‘Nigeria’s General Elections were neither Free nor Fair’
Ernest Ojukwu
Over the past few years, concerns have been raised as to
how the legal profession in Nigeria can be reformed. Low standards,
mediocrity
and corruption have also been identified as some of the ills
that plague the profession. While blames are still being traded back and
forth between stakeholders in the justice sector, one of Nigeria’s
foremost legal academic and Bar activist, Professor Ernest Ojukwu SAN
has proffered possible solutions to these challenges and discussed many
other issues with May Agbamuche-Mbu, Jude Igbanoi and Tobi Soniyi,
including his views on the recent general elections.
The Presidential and Governorship elections which were conducted on
March 28th and April 11th 2015 respectively were considered to be free
and fair by some observers. Do you agree with this observation? How
would you assess INEC’s performance?
Surely by our past election or pseudo-election standards the 2015 election has much to applaud but it will be overrating it to describe it as free and fair. Again by Nigeria’s past standards INEC or the INEC Chairman and a few lieutenants of his did very well. I say INEC Chairman because we know some of the INEC Commissioners and staff who are visibly dishonest men and women that flaunt their riches all acquired while working at INEC. Surely these continue to be the draw back on the honest and good intentions of the INEC Chairman and a few of his lieutenants. Some are merely paid agents of the governments and party in power. There is no way you will have a free and fair election with such dishonest men and women running the show as umpires. Surely Professor Jega could not be at every state, LGAs and wards and units.
The voter apathy of the 11th of April election noticed in many places in the country was based on disillusionment of the voter who actually saw what happened during the presidential elections. There were stories of so many cases of INEC officers conducting the elections with fake election documents and later outside the election grounds wrote or “cooked” results on valid documents and discarded the fake ones used to deceive the voters at the election grounds. There were credible stories of cases where the results announced by returning officers had no correlation with the results announced at the polling units and signed by agents. There were many cases of violent threats at polling units. There were cases where the INEC staff did not turn up at all at polling units but results were later announced by returning officers covering those units.
What about the election and nomination processes of the political parties. Not one Political party used free and fair process to nominate most of their candidates for the election except in few cosmetic cases. When the parties’ process was floored so fundamentally, how can one then say that our general election was free and fair?
Surely by our past election or pseudo-election standards the 2015 election has much to applaud but it will be overrating it to describe it as free and fair. Again by Nigeria’s past standards INEC or the INEC Chairman and a few lieutenants of his did very well. I say INEC Chairman because we know some of the INEC Commissioners and staff who are visibly dishonest men and women that flaunt their riches all acquired while working at INEC. Surely these continue to be the draw back on the honest and good intentions of the INEC Chairman and a few of his lieutenants. Some are merely paid agents of the governments and party in power. There is no way you will have a free and fair election with such dishonest men and women running the show as umpires. Surely Professor Jega could not be at every state, LGAs and wards and units.
The voter apathy of the 11th of April election noticed in many places in the country was based on disillusionment of the voter who actually saw what happened during the presidential elections. There were stories of so many cases of INEC officers conducting the elections with fake election documents and later outside the election grounds wrote or “cooked” results on valid documents and discarded the fake ones used to deceive the voters at the election grounds. There were credible stories of cases where the results announced by returning officers had no correlation with the results announced at the polling units and signed by agents. There were many cases of violent threats at polling units. There were cases where the INEC staff did not turn up at all at polling units but results were later announced by returning officers covering those units.
What about the election and nomination processes of the political parties. Not one Political party used free and fair process to nominate most of their candidates for the election except in few cosmetic cases. When the parties’ process was floored so fundamentally, how can one then say that our general election was free and fair?
What areas of the electoral process do you think needs to be improved?
I am not sure what to suggest that will actually make a difference because my understanding is that the main problem with our electoral process is the problem of a dishonest culture. There is nothing we will do with an electoral process that will make the election free and fair unless the Electoral officers and staff and security personnel whether adhoc or permanent show dispositions of honesty. The main problems with our elections are using fake materials, writing and cooking fake results and entering them as authentic, refusal to conduct an election and announcing results as if the election took place, using threats to scare people away from polling units and sites and then announcing results without votes, hijacking of election materials to destroy or rewrite, deliberately turning up late at the polls by the electoral officers and staff or not turning up at all and later announcing results. You can see that all these are problems of the character of
the people. If we have a good number of honest men and women managing the process, most of these issues will not occur and where they occur and the officer tells the truth at point of collation of results, and such results are not used, it will be difficult for outsiders to continue to perpetuate the evil of turning in fake election results. The change, reform and transformation needed for a free and fair election is beyond INEC. There must be deliberate leadership at all costs at the highest level of governments and Political parties to invent honest men and women in Nigeria or re-engineer Nigerians to become honest men and women to man our public service and political posts.
I am not sure what to suggest that will actually make a difference because my understanding is that the main problem with our electoral process is the problem of a dishonest culture. There is nothing we will do with an electoral process that will make the election free and fair unless the Electoral officers and staff and security personnel whether adhoc or permanent show dispositions of honesty. The main problems with our elections are using fake materials, writing and cooking fake results and entering them as authentic, refusal to conduct an election and announcing results as if the election took place, using threats to scare people away from polling units and sites and then announcing results without votes, hijacking of election materials to destroy or rewrite, deliberately turning up late at the polls by the electoral officers and staff or not turning up at all and later announcing results. You can see that all these are problems of the character of
the people. If we have a good number of honest men and women managing the process, most of these issues will not occur and where they occur and the officer tells the truth at point of collation of results, and such results are not used, it will be difficult for outsiders to continue to perpetuate the evil of turning in fake election results. The change, reform and transformation needed for a free and fair election is beyond INEC. There must be deliberate leadership at all costs at the highest level of governments and Political parties to invent honest men and women in Nigeria or re-engineer Nigerians to become honest men and women to man our public service and political posts.
In the just concluded general elections there was a lot of apathy and acrimony based on religion and ethnicity.
Yes I agree. Election is always a divisible programme or project anywhere in the World. We cannot run, wish away or ban such acrimony. If an open and transparent leader takes control, wounds inflicted during the election tussle will heal very fast. How deep the acrimony gets depends on how open, transparent and how honest governments are run. The more governments are managed fraudulently and dishonestly the more elections become acrimonious. Dishonest leaders are more desperate to retain power for the protection of their positions and loots and so they easily use our stolen wealth to fan the embers of acrimony- to divide us and continue to cheat us.
Yes I agree. Election is always a divisible programme or project anywhere in the World. We cannot run, wish away or ban such acrimony. If an open and transparent leader takes control, wounds inflicted during the election tussle will heal very fast. How deep the acrimony gets depends on how open, transparent and how honest governments are run. The more governments are managed fraudulently and dishonestly the more elections become acrimonious. Dishonest leaders are more desperate to retain power for the protection of their positions and loots and so they easily use our stolen wealth to fan the embers of acrimony- to divide us and continue to cheat us.
What is your assessment of the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan administration?
As a person I would say that the President tried his honest best. There were equally some of his lieutenants that tried their best. But if I talk about his administration generally, it was a failure. There are too many aspects of our lives that got worse under the administration and the more damning aspect was that no hope was even inspired for a better tomorrow. The impunity shown by many of his delegates and advisers were excessive
As a person I would say that the President tried his honest best. There were equally some of his lieutenants that tried their best. But if I talk about his administration generally, it was a failure. There are too many aspects of our lives that got worse under the administration and the more damning aspect was that no hope was even inspired for a better tomorrow. The impunity shown by many of his delegates and advisers were excessive
As the new Government prepares to be sworn in on May 29th 2015, what
are your expectations of the incoming Mohammed Buhari administration
generally and in particular with regards to justice sector reform?
Oh dear, the work for the Buhari administration is enormous. I do hope that he will open his eyes and assemble a crop of honest men and women who will execute the work for him selflessly like he would do if he were to for example divide himself into 40 Ministers, 40 permanent secretaries and 1000 heads of government agencies and Institutions. I have read his covenant for his first hundred days in office and I am very excited to see General Buhari begin the march on May 29th. I just have a very strong feeling that he will live up to our expectations.
And talking about justice sector reform- surely we have his Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN. Justice sector reform is his turf. He did it by reviewing and rewriting many of our laws as senior special assistant to Attorney-General of the Federation under President Babangida. He led it again in Lagos as Attorney-General under Governor Tinubu. Lagos is leading the rest of the country today on justice sector reform- civil, litigation, criminal code, criminal procedure, ADR, process of appointment of magistrates and judges etc etc. Yemi will bring his honesty, that energy, drive, initiative and selflessness to a Buhari regime.
Oh dear, the work for the Buhari administration is enormous. I do hope that he will open his eyes and assemble a crop of honest men and women who will execute the work for him selflessly like he would do if he were to for example divide himself into 40 Ministers, 40 permanent secretaries and 1000 heads of government agencies and Institutions. I have read his covenant for his first hundred days in office and I am very excited to see General Buhari begin the march on May 29th. I just have a very strong feeling that he will live up to our expectations.
And talking about justice sector reform- surely we have his Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN. Justice sector reform is his turf. He did it by reviewing and rewriting many of our laws as senior special assistant to Attorney-General of the Federation under President Babangida. He led it again in Lagos as Attorney-General under Governor Tinubu. Lagos is leading the rest of the country today on justice sector reform- civil, litigation, criminal code, criminal procedure, ADR, process of appointment of magistrates and judges etc etc. Yemi will bring his honesty, that energy, drive, initiative and selflessness to a Buhari regime.
General Buhari has pronounced Corruption as his No 1 enemy which he
will tackle headlong. Do you think corruption can be fought successfully
in Nigeria?
Yes I think corruption can be tackled successfully. It will not be eradicated in 4 years or totally even in 8 years or more. But a successful sign post can be placed within 4 years that corruption will not be condoned at all. I believe General Buhari will implement zero tolerance for corruption and that is all the body language we need to begin to stem the tide. Remember I said that he must choose his men and women carefully. He cannot afford to have Ministers and political appointees that will carry on, on the path of corruption with impunity. Leaders who refuse to toe the new route of honesty must be dealt with severely and disgraced publicly. The Institutions must be forced to deal transparently and openly including proactively publishing data required under the freedom of Information Act. A mass public orientation campaign must begin just as Gen Buhari did with WAI. The orientation campaign will not only target reorientation towards honesty but also
an orientation that educates the citizens to ask questions from their governments and leaders. We should begin to hear of the Orientation Agency. Is it possible to for example to tackle this disgrace we all suffer seeing the police legitimately ask and receive bribe on the public highway? I think these incremental focuses and the body language of the President and his delegates will make a difference. General Buhari is already on the right path by making the discussion on corruption a public issue.
Yes I think corruption can be tackled successfully. It will not be eradicated in 4 years or totally even in 8 years or more. But a successful sign post can be placed within 4 years that corruption will not be condoned at all. I believe General Buhari will implement zero tolerance for corruption and that is all the body language we need to begin to stem the tide. Remember I said that he must choose his men and women carefully. He cannot afford to have Ministers and political appointees that will carry on, on the path of corruption with impunity. Leaders who refuse to toe the new route of honesty must be dealt with severely and disgraced publicly. The Institutions must be forced to deal transparently and openly including proactively publishing data required under the freedom of Information Act. A mass public orientation campaign must begin just as Gen Buhari did with WAI. The orientation campaign will not only target reorientation towards honesty but also
an orientation that educates the citizens to ask questions from their governments and leaders. We should begin to hear of the Orientation Agency. Is it possible to for example to tackle this disgrace we all suffer seeing the police legitimately ask and receive bribe on the public highway? I think these incremental focuses and the body language of the President and his delegates will make a difference. General Buhari is already on the right path by making the discussion on corruption a public issue.
Corruption has been identified as the major problem in the Bar and the
Bench today. You are well known to have very strong views against
corruption. How can corruption be dealt with in the legal profession?
The problem with the issue of corruption in the legal profession is that we do not have a Bar that can lead a change in attitude. The Bar itself is run like the Nigerian government and state governments. There is hardly any transparency in the governance of the Bar. And how can you create an honest and transparent Bar when officers have to pay delegates lots of money as bribe to get elected. Many years back, I had advised the bar that ethical lawyers are not born but made. We have done little or nothing to make ethical lawyers. Every year the total number of law graduates from law faculties total over 7000. There are 36 Law Faculties recognised by the Council of Legal Education. 34 of these Law Faculties send their graduates to the Nigerian Law School. My survey of ethics teaching at the Nigerian Law Faculties reveals that on a general scale, ethics is not part of the LLB Programme. My interactions with law teachers across the country also reveal that
most law teachers have not even read our 2007 Rules of Professional Conduct. Do law faculties see/feel any need to make ethics a serious learning issue? No. Most Law Faculties do not have a goal for legal education. Law is simply taught as a liberal art in the faculties where they define concepts and principles and teaching and learning is not seen from the perspective of a vocation or profession. 5 years (which is about the longest) is almost a wasted opportunity for preparing the law student to become a competent and ethical lawyer. There is agreement in the profession- though the law faculties have yet to understand that they are part of this profession- that the law faculties must teach law both as a liberal art and as a vocation and that ethics teaching must commence from the first year of a law student. There is also a general consensus that learning ethics only for a few months at the Nigerian Law School will not make ethical lawyers. How about
the Bar and Ethics Education? Woeful, very woeful both at the National and at Branch levels. There is a prescription for a mandatory ethics course at the mandatory continuing legal education programme but the MCLE is dead. At NBA conferences, I conducted or organised ethics sessions under the auspices of the Legal Education Committee, or the Academic Forum or the ICLE and the participation of members at these sessions was very poor. Most lawyers that graduated before 2007 have not also read or seen the Lawyers Rules on ethics by 2015!
If we must have any hope for a change for the better then we must take the fate of our profession in our own hands. We must make law faculties serve the goals of the profession. Ethics must be introduced in the LLB programme from the 100 level to 500 level and taught not only as a stand-alone subject but also pervasively. Ethics issues have never been more challenging in Nigeria than now. The nation is literally dying under the weight of corruption and unethical culture. Do we want to lead and beat them or do we want to remain with them? I have never known a more disinterested profession like the Nigerian Bar Association in the way we train those that join us.
The problem with the issue of corruption in the legal profession is that we do not have a Bar that can lead a change in attitude. The Bar itself is run like the Nigerian government and state governments. There is hardly any transparency in the governance of the Bar. And how can you create an honest and transparent Bar when officers have to pay delegates lots of money as bribe to get elected. Many years back, I had advised the bar that ethical lawyers are not born but made. We have done little or nothing to make ethical lawyers. Every year the total number of law graduates from law faculties total over 7000. There are 36 Law Faculties recognised by the Council of Legal Education. 34 of these Law Faculties send their graduates to the Nigerian Law School. My survey of ethics teaching at the Nigerian Law Faculties reveals that on a general scale, ethics is not part of the LLB Programme. My interactions with law teachers across the country also reveal that
most law teachers have not even read our 2007 Rules of Professional Conduct. Do law faculties see/feel any need to make ethics a serious learning issue? No. Most Law Faculties do not have a goal for legal education. Law is simply taught as a liberal art in the faculties where they define concepts and principles and teaching and learning is not seen from the perspective of a vocation or profession. 5 years (which is about the longest) is almost a wasted opportunity for preparing the law student to become a competent and ethical lawyer. There is agreement in the profession- though the law faculties have yet to understand that they are part of this profession- that the law faculties must teach law both as a liberal art and as a vocation and that ethics teaching must commence from the first year of a law student. There is also a general consensus that learning ethics only for a few months at the Nigerian Law School will not make ethical lawyers. How about
the Bar and Ethics Education? Woeful, very woeful both at the National and at Branch levels. There is a prescription for a mandatory ethics course at the mandatory continuing legal education programme but the MCLE is dead. At NBA conferences, I conducted or organised ethics sessions under the auspices of the Legal Education Committee, or the Academic Forum or the ICLE and the participation of members at these sessions was very poor. Most lawyers that graduated before 2007 have not also read or seen the Lawyers Rules on ethics by 2015!
If we must have any hope for a change for the better then we must take the fate of our profession in our own hands. We must make law faculties serve the goals of the profession. Ethics must be introduced in the LLB programme from the 100 level to 500 level and taught not only as a stand-alone subject but also pervasively. Ethics issues have never been more challenging in Nigeria than now. The nation is literally dying under the weight of corruption and unethical culture. Do we want to lead and beat them or do we want to remain with them? I have never known a more disinterested profession like the Nigerian Bar Association in the way we train those that join us.
We should also focus on sanctions and naming and shaming. One of the draw backs to sanctions for unethical conduct in the bar is the Legal Practitioners Act that provides for only one Disciplinary Committee. The bar has not been able to get a new Legal Practitioners Act enacted into law since 2004 when we submitted the first bill. Many bills that have been produced since then attempted to create an opportunity for adhoc disciplinary committees that could sit simultaneously in different parts of the country. Each time we submit a new bill it never gets past first reading at each National Assembly life span.
We need also a Legal Services Commission Act. The objectives of the Commission include- give consumers and users of legal services an independent, timely, fair and reasonable means of redress for complaints; promote, monitor and enforce high standards of conduct in the provision of legal services and advance integrity in the legal profession; protect and promote public confidence in the legal system, the legal profession, the administration of justice and the rule of law; increase public understanding of the citizen’s legal rights and duties; and promote and maintain adherence to the professional principles. The Bar submitted this bill in 2011 to the National Assembly but up till date no mention has been made of the bill.
The issue of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria and judicial autonomy is
one that has been the subject of great constitutional and legal debates.
For a major part of last year JUSUN was mostly on strike nationwide for
demands which some argue are justified and constitutional. What are
your thoughts on judicial autonomy?
Surely Judicial autonomy is a major sustenance of democracy and fundamental freedoms. I really get surprised and shocked when I hear that any lawyer is criticising JUSUN strike. No matter the scope of interest of JUSUN, no matter the hardship caused by the JUSUN strike all lawyers and the Bar should actually give them the greatest support to fight this fight for judicial autonomy to the end once and for all times. A Governor once reeled out how much he was supporting the Judiciary in his State. His list of achievements included how he approves each judge’s application for over-sea conferences, how he bought for the new Chief Judge a car immediately after appointment, how he renovated some court halls. How he gave personal favours to the judiciary Yet he could not answer why 6 new judges appointed since over 4 years have not been given official cars in spite of the fact that the State claimed on record to the National Judicial Council to have new cars
Surely Judicial autonomy is a major sustenance of democracy and fundamental freedoms. I really get surprised and shocked when I hear that any lawyer is criticising JUSUN strike. No matter the scope of interest of JUSUN, no matter the hardship caused by the JUSUN strike all lawyers and the Bar should actually give them the greatest support to fight this fight for judicial autonomy to the end once and for all times. A Governor once reeled out how much he was supporting the Judiciary in his State. His list of achievements included how he approves each judge’s application for over-sea conferences, how he bought for the new Chief Judge a car immediately after appointment, how he renovated some court halls. How he gave personal favours to the judiciary Yet he could not answer why 6 new judges appointed since over 4 years have not been given official cars in spite of the fact that the State claimed on record to the National Judicial Council to have new cars
for the judges before they were recommended for appointment. That state is yet to sign a memorandum of understanding with JUSUN and lawyers are supporting the state government to sack the judiciary staff en mass. What a shame!
You have experienced most facets of the legal profession in Nigeria. As
examples of this, you were the Deputy Director General at the Nigerian
law School Enugu Campus, the Dean faculty of law in Abia State
University and you were also actively involved in the NBA. What is your
general assessment of the legal profession in Nigeria today? What
reforms will you suggest to improve legal practice in Nigeria?
I score the legal profession poor, very poor. If we must raise the standards then we must Reform and transform legal education at all levels including continuing legal education. Make mandatory continuing legal education the focus of the Bar and give it real life not pay lip service. Educate the public on their rights against lawyers. If the consumers complain and there is an effective mechanism to give them adequate redress incompetent and corrupt lawyers will be forced to be competent and corrupt free or ship out. And that is why I have proposed a Legal Services Commission to be established. Even while waiting for it, the Bar can be more proactive at setting up such ombudsman at the Bar Association level.
I score the legal profession poor, very poor. If we must raise the standards then we must Reform and transform legal education at all levels including continuing legal education. Make mandatory continuing legal education the focus of the Bar and give it real life not pay lip service. Educate the public on their rights against lawyers. If the consumers complain and there is an effective mechanism to give them adequate redress incompetent and corrupt lawyers will be forced to be competent and corrupt free or ship out. And that is why I have proposed a Legal Services Commission to be established. Even while waiting for it, the Bar can be more proactive at setting up such ombudsman at the Bar Association level.
Several lawyers in various fora have complained about the falling
standard of legal education in Nigeria. Given the abysmal failure rate
at the last Bar Exams, what are your thoughts on improving the standards
at the Nigerian Law School?
I am presently the Secretary of the Council of Legal Education Committee on the review of the LLB programme. I hope the Committee will finally bring out a result that follows best practices for legal education and that the work will be used and will not just be a waste of time, energy and resources. The Universities must be made to recognise and accept that the LLB programme goal is to train law students to become competent, social justice conscious and ethical lawyers. Universities must understand that they are training lawyers for the legal profession. And if we understand these goals then we must move from the present training charade to real legal education and methodology. Legal education must integrate knowledge, skills/competencies and values at all levels- Legal education that systematically exposes students to experiential learning. Training must be outcome based, highly interactive and learner centred. To achieve these whether at the LLB or at
the Law School needs learning where low students-teacher ratio is deliberately and sincerely observed. We must also deal with the dishonesty and corruption that is eating into many law faculties today. We must terminate the manner of hiring teachers at many law faculties and the Nigerian Law School today and promote the hiring of the best and honest hands as teachers. We must pay teachers good wages.
I am presently the Secretary of the Council of Legal Education Committee on the review of the LLB programme. I hope the Committee will finally bring out a result that follows best practices for legal education and that the work will be used and will not just be a waste of time, energy and resources. The Universities must be made to recognise and accept that the LLB programme goal is to train law students to become competent, social justice conscious and ethical lawyers. Universities must understand that they are training lawyers for the legal profession. And if we understand these goals then we must move from the present training charade to real legal education and methodology. Legal education must integrate knowledge, skills/competencies and values at all levels- Legal education that systematically exposes students to experiential learning. Training must be outcome based, highly interactive and learner centred. To achieve these whether at the LLB or at
the Law School needs learning where low students-teacher ratio is deliberately and sincerely observed. We must also deal with the dishonesty and corruption that is eating into many law faculties today. We must terminate the manner of hiring teachers at many law faculties and the Nigerian Law School today and promote the hiring of the best and honest hands as teachers. We must pay teachers good wages.
Having been Deputy Director General at the Nigerian Law School for many
years, what are your views on the proposal to privatise the
institution?
I do not think that there is a proposal to privatise the Nigerian law School. I was Secretary of the Federal Government’s Committee (Chaired by Professor Jegede SAN) on the Reform of Legal Education in Nigeria in 2006-2007. What we recommended was some kind of deregulation of the access to the Law School training programme so that private law schools could exist side by side with the Nigerian Law School and all the students whether at the Nigerian Law School or the Private Law Schools will take a common bar examination of the Council of Legal Education. The reality is that at present the Nigerian Law School cannot cope with the number of students that it admits or it forces into the campuses for training. And the reason that it seems that it is coping is because it is pretending to be coping and there is nobody looking over its shoulders. No form of oversight. Under a proposed Legal Education Act which was submitted by the Bar in 2011 but which the Bar
has asked no questions from the Legislature ever since, the Council of Legal Education was given a real and identifiable personality different from the Nigerian Law School and the private ones that may be licensed so that both the Nigerian Law School and the licensed ones will have the Council’s oversight. I strongly support the deregulation of the Nigerian Law School programme.
I do not think that there is a proposal to privatise the Nigerian law School. I was Secretary of the Federal Government’s Committee (Chaired by Professor Jegede SAN) on the Reform of Legal Education in Nigeria in 2006-2007. What we recommended was some kind of deregulation of the access to the Law School training programme so that private law schools could exist side by side with the Nigerian Law School and all the students whether at the Nigerian Law School or the Private Law Schools will take a common bar examination of the Council of Legal Education. The reality is that at present the Nigerian Law School cannot cope with the number of students that it admits or it forces into the campuses for training. And the reason that it seems that it is coping is because it is pretending to be coping and there is nobody looking over its shoulders. No form of oversight. Under a proposed Legal Education Act which was submitted by the Bar in 2011 but which the Bar
has asked no questions from the Legislature ever since, the Council of Legal Education was given a real and identifiable personality different from the Nigerian Law School and the private ones that may be licensed so that both the Nigerian Law School and the licensed ones will have the Council’s oversight. I strongly support the deregulation of the Nigerian Law School programme.
Has the multi-campus system of the law school been of any advantage to
the students, as opposed to the old system of just one campus?
The multi-campus system of the Nigerian Law School was borne out of the necessity to accommodate the growing population of candidates qualified to take the bar training. And that demand for more training places has not gone away because the demand is getting higher particularly because of the unethical conduct of universities in admitting more students than they can manage and the weakness and insincerity of the Council of Legal Education in managing the system. Remember that the majority of members of the Council of Legal Education are the Deans of the Law Faculties whom the Council ought to be supervising and Attorneys-General of States that tend to defend their State Universities at all costs based on political expediencies. So the law has created a clearly not so transparent oversight mechanism. So the multi- campus system at least reduced the problem of space. About 5000 students attend the Law School in one session now. I do not see how that should
have been managed in one campus in one auditorium. Learning at the Law School is already stadium teaching even with the multi campus system in place. The congregation of 300, 500, 800, 1300 or 1700 in one classroom for any form of learning is a mere joke and unfortunately that is how teaching is done at the Law School even with the multi campus system. But if you are able to get learning to one teacher to not more than 20 students in one classroom, it would not matter whether 5000 or 10000 students are in one campus or in multi campuses.
The multi-campus system of the Nigerian Law School was borne out of the necessity to accommodate the growing population of candidates qualified to take the bar training. And that demand for more training places has not gone away because the demand is getting higher particularly because of the unethical conduct of universities in admitting more students than they can manage and the weakness and insincerity of the Council of Legal Education in managing the system. Remember that the majority of members of the Council of Legal Education are the Deans of the Law Faculties whom the Council ought to be supervising and Attorneys-General of States that tend to defend their State Universities at all costs based on political expediencies. So the law has created a clearly not so transparent oversight mechanism. So the multi- campus system at least reduced the problem of space. About 5000 students attend the Law School in one session now. I do not see how that should
have been managed in one campus in one auditorium. Learning at the Law School is already stadium teaching even with the multi campus system in place. The congregation of 300, 500, 800, 1300 or 1700 in one classroom for any form of learning is a mere joke and unfortunately that is how teaching is done at the Law School even with the multi campus system. But if you are able to get learning to one teacher to not more than 20 students in one classroom, it would not matter whether 5000 or 10000 students are in one campus or in multi campuses.
Draw a correlation between your experience as an academic at the Law
School and your experience in practice. Is there conformity or a
disconnect between legal education as it is being taught in the Law
School and the reality of practising?
Yes there is so much disconnection. The worst scenario is from the LLB programme of most Universities where many teachers just dictate in open classes pages of outdated notes of copied principles of law and definitions. A large number of our law graduates even after passing the bar examination cannot write simple formal letters or minutes of meetings. I told you earlier that a majority of our law teachers in the Universities have not read or seen the Rules of Professional Conduct for the legal profession yet they are preparing our students to join the profession. Many law teachers that teach the Law of Evidence have never examined or cross examined a witness or tendered a document in reality or in simulation. Can you tell me how they teach examination or cross examination of witnesses or how to tender a document in evidence to law students? I could go on and on.
Yes there is so much disconnection. The worst scenario is from the LLB programme of most Universities where many teachers just dictate in open classes pages of outdated notes of copied principles of law and definitions. A large number of our law graduates even after passing the bar examination cannot write simple formal letters or minutes of meetings. I told you earlier that a majority of our law teachers in the Universities have not read or seen the Rules of Professional Conduct for the legal profession yet they are preparing our students to join the profession. Many law teachers that teach the Law of Evidence have never examined or cross examined a witness or tendered a document in reality or in simulation. Can you tell me how they teach examination or cross examination of witnesses or how to tender a document in evidence to law students? I could go on and on.
Some senior lawyers have suggested the introduction of compulsory
Pupillage for younger lawyers as a way of improving the quality of
lawyers in the legal profession. What are your views on compulsory
Pupillage for young lawyers?
Experiential learning is paramount in preparing competent lawyers but I am afraid that the Law firms and facilities in Nigeria do not support pupillage. We should rather focus on a strong dose of experiential learning as part of the training at the LLB and at the Nigerian Law School. We have so much time to integrate valuable experiential learning in the 5 years LLB programme.
Experiential learning is paramount in preparing competent lawyers but I am afraid that the Law firms and facilities in Nigeria do not support pupillage. We should rather focus on a strong dose of experiential learning as part of the training at the LLB and at the Nigerian Law School. We have so much time to integrate valuable experiential learning in the 5 years LLB programme.
Before secondment to the Nigerian Law School, you were Dean of Faculty
of Law at the Abia State University, Uturu for many years. What is your
assessment of our Universities, given the proliferation of both private
and government owned institutions?
Our Universities are still sub- standard institutions. The private Universities lack quality teachers. The public Universities also lack quality teachers but it is very bad in most private Universities. The Universities’ infrastructure constitutes an eye sore and disgrace compared with most Universities in the World. Go and see the hostel accommodation in the public schools and you will shed tears if you have a child in any of the hostels. If you see the toilets in the Universities or the lecturers’ offices, you will be shocked and yet we go round every year and give them full or provisional accreditation.
Our Universities are still sub- standard institutions. The private Universities lack quality teachers. The public Universities also lack quality teachers but it is very bad in most private Universities. The Universities’ infrastructure constitutes an eye sore and disgrace compared with most Universities in the World. Go and see the hostel accommodation in the public schools and you will shed tears if you have a child in any of the hostels. If you see the toilets in the Universities or the lecturers’ offices, you will be shocked and yet we go round every year and give them full or provisional accreditation.
Many Nigerian law faculties have only partial accreditation from the
Nigerian Universities Commission, while some have none at all, yet they
continue to admit students for law degrees. How can the Nigerian
Universities Commission curb this trend?
The Nigerian factor of dishonesty is the problem. Because we have valued our lives very low, we accept, overlook, condone and even encourage the lowest values. The accreditation system of both the NUC and the Council of Legal Education are pretentious and a sham.
The Nigerian factor of dishonesty is the problem. Because we have valued our lives very low, we accept, overlook, condone and even encourage the lowest values. The accreditation system of both the NUC and the Council of Legal Education are pretentious and a sham.
The introduction of the clinical legal education programme in
Universities and the law school is a welcome development as it provides
students with hands-on experience while learning the theoretical aspects
of law, it also promotes interest in their community. As an advocate of
this programme what factors hinder its growth and how can stakeholders
in the legal profession aid further development of this programme?
The main hindrance to the transformation of legal education to clinical legal education is the law teacher and legal education managers like some deans and some law school heads particularly those steeped in the tradition of wasting the training lives of law students while pretending to be training them. Nothing that the actor controls can be transformed unless the actor transforms.
The main hindrance to the transformation of legal education to clinical legal education is the law teacher and legal education managers like some deans and some law school heads particularly those steeped in the tradition of wasting the training lives of law students while pretending to be training them. Nothing that the actor controls can be transformed unless the actor transforms.
Several lawyers have acknowledged the benefits of continuous legal
education, however most lawyers are not adequately involved in
continuous legal education schemes. In your opinion what factors
contribute to this apathy on the part of lawyers? What measures can be
put in place to improve the participation of lawyers in continuous legal
education schemes?
The Nigerian Bar leadership has paid lip service to continuing legal education since 2008. The enthusiasm of the members weaned from 2008 when the bar leadership dismissed it and the interest finally died when the next sets of Presidents finally killed the project. No amount of measure that I will suggest will work unless the bar leadership wishes the project to come alive again, period.
The Nigerian Bar leadership has paid lip service to continuing legal education since 2008. The enthusiasm of the members weaned from 2008 when the bar leadership dismissed it and the interest finally died when the next sets of Presidents finally killed the project. No amount of measure that I will suggest will work unless the bar leadership wishes the project to come alive again, period.
Several Lawyers and indeed Judges have decried the slow pace of civil
justice delivery in Nigeria. What are your suggestions on improving
civil justice delivery?
Get the Judges to take charge of case management in reality. We have enough modern rules of court to support their case management powers. Get the appellate courts to encourage Judges’ control of the litigation processes. The lawyers play negative roles too. Our legal education should focus on justice from all sides and not only justice for one’s client. Our legal education should as I have said focus on ethics and conduct of lawyers and the connection with honesty, decency, justice, economic empowerment and the nation’s advancement. But whether or not other actors contribute to delayed civil justice delivery, the buck stops at the Judge’s table that is Judges from inferior courts to the Justices of the Supreme Court. The Judges should change their philosophy of trial and justice and take charge. Get judiciary autonomy in place.
Get the Judges to take charge of case management in reality. We have enough modern rules of court to support their case management powers. Get the appellate courts to encourage Judges’ control of the litigation processes. The lawyers play negative roles too. Our legal education should focus on justice from all sides and not only justice for one’s client. Our legal education should as I have said focus on ethics and conduct of lawyers and the connection with honesty, decency, justice, economic empowerment and the nation’s advancement. But whether or not other actors contribute to delayed civil justice delivery, the buck stops at the Judge’s table that is Judges from inferior courts to the Justices of the Supreme Court. The Judges should change their philosophy of trial and justice and take charge. Get judiciary autonomy in place.
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