By Adam Adedimeji

Even before August 22, 2024 that she assumed duty as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), the news media was awash with the tagline, “agenda setting”. After two months of being in the saddle, the excitement is yet cease.

The trend is not unusual, as it is not peculiar to Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. At least, in consideration of what has been trailing the assumptions of office by her predecessors in recent years, agenda-setting is speeding towards becoming a tradition.

But why the ritual? Is it out of place or out of tradition in the judiciary? Should it continue? If it continues, what image would the constant agenda-setting portray for the Nigerian judiciary?

Firstly, what has now become a cliche is clear indication of dissatisfaction on the part of stakeholders in the legal profession and the general public. That, therefore, answers part one of the second question.

In recent years, allegation of perversion of justice in the Nigerian judiciary, which includes corruption of all sorts, has become commonplace. Even those at the top echelon of the judiciary have not been exonerating the very body they are saddled with leading. Other stakeholders in the legal profession are not exempted, just like those in the political class and other spheres of life in Nigeria. Simply put, it is evidentially an unpleasant development in the system that creates room for the periodic agenda setting.

The unpleasantness is enough in providing answer to the second part of the second question above. Surely, it is quite out of order!

There is no telling the degree of despondency that the larger society goes through in a situation where aspersion is being cast at the very body built with the responsibility of dispensing justice to all.

By its design in accordance with the rich English legal tradition, the Nigerian judiciary is the only one among the three organs of government that is insulated from partisan identification. By that nature of its, the perverted system that has characterised Nigerian political environment should not to be heard and seen in the judiciary.

However, it is unfortunate that the dark spots in the Nigerian political ecosystem have found their ways to the judiciary. It is quizzical that, by our political arrangement, the judiciary has become integral in the leadership recruitment process across the country. Most of the problems confronting the judiciary today can be traced to the desperate cravings of those in the political class.

But even with the contagious infection of political prodding, agenda setting should not be the order of the day for our judiciary. It is a fact that the duties expected of the CJN are well spelt out. It is also a fact that the judiciary is well structured and streamlined to drive the agenda naturally and constitutionally bestowed on it. It is a fact that there are a number of internal mechanisms within the judiciary institution to check possible excesses by judicial officers, including the CJN.

Outside the internal frameworks in the judiciary, those superintending over the affairs of that sacred organ of government are also subjected to general ethical standards expected of public office holders in Nigeria. This is where the functionality of the Code of Conduct Bureau comes into the picture. While one cannot overemphasize the imperative of enthroning national values of good conduct, which are a pre-requisite for overall national development, it must be emphasized that fixing Nigeria, just like any other society, goes beyond the precincts of the office of the CJN, and of course, the judiciary arm of government.

In fact, if a quarter of principal public office holders in Nigeria work in accordance with the letter and spirit of the code of conduct for public officers, which form the crux of the oath they swear to shortly before getting into offices, the rest of the desired things concerning Nigeria’s public life would set in properly without the academic exercise of agenda setting. Really, as the chief judicial officer in the country, the CJN, has a crucial role in setting certain things right in Nigeria. The judiciary as a whole should not just be the last hope of the common people but the beginning and sustenance of hope for everyone. For the judiciary to carry out such an onerous task, it also needs to be properly fixed. And the first and most decisive step of fixing the judiciary is by enhancing its full independence.

It is unfortunate that while the clamour for agenda setting in the judiciary abounds, those manning the judiciary are inherently incapacitated in joining the crusade for the betterment of the third arm of government. Over time, the judiciary has been pinched but even when they knew where and how they have been pinched, the nature of their job keeps hindering them from crying to the hearing of others. Owing to this hindrance, the judiciary has remained vulnerable to a large segment of persons who are bent on suppressing the rule of law. So, as decisive as the judiciary is in the national scheme of things, it has its own handicap in the sense that it is so limited in exploring autonomy that it is expected to enjoy. In an environment where legislative shenanigans and executive impunity call the shots, one can imagine what the judiciary has been going through in silence.

Within and beyond the aforementioned, does Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun need agenda setting? According to the editor of THISDAY LAWYER, Onikepo Braithwaite, “Drawing from Kekere-Ekun’s reputation as being hardworking, thorough and stickler for high standard, we do not doubt that she already has a vision and agenda for the judiciary.” Nothing could be more factual!

The path to thoroughness and dedication to duty, which she has been walking in her career life so far, was created for her from her cradle. Besides belonging to a noble lineage of three royal families, her father, the late Senator H.A.B. Fasinro, was fervently devoted to high moral precepts in tandem with the fine values of Islamic faith. Apart from having sound education at a high material cost right from her formative years, Kekere-Ekun enjoyed the close-knit attention of family values provided by her parents. She was brought up in a very disciplined environment, where virtues such as hard work, contentment, integrity, social discipline and emotional intelligence were taught informally on a hourly basis.

Over time, her solid background has been her strength which engenders her ability to keep maintaining the track envisaged for her to walk. More than ever, the totality of her phenomenonal personality is expected to come to the full glare of public knowledge at this time, which is decisively the apogee of her career and life.

Of recent, no CJN has had a well-known name like hers before becoming Nigeria’s number one judicial officer. While the character traits of humility is still intact in her, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun cannot run away from the cognizance that she has a name long written in the public mindset.

Foremost among the agenda she must have set for herself derives from the fact that she has a name of no mean repute to protect – a name borne by others, a name she will leave behind in the world and a name to be borne by her posterity.

At present, no agenda has the strength of bettering the lot of the judiciary than the name Kudirat Kekere-Ekun and there is every reason to believe already that she will surpass expectations.

Adam is Chairman, NBA’s Lawyers in the Media Forum. He can be reached via: ilovedisjob@yahoo.com

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