The own goal scored by the Nigerian Bar Association

 

                NBA President; Olumide Apata


Truth be told Lawyers though powerful have managed to give their image a poor lustre. Society is best governed by laws  hence lawyers hate military rule with passion.

Lawyers in a Democracy is a different ball game. I doubt if there is any

profession with a larger presence in politics than lawyers apart from the military.

Those who think soldiers do not understand politics need a second think.

Lawyers according to Mario Puzo own the future. They participate in politics and play a prominent role in governance so long as rule of law prevails and they are the drafters and interpreters of the law.

Important as Lawyers are in the society, it is sad that their gates are so wide that it is difficult to know the real from the fake lawyers.

Add the level of our economic development into the equation and you will understand why many lawyers represent a poor specimen of what the profession is about.

It is gladdening that lawyers speak fearlessly against military dictatorship but in a democracy they seemingly speak with muffled tones.

This is understandable since our society is plural and lawyers belong to different parties and hold plural opinions. Therein lies the own goal scored by the Nigerian Bar Association in the Invitation to governor El Rufai of volatile Kaduna State.

In the first place the lawyers were well within their rights to invite whomever and Governor El Rufai was well within his rights to accept or reject the invitation. Be that as it may, having been invited and the invitation accepted, the Invitation ought to remain.

It is possible that the Invitation was done in good fate and even well before the escalation of the Kaduna crisis. However, the Lawyers ought to have seized the opportunity of the invitation to get first hand, the views of the governor and give him at close quarters a piece of their mind. By cancelling the Invitation, they have unwittingly polarised their ranks, embarrassed the Governor and made their association open to accusation of bias.

There are two sides to the conflict but fighting, especially a shooting war cannot be the solution. 

The time to act is now. The Governor should call for help if he is overwhelmed.

Comments

  1. Bilkis Obashola kadriAugust 22, 2020 at 12:31 PM

    The leadership of NBA seems not to be matured enough in her decision making. They just missed a golden opportunity that could HV been used in getting first class information from their interaction regarding the southern Kaduna crisis and probably use that avenue to point out the lapses on the part of the government.
    The medium could HV been used to offer legal solutions and ideas that would promote everlasting peace in the region.

    ReplyDelete

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