‘Not Every Igbo Believes in IPOB’s Agitation’
In addition, we are also sourcing for government and private sector intervention in the infrastructural development of the Nigerian Law School. The infrastructural decay in the school, is very troubling. The environment in which the students are being taught, is nothing to be happy about.
New Law school campuses are being approved. The most recent one is that of Port Harcourt. What is the essence of this further decentralisation, when some of the activities of the Law School like the Bar Part 1 - which some have argued should be an online course - are still concentrated in Bwari?
Let me say that only one campus was approved in principle, about three weeks ago. You will agree with me that as Nigeria’s population continues to grow, the number of those aspiring to become Lawyers will also increase proportionally. Currently, the Nigerian Law School cannot admit all the applicants seeking to be admitted for Bar Part 2. Annually, the Law School receives applications from nearly 10,000 students, whereas, the sitting capacity in the six campuses combined is roughly about 6,000. Therefore, the need to build more structures in the existing campuses, in order to accommodate the excess 4000 need not be over-emphasised. The offer by the Rivers State Government to build a brand new, state-of-the-art campus for Nigerian Law School was unanimously accepted by the Council of Legal Education with the concurrence of the Hon. AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, in order to help in expanding the capacity of the institution to admit law graduates. I think the gesture by Rivers State Government should be applauded. Just recently, the National Universities Commission issued licenses to about 22 private universities, and each of them was authorised to open Faculties of Law, subject to Council of Legal Education’s accreditation. We must therefore, be proactive in planning ahead for the consequential increase in the number of applicants seeking to be admitted to the Nigerian Law School.
On the issue of Bar Part 1 being an online course, the issue has not been tabled before the Council, and so, I would not like to pre-empt any discussion on the subject. However, like I did say at the beginning of this interview, no condition is permanent. The only thing that is permanent is change. We shall continue to adapt to changes brought about by technology or otherwise, as they occur. I won’t be surprised if in the near future, the agitation for online programme at the Nigerian Law School is extended from Bar Part 1 to Bar Part 2. Bwari as the headquarters of Nigeria Law School, has the capacity to admit all the Bar Part 1 students with a population of about 300 to 400 students. It does
not require spreading the students to all campuses outside Abuja, as being clamoured for in some quarters.
Recently, there were concerns about the security of students in the Bwari campus, especially as Bwari is somewhat isolated. What
are the plans of the Council of Legal Education to secure Bwari law students going forward, in the face of the incessant kidnapping of students in the North? The claim that security has been beefed up in Bwari is far from the truth, as our teams visited Bwari at least three times with no evidence of any security. Should the authorities be so nonchalant about the safety of students, encouraging them to risk their lives by going to school with no security, and then turn around and refuse to pay ransoms demanded?
First of all, I must restate that the issue of insecurity is a global affair. No part of the world is absolutely secure these days. Is Lagos safer than Bwari? Were students not kidnapped along with their principals at a Model College in Igbonla, Epe, in 2017? Similar incident also took place in 2016. Were students not abducted at Junior Seminary School, Ikorodu, Lagos, and were released after payment of ransom? In 2007, were students, staff and teachers not kidnapped at an international college in Isheri, Ogun State, very close to Lagos? I use these instances to illustrate the point that attempting to single out the Bwari campus of Nigerian Law School as an unsafe location, is unhelpful. We all live at the mercy of God Almighty. If some criminals hatch a plan and decide to unleash their devilish thoughts via kidnapping or abduction, it can be executed anywhere and at any time. See what is happening in Kaduna State. It can happen anywhere. The management of the Nigerian Law School prior to the frequency of kidnappings in Kaduna State, proactively liaised with security agencies for the provision of security at the six campuses of the school. You stated that your team visited Bwari three times, and could not see the presence of any security. It is to be noted that security operations could be visible or covert. These days security agencies prefer covert operations, so as to catch the deviants unawares.
As far as I know, following the intervention of the Hon. AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, security was beefed up and is still beefed up at the Bwari Campus of Nigeria Law School. Remember that we also have other educational institutions like Dorben Polytechnic, Veritas University, Catherina International Academy and so many other secondary schools operating in Bwari. We also have JAMB Office there. They are all still in session, and open to the public. I think the less we discuss about security matters in the open, the better for the safety of our children. I thank God that despite all the scary things being posted on the social media, the Bar Part 1 students sat for their examinations without any incident.
How do you think judicial autonomy can be achieved in Nigeria? Do you think there were any gains achieved by the two-month JUSUN Strike action?
Judicial autonomy can be achieved, when all State Governors decide to make it happen. At the moment, many State Governors are not interested and will not like to hear anything about judicial autonomy. For those of them who embraced the principle and have gone further to enact the relevant laws, we commend them. The Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation who took the bull by the horn by issuing Executive Order 10 signed by Mr. President, despite its perceived imperfections, should also be commended. In effect, no matter the laws you enact or many constitutional amendments you make to provide for the autonomy of the judiciary and legislature, if the will power is lacking among the State Governors, all the efforts will be futile.
On the recent strike action by JUSUN, my view is that while the motive behind the strike action is altruistic and therefore, commendable, the timing was wrong. For me, the strike would not have lasted that long, if it was timed to take place during the season of political party primaries, in which many of the State Governors would have one interest or the other. Be that as it may, I must commend all those who brought the Governors and JUSUN executives to the roundtable, for the negotiation and signing of the memorandum of understanding on the 20th of May, 2021. It is my hope that all parties to the agreement, will keep to the bargain.
“…… STRIKE ACTION BY JUSUN….THE TIMING WAS WRONG. FOR ME, THE STRIKE WOULD NOT HAVE LASTED THAT LONG, IF IT WAS TIMED TO TAKE PLACE DURING THE SEASON OF POLITICAL PARTY PRIMARIES, IN WHICH MANY OF THE STATE GOVERNORS WOULD HAVE ONE INTEREST OR THE OTHER”
Thank you, Learned Silk.