Segun Atanda/
As Nigerians prepare to elect new leaders on February 25, an erudite Law Scholar, Prof. Akin Oyebode SAN, has warned that the elections would be rough, going by the activities leading towards the planned polls.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation will hold General elections on February 25, 2023, to elect the President, Vice President, and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Prof. Oyebode said, “Whatever happens in Nigeria is of utmost importance to the world. Nigerians are incurable optimists who believe that everything would work out. I think we have to watch all these optimists with some cynicism…
“From what we are seeing on TV and reading in the Newspapers, the election this year will be rough. And If we are lucky, we’ll get away with it, we should thank the Almighty.”
Prof. Oyebode spoke at the 19th Annual Gani Fawehinmi Lecture, in Lagos, where the lecture “A Free, Fair and Credible Election: An Indispensable Tool for National Development” was delivered by a former Chairperson, Electoral Commissioner of Ghana, Mrs. Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei.
He said, “Ghana is a country where the opposition had defeated the ruling party, long before it happened in Nigeria. And, when it happened here, I was on National TV saying that ‘we’re playing catch-up’, because what we are congratulating ourselves for, Ghana had done it 3 times; and right now, they’re even asking for a new election. And they are very circumspect in Ghana about electing their leaders. Some of the leaders went to Oxford.
“Lawyers who have studied their craft in Oxford. You don’t treat them lightly. Not like here where we begin to debate whether our President even had a school certificate. I must say the President has matured considerably towards the exit of his tenure. We are seeing that he has grown up a lot. When he speaks now, whether written or spoken, you’ll see that it has a touch of panache in his submission. We are privileged to have the lead speaker from Ghana. Mrs. Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei is a former Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.”
The event at Lahl Bevent Center, Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, was attended by Prof. Akin Oyebode (Chairman), NBA President – Mr. Y.C. Maikyau SAN, the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo SAN; former NBA President, Mr. Olumide Apata, Mr. Femi Falana SAN, Mrs. Basirat Fawehinmi-Biobaku, Dr. Uthman, Mr. Layi Babatunde SAN – Editor-in-Chief of Judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and the CEO of Law Breed, Adejoke Layi Babatunde – CEO of Lawbreed, Mr. Lanre Adebayo from the Office of the Public Defender, Mr. Dele Oloke, former Chairman, NBA Ikeja, Mr. Mojeed Ajao, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Law Publication, Publisher – Nigerian Weekly Law Report that also donated to the event, Chief Registrar of Lagos State, Mr. Tajudeen Elias represented the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, Mrs. Tomi Ajayi, Deacon Adesina, Mrs. Appiah, Dr. Muiz Banire SAN, and the Chairman, NBA Ikeja Branch – Oluwaseyi Olawunmi ESQ.
Human Rights organizations in attendance included the Ideal Society, People Against Rights Abuses, Human Rights Advocacy and Monitoring Group, the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, Liberation for Peoples Vanguard, Progressive Volunteers, Community Initiative Against Rights Abuse, Get Your Rights and Justice Group, Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), the United Action for Democracy (UAD), the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organization, the National Conscience Party, Foundation for Justice and Orientation of Peoples Rights, Conference of Progressive Youths, and the Law Students Society at UNILAG.
0