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“A nation gets the type of government it deserves”. - A wise man


Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is the current president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). He was elected unopposed last year by his colleagues and since he assumed office, Mr. Akeredolu has tried not to disappoint his colleagues by dishing out the standard NBA lingo against the Federal government. He has been quick to lash out at government for actions, or inaction, that he considers to be unconstitutional or undemocratic. He is a vocal and harsh critic of the Federal government. At the recent NBA conference, Mr. Akeredolu unleashed yet another round of vitriolic broadsides at the Ya Adua government. Speaking on the topic, “NBA and the Quest for Real Development in Nigeria,” he expressed his displeasure at the “direction of events in the country”, saying the evidence on ground “did not give any hope that the present administration was prepared to lead the country to the Promised Land”.

Mr. Akeredolu’s gripe is that the Ya’ Adua administration’s anti corruption crusade is not living up to expectation and (surprise surprise) former president Obasanjo and Nuhu Ribadu, the former chairman of the EFCC, did better in the anti –corruption battle. Mr. Akeredolu said the EFCC is now a toothless bulldog and ex-governors who were charged for corruption while in office are yet to be convicted, while the token conviction of former governor of Edo state, Lucky Igbenedion, was a charade. Next, he unleashed the usual sermon about how corruption is destroying the moral fabric of our country, adding; “we must not fail to express our doubts on the capability of this present government to pull Nigeria out of socio-economic and political doldrums.”

Nigerians know that the aluta continua and anti –government posture business can be very lucrative. We know that Mr. Akeredolu and a host of others who find themselves outside the corridors of power today need to be relevant and so the Ya’Adua bashing campaign is hardly surprising. Former president Obasanjo received the same treatment too; Baba was accused of everything that is wrong with Nigeria. The modus operandi of the aluta continua trade is to attack those in government at every opportunity while promoting their own public stature and laying the foundation to seeking elective office.  But Mr. Akeredolu may have over reached this time around, because there is the need to find out from the NBA president if his position embodies the view of the generality of his colleagues, since it is obvious that he has upset a considerable number of them with his comments and activities in recent times. It is apparent that the man cannot be speaking on behalf of the whole membership because many members of Mr. Akeredolu’s NBA are partners with these so - called corrupt politicians and other public figures. Other members are on the fence, completely apolitical but no less angry with Mr. Akeredolu’s leadership style.

If the NBA president really wants Nigerians to appreciate lawyers as beacons of morality and transparency he has to, first of all, look inwards and scrub its house of double standard. Mr. Akeredolu should insist that members of the NBA stop representing corrupt politicians. On the other hand why shouldn’t they? Isn’t there an article about presumption of innocence until proven otherwise in law? Surely, as a Senior Advocate, Mr. Akeredolu must know that presumption of innocence is the holy grail of his profession. Therefore who made him judge, jury and executioner?

But where is the morality in the law profession as being practised in our country when a legal luminary defends candidates of the PDP and AC at the same time like Chief Wole Olanipekun, a former NBA president, did when he represented Adams Oshiomole and Ya’ Adua? At the Edo state Elections Petitions Tribunal, Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued tirelessly that the PDP massively rigged the election and Oshiomole be declared winner. The same Olanipekun defended Ya’Adua at the Federal Elections Tribunal all the way to the Supreme Court arguing that the presidential election was free and fair!

Who freed Lucky of Edo and told him to go home and sin no more? It was the Bar and Bench, lawyers and judges not the EFCC or Ya’ Adua, unless the NBA president is somehow suggesting that judges in the case were compromised, which begs the question of who bargained with them and delivered the “Ghana must go”? Recall the charge of conspiracy against Governor Oyinlola’s lawyer and Justice Naron at the Osun Elections Petitions Tribunal. It was a lawyer not Ya’Adua that was involved in the allegation of a forged police report tendered at the same Osun state Elections Tribunal against Rauf Aregbesola. Did the NBA investigate these cases objectively and sanctioned anybody? One would have expected Akeredolu in his speech, after excoriating Ya’ Adua, to tell Nigerians what efforts his association initiated to expose corruption within the NBA and sanctions imposed on erring members. He ought to have condemned the forged police documents tendered at the Appeal court by his colleagues but he did not. Maybe he believes they are innocent until proven guilty!

Another wise man once said that if armed robbers cannot find ready buyers for stolen goods, robberies would reduce considerably. Let the NBA refuse to defend corrupt politicians and Nigeria would be on her way to greatness. But aligning with a group of politicians against another has greatly diminished the integrity of the NBA’s bully pulpit and its moral right to sermonize to the rest of us about right and wrong. One reason why Mr. Femi Falana founded the West Africa Bar Association (WABA) was due to the growing belief that the NBA has lost its way. It is a judgment that is amply corroborated by the bellicose posture of its current leadership.

The point is that the fight against corruption in Nigeria cannot and is not the sole responsibility of government alone. Lawyers and the NBA are part of the problem and solution. We know now for instance, courtesy of the tsunami unleashed by Central Bank governor Sanusi, that some of those whom the likes of Mr. Akeredolu hold in high esteem as perfect examples of hard work, commerce and entrepreneurship are not exactly who they say they are. While on the run from the clutches of the EFCC, lawyers of Mr. Erastus Akingbola, the former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank filed a suit at the Federal high court. They intend to prove that he is innocent! So far Mr. Akingbola’s lawyers appear to have won the first round because the Court has granted him leave to challenge his removal. How would the NBA president brand Akingbola, Cecilia Ibru et al? Is it not a fact that head honchos of banks contributed to the economic ruin of Nigeria as much as politicians? How many Nigerians can borrow zillions from banks without collateral, fail to meet repayment deadlines and still walk around unperturbed? Mr. Akeredolu will do well to direct some of the fury of Aluta Continua at the private sector.

Ahmand Tijani, armed robbery kingpin of Benin Republic and receiver of stolen exotic cars had first class legal representation in Dr. Tunji Abayomi no less when he was arrested and extradited to Nigeria! I imagine he must have the money to pay what would obviously be very high legal fees to Mr. Abayomi who is another popular “Aluta lawyer”. Who are these lawyers kidding? I am still waiting for an announcement from the NBA that its members are set to offer free legal services nationwide for just one day to indigent Nigerians. The concept of Pro bono (free legal services) which is common elsewhere appears alien to members of the NBA.

Comparatively speaking, one is not surprised by the partisanship and selfish interests of the NBA because similar bodies in other climes are hardly non-partisan. Even in the United States, there is hardly any organization of professionals, known as interest groups, that does not lean to the left or the right on issues. It is all about self interests. So the NBA should come out of the closet and tell Nigerians what they already know; that it is a partisan body out to promote its interests in conjunction with the agenda of a political party. The attempt to create the impression that it is looking out for the interest of the common man by stoking up emotions against government is not working anymore. Why should Nigerians put their salvation in the hands of men and women who defend murderers and rouges?

The last time I checked, Nigeria is still a fledging democracy with all its faults and challenges, but in the true spirit of that system, the people will one day remove the present crop of leaders and elect those who can do better. The question is can Nigerians look to the NBA for some of these men and women who will lead Nigeria to Eldorado? Will Mr. Akeredolu accept an appointment from government or run for public office? I think so, just like he did years ago when he served as Commissioner for Justice in Ondo state during the Abacha regime.

Besides it would be most unpatriotic not to serve, particularly since he believes that Nigeria’s current crop of leaders are incompetent. A number of former presidents of NBA have served Nigeria at the federal level like Bola Ajibola and Bayo Ojo. Although they were only proud members of the Aluta movement and not lawyers, Professor Wole Soyinka and the late Doctor Tai Solarin accepted to serve in the Babangida administration because they believed that they can achieve positive change from within like ex-Aluta man, Adams Oshiomole is trying to do in Edo state. Mr. Akeredolu should take a cue from Adams, remove his wig and gown, and put his money where his mouth is.