What is NBA doing? What is CLASFON doing? What is MULAN doing? What is NACL doing? What is FIDA doing? What is AWLA doing? SPIDEL, SBL, SLP, YLF etc what are they all doing?
As we approach the end of another Legal Year, I have nothing encouraging to say nor can I place my finger on any solid progress the Judiciary and the NBA have made in this 2022/2023 Legal Year; save for the proposed increases in salaries and the extension of the retirement age of judges of the superior courts… Leaving the lower courts unattended is a very myopic and unfortunate outcome of the independence of the judiciary movement.
My observations here will however be centered on the awkward relationship between the Bar and the Bench resulting in the run-down infrastructures of our Courts.
When some of my colleagues argue that it is not the responsibility of the Bar to support or even provide for our Court’s infrastructure, I quiver in shock because, in many instances, individual legal practitioners are known to contribute, support, and do the very thing the NBA as an Association refuses to do, acknowledge and understand.
Many do not know that providing support to the judiciary is the number one objective of the NBA as stated in the NBA’s constitution…but most NBA leaders don’t care or simply haven’t read the NBA constitution.
Let’s ask some questions here:
1. Who are the users of the Courts?
2. Who benefits the most from a good and conducive Court environment?
3. Does a comfortable Court environment improve justice delivery?
4. Does a Court with full functionality encourage productivity?
5. Are Clients willing to pay more for legal services when they see a fully functional court environment?
Whatever our answers are to these questions; one thing is clear, if the Bar and Bench cannot cooperate to ensure that our courts are comfortable for users and managers of the courts, then we have failed the country.
In my opinion, I adjudge that the failure is more on the part of the NBA. I do not come to this conclusion likely but considering the high corruption levels in government and the challenges of financial allocations to the judiciary, the NBA should play its constitutional role and bridge the gap instead of paying lip service and complaining about the judiciary.
CASE STUDY: NBA IKORODU BRANCH
A few years ago, NBA Ikorodu Branch procured a generator and fans to support the court’s infrastructure.
Before then, the court’s generator was constantly having faults putting the judges and magistrates in very uncomfortable situations which negatively impacted justice delivery as many cases had to be adjourned.
NBA Ikorodu Branch through its leaders identified that the combined value of the total financial expense of litigants, the value of the time of lawyers present in court, and the value of salaries paid to court staff and judges combined outweighed any politically correct position that suggested that the Bar wasn’t to interfere or contribute to Court infrastructure. It was a no-brainer to procure a generator and fans to make the working conditions better… And it did… Our Judges and Magistrates worked harder and better because they were comfortable.
Today; unfortunately our NBA in Ikorodu has forgotten what it means to make a difference in their workspace, our judges are the ones paying for the fuel to run the NBA generator, and sometimes they pay for the diesel for the main court generator… Should this be? Some judges and magistrates even purchase their chairs and other basic electronic facilities like printers, computers, etc….this is unacceptable.
The NBA will spend Billions of Naira on a 5-day conference but cannot find it necessary to invest in the welfare of its members by supporting our justice infrastructure.
I mean can we not see that the welfare of NBA members is tied to an improved court infrastructure?
How can we argue that it is the responsibility of the government alone… If this was the case, why do we take the government to court to protect people’s rights and other noble causes; after all we have many government-funded human rights institutions, committees, and agencies supposedly protecting the rights of citizens.
Is it, not the right of every citizen to have unfettered access to justice?
I call on NBA National, NLS, NBA Branch leaders, and leaders of all religious, professional, and gender-based lawyer groups to reassess the conditions of the courts and work together with the Judiciary to ensure that citizens get the best out of our justice delivery system.
Enough of spending huge amounts on irrelevant parties, cocktails, retreats, and law week programs that make no impact other than stroking the egos of some lawyers and which have become an opportunity to enrich some individuals.
Judges and Magistrates are Lawyers like the rest of us. The Bench is merely an appointment structure. If the judiciary is corrupt, weak, underfunded, or ineffective then it’s the fault of us lawyers and by extension the fault of the NBA and its weak, corrupt, ineffective leadership!
