the call became the NBA’s call to the NGF and no longer Okey Wali SAN’s call.
Now, the underlined portion of the statement is instructive for the purpose of the argument – “Whether Okey Wali/NBA has become undemocratic, unlawful, anti-constitution or anti-masses” The allegations differ depending on the person making the allegation and the interest he or she wishes to serve.
The call by the NBA is for the NGF to self-dissolve where the forum finds it difficult to live up to its own expectations and objectives. Self-dissolution of Associations registered by Trustee is provided under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, specifically, Section 608.
The NBA President also mentioned his inability to comment on the NGF Electoral dispute due to the pendency of a suit before a court of competent jurisdiction where the election is a subject matter, thereby reiterating the time honoured doctrine of ‘lis pendis’ that protects the sanity of courts and its processes.
NBA acknowledges the freedom of association as enshrined in our constitution and cannot call on an external body to dissolve the NGF, as that would be unconstitutional.
We therefore urge very senior lawyers and commentators to always read speeches of NBA president as the chief spokesperson of the NBA before attempting to critique it and even then appropriate channels of critique and/or dissent should be followed to avoid dragging our profession into the political arena and inviting opprobrium to our Association.
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Judicial corruption is a cancer that every society must strive to eliminate.
Mr. Desmond U. M. Yamah is the chairman of the Abuja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). In this interview, he bares his mind on the challenges of Bar leadership, welfare of lawyers, fighting corruption in the Judiciary and sundry national issues. Legal Editor, JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU, met him. Excerpts:
You have been the chairman of the NBA Abuja branch for six months now, what has been the challenges of this office?
The office of the chairman of NBA Abuja branch is tasking and quite challenging. This is a branch that has about 10,000 members and with that kind of number, we are trying to reach out to make every member feel the impact and importance of the NBA in the personal lives and professional lives also.
How are you going about this?
We have embarked on a series of trainings for the branch in order to build the capacity of members in various fields of law practice, for instance legislative advocacy. We are trying to acquire basic knowledge in the art of drafting ,the idea of this is to ensure that many of our members to take advantage of the knowledge and skills to do work for members of the National Assembly in terms of initiating and proposing bills for members and even private member bills. We are also working on the areas of human rights because human rights violations are quite rampant in Abuja. A lot of the rights of the people are being violated, especially by the security agencies and some other organisations. We are trying to streghten the capacity of our human rights committee to be able to deal with these challenges. W e are also looking at the area of improving the judiciary and also trying very hard to acquire a Bar Centre for the branch. These are some of the key priority areas that we are looking at and in some of these areas, the structures have been put in place, we are looking at the next six months to be able to have tangible achievements from the administration.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Miriam Mukhtar has taken some bold steps to rid the judiciary of corruption, what is your reaction to this?
The fight against corruption in the judiciary by the CJN is a welcome development. Every lawyer, every sane human being knows that any jurisdiction where the judiciary is corrupt, it is as dangerous as having a mad man with a loaded AK 47 loose on the streets. Judicial corruption is such a cancer that every society must strive to eliminate. We support the fight against corruption by the CJN and if you look at events of the recent past, some people may seem to misunderstand our position.
What has been your position?
Our position has been that where there have been established cases of judicial corruption, such judicial officers must be brought to justice because they destroy the lives of people, the destroy the rights of people, they destroy the interest of [people, they destroy the wealth of people by making pronouncement that are not in accord with the sense of justice. In as much as we support the fight against corruption, our position has always been that, the fight should be done in such a way as not to destroy the institution. Judicial corruption is like eroding public confidence in the judicial system.
How do we go about this?
For instance today, many lawyers and their clients, litigants prefer to explore option of petition as against appeal when they loose cases. No matter how clever a judge wants to be, when giving judgements for which he has been compromised, every average lawyer will know that the judgement is not in accord with established precedents. The law requires that a judge does not give judgement at his whims and caprices, not the way he feels or desires, no. A judge gives judgement based on established precedents and rule of law and every decisions reached by a judge, he must give reasons as to why he reached that decisions or conclusions. And when these reasons are weighed against the facts of the case, it is always very easy to know whether a judge has perverted judgement or not. Now, a situation where people decide to write frivolous petitions against judges is unfair because it distracts judges from doing their jobs. This is not acceptable in a civilised judicial system. A situation where judges are intimidated, when they give judgements in line with what they think the people will say as against what they believe is the justice of the case, is not also acceptable.
What is your suggestion about this?
A judge must be courageous, this is one of the major attributes of a good judge. Judge must be fair, the judge must be principled, he must be fearless in applying the law and in reaching the decisions that he makes. But today, the judiciary is highly intimidated, we now have an instance where a judge of the Federal High Court, openly said in the open court, I do not know the ruling that I should give now, whichever ruling I give now, I am likely to be taken to the National Judicial Council (NJC). When we have a scenario like this, then the institution is seriously threatened and we cannot destroy the institution we seek to protect eliminating corrupt judges. So, there must be established guidelines, the must be established principles of bringing to justice judges that are corrupt. The trend now is that when lawyers loose a case, instead of going on appeal, they write an appeal against a judge, for giving judgement against me, I will destroy him. We now have a situation where litigants openly threaten judges, most people make frivolous allegations against judges even there in the court.
How do we resolve this?
My advice on this is, let fight this cause in such a way that corrupt judges are eliminated from the system and judges who are not corrupt, are also protected against destructive allegations that threaten his career.
It is widely believed that the standard of legal education in the country has fallen abysmally, consequently, people have called for law to be made a second degree programme, what is your reaction to this?
Well, it depends on how you look at it. Law is a profession like wine that gets better with age. Now, looking at law, looking at the standard of education generally in the country, and looking at what you presume to be falling standards, a lot of factors are responsible for this. What are the conditions of our universities today, what are the conditions of the faculties of law in the universities, what are the qualifications of the lecturers that you have in these faculties. Now, in arriving at that conclusion that the standard of legal education is falling, you take a number of these factors into consideration, the educational sector has been thoroughly neglected by the government. Recently, I had a cause to visit the secondary school which I left in 1990, when I got there, the science laboratory which we used there then is no longer in existence, the school library is no longer in existence, this is a Federal Government College, then how do you expect the pupils to read and become great scholars. Consequently, if you go to some law faculties today, you cannot find ordinary internet facilities. Online research facilities are not there, the average lawyer cannot do research on the internet, how do expect rising standards of legal education in this circumstance?
What is your advice in this circumstance?
My thinking is that it is not making it a second or third degree programme that will improve the standard, you can have a first degree in a university that is not properly equipped and you come out worse than somebody the graduated from a well equipped secondary school. Consequently, you can take law as a first degree course in an academic environment that is properly equipped and you come out better than somebody who has practised law for more than 10 years. What we need to address, is the state of infrastructures in our universities and in our Law School. We need to look at the quality of lecturers that we have in those institutions, this underscores the need for us to have Law Faculties that are properly equipped with state of the art facilities where you have regular supplies of current editions of Law Reports, legal textbooks and high quality teachers as lecturers, who are properly and well remunerated, teachers who are encouraged and who are committed to the course of legal education. Where teachers are not well paid, where adequate facilities are not provided for them to teach, where students do not have access to quality legal materials to enhance their study, we will continue to have these challenges even if you make law a third degree programme. So, it is not making law a second degree course that will improve the standards of legal education, but the quality of our tertiary institutions and the preparedness of the institutions in turning out good students.
Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanisms (ADR) has been described as a faster mode of resolving commercial disputes, how come that we still have a lot of commercial disputes in our courts in spite of the high level of ADR practice in the country?
Well, ADR is a very important component of the judicial process in commercial disputes resolution, because it helps the parties to reconcile and erode all forms of bitterness. It helps to reduce the workloads in the court system, Many people will say that it is fast, many people will also say that it has a lot of advantages, but for any society to enjoy the advantages of ADR, the practitioners of ADR need to have quality education in the fields of ADR, I have seen so many situations where people who have gone for ADR with the intention of speedy resolution of their disputes regretted ever going there because the panel members failed or deliberately refused to write and deliver their awards after sitting and sometimes you find out that because they are not directly liable to anybody, they hand out awards that are perverse. I have seen a situation where an award that was given by an ADR panel was a big disappointment. Now, the challenge or disadvantage here is that you have to back to the court system again to seek to set aside the award, this is like going back to the drawing board.
How do we resolve this?
I want to appeal to the Institutes to exercise major control over their members, some of them are not giving the Institutes very good names. The concept is a good one, the advantages are numerous but the practice in Nigeria today is undergoing a lot of challenges. I always believe that there is always room for improvements, once we have credible members of the institutes who deliver credible awards in line with the provisions of the law and their conscience, I think ADR is a wonderful alternative.
