By Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga
INTRODUCTION
The state of the nation, where are the lawyers has one connotation for me, the role of lawyers in governance. It represents the active role lawyers play in promoting the rule of law in Nigeria. It signifies the position of lawyers in preserving the integrity of the civic space.
Having due regards to state of the Nigerian Nation today, it begs the question again, where are the lawyers? Or we might want to ask:”What role have lawyers played in changing, or safeguarding, the Nigerian democratic society?
However, we must not forget historical moments such as that of August 2018, at one of Nigeria’s largest annual legal gathering, NBA 2018 National Conference, when the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President MuhammaduBuhariwas quoted as he declared to a body of lawyers, “…the Rule of Law must be subjected to the supremacy of the nation’s security and national interest…There’s no doubt that National Security is important but what was notable about that moment for Nigeria was that lawyers didn’t rise to the occasion to counter Mr. President’s assertion and set the records straight that the President, who had taken oath to lead a democratic nation, is bound to promote and preserve the Rule of law, which must always be the supreme consideration over and above the national interest, and that due legal process must never be sacrificed in a bid to protect the nation’s security.
Interestingly, despite the increase in impunity from that moment till date, the security infrastructure in Nigeria has worsened. On a daily basis there are pathetic stories of the operations of Terrorists, Bandits, Unknown gunmen, Kidnappers, Killer Herdsmen – from train bombings along Kaduna rail line[1], to bomb blast claimed by the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) for the attack at an annual festival in the Idoji area of Okene, Kogi State on Thrursday 2nd of June[2], to even yesterday, the bombing of Christian worshippers in a Catholic Church in Ondo State[3]. These points to the fact that the suppression of the rule of law has not achieved clarity or progress but would rather continue to expose the flaws in the democratic reality of the country.
The role of the rule of law in preserving democracy cannot be overemphasized. In fact, both should be considered as conjoined twins. In a recent paper delivered by Dr. Solomon Arase, the former Inspector General of Police, at the NBA Abuja Branch Law Week Opening event on the 5th of June 2022,in expatiating what he termed as the nexus between the rule of law, electoral process, governance and good governance, he stated that:
“The rule of law provides the general framework for democratic rule, electoral process, governance and good governance which in turn is the destination of both democracy and the rule of law”
THE STATE OF THE NATION VIS-À-VIS THE SHRUNKEN CIVIC SPACE
Apart from the fact that in Africa, we are witnessing an alarming increase in the shrinking of civic space, it gets even more frightening when a nation like Nigeria decides to join the fray of countries that attack the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
The civic space is a dynamic environment that exists to promote accountability, transparency, and in general help to put governments on their toes. It defends citizens’ rights to information, expression and resolve for good governance. Its key components are the rights to freedom of assembly, association, and expression. In the modern age, one of the unparalleled innovations for promoting these three terms has been the internet and the social media, being a component of that evolution, demonstrating an unprecedented ability for the politically engaged to bypass and influence traditional information flows. The world today is a global village which affords citizens to acquire knowledge on governance on day to day basis from other countries and also inform them on how to make the necessary changes in their own countries. In other words, the internet age allows citizens to make comparative studies for better governance and citizens’ engagement. Citizens need to engage their governments and this is what the civic space promotes. Where the civic space is suppressed or repressed, this will be to the detriment of citizens as governments and its institutions will drastically reduce their response to citizens’ requests.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“If space exists for civil society to engage, there is a greater likelihood that all rights will be better protected. Conversely, the closing of civil society space, and threats and reprisals against civil society activists, are early warning signs of instability. Over time, policies that delegitimize, isolate and repress people calling for different approaches or legitimately claiming their rights can exacerbate frustrations and lead to instability or even conflict.”
Thus, good governance in a democracy is predicated on the principles of accountability and transparency. This cannot be achieved if information that is essential for the public interest should be prevented or suspended through actions like shutting down the internet which has become the life blood of the society in the digital age.
In Nigeria, I have watched helplessly as a majority of Nigeria’s senior lawyers have kept quiet while the country’s Minister of Information have, under the excuse of not wanting the government to be embarrassed, have curtailed and in fact boldly suppressed the media[4] and asked it to only publish censored information, while consistently declaring war on the media through the Nigeria’s law making processes-this is witnessed in the increase in the number of repressive bills sponsored to criminalize criticism of the government both in traditional and social media, which culminated in the suspension of twitter for 222 days, which resulted in economic losses of about N546.5 Billion[5]. Prior to this, there had been a successful attack on Citizen’s right to lawful protest against police brutality in Nigeria[6]where Nigerians again only saw the usual suspects, Femi Falana SAN, Ebun-OluAdegboruwa SAN, InibeheEffiong, and some other young vibrant lawyers, speaking out against the ills of the government. Yet, Nigerian lawyers have not been speaking with one voice. Another example is the brazen shut down of telecommunications in some States in Nigeria, such as in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Gombe, etc, under the guise of protecting the national security, without recourse to the due process of law that requires judicial oversight.
THE ROLE OF LAWYERS IN PRESERVING THE STATE OF THE NATION
There is therefore, the need to ask, where are the lawyers? In a country of over 190,000 men and women called to the Nigerian bar[7], you would think that that we would be obligated to shape Nigerian law in favor of individual rights[8] and open government considering that democracy is relatively a young concept in Nigeria.
I believe that Lawyers are the catalysts for progressive reforms in the legal and social structures of a nation[9] and consistent with our obligations to represent client interests, is to further democratic values. Democratic values can range from specific rights, such as free access to the ballot, equality, and freedom of speech and of the press, to broader notions such as the promotion of autonomy and liberty.[10]
Apart from causing social change through litigations, especially public interest litigations, I believe its high time lawyers took more active role in protecting the civic space such as have been witnessed in places like Hong Kong when lawyers took to the streets to march against political prosecutions;[11]Or as Tunisian magistrates and lawyers staged a demonstrationprotesting the announcement by the nation’s president when he intended to dissolve the national judiciary body;[12]Or the way Malawian lawyers protested against government’s decision to force the country’s Chief Justice to go on leave pending his retirement;[13]Or a situation where lawyers in Cameroon abandoned their wigs and gown and declared an indefinite strike to protest what they called government’s interference in their profession.[14] And there are countless situations like this when lawyers took the bulls by the horn to shape their country in conformity with the rule of law and supremacy of its Constitution. And of course, yes Nigerians have the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly, but this shouldn’t be an abstract concept hindered by the provisions of Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution in the contemporary society or that which onlycomes up for the usual talks on paper when government successfully infringe them, but rather public discourse involving lawyers should reveal that lawyers are working together to preserve the rule of law and our democracy. That is speaking with one voice rather than being influenced by greed.
Evidently, Nigeria has weak institutions which is majorly responsible for poor governance[15] and the result of this, if we allow it to fester is that lawyers will be the target of societal frustration. This was what Andrei Yakovlev, Anton Kazun, DaniilSitkevich sought to unravel in their paper[16], The Role Of Lawyers In Social Changes In DevelopingCountries: Evidence From Russia. Excerpt:
An analysis of these experiences shows that the actions of legal associations, which were initially aimed at maintaining their professional interests, often became the triggers of mass protests for the entire civil society. This is because the professional interests of lawyers in many contexts are connected with the interests of the entire society (Andersen and Oldham, 2003)
We wouldn’t want a nation that will decline to the extent where the public will come after us, being the ones defending and filing suits that are been considered as anti-people. For instance it was published how Sri Lankan mob demanding a political overhaul went on rampage killing politicians[17]From the way the society has continued to function and how the present government came in attacking the judiciary, it’s a matter of time before lawyers become victims of such misguided conducts as we continue to lose the trust of the ordinary man on the street.Therefore, Nigerian lawyers cannot remain on the sideline continuing to watch the nation’s descent into anarchy. We need to put on the cloak of aluta to deliver our nation from autocratic and plutocratic ideologies that is evident in the nationand unite to bring back legal sanity. Under the military government, it seemed that Nigerian lawyers were in sync when foremost human rights advocate, GaniFawehinmi of blessed memory, who will always be remembered for his persistent fight against tyranny, autocracy and corruption was vocal and active in fighting for the protection of human rights. He was a lawyer who was fondly referred to as “the people’s lawyer” and “Senior Advocate of the Masses”, because he used his legal training and resources in securingjustice for the Nigerian people.While using our legal resources to fight for the rights of Nigerians, we must remember that the members of our families are also the masses requiring our protection.
CONCLUSION
Lawyers’ role in nation building has gone past public interest litigations. Though important, we are realizing that the structures within the judiciary that should ordinarily encourage the important roles of lawyers have become the hangman’s noose which is literarily to frustrate societal change through the courtrooms. Thus, lawyers will only get the public on their side again when we boldly take issues not only to media houses but gather under our umbrella, in the streets to oppose every form of undemocratic actions of government. Maybe this will be us preserving the nation for posterity.
BRIEF PROFILE
Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga is a Legal Practitioner and the Principal Counsel for M.O.N. Legal, a law firm base in Abuja, Nigeria, and a co-founder of the Centre for Impact Advocacy (CiA), a nongovernmental and public interest driven organisation established to promote good governance, defend human rights, and uphold democratic principles in Nigeria. She is a Legal expert on digital rights, particularly on freedom of expression, association and assembly. Solicitor and Attorneyin good standingwith more than 10 years of experience in active legal practice, human rights, gender equality, press freedom and Media Rights advocacy. Track record of achieving exceptional results in advocacy in public interest and human rights litigation, public speaker, training facilitator and public engagement, and a lawyer who is passionate about everything human rights, justice and peace.
She is a member of the Nigerian Internet Governance Forum, a member of the Internet Society and a Co-chair of the Legal and Digital Rights working group of the Internet Society Nigeria Chapter. She belongs to the Media Defence Strategic Litigation Network and the rapid response team of the Media Rights Agenda on protecting the freedom of information and is the public Relations Officer of The West Africa Media Lawyers Association (WAMELA). She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and its Nigerian branch, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, Member of the Panel of Neutrals of the Dispute Resolution Centre of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a certified ADR Registrar/ Secretary of the Dispute Resolution Centre of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, a life member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) International and Nigeria. She is presently the Secretary of FIDA (Nigeria) Abuja Branch.
[9]The Lawyer’s Role in a Contemporary Democracy, Promoting Social Change and Political Values, True Confessions About the Role of Lawyers in a Democracyby Fred C. Zacharias (Fordham Law Review, Vol 77, Issue 4, Article 16). Ibid –Arguably, lawyers have skills useful for producing social change even outside the litigation realm. See Susan D. Carle, Debunking the Myth of Civil Rights Liberalism: Visions of Racial Justice in the Thought of T. Thomas Fortune, 1880-1890, 77 FORDHAM L. REV. 1479 (2009) (describing admiringly the work of T. Thomas Fortune in striving for racial equality through litigation and other means); James E. Moliterno, The Lawyer as Catalyst of Social Change, 77 FORDHAM L. REV. 1559, 1566-68 (2009) (arguing that lawyers are suited to serving as “social change agents”); AscanioPiomelli, The Challenge of Democratic Lawyering, 77 FORDHAM L. REV. 1383, 1386-87 (2009) (describing the importance of lawyers who engage in “democratic lawyering” other than litigation); cfOkechukwuOko, Lawyers in Fragile Democracies and the Challenges of Democratic Consolidation: The Nigerian Experience, 77 FORDHAM L. REV. 1295, 1295 (2009) (arguing that, in developing African democracies, “[b]ecause of their status, special skills, and training, lawyers have the opportunity and indeed the obligation to help attain the nation’s political imperative of consolidating democracy”).
[10]The Lawyer’s Role in a Contemporary Democracy, Promoting Social Change and Political Values, True Confessions About the Role of Lawyers in a Democracy by Fred C. Zacharias (Fordham Law Review, Vol 77, Issue 4, Article 16)
Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga, LL.B(Hons)CIArb (UK)| FICMC| FNSIG| Digital, Media, Gender and Human Rights Advocate | Principal M.O.N. Legal, delivered this paper at the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION (NBA) BWARI BRANCH, 2022 LAW WEEK PROGRAMME ON THE 6TH DAY OF JUNE 2022 AT ABUJA
