" . . . If we never do anything which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand still while the rest of the world goes on, and that will be bad for both."
- Lord Denning MR
"The challenge is not to assess how commoditisation and IT might threaten the current work of lawyers, so that the traditional ways can be protected and changed avoided. It is to find and embrace better, quicker, less costly, more convenient and publicly valued ways of working."
"...does a decent job in portraying the flirtation of the legal practice with Technology in areas of mutual interest. Its motive is clear and the delivery at times is explicit. Brilliant initiative.Suitable for lawyers and tech-lovers alike."
The Nigerian Lawyer is a blog which is updated weekly. However, every now and then there might be more than one post a week. The posts are meant to be educative and informative. If you Subscribed to The Nigerian Lawyer by Email don't worry, we are not going to clutter your inbox. Rest assured, you will not receive more than 3 posts in a week. If you have not yet done so, subscribe to our feed.
We would like to register in strong words, our disapproval of the handling of the Jos Crises by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is a situation that should never have deteriorated to the point it has. We are asking both the Federal and the State Governments to wake up to their civil responsibilities one of which is the security of persons and property.
Section 14 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has provided that
the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government
If the above said is the primary purpose of the government and the security and welfare of the citizens of Plateau state have been completely neglected, may one not infer that the government of Nigeria has failed in its primary purpose? If an institution continually and habitually fails to achieve the primary purpose for which it is established, how does that institution justify its continued existence?
Conferences
The annual Business Law Conference, which is organized by the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) Section on Business Law (SBL) will be holding in Abuja from the 5th to 9th of April, 2010. This year’s theme is ‘Regulating the Business Environment in Emerging Markets’. Check back later for a teaser from the Conference Chairperson. For more information, check the conference website.
The Commonwealth Regional Law Conference is taking place in Abuja from the 8th to the 11th of April, 2010. The theme is ‘The 21st Century Lawyer: Present Challenges & Future Skills’ and the focus of the conference shall be on:
Human Rights and the Rule of Law and
Corporate and Commercial Law
If you are in Nigeria at that time, do make an effort to attend.
It has been a busy time since the last update, especially in Nigeria. First The Nigerian Lawyer would like to congratulate Miss Uzoma Okere and Mr. Abdullahi Abdulazeez on their victory in Court, over the abusive naval officers. On the 27th of January, 2010, a Lagos State High Court in Igbosere yesterday ordered Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade, the Nigerian Navy and four naval ratings to pay to Miss Okere and Mr. Abdulazeez, One Hundred Million Naira (N100 Million) as damages for assault. It was a groundbreaking judgment. It is however distressing that instead of acknowledging their wrong and seeking means to redress it, the Nigerian navy nurses plans to appeal the case. As Presiding Judge Opeyemi Oke said in her judgment:
“It is highly shameful and unimaginable that such could happen in this 21st Century in a civilized society and democratic one. It should therefore be condemned in very strong language.
“The naval ratings have disgraced the uniform they wear as officers of the Nigerian Navy. They are therefore a disgrace to the whole nation. The rebranding gospel should therefore be commenced with this group of officers.”
For a fuller story, read the article on ThisDayonline.com. You would need to register with them though, if you are not already registered. Registration is free.
On the last update, we wrote about the headless situation of the country since the President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had gone on medical leave and had not been seen in public for over two months. On Tuesday, the Nigerian legislature took a vote to make Vice President Goodluck Jonathan acting Head of State. The issue here, is if the senate is constitutionally empowered to make such a move.
Section 5 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1998 provides:
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation:
(a) shall be vested in the President and may subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation; and
(b) shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has, for the time being, power to make laws.
Then Section 145 of the CFRN 1998 states that:
Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.
Taken together, these two sections definitely bestow legality on the actions of the senate. The only problem is the provision in Section 145 states that whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of teh House of Representatives a written declaration…
To the best of our knowledge, there has been no ‘written declaration’. Does this therefore fail to legitimize the actions of the Parliament in voting Vice President Goodluck Jonathan the acting Head of State? Whichever the case, it did not stop the Vice President from accepting the post hours after and already, in a minor cabinet reshuffle, he has moved the former Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa to Minister for Special Duties (whatever that means).
To those who have followed the former Attorney General’s utterances since he took the position, this move did not come as a surprise and was rather a welcome development. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, just moments after a telephone interview with Mr. Aondoakaa, Wole Soyinka expressed astonishment that someone like the former Attorney General could “talk from all four compass points of his mouth”, as he put it. But watch the podcast for yourself.
New Addition
We are pleased to announce a new addition to the TNL team. Tolulope Aderemi is a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, with a Masters in Oil and Gas Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. His articles are well researched and insightful and he will be handling the Oil and Gas column. If you return on the 12th and 26th of February, 2010, the column will be up then.
Recommendations
If you are a Law Office Manager or in a position or authority, you might be interested in this article written by Peter Bregman. Peter Bregman is the CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc. a global management consulting firm. He is the author of Point B: A Short Guide to Leading a Big Change, and writes a weekly column, How We Work, for HarvardBusiness.org.
This article is about motivating people to go the extra mile. His website (www.PeterBregman.com) also offers a plethora of leadership related articles.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. The Nigerian Lawyer has been able to exist because of you.
This New Year, our heart goes out to the victims of the Haiti Disaster, what a way to begin the year. The death toll is said to be unimaginable and aid is barely trickling in. Haiti needs your help and your prayers. Read this for more information.
There has been a general outcry from Nigerians all around the world over the inclusion of Nigeria among the terrorist nations of the world. The argument is that one Mutallab does not a terrorist nation make. Then again, the fact remains that since the attempted bombing, we have not heard anything from the President about it. In law, silence is taken to be consent. Does that mean that the President condones the actions of the young man? We think it is more an issue of the President not being in any state to say anything about the fiasco. Which brings us to the question: why is the Vice President not acting for the President right now?
Apparently, this question has weighed heavily in the minds of most right-thinking Nigerians, especially as the President by his long absence, is in direct contravention of the constitutional provision contained in Sections 5 (1) and 148 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Bowing under the pressure of several civic groups and patriotic minded Nigerians, including the Nigerian Bar Association, a High Court in Abuja finally granted the Vice President the power to exercise the functions of the President as delegated to him by the President. What does that mean? Though the words seem a bit vague, they in essence mean that the Vice President cannot act in his own initiative but only to the extent that the President allows him to. As preposterous as this is, we can only wait and watch how Vice President Goodluck handles himself.
Cloud computing seems to be the rage these days. Basically, cloud computing is about storing your data on a drive somewhere in the ‘cloud’. Once you have connection to the internet, you have your data. Goodbye external harddrives, goodbye USB flash drives and who cares if the computer crashes? Or at least that is supposed to be the general attitude. However, I have no idea how this will impact on everyday legal practice in terms of security and privacy of data. Can you really put your client’s confidential data out there in the ’sky’ and be sure of it’s safety? Do you even want to take the risk? With Google, one of the lead providers of cloud computing threatening to pull out of China because of restrictions and hacking…yes, hacking, it makes one a bit sceptical. Just recently, Gmail, Google’s mail provider was hacked into; the safety and security of the Cloud remains to be seen.
Writing on security, are you a facebooker and are you worried about your privacy on facebook? Check back here for 5 Tips to keep you secure and private on facebook.
As this is the first month of the year (and the first post), something needs to be said about goal-setting. Too many legal practitioners treat their practice like it is a hobby. If your legal practice is not your primary source of income, then it is alright to treat it that way. But if it is where you pay the bills from, some perception reorganization and prioritizing needs to take place. What would you like to achieve in 2010? How would you go about achieving these? That is Goal Setting. Be realistic in your expectations and do not be afraid to go for what you want.
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Notwithstanding the name of this blog and the fact that the publisher is resident in Nigeria, the blog does not in any way purport to give legal advice. The publisher shall not be held liable for the content of this blog as they are the personal opinion of the publisher, neither shall she be held liable for any comments herein.
In other words, I am only qualified as a Lawyer to practice in Nigeria and even at that, this blog is not a substitute for legal advice!
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