As You See

Law, leadership and challenges of nationhood in the 21st century Nigeria, which is the theme of the on-going Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, annual general conference in Calabar, Cross River State, took the centre stage of deliberation with Professor Jonah Elaigwu, raising concern over the selective enforcement of laws and order in the country.

Prof Elaigwu, President of Institute of Government and Social Initiative, Abuja, who was the key note speaker, cited the anomalies in the practice of the country’s democracy and funny enforcement of laws and other.

He also gave the instance of the Nigerian Governors Forum, where a faction of 16 governors claiming to represent the forum as against the 19 governors majority.

He also noted as a challenge to the country, a situation, where the police cannot enforce a court order against the Federal or state governments.

Apart, he recalled the five lawmakers impeaching a governor in Plateau State; the quartering ofAnambra State lawmakers in Asaba, Delta State to impeach the Anambra State governor and the movement of Bayelsa State lawmakers to Lagos State to impeach D.S.P Alamieyeseigha as obvious signs of the abnormal system sanctioned by the authorities in Nigeria at the time because it suited it.

Speaking in the same light, NBA President, Mr Okey Wali, SAN, said “one of our greatest challenges of nation building is the challenge of institution building. In Nigeria, we all know where we are coming from but we may need to examine where and how we want to go and the role of the law and the Bar Association in all this.

”Law plays a very strong role in the society, so lawyers are always concerned with public issues,” he added.

In his contribution, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke, SAN, on his part, said “There is no doubt that any society, which desires to bring about social justice, and development will ultimately address the functionality and centrality of law....