A Judge of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) Justice Nelson Ogbuanya has called for a reward system for diligent legal professionals to encourage others.
The jurist made the call at an event to mark the silver jubilee of the 1997 set of the Nigerian Law School (NLS).
At the 25th anniversary of the set, the last set to participate in the one-campus structure of the NLS, the jurist said: “Law is indeed a jealous-prone as well as highly expectant performance profession in both economic and social spheres.”
According to Ogbuanya, the legal profession provides opportunity at both public and private levels and is positioned in the nucleus of society, such that merely becoming a lawyer places one at a higher pedestal of assessment among peers in other fields.
He noted that in a distressing economy as Nigeria with large unemployment outlay, the legal profession has served as a large platform for absorbing teaming members, “yet many members of the Bar have jettisoned the profession, and in dare search for ‘greener pastures’, embarked on ‘japa’ in the emerging innovative and other more ‘rewarding’ areas, while others still held on to the profession while engaging in quick-fix areas.”
The jurist stated that many lawyers are now indulging in unethical practices and social media engagements for earnings, thereby stretching the ethical regulation of the profession, aimed at preserving its brand image.
“These odd conducts invariably rob-off negatively on the public image of lawyers and deplete their income base. Issues of quality of service and sharp practices are rife and largely impact on the profession as a rewarding vocation.
“Those who remain faithful to the profession in the challenging time and serve diligently and competently within the tenets of the ethical regulation ought to be commended and compensated with more opportunities opened for reward,” he suggested.
While appreciating the good efforts and commitment of the set 97, the jurist said:
“To the credit of the Class, we have Corporate Moguls; Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs); Senior Public Servants and Political Office holders in various States, including former governor and a serving Minister; as well as many Judicial Officers, serving across various courts’ jurisdictions at both Federal and States’ level.
“A look around the performances of many other NLS class forums, points to their consistent efforts in collaboration and rooting for one another on areas of interest, to get a fair quantum of the ‘silverwares’ of the legal profession, and to collectively celebrate milestones achieved by their members.”
He, however, noted that year of graduation and entry into the profession is not reckoned with in assessment of performance, as those who graduated earlier in other professions tend to forget that they are also graduates while critiquing a lawyer in economic realms.
“At social level, being an elite profession, the society believes in a lawyer’s pivotal role in social engineering. A lawyer is often deferred to in governance selection, even at family level.
“Above all, in a democratic setting, the legal profession is somewhat amply positioned in the national governance, and lawyers bear the blame of governance misfeasance, as they are considered social crusaders and purveyors of human rights as well as harbingers of greater wisdom and voice of agitation for good governance,” he declared.
