I Did Menial Jobs To Become A Lawyer - Ustaz Usman SAN
Ustaz Usman is the fifth Advocate SAN) the North. He told he did menial jobs to his school fees. He also spoke important
Yunus Ustaz Usman is the fifth Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) from the North. He told Sunday Trust how he did menial jobs to pay his school fees. He also spoke on important national issues.
How did you become a lawyer? I was born in the farm to a very poor peasant family on Friday at 12 noon. My early life was very rough; there is no menial job I did not engage in. At a tender age I was going to the farm to hew firewood in order to pay my school fees. I did dandako (carrying people’s loads) in the market. I worked with my uncle in local mud building, even as I was schooling.
I prefer the village setting to urban life. The fact remains that you will become whatever God wants you to be. But Life cannot be straight without dotted lines. Continue to pray and work. Don’t look at those ahead of you.
After secondary school, I went to Kaduna and enrolled for Secretarial Studies at the Federal Training Centre, from where I proceeded for a diploma in Law and did GCE at A level. In my first year I made three papers and the then dean, Alhaji Baba Shani did not transfer me to the degree level. But I am not regretting that action as it gave me a fair share and understanding of the Islamic Law before I studied English Law. I thank God that Shani did not transfer me earlier.
Where did you work before becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria?
I am from Igeme in Igalaland. I stayed with my uncle, Abdullahi Ibrahim (the first SAN from northern Nigeria). He sent me to stay with his friend, Muhammad Lawal Uwais, the then Justice of the Supreme Court.
Uwais, who gave me his guest house to stay while I was in the Nigerian Law School in Lagos, sharpened my life. I never knew that people in high positions of authority could be humble and kind. I still pray for my children to be as humble as Justice Uwais. He was so humble that one day, the bulb in my room went off and he climbed a chair and screwed it for me. As a party freak in Lagos, one day, I went back home hungry around 3 am; he saw me from his study and brought food from the kitchen for me. We need people like him in Nigeria.
When did you establish your own chamber?
I established my chamber on November 1989.
What cases contributed in making you famous and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria?
God knows that I am not better than many people. But the case between Ila Alkamawa and Bello, both residents of Sokoto State over Shufa in Islam, was remarkable. In Shufa, if you want to sell your house, you are required to first talk to your neighbour to see if he is interested before selling it to any other willing buyer.
My client did not want to sale his house to his neighbour because they were archrivals. One of them was in the Izala sect while the other was a member of the Tarika sect. The case went to the Supreme Court. The presiding judge was Justice Wali, another very humble and friendly person. I argued that there is “no compulsion in Islam,’’ and in Nigeria we practise the Islamic Maliki school of thought. And there is no such provision in Maliki. I won the case. It is enshrined that you can now sale your house without the consent of your neighbour.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) said it didn’t recognise the chief judge of Rivers State as appointed by Governor Rotimi Amaechi. Who is right between the governor and the NJC?
The case is now in court, so I cannot comment on it. I can only comment on the moral aspect of it. Justice Agumagu was the president of the Customary Court of Appeal and the governor wants him to be the chief judge of the state. If Agumagu wanted to continue at the High Court, why did he go to the Customary Court of Appeal? The chief judge of a Customary Court of Appeal and the Grand Khadi are equivalent to the chief judge of the High Court. I look at that as an insatiable desire. As president of the Customary Court of Appeal why did he want to be chief judge? Is it morally right? It shows how greedy we are.
What is your view on the alleged breach of seniority in favour of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa against Justice Dalhatu Adamu over the presidency of Court of Appeal?
I am not very familiar with the fact as I don’t know what qualified one and disqualified the other.
Is there any need for the National Conference when the National Assembly is functional?
I delivered a paper in the THISDAY Colloquim, where I made it clear that, as far as the National Assembly is functional, you cannot have another lawmaking body. The National Conference is a sort of committee to advise the president on a bill to be presented to the National Assembly. It is either the president prepares their decision as an executive bill and sends to the National Assembly (NASS) or he dumps it in the dustbin. NASS is not mandated or obligated to act on their recommendation or submission. And there is no provision for referendum at all. Whatever they are doing now is just advisory, which neither the president nor the legislature is bound to accept. Many people are saying that Nigeria should be bound by the outcome of the confab. But you cannot have two legislative houses.
Are you saying that Justice Idris Kutigi shouldn’t have accepted the chairmanship of the conference?
As an advisory body, he will guide them aright with ideas to be submitted to the president. It is good that he took the job as a legal luminary.
The former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, went to court and got a perpetual injunction to protect himself from the prying eyes of anti-corruption agencies. Do you think that was possible because his wife is a justice of the Supreme Court?
Not all. Nigerians can read and misinterpret anything. Unfortunately, for us in this country, people want to bring other people down. That is the Nigerian psyche, and it is very unfortunate. The Supreme Court has given many judgements against many judges. You remember the case of Ikomi and others. It is not so at all. Personally, I want to warn Nigerians to stop bringing their leaders down. You are attacking God by so doing because it is God that put them there. Can Odili’s case be revisited? Without the judiciary the country would have crumbled. It is the only arm of government that has stood all the weather. Why don’t you praise, instead of condemning these people. If you are my arch enemy and you make an achievement, I will commend you for doing good while we will continue our enmity.
Why are retired Supreme Court justices still in the Nigerian Judicial Commission (NJC) instead of making way for the younger ones?
A judge is like a wine, the older he grows, the more mature, tolerant, humane and experienced he is. I am one of those that are advocating to convince the National Assembly that judges should not have any retirement age, just like in the US and UK. The first black man to be the justice of the Supreme Court in the US, Justice Thurgood Marshall, retired voluntarily at the age of 89. From my little experience, the older ones are more experienced. If at a particular time a judge said he is tired or not well, he can go. Some are stronger than me today.
Why didn’t Nigeria appeal the International Court of Justice (IJC) ruling on Bakassi Peninsula?
When that case came up I delivered lectures and wrote opinions that we should have submitted to the jurisdiction of that court. Bakassi was a protectorate and not a colony of England. By this, England had no power to give it out to the French. My problem with Nigerian leaders is that they don’t take advice, which is most unfortunate. Look at how the people have been made to suffer. In international law, a people cannot be forced to be governed by a country that they don’t want. If a referendum was made, do you think they would go to Cameroon? They will come to Nigeria as it was done to Sardauna province in the 1960s. But nobody took the advice. After losing the case, we had 10 years to appeal or to set aside that judgement and bring new facts that we ought to bring. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo went without the sanction of the legislature and ceded a whole local government. It was a total illegality. Those from Bakassi will never forgive Nigeria and Obasanjo. That would have made the National Assembly to impeach him.
You mean Nigeria shouldn’t have respected the ICJ ruling?
Yes, indeed. How can I give out somebody’s car that I don’t own? We had too many legal defenses.
Does that mean that Justice Ajibola, who defended Nigeria, did not do his work well?
No. It was what we call ‘the tyranny of the majority’. He got only one vote out of the number of justices. Lawyers are human beings, they make mistakes. We had 10 years to set aside or appeal. The team did a perfect work. But the international community was bent against Nigeria.
There was an allegation that the presiding judge was French and he favoured Cameroon against Nigeria.
Not at all. Judges are trained to be blind to tribe, culture and colour. The Frenchman wouldn’t have done it alone. What about other lawyers? In Nigeria, whoever losses a case says the judge did not do well. Don’t criticise judges in the media as they don’t have the right of reply. But that is the major trend of political parties today.
It was alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to be given a Nobel award for peace?
Would you surrender part of your own country for a Nobel award?
Cases involving people who steal billions of naira in Nigeria are hardly concluded; but a pickpocket is mostly summarily tried and sentenced within few months or even days; what is your take on this?
Too many factors are involved. You need a lot of evidences to carry the case, or they throw it out. I don’t blame them because they need to do a lot of research. My quarrel with our prosecuting system in Nigeria is: Why do you convict a pickpocket; why not just let him return the money and go? This is why we have a lot of congestion in prisons.
Is insurgency affecting speedy dispensation of justice in volatile states?
Of course, yes. The courts cannot sit when there is no peace. And you cannot transfer a state case to another state because the limit of the jurisdiction of a state High Court is limited within the state.
Do you encourage out-ofcourt-settlements?
Yes, I do. In most cases it pays more. In the Nigerian psyche, if you take somebody to court he becomes your permanent enemy. But if amicable settlement is arranged, they continue their normal relationship.
What is your view on the pension fraud case against John Ayuba who was alleged to have stolen over N1 billion but was asked to refund only N750, 000?
I didn’t follow the case. However, a judge has no power to deliver judgement based on what is in his mind. It is as you present the fact to him. Even if a judge saw somebody killing another person and the case is brought before him, he cannot rule on what he saw, or he leaves his post and serves as a witness.
Are you happy that the judiciary is trying to salvage its image by suspending some judges?
Yes. Any honest person should praise Chief Justice Maryam Alooma Muktar. That is why I said we should not retire somebody at the age of 70. She has been a courageous person. She and Justice Mohammed Mahmood gave judgement in favour of Muhammadu Buhari in the case against the late Umaru Yar’Adua.
What is your advice for younger lawyers?
My own daughter became a lawyer at the age of 20. Age is not proportionate with competence in law at all. My advice is for them to try and make a good name before money. When you make a good name the money will run after you. But the moment you run after money before you make name, you will lose both.
Do you support parliamentary system government for Nigeria?
I think the presidential system has not failed us. But our legislators should operate on a part-time basis, just like what is obtained in America and Britain. I am 57 years old, so I need to say my mind now as I may no longer live for more than 20 years. If you do not tell the truth you are killing your society. If they don’t make that amendment it would mean that they are not sincere. Remember that 70 per cent of our budget goes into servicing them, even when the hospitals are empty. a of
It is alleged that oil companies are above the law in Nigeria. When there is oil spill in the US they quickly make compensation, but in Nigeria they say they are not registered here?
As long as a company is doing business in Nigeria, if it commits any offence, the Nigerian court has the right to try it. If a company is registered abroad, it must also be registered here before it can do business. Section 158 of the companies’ law and allied matters has it. But our own lawyers defraud us mainly when it comes to draft agreement. There is always this arbitration clause. You sign that when something happens, you go to France and so on. It is nonsense; we enslave ourselves.
What is your take on the continuous contempt of court by government officials?
Any government official that refuses to obey court ruling is not worthy to be there. And we should have a sincere National Assembly to ensure that impeachable offences are enforced. It is very dangerous for the country when people disobey court orders. I have more respect for the court than any other arm. This is because, without the court, the other arms will not be there; there will be complete anarchy.
When Aliero, Yuguda, Shinkafi and the present Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Muhammad left the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the latter jubilated. Why are they crying foul now that the tide of defection is turning against them?
That is one of the cases I did for the PDP recently. It means they were satisfied not to take action. There is a judgement of the Federal High Court since October last year when the Baraje group went to court. The court said there was no division. Up till today, nobody has appealed that decision. And the time for appeal has lapsed. Since there is no division, those that defected should know that there was no division in the party. They abused one of the finest judges of today.
Do you think President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest in 2015?
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan can contest the 2015 presidential election. I have said it several times. Sections 135 to 137 of the Nigerian constitution have it that: “If you had contested and won election as a president for two terms of four years, you cannot re-contest.” And Jonathan has contested and won election only once; so the next one will be that of 2015. The two years when Yar’Adua died was not his own term. He did not contest and win an election during that time, no. He can contest.
People have been accusing me of speaking for the PDP. But the truth is that I don’t like Nigeria’s politics of bitterness. I don’t belong to any political party. I had defended the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the governorship election in Kano. Our politics as played by all the parties is not enviable to me at all.
But Jonathan was sworn in as president after the demise of Yar’Adua.
The law says in case something happens to the president, the vice automatically takes over. There is no qualification, subtraction or additions. It is the same thing with a governor. You cannot say that Jonathan contested and won when he was serving Yar’Adua.
Can you explain this issue of eight-year tenure?
The Supreme Court says that no governor can stay for a day after eight years. That of the president has not been interpreted. But I do not think it will make any difference?