‘States Should Collect and Utilise Their Own VAT’
Only a negligible number of female Lawyers have had the privilege of serving as State Attorney-General. Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN is one of such rare Nigerian female Lawyers who served in that capacity as Attorney General of Ogun State 2013 - 2017, and distinguished herself as a thoroughbred advocate. She told Mrs Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi in a recent interview, the reason why she believes that we have not had many female AGs, the possible cause of the paucity of female Senior Advocates, and why she believes that State Police should be on the agenda in the restructuring of Nigeria. She also expressed her opinion, on the issue of open grazing
Learned Silk, you are one of the few female Attorney-Generals that Nigeria has had so far. You may not be up to ten female AGs in the history of the country, with no Federal AG ever. Similarly, you are one of the few female SANs, especially at the time you took Silk, you may have been one of the first few in your age bracket. Why is this so?
I cannot claim to have the correct answer to that question. I am aware that Lagos State has had four female Attorneys-General in the past. A few States in northern Nigeria have also had female Attorneys-General.
However, I am of the view that as the name of the rank portends, being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria means that one is involved in the art of advocacy at the highest levels. As you are aware, not all Lawyers are advocates. You have corporate Lawyers, solicitors and advocates. An advocate in law, is a person who is professionally qualified to plead the cause of another in a court of law. While I don’t demean or take anything away from the solicitors and corporate Lawyers, I believe that advocacy is similar to waging warfare with legal principles, legal techniques and words. Life itself and the place of work are a constant battle terrain for survival, when you then have to earn your daily bread waging warfare with legal principles, legal techniques and words, it is like adding an additional stressor to your life. It is not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. It is for this reason that you will find that a lot of women, and even a decent number of men, do not like to be advocates. One is inclined to agree with them, that life does not have to be so hard. This state of affairs, is not assisted by the slow pace at which justice is generally delivered. The delay in the justice delivery system can be quite frustrating, and this leads to a bit of an exodus from the field of advocacy, especially by women who want to feel a better sense of fulfilment and achievement. If you don’t have a passion for it, you will not see the beauty in it, and you are better off not wasting your time with it. It can be really stressful.
It is only after you have practiced as an advocate for at least 10 years and you have met so many other requirements; and these are requirements that you can only meet by virtue of your being an advocate, that you can apply to be elevated to the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. It is a hard and lonely road that many women and even a fair number of men, do not think is worth the hassle. But, things are changing. More women and even more men are developing an interest in becoming advocates, and aspiring to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Even if some use the excuse that it is the women who fail to aspire to the rank of SAN, in the case of an AG which is by appointment, why are women usually not considered? What is so special about this tour of duty, that many women who are more than capable are excluded? Could it be as a result of gender discrimination within our profession? Even in elective and governmental positions, it is the same story of male domination.
The Constitution provides in Sections 150 and 195, that a person shall not be qualified to hold or perform the functions of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation or a State respectively unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria, and has been so qualified for not less than ten years. The Attorney-General is the only Minister and State Commissioner, recognised and mandated by the Constitution. It is considered to be a very sensitive office. Indeed, it is a very demanding and sensitive office. The Attorney-General is the Chief Law Officer for the State, and the leader of the Bar in the State or in the country as the case may be.
Ideally, any legal practitioner, male or female, who has practiced as such for ten years should qualify to be appointed as Attorney-General. However, we do not live in an ideal world. Even in the most democratic of democracies, the vicissitudes of politics ensures that a President will only appoint a person in whom he has a lot of faith and trust to be the Attorney-General, even though the said Attorney-General must be apolitical to ensure that he lives up to the billings of his office.
I then come to Nigeria. The vagaries of politics in Nigeria are not different. A Nigerian President or Governor will only appoint a person he absolutely trusts, to be the Attorney-General. What are the chances of that person being a woman, given the realities of the poor showing of the average Nigerian woman in politics? Very slim.
Women are rarely considered for the office of Attorney-General, because there is some form of gender discrimination which stems from a feeling that women cannot bear the weight and demands of the office of Attorney-General. It also stems, to some extent, from our traditional values. I know of a Yoruba adage that says “Men are to be found in tough places”. I need not state that the said adage is now outdated because there are different types of tough places, and scientific research has shown that women can also be tough, resilient and very strong in many scenarios.
Another reason why more women are not considered for the role of Attorney General, is the sensitive nature of the office. I must state that the manner in which the office is sensitive, is often misconceived in our locality. I will come back to this point.
The Attorney-General is the Chief legal officer of the State and legal adviser to the Governor -in-Council.
“ONE OF THE CRITICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE AG IS TO ENSURE THAT THE RULE OF LAW IS UPHELD, AND THAT NOBODY RISES ABOVE THE LAW”
“I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT SECESSION WILL BRING ABOUT A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. I THINK IT MIGHT EVEN FURTHER FRACTURE THE PROBLEM INTO SMALLER, BUT LESS MANAGEABLE PIECES”
On assumption of office, the AG swears and oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This means, and this is where the true sensitivity of the nature of the AG’s office lies, that the AG must remain true and loyal to the Constitution, and not to the interest of the Governor or the President who appoints him or her. Unfortunately, what you find is that AGs are appointed on a premise that totally ignores the “loyalty to the Constitution” component, and that component is substituted with loyalty to the persona of the Governor or the President. You will agree with me that, since most Governors and Presidents are men, very few women will ever be considered to be appropriate for appointment as AG. I daresay that the position is not likely to change, until Nigeria as a country begins to have strong institutions rather than strong men.
Having said that, I cannot help but commend Senator Ibikunle Amosun, CON, FCA who was the Governor who appointed me as Attorney-General of Ogun State, as a rare gem in this regard. I had never met him, prior to when he first interviewed me for the position of the AG of Ogun State. The State needed an Attorney-General, and they went to the legal industry to ask for a daughter or son of the State who was a good legal practitioner with integrity and qualified to be appointed as Attorney-General. I was recommended to them by a couple of eminent jurists. A few of us were interviewed for the office. After the Governor had decided that he would appoint me, he called all my references, that is, everybody I told him that I had worked with. I guess all my references checked out. He was brave enough to appoint me as Attorney-General, even after one of my references had told him that I could be stubborn sometimes. The rest is history.
I just heard the AG of the USA addressing a congressional committee, and he told them that he would apply the law with equanimity. He stated clearly that he would ensure that the law will be applied to Republicans and Democrats alike, and that the law should not be different for friend or for foe. If that were to be in Nigeria, there is a great chance that the Governor or President would receive strong calls to remove such an AG for not being loyal, or for anti-party activities. We need to understand that if you must tamper or interfere with the workings of any Minister or Commissioner, it should not be the AG. One of the critical functions of the AG is to ensure that the rule of law is upheld, and that nobody rises above the law.
To answer your question in summary, there is a combination of reasons why women are usually not considered for the office of Attorney-General These reasons include gender discrimination within our profession and among our people in general and the sensitive nature of the office.
Do you think some formal affirmative action as has been done in Rwanda is required here, or women must just up their game?
While I wouldn’t advocate that there should be affirmative action specifically designed for the office of AG alone, I do think some affirmative action would be necessary to bring about some gender balancing in political appointments generally. It is human nature that nobody willingly gives up an advantage that they have or enjoy, except there is some deliberate step taken to create some balance to even out the advantage. It would also be an added advantage if women also upped their game, as they would have nothing to lose in so doing and everything to gain.
Mentoring doesn’t seem be popular in the Nigerian legal sphere, though you are known to be a strong advocate of mentoring of young Lawyers. How can we deepen mentoring, to achieve the desired goal of having well-rounded Lawyers in character and learning?
I really don’t have any bright ideas about how we can deepen mentoring, aside from encouraging those who have gone before and who appear to have done well, to share their experiences on the journey to success with those who are coming behind them.
I hold the view that, many seniors in the profession are not sharing the realities of their climb up the professional ladder with the younger ones. The younger ones aspire to be as successful as the seniors they see with all the trappings of wealth in their SUVs, shiny clothes, expensive jewellery and designer bags.
Seniors need to share the story of their own journey with their younger colleagues, and encourage them by making them realise that the journey to professional success is a marathon and not a sprint, if it is to be meaningful and if it is to endure. We live in a microwave age when children want what they want and they want it right now! To my mind, mentoring is about teaching them that good things come to them who wait, and who work hard while they wait.
I enjoy mentoring younger female and male Lawyers, who have come particularly to seek me out to ask for career advice. I am such a busybody that we end up talking about not only career advice, but we often tend to venture into personal and family advice. My joy is often complete when many years later, they say to me that they took my advice on something that has worked out well for them. It is a super feeling.
Professional mentoring is also necessary, especially at a time when a young Lawyer is feeling low and is in the slough of despondency. Everybody has a moment when they are discouraged. Such would be the time, to seek out a mentor. As they say, a problem shared, is a problem halved. At such times, a good mentor should be able to encourage the younger Lawyer by sharing his/ her own similar experiences, in a bid to reassure the younger Lawyer that what he/she is experiencing is par for the course, and that this too will soon pass.
I am aware that the NBA Women’s Forum has a mentoring wing, and that they are doing a lot of work with women in the profession.
Many admire your multilingual background as an avid speaker of French, German and Italian. As a linguist, did this in any way impact on your studying law, and eventual practice as an advocate? Has your multilingual background given you any advantages in your practice of law? Would you recommend that all Lawyers have a second international language to enhance their practice, especially in this new age of foreign partnerships?
The primary tool of the Lawyer’s trade, is the language he speaks. As such, I can say that studying language for my first degree, helped my practice as a Lawyer. A first degree in language helped me to understand the structure of language, and has perhaps, made me articulate and better able to communicate effectively. I was constrained to study language as a first degree, because I did not have enough A’ level points to gain admission to study law at that time. All things worked together for good, in the end.
Aside from that, I do not believe that my multi-lingual background has given me any other advantage in the practice of law. The only advantage it may have given me would have been with client relationships, but you will find that most international clients who have business to conduct in Nigeria tend to speak enough English to find their way through. So, my language services are not required in that area.
I would however, recommend that
Lawyers learn a second language, because I have heard it said that in order to be marketable in a globalised world, a person will need to speak a foreign language.
Nigeria is on the boil as it were. Killings, insurgency, armed bandits, kidnappings; restiveness all over the country. What would you suggest as a panacea for peace at this time in our nation’s history? Is it Secession for those who want to leave? Or State Police? Strict enforcement of Section 10 of the Constitution? Job creation? Reduction in the salaries of legislators? Constitutional amendment? More equality in appointments to governmental positions? Will these measures help to dampen the tension in the country?
The situation in the country is most unfortunate, and saddens me to no end. Nigeria is such a beautiful and blessed country. Our people are so hard-working, and they do not ask for much in return. However, I don’t think that there is a single panacea for peace, because the problems are hydra-headed and multi-faceted. In as much as I don’t have a silver bullet answer to your question, I do not believe that secession will bring about a solution to the problem. I think it might even further fracture the problem into smaller, but less manageable pieces.
It is clear to me that something needs to change because it is obvious that all is not well, and if you want a different result, you have to change your ways of doing things or something has to give.
The current model we operate is obviously not sustainable, in the long term. I think some form of restructuring, is necessary in Nigeria. Nigeria is too large, to be governed by one person sitting in Abuja. This makes governance at the Federal level, to be unwieldy and ineffective. There is a saying that if you don’t know where you are going, you will at least know where you are coming from. Perhaps, we should consider bringing back the regional system of government, with necessary modifications that will bring that system up to speed with current realities.
The restructuring that I have proposed, should have accommodation for State Police. It is evident from current realities that the Nigerian Police Force as presently constituted, lacks the capacity (both technical and numerical) to effectively enforce the law in Nigeria today. The restructuring that I propose, will also dispense with the collection of VAT by the Federal Government. VAT should be a matter for the States to collect and utilise. It is an anomalous situation for instance, when you realise VAT from alcoholic beverages and when the revenue from alcoholic beverages is distributed, it is distributed to States where the consumption of the same alcoholic beverages is banned, or the item itself is being destroyed on sight. It is essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, and Paul goes back to destroy Peter’s farm.
I could go on and on. Has Government handled the Farmer/Herdsmen crisis satisfactorily?
I do not think that the Government has handled the farmer/herdsmen crisis satisfactorily, and the evidence of my assertion is there for all to see. If it had been satisfactorily handled, the problem would have gone away, or at least would have been significantly reduced. If anything, it is getting out of hand.
Many believe that it is impossible for there to be fairness or objectivity, since President Buhari is a Patron of Miyetti Allah. They see his Patronship as a conflict of interest contrary to the Oath of Office of President contained in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, allowing his personal interest to influence his official conduct and decisions in this regard. What is your opinion?
I had earlier stated that Nigeria as a country, needs to have strong institutions rather than strong men. If Nigeria had strong institutions, it really would not matter that President Buhari is or was a Patron of Miyetti Allah, because the head of law enforcement would do his job to ensure the safety of lives and property across the Federation, no matter whose ox is gored. If Nigeria had strong institutions and sufficient integrity, the President, knowing that he is or was a Patron of that organisation, and for the avoidance of conflict of interest issues, ought to recuse himself when it comes to taking decisions or issuing directives regarding the organisation where he is or was a Patron.
If he had taken this step, the matter would be settled about whether he was fair or objective on the issue. As matters stand now, it is difficult to argue with the school of thought that believes that the President is neither fair nor objective, on the issue of the farmer/herdsmen crisis.
On the issue of strong institutions, if the USA did not have strong institutions, former President Donald J. Trump would still have been in office today, even though he lost the elections. This would have created something akin to our June 12, 1993 situation, in America. Former President Trump was and still is a strong man, but the American institution, built over hundreds of years and defended by the blood of the founding fathers of that country, was stronger than him and prevailed over his strength in the end. This is where we need to get to, as a nation.
Do you agree with the Southern Governors’ recent resolution to ban open grazing, or you are of the school of thought that it is an infringement on freedom of movement?
My understanding of open grazing is the age-old practice of roaming about with animals in open fields, plains and nearby bushes in search of pasture or food for the animals. If my understanding is correct, then I agree with the recent resolution of the Southern Governors to ban open grazing. It cannot accord with any standard of justice in the modern day world, for animals of any sort to be left to wander about in large numbers in civilised society, or even on a cultivated farm.
Some argue that animal husbandry is a private business and not a charity or non-profit organisation, and they see no reason why it should become a national/Government problem where herders are given land free for ranching under the auspices of RUGA or whatever policy, when it isn’t as if Nigerians get their meat free in the market. That they and their umbrella Association, should invest in their business like everyone else does, by purchasing land for ranches and so on, only getting the similar initiatives that Farmers get from Government. Or in the interest of peace, should every State Governor allot land to the Herders for their purposes? Kindly, share your thoughts on this issue with us.
I am inclined to agree with the school of thought that holds the view that animal husbandry is a private business, and not a charity or non-profit organisation. Likewise, I am hard put to understand why herders should be entitled to be given land free for ranching. There are however, some States in Nigeria who have land in abundance, and may find that such land could be put to good use by granting the herders a form of rental or lease to use the land to graze their cows.
I believe the model of roaming about with animals in open fields, plains and nearby bushes in search of pasture or food for the animals, is outdated and out of touch with modern realities. Society has moved on, times have changed, and man must be
“THE INFRACTION THAT LED THE FORMER MINISTER OF FINANCE TO RESIGN HER APPOINTMENT, IS NOWHERE NEAR AS DANGEROUS AS WHAT DR. ISA PANTAMI HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF”