By Tony Edike
ENUGU—THE Nigeria’s rebranding campaign being championed by the Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili was on Monday taken to the doorsteps of lawyers and the judiciary with a call on them to submit themselves to the principles of the rebranding project.

Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili

Akunyili who delivered a paper entitled “Consolidating Democracy/Re-branding and the Rule of Law in Nigeria” during the 2010 Law Week of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Enugu Branch, declared that things were no longer the same with the Nigerian judiciary even though she observed that there were some people in the sector who have not lived up to expectations.

She berated some judges who have continued to do the wrong thing for reasons best known to them stressing that the action of such top level judicial officers was not giving the nation a good image.

“What about the penchant by some judges who instead of insisting on the rule of law, no matter whose ox is gored, come up with sentences which are generally seen as ridiculous and believed to have been so made because those involved are supposedly big mem?”, she queried while lamenting the rot in the judicial system.

Although she agreed that some improvement had been recorded lately in the form of series of courageous judicial pronouncements, the Minister insisted that the judiciary should submit to the principles of the rebranding Nigeria project through attitudinal change.

Akunyili who made references to some election cases concluded in court “months or years after people must have exercised stolen mandates”, however, prayed that such shameful experiences would not repeat in the coming elections.

She bemoaned her personal experience in the case where she nearly lost her life seven years ago, regretting that  the matter was yet to be concluded. “My greatest regret is that, seven years after that sad incident, the case of the people who shot me is still in court. Justice delayed is justice denied and clearly at variance with dictates of rule of law,” she lamented.

The minister, however, commended Nigerian lawyers for their commitment towards promoting the rule of law in the country. According to her, the commitment was clearly seen in the slogan of the Nigerian Bar Association which is “Promoting the Rule of Law” as well as the association’s Rule of Law initiative.

Akunyilu further asserted that the rule of law was not the only critical success factor in sustaining the hard earned democracy and promoting the Rebranding Nigeria Project but there were other factors such as being an educated and enlightened citizenry.

“That is why my heart bleeds over the protracted strike by lecturers of state owned universities here in the South East. I wish to use this opportunity to appeal to both parties in this dispute-the governors and the lecturers to make concessions and end this strike in the interest of the students,” pleaded the minister.

In her address, the chairman of Enugu Bar Association, Mrs. Nnenna Uko advocated for a dogged pursuit of justice and excellence in the bar.

“The say charity begins at home, have we flushed out that canker worm called corruption from within the bar and the judiciary. Do we cringe or even shudder when we see evidence of corruption in our midst. If we don’t take stand for integrity, justice and fair play, how can we help the common man?” the NBA Chairman queried.