*Says Arguments About Conferment Of Rank On Academics Needless And Banal
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A Senior Advocate Of Nigeria, Olatunde Adejuyigbe has criticised the ongoing debate among Senior Lawyers on the propriety of conferring the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on Academics.
The prolonged argument which was sparked by comments by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa SAN and J.S. Okutepa SAN opposing the award of the rank to Academics.
Prominent Academics such as Ernest Ojukwu SAN and Paul Idornigie SAN have since countered Okutepa and Adegboruwa, arguing that the conferment of the rank on Academics is supported by the Legal Practitioners Act and the 2018 Guidelines of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee.
However, in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, Adejuyigbe took a swipe at those involved in the back and forth. According to him, the argument heads nowhere and is a waste of precious time.
He diagnosed the application and conferment process of presently lacking in integrity and merit.
He said, “It is bewildering that precious time and energy have been dissipated on a banal topic that leads nowhere. A cart-pusher on the streets knows that the rank of SAN is in the same league of devaluation like the Naira. In Nigeria, distinction just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. These days anyone who is well trained in the art of Rankadede can get the rank. It’s a pity that Late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister never applied for the coveted rank.
It is only in this our own dear native land that those who should be behind bars are celebrated as leaders of the Bar. It is an open secret that many of those who have been conferred with the rank as Advocates either snatched, borrowed or purchased cases in the Appellate Courts in the bid to meet the requirements. Many of those who took up some criminal cases pro bono before their elevation to the inner bar abandoned such cases thereafter.”
He accused Senior members of the Bar of complicity in the dwindling prestige of the rank by circumventing the guidelines for the award of the rank.
“The fault is not in the guidelines but in us. Many Advocates who have gained mastery in circumventing the guidelines are following the footprints of their seniors in the inner bar. In the days of yore, a good Maths teacher was interested in the workings that led to an answer and not just the correct answer. But that’s not what we do. Just pile up your cases, do your runs and you’ll get a boarding pass.”
He continued, “When you read pleadings, written addresses and briefs of arguments authored by some ” giants” in the inner bar you will come to terms with our prevailing Ichabod and seek solace in the Book of Lamentations.”
The Learned Silk stressed that priority in public discourses with legal practitioners should be on salvaging the dire condition of the judiciary and the SAN title which he claims is currently suffering a deficiency in integrity noting.
“There was no issue at all when Professors of Law who are worth their weight in gold were conferred with the rank. They maintained fidelity with academia which is their first love and rebuffed the seduction of another mistress. But times have changed.
What should be of concern to those who mean well for our nation and the legal profession is the reform of our moribund and dysfunctional justice system. The sterile discourse on the award of the rank to academics is not helpful in any way. All resources should be geared towards the attainment of a virile justice mechanism. Regardless of the route a lawyer took to the inner bar our nation is still afflicted with a system that serves anything but justice. No sane lawyer should be proud of what goes on here. Let’s stop this meaningless squabble over fish and turkey, beans and porridge. There are more serious issues which deserve urgent attention.”
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