By Alex Ekemenah
Stakeholders that gathered together to commemorate the memory of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, through the 19th Annual Gani Fawehinmi Lecture has called for free, fair and credible elections in the forthcoming general elections next month.
The annual lecture with the theme: A Free, Fair and Credible Election: An Indispensable Tool for National Development witnessed the gathering of the crème-de-la-crème of the Nigerian Bar Association took place on January 15, 2023 at the Ikeja Airport Hotel, Lagos.
In her keynote address, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Mrs. Charlotte Kessan-Smith Osei, noted that the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria is “a huge election by any standards” deserving self-congratulations.
However, she noted that there have been “significant hurdles as evidenced by the many legal challenges to election results and the entire process over the years as well as many lives lost and outbreaks of violence.”
“Despite this significant level of sustained “electoral success”, important concerns remain. These concerns are varied and are largely influenced by the fact that while we are here today, Nigeria is plagued with youth unemployment and underemployment, massive security challenges, alarming levels of poverty, religious and tribal issues, and extremely high levels of inequality and exclusionary politics”, Osei further noted.
Osei also noted the “high level of apathy in Nigerian elections”. She said this “must be of concern to the NBA” and to everybody.
“One cannot be interested in development and yet disinterested in who leads the development and the capacity and character of such leaders.”
While commending the Nigerian Bar Association for its interest in ensuring that Nigeria’s elections are free, fair and credible and the nexus to national development, “the NBA and its members must go beyond representing disputing parties in court in electoral matters, and rise up to be the true protectors of Nigeria’s democracy.
“The Bar and its members must endeavour to hold all actors – INEC, the judiciary, security agencies, candidates, political parties and the media to the standards required by the law. And do so without fear or favour. That is when we can truly have free, fair and credible elections.“
The lecture which was chaired by the erudite legal scholar, Professor Akin Oyebode, former Vice Chancellor of University of Ado-Ekiti, also had Mr. Mike Igini, former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Cross River and Edo States, and retired Commodore Kunle Olawunmi, a security and intelligence expert.
In attendance was the immediate former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Olumide Akpata, including the current President, Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN.
The lecture was organized by Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association.