Legal Profession Threatened, Says Babalakin

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Wale Babalakin, has charged members of the silk on the need to save the profession from going down, adding that the legal profession is being threatened.

Babalakin who lamented the dwindling standard of learning in the country, said except the lawyers accept to save the legal profession, it will soon become part of the decay in the country.

He spoke yesterday in Abuja at a book presentation “Two decades of Forensic Advocacy at the Inner Bar: A Festschrift in honour of Yusuf Ali (SAN)”.

The former Pro-Chancellor, University of Lagos, said the standard of learning is going down and charged the members of the bar to rise up to the challenge.

“What we call tutorial in our universities are far cry,” saying a law class of 400 students to a teacher is not tutorial.

He cited his days in the university where it used to be a student to a teacher for tutorial.

Babalakin said while developed countries that Nigeria ought to be competing with are daily improving, the country has set a low standard as benchmark for the profession.

He therefore concluded that only the lawyers can save the profession.

“Only the lawyers can save the legal profession. legal profession is threatened, unless lawyers come together and realise that we have to protect our law by speaking the truth and all situation irrespective of who is affected, we will become part of the decay of the nation. We are at a very difficult threshold as a country.