Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Umeh Kalu, recently conducted newsmen round the Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary to showcase the achievements of Orji administration. He spoke of plans to leave behind an enduring legacy for in-coming administrations after 2015. Excerpts
In 2009 when Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Umeh Kalu, first mounted the saddle of office, he was confronted with the usual problem private sector players experience when recruited to drive another sector populated by technocrats. Living in Lagos where private and public sector people hit the road to beat traffic as early as 4 am was a huge contrast to life in a state capital where workers even with minimum or no traffic congestion to battle with, still stroll to work as late as 10 am with offices embracing empty seats. Add this to decaying infrastructure and a total lack of goal-driven work ethic, then the challenges become obvious for a political appointee and thorough bred professional, who wants to make a difference and justify the relevance behind his choice in the midst of the multitude chasing the same job.
That was the scenario painted by the AG on his first day in office. So, how did he go about setting his goals for a purpose driven ministry of justice in Abia State?
“I introduced innovations after an open discussion with the staff. I put regulations in place and while some staff were hostile, some showed commitment from the beginning but within a given time frame, everyone adjusted and we turned on to the same page. Our achievements now speak eloquently of the right decisions made at the time.”
Kalu moved on, and went on to identify the basic needs of the ministry-tables, chairs and computers in the short run and turning around the internal and external environments in tandem with what is expected of a modern office complex in a 21st century setting. Says Kalu: “What was on ground was not edifying enough. For that reason, I approached His Excellency Governor Theodore Orji; he listened and we started addressing the issues.” Kalu’s first priority was the library, which needed an update of law reports, referral text books, encyclopedias and compendiums as well as research materials and publications by legal luminaries. He also proposed a befitting structure for the Ministry of Justice office complex with state of the art offices completely equipped with IT centred network and a new conference hall. By year end, he, adds, a brand new Ministry of Justice was in place. What about the men manning the materials, the legal minds as well as their support staff? Kalu points to salary harmonisation, adding that staff of the ministry, in addition to their basic salaries, earn allowances for wardrobes and hazards with staff and pool vehicles that define a status way ahead those of similar ministries in other states.
Of course the Judiciary was a major challenge to him. Kalu explains he met a judiciary that was derelict in form and content. There were no basic working tools; a judiciary that relied heavily on type writers presented a picture of a quaint old man living in an 18th century medieval life style and this was unacceptable in the land of God’s people. Again, he got the nod of His Excellency and the turn around that took place came with an impressive transformation of members of the judiciary at the work place. Today, judges and magistrates have been upgraded with an NJC consolidated salary structure, with new cars such as Toyota Corolla and Camry with back up vehicles and modern offices equipped with IT compliant staff. In the past, judges could not attend conferences abroad and so were not globally updated regarding new lines of thoughts and ways of doing things
The Honorable Attorney-General points at massive renovation and restructuring of court halls as work in progress that will mature and be commissioned in a matter of months. The Umuahia High Court with six court halls and the Customary Court of Appeal are witnessing state of the art technology restructuring. In Aba Judicial Division, four court halls are under construction fenced with new gates and landscaping on all sides and these extend to the Aba Magistrate Court as well as the Umuahia High Court, down to Ohafia, Obingwa and Ukwa judicial districts. “The Governor has always been the arrow head; in the last four years, he has provided this ministry with a supplementary budget of one billion naira from which most of these projects are being funded. The idea is to provide a cosy and ideal environment. It was really bad before now.”
Kalu says what is going on is a revolution in the justice delivery system. In the past, laymen manned the customary courts and it was only natural that what you expected was commensurate with the principle of garbage in and garbage out because this affected the quality of judgment coming from those courts. The House of Assembly passed a law insisting that only lawyers would be recruited to take charge of these courts. So, today we have over 66 lawyers who have been appointed chairmen of these customary courts. The state government has also employed over 36 magistrates driving the magistrate courts provided with vehicles and facilities needed to do their work. Kalu adds: “The governor has our pass mark for this great turn around which was not there before now… We may not have achieved maximum success but we are moving to a point where the Judiciary will be self accounting. Kalu explains further: “The Judiciary in Abia stands above average when it comes to the dispensation of justice. Till date it has not been indicted in any way by the National Judicial Council. When you look at the outcome of appeals that go to the Court of Appeal, it has often happened they were neither accompanied by scandals nor were there spectacular cases of corruption while the three arms of government work independently but mutually exlusive of each other.”
On the legacy he is leaving behind, Kalu said: “The Theodore Orji administration will go down in the history of Abia as a revolutionary government on account of the set goals that are people oriented. What is happening is a revolution, especially if you remember where we were, where we are and where we are headed for. Our vision in terms of our intellectual property, structure, and generally our facilities which also include IT, has presented a package or basket of superior objectives that will be comparable to Abuja. Our legacy will remain a challenge to successful governments in terms of putting structures that have an enduring value.
“The governor has an uninterrupted tenure of four years. He has spent one year plus now and we have less than three more years of serious issues of governance to contend with in actualizing the Ochendo vision and foundation for a future Abia. Indeed, the people of Abia should look forward to greater things from the governor. If you go to Abia State, you will see what is happening with gigantic projects such as the new Umuahia or state capital laid out with the new conference hall, secretariat, Government House and Governor’s Lodge. These are enduring legacies that will outlive the Orji Administration, the justice and judiciary complexes inclusive.”
He added, “Therefore, in the spirit of this unfolding new Abia State, I want to leave this ministry better than I met it; those who come here will tell you that so much is happening; it is not only for me leaving a legacy but for the governor, because if you look at Chief Theodore Orji, he is a product of the rule of law; his emergence as governor was only possible because due process was adhered to in spite of the efforts to truncate his victory at the polls; that is why I tell you he has so much passion for the happenings in the judiciary and he is doing so much in that direction. Each time I proffer advice, he is always willing to listen.
“For me the emphasis is the Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice. I must leave the ministry better than I met it, such that no one will come here to reverse the hand of the clock. I am boosting the morale of lawyers. What is being designed is one of the best working environments you can think of, and they can compete favorably with any such environment elsewhere whether in Nigeria or abroad because the tendency or the belief is that lawyers in state ministries don’t put in much effort in terms of work rate like those outside because they practice as if they have nothing at stake. We set to change that mentality and today I can tell you we rank above average.
Asked to comment on the current controversy regarding the property demolition in Aba and its environs, he said, “The on-going demolitions in Aba and its environs are aimed at restoring the commercial city otherwise known as Enyimba to its original master plan which has suffered a lot of abuse in the hands of inordinate businessmen who have turned every space in that town to either a shop or market place in vagrant disregard of town planning regulations. You will be amazed at the quantum of Government resources that goes into Aba in an attempt to fix the roads and provide basic infrastructures but because of the disregard for planning regulations, drainages are blocked by unauthorised structures resulting to constant damage to existing roads thereby negating Government’s determination to fix the roads in Aba.”
