Legal Practitioners In A Militarized Democracy And What I Don’t Know By Timothy Ola Bamgboye

While the right to vote may be every adult’s inalienable right that he may exercise as He deems fit, I donot know how a legal practitioner would ever forget his moral responsibility to be the conscience of the society and be the vanguard of democratic ethos. I do not know why any legal practitioner will hail this Government when its Head could assault their sensibilities at their single largest Assembly with the notion that the rule of law should be subservient to national security. Knowing that the implication of this is that this Government is determined to fuse both judicial and executive powers and arrogate same to itself, I do not know why any legal practitioner would applaud this Government for such acts of brigandage. I honestly do not know why any legal practitioner would vote this Government to power or propagate the bad news of Next Level while Sambo Dasuki and El ZakZaky rot in jail despite multiple Court orders admitting them to bail. I do not know why lawyers would drum support for the return of this Government to power while Deji Adeyanju who had been acquitted of a charge is unconstitutionally detained for the same offence. I do not know. I do not know if these lawyers missed the classes on Rule of Law as espoused by A.V Dicey and co or Separation of Powers as explained by philosophers like Baron de Montesquieu. Or do they think the essence of lawyering in a democracy is not altogether lost if these twin pillars are broken and dismantled like this Government currently audaciously does? I do not know if they know the characteristics of a fascist, dictatorial, or totalitarian government and if they think these do not define this Government, despite its disguised, democratic costume. I honestly do not know why a professor of Law still remains Vice President in a militarized democracy, and is leading the campaign for the the return of his Government, apparently to continue its assault on democracy. I do not know why the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation would escape being stripped of his Silk or summarily disciplined for not turning in his resignation in the face of the constant disregard for court orders and ridicule of the judiciary. I do not know why a Senior Advocate is the one championing the re-election bid of a party with a Government that openly triffles with due process, rule of law, and all the trappings of a democracy. I do not know of any just cause why every single lawyer in Nigeria today would not vote against the ruling party in protest and exhort others to do the same. But what do I know?]]>