By Lillian Okenwa
A former Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Godwin Agabi, has called on legal practitioners in Nigeria to unite against violence and corruption.
Agabi who remarked that: “If nothing else binds us, our common experience of adversity should do so,” noted “there is not a single home that is not now distressed by violence, or suffering from the effects of corruption.
The Ex-Attorney General also pointed out that: “Both the victims and the perpetrators are in distress. And so we must unite against violence, against corruption, and against all the uncertainties that now afflict us on every side.”
Chief Agabi who was a special guest preacher at the April Prayer meeting of O.J. Onoja, SAN & Associates held at Bar & Bench House in Wuye Abuja counselled that “the first book which the lawyer must acquaint himself with thoroughly is either the Bible or the Quran. Better still, he or she should be acquainted with both.
“Familiarity with other religions helps us better to understand ours. Familiarity with other religions enables us to appreciate that there is little difference between the religions. By whichever way we approach the Lord is acceptable to him so long as we do so with sincerity of heart and purpose. The Lord sees the heart. And once he approves a thing in the heart it is enough.”
While admonishing lawyers, the Senior Advocate advised that: “Whatever it is of material things or offices that we have acquired, we must be able to ascribe to God. And if we are not able to do so, we should give it up. ‘Whatsoever things are true; whatsoever things are honest; whatsoever things are just; whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.’
“As lawyers, we ought always to pray. Let no lawyer set out to do anything whatsoever without first praying for guidance. In this profession, we contend daily with the devil himself. And how can we engage such a deadly adversary without God’s help?
“We disqualify ourselves from prayer and come under condemnation when, in spite of all our learning, we prefer darkness rather than light…
“We cannot give up the truth in order to please our clients or in order to enrich ourselves. The spirit which thinks little of the truth is an evil spirit. As lawyers, we must be consistent and set the right example. We give the enemy encouragement and supply him with ammunition when our lives are inconsistent…
“We are a nation in distress. Our distressed condition is not a sign that God has forsaken us. Nor is it mean that we are evil. “long. ‘Though he slay me yet will I trust in him.’ We shall cling to our Father however roughly he may deal with us…
“I speak to you at a time when driven by despair, we are employing every inferior method to build empires under the sun. The question which our Lord Jesus Christ put to man two thousand years ago remains valid: “what doth it profit a man if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his own soul”?
“We are looking to the east and the west, the north and the south, for promotion. Our occult practices will not avail us. We shall find no peace or promotion in our rituals. The ‘Greatest of all is the shepherd of that sheep.’
“We will never be strong as a nation until we unite in prayer… What a consolation, what an encouragement it will be to members of the public to hear that lawyers are gathered together not to argue over civil and criminal wrongs but to pray to the Lord our God…
“No economic theories, no political theories, no legal theories are going to save the nation until we return to God… The political, economic, and social conditions of the world today are very much the same as they were when our Lord Jesus Christ first urged us to pray. Labour was exploited at the time just as it is exploited today. Israel was under a dictatorship then just as we are now because the presidential system is actually a dictatorship under the constitution. Religion was on the decline at that time just as it is now.
“For reasons of greed and selfishness, our leaders are taking the people back into slavery… Those who have been given leadership shall be called to account. And we have all been given leadership…”
