Being text of paper presented by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Bashorun Askia Ogieh, FCNA, CrFA, at the Annual Law Week of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Oleh Branch, at the Anglican Women Hall, Oleh, on Thursday, October 14, 2021.
I am indeed delighted to be honoured with the invitation and opportunity to share a few thoughts in this year’s edition of the annual Law Week by your vibrant branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA.
2. It is indicative of the intellectual synergy that exists amongst professional bodies of lawyers, accountants, medical practitioners, quantity surveyors, architects, estate valuers, etc., for the purpose of bonding and further cementing the wall of mutual respect one for another in the quest to continue adding value to the socioeconomic and developmental engagements in the nation.
3. Before I go into my assigned topic, let me crave your indulgence to vent some personal feelings about some disturbing trends in the legal profession, top of which is the frivolous and most times conflicting rulings of courts of coordinate jurisdiction. You don’t need me to tell you that this has badly tarnished the image of the judiciary with accompanying innuendos.
4. Ex parte motions are buzz words today, so popularised by their abuses. By my understanding, there is nothing wrong with ex-partes. But when you know that a matter is before a court of coordinate jurisdiction, you don’t need to shop around for courts and judges to get favourable rulings and or judgements for your clients.
5. For me, that is a cardinal sin against the judiciary and your noble profession. Was it not curious and incredible that your colleagues in Anambra travelled 950 Kilometers to Jigawa to obtain an exparte ruling on a matter that was already before a Judge in Awka?
6. And, I am amazed that the indicted judges are claiming ignorance of the same cases that are before coordinate courts. It means the judges are not reading, it means they are not following contemporary issues, they are alienating themselves from society as if they are not part of it. That is wrong, if it is the hard to believe truth that they were truly not aware, because they are members of the society who should be up to date with happenings around them.
7. For me, the actions of the lawyers and judges tantamount to gross judicial misconduct which should be urgently addressed to redeem the image of the judiciary.
8. Then, there is this matter of the desecration of the judiciary by Nigeria’s law enforcement operatives which led to the ignoble removal of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria and the beginning of the gradual killing of the judiciary helped by the timid response from the Bar since the Bench cannot speak publicly for itself. I expected the legal profession to have mounted a massive resistance against the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
9. You didn’t resist it. You were cowed. It was not good enough, that a low level judicial officer who was even standing trial could remove a Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the Bar kept quiet. It was a sad commentary on the profession. You must defend and protect the profession at all times.
10. Is Justice expensive?: So it seems since it is now above the reach of the common man. The highest bidder gets justice these days and the common man relies on “God Dey,” a hopeful prayer of the streets which oftentimes leads to resort to self-help by the terribly aggrieved who failed to get justice at the altar of justice.
11. Before we leave here today, some of us, the laymen, would want to be educated why you duel so much on technicalities, leaving the facts of the matter, and actually go on to win such cases on technical grounds and not necessarily on the facts marshalled during the course of proceedings. Even though I suspect you will tell us that is why you are learned, as you jealously pride yourselves, and that we are not despite our sound and rigorous education in our various fields.
12. When I was asked to speak on the topic, An Appraisal of The Contemporary Nigerian Lawyer: Development or Regression, what came to my mind was how and what would I say as a non-lawyer to those who, de jure and de facto, already know the law, themselves and the dynamics of the profession as they do their respective names. I felt I was being stretched beyond measure to tread in a quaint territory or better still that I was being squeezed to bring forth refreshing water from the rock!
13. Notwithstanding this apparent hurdle, I have accepted the challenge to swim with the tide and speak as an external critic, a public analyst and a moderator of issues of national tenor as they affect us in one way or the other. I therefore consider it a good opportunity, as a reasonable person out there on the street, to ventilate my perspective on the current challenges confronting the contemporary lawyer, particularly within the Nigerian space.
14. To start, let me beam the searchlight on two key terms that are incidental to this discourse. They are law and the lawyer.
15. According to the 9th Edition of the Black’s Law Dictionary at pages 962 and 968 respectively, law is defined as the regime that orders human activities and relations through systematic application of the force of politically organized society, or through social pressure, backed by force, in such a society; the aggregate of legislation, judicial precedents, and accepted legal principles; the body of rules, standards and principles that the courts of a particular jurisdiction apply in deciding controversies brought before them.
16. In defining a lawyer, the legal lexicon says it refers to one who is licensed to practice law. The key words here are licensed and practice, and they carry quite some weight and implication. It also expressly sends a caveat of sanction against any person out there in the open society not so authorised by the enabling bodies to hold themselves out as a lawyer, how much more to be able to practice law.
17. In appraising the contemporary Nigerian Lawyer from the perspective of development and regression, may I make the following submissions.
18. The Nigerian legal profession has undoubtedly undergone significant changes since the era of colonialism when it encountered the British legal system. At inception, it did seem to be a sign of progress against the backdrop of the need to bring the justice system at par with international best practices.
19. Yet, over the years a lot has changed with the quality of legal education where lawyers are trained to practice the law. According to renowned legal luminary, Justice Taslim O. Elias, “…never before in the history of human existence has Law had to face a more challenging situation than that in contemporary Nigeria.” Interestingly, this position, by the late legal titan which was made way back, seems to be more relevant in our time.
FAULTY FOUNDATION IN LEGAL EDUCATION
20. The simple truth is that observers perceive the apparent flawed foundation of legal education in the nation as culpable for whatever fortune or otherwise is the lot of the contemporary Nigerian lawyer. As the good book says, when the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Critics point to a falling standard of legal education in Nigeria and the first point of call is the formative institution of the human assets. But we know and do bear testimony that it was not like this in times past.
21. Time there was when Nigerian lawyers were the toast of many nations who apply to hire them to occupy and reengineer their legal policies. I know of countries such as the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Botswana, etc., that enjoyed the wealth of legal experience of Nigerian lawyers and jurists. The question is: whatever went wrong?
TRUST DEFICIT IN HONESTY AND INTEGRITY
22. In times past, the legal practitioner was known for his uncompromising stance in integrity, honesty and straightforwardness. But perhaps due to the mix of many factors, these virtues that undergird the legal advocate in his service delivery to his client seem to be highly undermined.
23. As Fatima Kwaku reasons along this line, “…It is quite unfortunate, that the Legal profession in Nigeria has in recent years witnessed escalating if not disturbing reports of professional misconducts, corruption and sharp practices with attendant negative consequences on the standard of practice.” Considering the level of trust reposed by the public in the profession and its practitioners, this is a crestfallen, gory and deflating development.
24. There has been a plethora of how some Judges, Senior Advocates, Senior Counsel and other lawyers have engaged in this act of impunity. This without doubt has become a snarl in the wheel of legal profession in the country and there must be a 360 degree turnaround. The question is who do we run to for sane legal advocacy and canopy if those who ought to play that role are falling short of expectation?
UNDUE DELAY IN NIGERIAN COURTS
25. Critics also finger the undue delay in the administration of justice in the Nigerian legal system as a hydra-headed monster that has fastened its lethal proboscis on the fabric of our legal system. The blame here is shared by both the Bar and the Bench. “Some Judges sit very late while others sit sporadically. When they do come to court, they are in a hurry to usher off the lawyers from the stage as soon as possible. They adjourn at the slightest prompting and may even take months to write a simple ruling on the admissibility of a document.
26. “Lawyers too are not left out of this misnomer as they shoulder a portion of the blame, often seeking needless adjournments, frivolous amendments to pleadings, notices of appeals and briefs. Some are even rumored to collude with court officials (without the knowledge of the Judge) and smuggle documents which the Judges rightfully refuse to acknowledge when the matter comes up.
27. “Some cases (land matters are particularly notorious) have been known to stretch for as long as 20 years or more including the determination of appeals both at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court,” laments Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN, amongst many other infractions that seriously impugn the character of the lawyer in recent time.
JACK OF ALL LEGAL TRADES, MASTER OF NONE
28. As we know, the legal space is one formidably broad canopy that affords the practitioner the opportunity of specializing, thereby sharpening his credibility and knowledge in that chosen field of law. Unfortunately, the contemporary Nigerian lawyer seems to prefer the Jack of trades gamble with a mediocre result.
29. Was it not one of your legal colossuses, Lord Denning, who made it clear that God forbid that a lawyer should know the whole law? What was he driving at there? For you as legal professionals, he may have been referring to your need and necessity to always consult your law reports and journals.
30. But for us as laymen on the streets, Lord Denning was the man who saw tomorrow. He was reminding practitioners that there was need to major in an area where one has comparative advantage so as to emerge an authority and a reference point in that area of law. The truth, however, is that the changing pace of legal practice in the world does not in any way encourage general practice on all areas of law.
31. Methinks this view is being undermined by many lawyers of contemporary hue and the time for a rethink is now, especially as the world system seems to have been radically altered on all fronts, no thanks to COVID-19 pandemic that has damaged economic fortunes, upset global practices and crashed predictions.
32. I know for a fact that in advanced countries like the US, U.K, that remain reference points to us, we have lawyers specializing in the core areas like Criminal Law, Civil Law, Property Conveyance, Election Petitions, Corporate Law and the seemingly unexplored and contemporary ones that respond to the reality and dynamics of the time.
33. These include Sports and Entertainment Law, Tenancy Law, Personal Injury, Insurance Law, Settlement Law, Constitutional Law, Oil & Gas Law, International Financial Crimes, Immigration Law, Medical Law (especially in this trying period of COVID-19 pandemic and associated perceived infractions, negligence, and compromise by health providers and managers), Media Law, etc.
34. Thus, the average lawyer who is worth his salt must strive to up his practice game by tapping into these unexplored mines in legal expertise and carve a niche for himself, instead of playing the blame game. The “cheese” has since moved from the known station to another and only the sniffing and sensitive lawyer who is conscious of his environment that is in a state of flux, according to Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, can switch from analogue to digital thinking and make his mark.
35. Lawyers are therefore enjoined to attend courses and specialized workshops within and outside Nigeria which focus on their preferred areas of legal engagement and advocacy. This will be a win-win for both lawyers and the legal profession.
36. To sum up here, according to Chief Arthur Obi, SAN, “A lawyer is a better asset to himself and society if he can demonstrate excellent skills in a niche within the profession.”
TECHNOLOGICAL DEFICIT
37. No doubt, this is the age of digital information, communication and technology. By implication, any lawyer worth his salt will not sit on the fence and assume that it is the same route that must be taken to reach Eldorado. Time has indeed changed as it has suddenly proved to be so rare and no respecter of the indolent anymore. It is also changing fast and will certainly continue to change and move at a pace that responds to the reality of the day. Particularly, the 21st century has proved to be tech-driven, permeating virtually all aspects of life. Law is not an exception to this trend.
38. Unfortunately, the Nigerian lawyer seems still bogged down and clay-footed by anachronistic legal practice, whereas his counterpart in the advanced nations has since migrated from analogue to digital in all aspects of the profession, including the court. In the U.K for instance, most offices are 80% “paperless” with majority of research now done on-line. Instead of invading the courts with hard copies, the practice is now soft copies of law reports and statutes downloaded to ease.
39. This also explains the ease in adjudication and conclusion of cases and passing of judgment in record time by the court. In one word, the Nigerian lawyer must prove to be truly contemporary in this digital age in his legal practice to be able to hold his head high in the legal comity of nations.
DEMAND FOR INNOVATION AND LEGAL DEXTERITY
40. The demand for innovation and legal dexterity in this modern era is not one to undermine due to its long-term impact in the entire legal profession. A lawyer that takes innovation and ingenuity for granted in this present time when the world seems to be racing against time itself, is likely to be left behind to pine over nothing. Technology and other modern approaches to issues are gradually creeping in and taking over the traditional jobs of legal practitioners. It is therefore only the vigilant, industrious, innovative and diligent lawyers that may stand the test of time.
41. I imagine what is likely to be the fortune of many legal firms who may not be able to survive the raging storm brought about by rapid changes of the era should they continue to stick to the outdated traditional habits instead of developing innovative business and marketing strategies implementation to stand ahead of the pack. I therefore believe the legal slant of Ali Afegbua when he says, “Innovate or die.”
42. According to an article by William Vogeler, Esq., “Being a lawyer is not what it used to be. A generation ago, lawyers typically researched the law in a library and met clients in private offices. They drafted contracts or went to court. But all of that has changed. Today, algorithms research the law and smart programs draft contracts. Attorneys meet clients in shared suites, virtual offices, coffee houses, and even over the internet. They still go to court, if that includes telephonic appearances.” But who is the modern lawyer really? Is that you?”
MAINTAINING THE CODE OF CONDUCT OF THE PROFESSION
43. As a Certified and Licensed Forensic Accountant, I know what it means to abide by the code of conduct of a particular profession. It is the covenant or charter of operation that binds all practitioners of a certain profession and desecrating it through outright infraction, blatant disregard or utter negligence carries huge consequences that go to the very root, value, credibility and integrity of the said profession.
44. In the case of lawyers, I understand that your bible is the Rules of Professional Conduct. This is a document which content should be complied with regardless of one’s status in the profession. Whether as a Judge, Magistrate, Senior Advocate, senior counsel, counsel or lawyer in equity, your rules must be sacrosanct enough to be obeyed to the letter. I know for a fact that the legal profession places a high premium on integrity, honesty, decency, dedication and discipline all over the world. A successful lawyer must therefore strive to represent the high moral and discipline which distinguish them in the society.
45. Breaching the code of Confidentiality: Information that some lawyers obtain from their clients in confidence while representing them are sometimes disclosed by these same lawyers when they are on the other side of the divide thereby breaching the rule of Confidentiality which is one of the duty a lawyer owes his client.
WELFARE OF THE LAWYER
46. As posited earlier, as an outsider, I may not be sufficiently competent to delve into this, but because I am a social being and a political leader at that, and a father of lawyers, I cannot in good conscience close my eyes and ignore, the rumblings from most Lawyers, especially the junior ones, on the poor welfare packages of their various offices. I want to commend the leadership of the NBA, which is currently looking into this with the setting up of the “Remuneration Committee” following which a Town Hall meeting was recently held on September 10, 2021.
47. While I do not intend to pre-empt the work of the committee, I shudder to make this humble suggestions: compulsory yearly insurance for all Lawyers, compulsory pension scheme for all Lawyers, compulsory participation in both the NHIS and NHF scheme, for all Lawyers, are areas they may look at.
CONCLUSION
48. No doubt the contemporary lawyer has been on an evolutionary trajectory since the first indigenous set of law graduates was churned out of the Nigerian Law School way back in October 1963. Quite a lot in advocacy, social engineering, fundamental rights enforcement and administrative justice have been recorded by him, which is salutary. Without sounding immodest, the place and import of the lawyer in the Nigerian society has been remarkable.
49. Development, we are told, is an organic concept measured in tangible and intangible. The criteria for determining whether the lawyer is progressing or receding will depend on what is required as his roles and responsibilities toward society. For me, I am of the opinion that the contemporary Nigerian lawyer can improve his current performance by taking cognizance of and electing to be guided by the rules of professional conduct.
50. He must not be tired of innovating and resetting his engagement mode in sync with international best practices. Law is dynamic and the practitioner must not be so different. The challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic that upended the entire world system – economy, all tiers of government, sport, entertainment, politics – have of necessity birthed new ways and means of doing things. The Nigerian lawyer must therefore be on top of his game, else he may blur off the radar.
51. It is all about exploring new frontiers and devising new methodologies of achieving result. If the Nigerian lawyer takes these snippets highlighted above to heart and applies them in his practice, knowing that the market is already getting choked up, perhaps he can easily distinguish himself as a practitioner of repute.
52. I thank you for your time.
Bashorun Askia Ogieh, FCNA, CrFA
Managing Director/ CEO
DESOPADEC
