Mohammed Mustapha Akanbi is a professor of Law at the University of Ilorin. He is the director, School of Preliminary Studies. He is the son of the pioneer chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Adebayo Akanbi (rtd). In this interview with ADEKUNLE JIMOH, he speaks on restructuring, his childhood and his teaching career.
Can you tell us about your childhood?
I was born in Kano. My dad was a legal practitioner before being appointed a judge of the Revenue Court, now Federal High Court. By virtue of the fact that he became a judge of the High Court I moved around the country.
I lived in Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Jos and Lagos. However, my school started in Kano, normal nursery. My primary school was in Ibadan first at Bodija International School, then Sacred Heart Private School, Onireke, Ibadan. Then I started my secondary school at Jerico High School also in Ibadan, and proceeded to the Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo State where I completed my secondary school education.
From there in 1989, I got admission to read law at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. I graduated in 1993. In 1994 I found myself at the Nigerian Law School. Then it was just one campus, Victoria Island, Lagos. I was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1995. After my call to the Bar, I served my national service as a youth corps member, specifically at the legal unit of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lagos. After service I started practice with the law firm of Wole Gbangbala, 37 Igbosere, Lagos Island. Later I moved to Olawoyin and Olawoyin. While on practice, I went back to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to do my Masters between 1996 and 1997. In 1998, I joined the law firm of Ayodele Gafar and co based in Ilorin. Shortly after, I joined Unilorin Faculty of Law as Lecturer Two; in 2004 I travelled abroad for my doctoral degree. That was why I attended Kings College, University of London. I was lucky to finish in two years. In 2006, I bagged my doctorate degree in Law. So, I came back home still in the service of the University of Ilorin. By 2008 I was a senior lecturer and I was appointed Acting Dean of the Faculty of Law of the university. In 2009, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ilorin branch unanimously elected me the chairman of the branch for two years.
In 2010, I left the deanship and was reappointed the head of Department of Business Law. I became a professor of Law in the department in 2012. I became the Deputy Director, Centre for Research Development, an in-house training unit of the university in 2013. I was in charge of the research component and in 2016 I was appointed director, School of Preliminary Studies in charge of the remedial programme and now the new programme called Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB).
How will you describe your childhood days?
My childhood days were fun. I come from a family of six children, five boys and one girl. I am number three. My mum and dad; we have a lot of cousins and family friends staying with us. The house was always full. It was good, no regrets.
Would say your dad’s background influenced your studying law?
No. I have seen myself wanting to read law. Even though along the line my parents tried enrolling me in the military school; I know that I did exams of the Nigerian Military School, Command Secondary School and things like that. I wouldn’t know why my parents were pushing me to go to those schools, but at the end of the day I ended up at the Federal Government College. May be because I met my dad a lawyer and later a judge, for me law had been what I wanted to read.
How has it been mixing practicing law with teaching?
This is an interesting question. When I elected to read law, it was because I wanted to be an advocate. You to go to court and be like the Gani Fawehimi of this world, Rotimi Williams and of course you know when my dad was in active practice he was a strong advocate. It was my desire to go to court and practice. But when I got to the university I came in contact with lecturers like professor Popoola who also brought a shine to academics and I was visualizing myself as somebody who will stand in front of students talking. That also influenced me and when I left the law school I was a bit confused as per what I wanted to do whether to go into practice or go into academics. This is what influenced me to enrol for my masters and doctoral degree in law. By the time the opportunity came for to come and lecture I grabbed it.
Sincerely, I started doing lecturing and practicing together. But at a point in time, I felt that it was not going to be easy to combine the two, I had to ask myself what exactly I wanted to do. And I felt that working in the university is working for government and when you work for salaries you have a moral burden to give back to the system.
Because practice is also quite challenging, those who combine the two will tell you that it is not easy. Even though, as I talk to you I run a law firm but I am giving more to the academics. Maybe that was what enhanced my quick rise in the academics. I go to court but it is not as regular. If you see me in court that means it is really important for me to be there. I must tell that I enjoy lecturing. I love to be in front of students talking. I love to impart on the younger ones, even though sometimes, I see some funny things with some people in practice, I have this tinge of regrets. I don’t regret being in the academics.
You know, apart from the clergy there is no other profession that gives you the opportunity to influence and impart on young minds than law. I have trained thousands of students in the last 20 years. Some of my students have become associate professors, professors. Some have been nominated to the bench. This also gives me sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. If you ask me now whether I am fulfilled for giving most of time to academics i will say yes.
Will you say your accelerated rise in the academics is not unconnected with your dad’s pedigree?
The funny part is that i believe in academics as they are focused. You are not likely to suffer victimisation in the academics. Well it is easy to add up. For you to make it in the academics there are certain parameters and once you meet those parameters you are most likely going to rise. You need to publish some certain number of papers in quality journals and outlets. You need to have an administrative experience. All these i was able to garner. In my faculty, i am happy that there is hardly a position that i did not touch. I was a level adviser; i was exam officer, sub-dean, head of department, coordinator and acting dean. There is hardly a position i did not occupy. So i have all these experiences. Some people when they join the academics they run away from administrative aspect. They only want to do research and publish. I did not do that i made myself available for service.
It is not easy to be in administration and at the same time to do research and publish. When you engage in scholarship it is also good to learn to be an administrator. If you just sit down in one corner of your room and just publish without making yourself available for administrative service, and one day you find yourself as head of department, you become embarrassed because you will not know what to do.
When it was time to give me a professorial chair, it was not that difficult as i have got the requisite requirements. I had all my papers and the administrative experience and these are the two basic things to show.
How has it being as a director of Unilorin school of preliminary studies?
I must tell you that this has been one of the challenging tasks for me. When i was dean i thought that one was a big one. But being a dean in a faculty of law is like operating within a family. The departments are more of administrative divisions. But being the director of this centre; one your students are not university students as they are close to secondary school students. That is the challenge there. These are teenagers who want to explore the world; who are quick to break rules. It is a post secondary school institution with quiet a big challenge.
Number two is that we are not situated in the town. They are in a rural setting. There was a big challenge of how to enforce discipline.
For example we needed to have our kids in controlled hostels even though the university did not have accommodation facilities to take care of the wards. So we had to make arrangement with the landlords around that area telling them we want our students to be in the same sex hostels. It was a novel thing. Some people wondered why a director would get himself involved in the accommodation of students. But if anything happens to any of these students the school takes responsibility and the director will be the first to be called to account. If you put your child in my care i must have a say of where he or she lives. At the beginning it was quiet hectic. The landowners fought us to a standstill. Today if you go to the community (Fufu), they see Unilorin as God sent. We no longer have cases of cultism, teenage couples. We have better control over them now. From our records in the student affairs students that move from the centre to the mainstream are better in character and learning; because they have had this training at the remedial school. As I talk now we now have a second programme called JUPEB. Those who attend the one year programme move to 200-level. We have separated them. That is a new challenge.
What is your reaction to allegations of some judges involvement in corrupt practices?
You know judges are Nigerians. At a point in time especially before this government came into power, it was taken that Nigeria had the most corrupt set of people and that corruption was the biggest challenge to our country. Except we want to deceive ourselves corruption has permeated all facets of life in the country. So the judiciary particularly the judges are also not immune from corruption.
But that is not to say that everybody is corrupt. Despite that tag that we have corrupt people in Nigeria does not mean that the over 170 million Nigerians are corrupt. The truth of the matter is that it is the minority. However, even though it is the insignificant minority, the consequences of what they do becomes significant and giving our country a bad name.
Of, course in the judiciary, we have bad eggs. Judges have been retired or forced to resign by reasons of the fact they were guilt of corruption allegation at least at the NJC level. What the Buhari administration has come to do is to put more light and focus attention on it, because this is one of the mantras of the administration. When you fight corruption it will fight back. Corrupt people will not sit down and go down the drain. What is clear to everybody now is that it is not business as usual. People are afraid of being caught. Heads of parastatals, judges, civil servants now know that they are being watched. I believe that the result of the anti-corruption drive of this government sooner than later will start to show. A simple example is the fact that parastatals that we never knew to be revenue generating are now returning money. It is parts of the positives.
Another example is that even in the judiciary, I am not sure we have loud allegations against judges because the cases that we hear of these days are those ones that took place in the past. It means something is definitely working.
But some people are saying that the anti-corruption crusade is lopsided, what is your take on that?
Honestly, I wouldn’t know the parameters the various anti corruption agencies have used to pursue their cases. One thing I know is that if somebody is alleged of being corrupt different sentiments will come to play. It is either I don’t belong to the same religion, particular area of the country or a particular party with the president. The question is those that are being prosecuted are they guilty or not? Of course, it is for the courts to decide, but there is a perception. It does not lie in your month to say that ten of us stole and I am the only one that is being prosecuted. It does not change the fact that you stole.
However, confidence is one that is important. Every government needs the confidence of the public and if the perception appears to be that this prosecution is a witch-hunt then there is the need for the government to have a relook at its anti corruption strategies. When the people feel otherwise that what you are doing is not favourable then you need to engage on what we call introspection. It is not proper for somebody that has an allegation of corruption against him to put on a defence of saying that I am not the only person that is doing this.
That person should be honourable and allow the courts of law to do their duties.
On the part of government it is important it does not fritter away its goodwill it had when it came into power.
Therefore, the point I am making is that if there is strong perception of corruption and corrupt practices against people that are close to government, it is important that government investigates this allegation and acts swiftly and decisively.
What is your take on the clamour for restructuring or devolution of powers and others in the country?
Let me start straight away I am a Nigerian to the core. And I believe in Nigeria. I do not believe in a divided Nigeria. You know I told you from the beginning that I lived virtually everywhere in this country and I have friends virtually everywhere in Nigeria. And I also have family members in virtually everywhere in this country and I believe that the problems and challenges that face Nigeria are national. I do not believe that there are problems facing Northerners that are not facing Southerners. I believe the problems facing all of us are bad governance and corruption. Let us put that at the background. Now we need to ask ourselves what restructuring means. Restructuring is not just one word. Nigeria has undergone restructuring. This place we call Nigeria is made up of people with different ethnic background. Before the colonialists came we did not have a place called Nigeria. What we had were different communities. In fact, we did not have Southeast, Southwest, Southsouth, Northwest. We had Hausa communities, some of them not part of the bigger communities, we had Yoruba communities, of course, we had the Igbos within that area now known as south-east.
It was somebody who came and put us together under northern and southern protectorates and Lagos colony. That was restructuring. Even though when they were doing it the people were not consulted. Somebody brought them together for economic conveniences.
All the various constitutions that we have had are parts of restructuring. During the military era when powers were centralized, states were created. This is also restructuring. So restructuring is just like customary law that changes with the exigencies of the time and space. I hear people say the Yoruba or Hausa nation and I asked myself who made them nations. We need to tell ourselves the truth.
Some of us might be young but we read history. Before the white men game conquest was the game.
When people talk about restructuring from purely ethnic point of view it scares me. We should talk of how we will have a better government that will lead to better governance. I will join that debate, but I will not join a debate when a particular ethnic group is assuming superiority over the others. When we cling too much to ethnic superiority it breeds hatred, bitterness, acrimony and contempt. When you have a tendency of superiority complex you will not have friends.
What is happening now is a competition for scarce resources. Because you don’t have a job then you have been programmed to think that your problem is with somebody in Sokoto. Look at the past presidents we have had, how many of them had used their position to enrich their communities? It is not about who is in power but about the quality of that person.
For me restructuring should be more of how can we make life better for ourselves not about becoming ethnic champions. It is so interesting that those who make this noise do not even talk to their state governments. People will sit down and be postulating and propagating all sorts of restructuring formulae and modus operandi. If we must talk it must be on the basis of fairness and equity. We must talk devoid of bitterness and acrimony.
