Attorney-General of the Federation
The
Nigerian Bar Association on Monday cautioned the federal and state
governments against politicising judicial appointments, saying the job
of the Bench required experience.
The President of the NBA, Mr. Okey Wali
(SAN), who stated this in Calabar, Cross River State, said judicial
appointments should not be based on favouritism.
Wali, at the commencement of the 2013
Annual General Conference of the association, also called on the
Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, to ensure the speedy
rescue of one of its notable members, Mr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who was
kidnapped on Saturday in Edo State.
Wali warned at the five-day conference
whose theme is: “Law, Leadership and Challenges of Nationhood in the
21st Century Nigeria,” that politicising judicial appointments would
never be welcomed by the NBA.
He said, “Judicial appointments are
becoming political and they should not be. The job is not that for
the boys, experience must count. So, the process must therefore be
extricated from favouritism and the NBA will continue to monitor the
process closely.”
Wali also made a brief remark on the
ongoing amendment to the 1999 Constitution, pointing out that the
association had proposed that the process must continue with the active
involvement of Nigerians.
He said it was only when people’s inputs were incorporated into the constitution that it could become acceptable.
On the security challenges facing the
country, the NBA President urged the Federal Government to concentrate
first on ensuring internal peace before embarking on foreign missions.
The Attorney General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke,who spoke for President
Goodluck Jonathan, noted that the 21st century had brought about
challenges relating to securing lives and properties in the face of
increasing global terrorism as well as the protection of the rights
and liberties of the people.
He, however, said success could only be
achieved through a partnership between the government, the organised
private sector, labour, patriotic and public-spirited individuals and
professional associations such as the NBA.
Also, the Chairman of the event and
former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, said the NBA
had a critical role to play in the stability of the country.
While noting that the country still
needed a lot of lawyers, Belgore lamented that the quality of teaching
at the universities had dropped considerably due to dearth of qualified
teachers.
The keynote speaker, Prof Jonah Eliagwu, described the NBA as a vanguard of evolutionary change.
He noted that even with technological
breakthroughs, leaders worldwide were ill- prepared to tackle the
challenges facing their countries.
“Western values now penetrate our
boundaries unrestricted. The implication is that we are ill-equipped
with the challenges of the 21st century. The NBA should provide an
important grid through which this can be tackled,” Eliagwu said.
The Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, expressed confidence that the outcome
of the conference would constitute materials for law reforms.
A former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar, who arrived late for the conference, lamented that Nigeria
was at a crossroads.
He said that “the road to continued mediocrity” was not an option for a country desiring greatness.
Abubakar noted during the showcase
session of the conference, that “the path we are currently threading,
which is marked by empty promises, avarice, greed and corruption cannot
lead to nation building and development.”
He stated that “nations are built one brick at a time, one person at a time and people helping people.”
According to the former Vice-President,
it is “when people come together to help, rather than hurt each other,
that they become the force from which a future is built and a nation
grows.”
Abubakar, who is also the Turaki
Adamawa, emphasised that the quest for Nigeria’s greatness demanded
honest, experienced and incorruptible leadership.
He assured that if “we put our house in order, the next 100 years may yet be the century of Nigeria’s greatness.”
The former Vice-President also
advocated the reorientation of Nigerians and the establishment of an
enduring democratic platform with a sustainable legitimacy.
Other dignitaries at the event included
Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba,who represented the President of the Senate,
David Mark; Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State; and past
presidents of the NBA.
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