ASABA SLP CONFERENCE PANEL INVOKES GODOT ANALOGY IN EXAMINING THE POSSIBILITY OF ACHIEVING A CULTURE OF ETHICS & DISCIPLINE IN LAW

In examining the possibility of achieving a culture of ethics and discipline among legal practitioners in Nigeria, the opening plenary session on the third day of the 2022 annual conference of the Section on Legal Practice (NBA-SLP) in Asaba, Delta State, reached for the lessons contained in Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play ‘Waiting for Godot’ to express its apprehensions on the state of legal practice today.
‘Waiting for Godot’ is a two-part tragicomic drama by the Irish Nobel-winning writer Samuel Beckett. Published in 1952, the play consists of conversations between the two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for the arrival of the mysterious Godot (who continually sends word that he will soon appear but who never does). Vladimir and Estragon are two human beings who do not know why they were put on earth, though they assume that there must be some point to their existence. They look to the elusive Godot for enlightenment. Because they hold out hope for meaning and direction, they acquire a kind of nobility that enables them to rise above their futile existence.
Is the Godot analogy reflective of Nigeria’s law community at present? The 7-man panel, chaired by the Hon. Justice Abdu Aboki, JSC, comprised of three jurists – Hon. Justice Anthony Akpovi, a Judge of the High Court of Delta State (who gave the Lead Presentation); his Bayelsa State counterpart, Hon. Justice Raphael Ajuwa; and Hon. Justice Onyekachi Otisi of the Court of Appeal. They were joined by four members of the Bar – Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, a former deputy director-general at the Enugu Campus of the Nigerian Law School; the constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN; Mrs. Irene Pepple, a business attorney and women/child rights advocate; and a proffestor of constitutional law, Prof. Richard A. C. E. Achara.
NEWSWIRE Law & Magazine’s correspondent at the Asaba Conference reports that the crux of the discourse centred on the continued relevance (or otherwise) of certain portions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers. While a number of panelists, like Mrs. Pepple, called for a review of what they saw as archaic and outdated provisions in the RPGs in light of evolving realities, others, like Chief Ozekhome, SAN, thought the gradual erosion of ethics in the profession was a reflection of the larger society itself – with its glorification of wealth irrespective of its source. Ozekhome pointed to the criteria for awarding of the SAN rank to qualified lawyers as an example of the relegation of merit in the system. This negative tone was even more strongly reinforced by Prof. Ojukwu, who described the NBA itself as not just waiting for the proverbial Godot, but as Godot himself. He gave a rather depressing overview of the Association’s merry-go-round of amendments (and subsequent inaction in implementing them) over the years, and urged the Association to break from its pattern of lethargy and rise to the challenge of change. One area in which, Ojukwu said, the NBA must intervene is in the area if the academic curriculum to include the teaching of ethics as a key course.
Both Justices Ajuwa and Otisi, as well as Prof. Achara, also spoke in the same vein, listing a number of deficiencies that must be addressed urgently if the legal profession is to move beyond its present superficial preoccupation with etiquette as opposed to fundamental moral ethics as regards such areas as appointments and preferments; the phenomenon of Benchers chasing after briefs; and the lack of a core of values even among the pillars of the profession (which, as Justice Otisi said, is a disease that no Code of Conduct can heal).
While acknowledging the plethora of challenges confronted by the legal profession, Hon. Justice Akpovi, in his presentation, endeavored to strike a positive note, as he acknowledged the strengthening of some rules guiding the practice of law – both in the RPGs and elsewhere. He concluded by saying that rather than wait for Godot, the Bar and Bench have already moved on, even though they still have a long way to go.
The Byte-Size Session that followed was about insolvency, as presented by Ayodele Akintunde, SAN, the immediate past Chairman of the NBA-SLP and a leading expert on insolvency law.

ASABA SLP PANEL TAKES A LOOK AT THE GROWING INTEREST IN ASSISTED REPRODUCTION TECHNIQUES IN NIGERIA

The Asaba Conference also featured a panel session on the growing interest among Nigerians in the various types of assisted reproduction such as artificial insemination; in-vitro fertilisation; gamete intra-fallopian transfer; surrogacy and so forth.
NEWSWIRE Magazine’s correspondent reports that the session was chaired by the Hon. Justice Flora Azinge of the High Court of Delta State. The panel which shed light on this sensitive and emotive issue, was made up of the likes of Laolu Osanyin, Esq., a medicolegal consultant and noted legal expert in this field; Dr. Abayomi Ajayi the Medical Director at Nordica Fertility, a leading ART facility; Nkechi Usani, Esq.,, the acting Chief Registrar at the C/River State Customary Court of Appeal; and Joyce Eseni, the head of legal at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital.
In his lead presentation, Dr. Abayomi traced the evolution of assisted reproduction since the pioneer case in Nigeria in 1978 and asserted that due to the advent of more sophisticated and effective technologies and improved techniques, prospective clients have a wider scope of choices. He went on to say that these rwmedies have now transcended the challenge to include congenital defects such as mental retardation, mongolism, the incidence of sickle cell anemia in offspring of AS/SS couples, etc.
While Dr. Abayomi dwelt on the medical aspects of these technologies involved in assisted reproduction, Eseni, Usani and Osanyin dwelt more specifically more on the legal aspects therefore – with Usani in particular expounding at length on the socio-cultural as well as legal issues around surrogacy.
The session was rounded off with a Byte-Sized Session presentation by Asia Ahmad el-Rufai, Esq., the pioneer Chairperson of the NBA’s Lawyers with Disability Forum. She spoke on the activities of the Forum, its needs and concerns.

DAY 3:

FINAL PLENARY SESSION QUESTIONS THE RELEVANCE OF ADR AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO LITIGATION

NEWSWIRE correspondent at the Asaba SLP Conference reports that the closing panel discourse examined the relative merits of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms as opposed to the more traditional, albeit more adversarial, route of litigation at the courts.
Chaired by Hon. Justice Biobele Georgewill of the Court of Appeal, the panel had the Hon. Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice in Delta State, Isaiah, who was joined by two members of the inner and outer bars respectively, – namely, Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN, a former Attorney General of Ogun State;; and Godwin Omoaka, SAN, a Partner at the law firm of Templars; as well as Diane Okoko, a noted arbitrator, and Kelechi Nwuzi, a managing solicitor at the firm of WANE Solicitors.
In his lead presentation, Bozimo, the Delta AG, acknowledged the fact that litigation remains the prevalent mode of attaining access to justice, but was quick to assert that it is the ONLY route to justice – as access to courts did not equal to access to justice. He cited surveys in which about 63% of Nigerian respondents described their experience with ADR as a positive one. Among the benefits of ADR, he listed four key ones, to the effect that ADR is accessible, appropriate, efficient and effective. Bozimo concluded by enumerating the various interventions by the Delta State government in the development of ADR in the state, in particular, and the administration of justice in general – especially with the enactment of the Delta State Administration of Civil Justice Bill.
He ended by debunking the popular notion of ADR as an acronym for ‘Alarming Drop in Revenue.’ On the contrary, he said, ADR was a veritable goldmine waiting to be tapped.
Other panelists expanded on the themes laid out by the Delta State AG, with Okoko alluding to the Arbitration and Mediation 2022, which is at the moment awaiting the assent of President Buhari.
The customary Byte Size Session at the end of the discourse was presented by Benjamin Ogbaini, Esq., principal counsel at the firm of Benjamin Ogbaini and Associates, who gave the assembled delegates an overview of the key provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.

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