5.0. POLICY FRAMEWORKS
5.1. Legal Education Reform
On a personal note, I have at several fora submitted that the liberation of any society will necessarily entail the discharge of the primary responsibilities of lawyers in the pursuit of Justice. An essential element of setting the standards is the training of would-be members of the Association.
In order to ensure that standards are maintained, the profession, as the most important stakeholder in the industry, must take the lead in the determination of the form and nature that the training of would-be practitioners should take.
It is also critical to the business of practitioners that entrants into the employment space are employable. The existing curriculum of our legal education does not and cannot unleash the potential of lawyers as catalysts of change into our society, because of what may have been the deliberate walls erected around the ideal legal education that would have prepared the lawyers for this assignment; the socio economic and political transformation of the nation.
My administration will draw from the 2007 Funke Adekoya report on reform of Legal Education in Nigeria (commissioned by the NBA) and the 2008 Funke Adekoya report on the reform of Legal Education in Nigeria (Commissioned by the Council of Legal Education) to develop an NBA legal education framework that would act as the thought regulatory document for all discussions by the NBA on legal education.
The legal education framework policy will act as the guide document for all NBA representatives on the Council of Legal Education.Our administration will work with the Council of Legal Education (CLE), the National Universities Commission (NUC), Faculties of Law in Universities to leverage on the provisions of the NBA Constitution with respect to the Association’s role in the advancement of Legal Education.
We will work to develop and ensure the implementation of a Legal Education Curriculum that will cause the required transformation in the minds of a new breed of lawyers, leading to the inevitable prosperity of the members of the profession.
5.2. Justice Sector Reform
The importance of the Judiciary as the third arm of government in the country and the last hope of the common man cannot be overemphasised. The challenges faced by the system of administration of justice in Nigeria are well documented. There is consensus amongst practitioners and most Nigerians, that the justice delivery system has progressively deteriorated over the past decades.
My administration shall ensure that the ongoing work to improve the justice delivery sector is consolidated and institutionalized. Importantly, my administration will ensure that the NBA has a clear justice sector policy and would use the membership of the Federal Judicial Service Commission and the National Judicial Council to advance its objectives of justice delivery and the promotion of the rule of law in Nigeria.
5.2.1. Reformed Bar and Bench Relationship
The lawyers in every nation, particularly a developing nation as ours, have the bounden duty to take the lead and drive the processes that will lead to the growth of the economy. The responsibility is not any different, when an otherwise growing economy becomes bedevilled by challenges which have stagnated the economy.
This drive will entail deliberate cooperation between the Bench and the Bar from the point of view of a robust understanding of our role as agents of justice, which when attained naturally translates to providing the necessary platform for socio-economic activities that will bring prosperity to the entire nation, thus enhancing the wellbeing of lawyers.
The Bar and Bench must understand that they are members of the same body, performing different functions for the benefit of our common principal-Justice. Both members of the Bar and Bench must be properly sensitised and reawakened to this understanding.
Only then can we drive the recovery, reformation and repositioning of Nigeria. Examples of Singapore, UAE, Kenya and Rwanda, as countries where the Bar and Bench relationship resulted in judicial policies that catalysed the Economic evolution in those jurisdictions provide a useful guide in this regard.
The United Kingdom’s economy is also significantly driven by the combined efforts of an efficient judicial system supported by a regulated and disciplined Bar. My administration will pursue measures that will facilitate a robust understanding of this responsibility amongst members of the Bar and Bench towards creating a conducive atmosphere for productive economic activities in the Nation and thereby, fulfil our responsibilities as socio-economic change agents.
5.2.2.Speedy Dispensation of Justice
We will pursue cooperation with the judiciary to ensure that matters are disposed of within reasonable time. We will monitor the progress of the cooperation and discipline erring members who deliberately frustrate judicial proceedings.
We will continue to advocate for appointment of the best of us to judicial office and an increase in the number of judges and justices of the various courts as well as improvement in the standard of living. We will also continue to advocate for the increased use of technology and better case management systems in the justice delivery system.
*To be continued and completed soon.
