The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Adamawa State chapter, Hassan Garba Maidawa has called on the members of the legal profession in the country to begin to do the right thing in order to change the perception of members of the Nigerian society about the legal profession.
He made the call while presenting his welcome address at the 2023 Law Week in Yola, Adamawa State, saying the theme of this year’s Law Week ‘Building Bridges, Building Nations; A Joint Commitment’ has been placed on the front banner in order to spotlight the challenges bedeviling Legal Profession in the country and what the profession can do to make Nigeria great.
Maidawa decried that the judicial arm of government has in the recent past been the subject of criticism by the public and that unless positive and decisive steps are taken, Nigeria might not get it right if the judiciary misses the way.
Maidawa said that the judiciary and the entire legal system has come under heavy public scrutiny and criticism recently for the judicial role it played in the country, saying if the judiciary is sick the entire country will not be well.
While challenging members of the legal profession across the country, he said: “I brought up this issue because it has been the tradition of Bar that the theme of every Law being an annual event reflects the current happenings in our dear nation and most especially the Legal profession and it is part of our duties as lawyers to build bridges from our end toward building our nation.
“I am not saying that judgment should not be criticised; that is not what I am saying. There is a way and manner lawyers should criticise judgments. Law is a profession and a noble one indeed
“It is therefore, time to do the right thing in line with our profession, in order to change the perception of the society on our legal system. I assure you, once we started, the Judges or the entire Judiciary will follow, the Executive arms will join, as well as, the Legislative Arm and finally society at large.
“The most important thing is that it must start from somewhere and let it start from us.”
He explained that, “It is a matter of common knowledge that the judiciary and indeed our entire legal system is at its trying times at this moment. Although the judiciary has always been under criticism for its judicial role however, the way and manner the judgment of courts are being criticised and judges being castigated on social media and other public mediums by lawyers is a source of concern.
“There is no doubt that the Supreme Court Judgment is final however, It is important to note that the Supreme Court is not final because it is infallible but it is infallible because its final.
“We should know as Lawyers that when the Judiciary/Bench sneezes, the Bar catches cold and if the Bar and Bench are not functioning only God knows what happens to a nation where one among the three of the organs of government is sick.
“As you all know, the NBA Law Week is an annual event by all branches of the largest Bar in Africa, across the country. We, as legal practitioners, come together to celebrate ourselves and to engage our minds in topical national issues and other discourse which pertain to the welfare of our members.
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“We engage in these robust mind-mining sessions in order to find solutions and recommend them to appropriate stakeholders for implementation towards nation building, and secondly, as part of our continuous legal education. It is a fact that a legal practitioner does not stop learning, the day that happens, and then the lawyer’s mind begins to gather dust and cobwebs.”
Speaking at the occasion, the former Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Bamare Bansil, slammed the executive arm of government, saying surprisingly the judiciary has fared far better under military rule than it has during democracy.
“At my age, I am not afraid of telling the truth; I will say it the way it is, because am old and have nothing to fear.”
Bansil said for democracy to thrive in any country the welfare of the judicial officers has to be top priority.
The octogenerian explained that he and other judicial officers especially in northern Nigeria have been at the receiving end of poor welfare from the political class and that unless that has changed Nigeria will never get it right.
He said, “It is only in this era that for the first time the judiciary has complained of poor welfare. Democracy cannot thrive if the executive fails to look after the welfare of the judiciary.”
According to him, the executive arm of government should not look at the judiciary as enemies but should work together as one.
He further said, “Northern governors are very hostile to the judiciary, it is not easy to be a judge in this part of the country especially in Adamawa state.”
While urging the members of the judiciary to be humble and learn from each other to be able to do well as a judge and as a chief judge, he stressed that a house divided against itself cannot stand and therefore, called for cooperation from the members.
