The President of the NBA, Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), who stated this in Calabar, Cross River State, said judicial appointments should not be based on favouritism.
Wali, at the commencement of the 2013 Annual General Conference of the association, also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, to ensure the speedy rescue of one of its notable members, Mr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who was kidnapped on Saturday in Edo State.
Wali warned at the five-day conference whose theme is: “Law, Leadership and Challenges of Nationhood in the 21st Century Nigeria,” that politicising judicial appointments would never be welcomed by the NBA.
He said, “Judicial appointments are becoming political and they should not be. The job is not that for the boys, experience must count. So, the process must therefore be extricated from favouritism and the NBA will continue to monitor the process closely.”
Wali also made a brief remark on the ongoing amendment to the 1999 Constitution, pointing out that the association had proposed that the process must continue with the active involvement of Nigerians.
He said it was only when people’s inputs were incorporated into the constitution that it could become acceptable.
On the security challenges facing the country, the NBA President urged the Federal Government to concentrate first on ensuring internal peace before embarking on foreign missions.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke,who spoke for President Goodluck Jonathan, noted that the 21st century had brought about challenges relating to securing lives and properties in the face of increasing global terrorism as well as the protection of the rights and liberties of the people.
He, however, said success could only be achieved through a partnership between the government, the organised private sector, labour, patriotic and public-spirited individuals and professional associations such as the NBA.
Also, the Chairman of the event and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, said the NBA had a critical role to play in the stability of the country.
While noting that the country still needed a lot of lawyers, Belgore lamented that the quality of teaching at the universities had dropped considerably due to dearth of qualified teachers.
The keynote speaker, Prof Jonah Eliagwu, described the NBA as a vanguard of evolutionary change.
He noted that even with technological breakthroughs, leaders worldwide were ill- prepared to tackle the challenges facing their countries.
“Western values now penetrate our boundaries unrestricted. The implication is that we are ill-equipped with the challenges of the 21st century. The NBA should provide an important grid through which this can be tackled,” Eliagwu said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, expressed confidence that the outcome of the conference would constitute materials for law reforms.
A former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who arrived late for the conference, lamented that Nigeria was at a crossroads.
He said that “the road to continued mediocrity” was not an option for a country desiring greatness.
Abubakar noted during the showcase session of the conference, that “the path we are currently threading, which is marked by empty promises, avarice, greed and corruption cannot lead to nation building and development.”
He stated that “nations are built one brick at a time, one person at a time and people helping people.”
According to the former Vice-President, it is “when people come together to help, rather than hurt each other, that they become the force from which a future is built and a nation grows.”
Abubakar, who is also the Turaki Adamawa, emphasised that the quest for Nigeria’s greatness demanded honest, experienced and incorruptible leadership.
He assured that if “we put our house in order, the next 100 years may yet be the century of Nigeria’s greatness.”
The former Vice-President also advocated the reorientation of Nigerians and the establishment of an enduring democratic platform with a sustainable legitimacy.
Other dignitaries at the event included Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba,who represented the President of the Senate, David Mark; Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State; and past presidents of the NBA.
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