Electoral fairness will build people’s confidence in democracy — Agbaje

The Managing Partner of Agbaje, Agbaje & Co, Akeem Agbaje, was recently conferred with the ‘Most Distinguished Ibadan Indigene’ award by the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes. In this interview, he speaks with GABRIEL OSHOKHA about the recognition and other matters of interest.

What were your achievements as the Chairman of the Oyo State Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association in 2016?

It is the Ibadan Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association. We don’t operate a state branch system here in Nigeria. First and foremost, when I assumed office as the chairman, I observed that we didn’t have a functional office. We had a building donated by the legendary Are Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He donated the building to the bar, and I discovered that it was not functioning as a proper secretariat should. So, we set out to revamp it and make sure it was functional. We equipped and furnished it. To date, it’s operational and that has increased activities at the Bar Centre.

The Bar Centre has about two halls, which were often in use, but the administrative arm of the bar was not functioning, so we did the renovation. We also focused on the discipline of legal practitioners, so we set up two disciplinary committees to handle all petitions or complaints brought against lawyers. Before we got there, complaints were piling up, so we had to set up two panels to make sure this was done expeditiously. Sometime during the Idiagbon regime, they cancelled the pupillage system of the Nigeria legal practice. Before that time, once you graduated from Law School, you had to be attached to a law firm where you were trained for a number of years. But the Buhari-Idiagbon regime, in a bid to address the issue of unemployment, scrapped that. And we observed that a lot of lawyers did not have proper pupillage or training that would equip them for the challenges of modern-day practice. We also observed that there were new areas of practice that were emerging that we needed to expose young lawyers to. So, we started the weekly training for lawyers, which we ensured took place throughout the two years of my tenure as the chairman. My focus has always been on the foundational things that you can use to lay a foundation for a better tomorrow. One was the secretariat, and today we are proud of what we have. Successive chairmen have improved the quality of the furnishings and the ambience over time. The training has been active since 2016, and 2018, and when I left, they continued with the training. Those are the things I would consider fundamental that we did in my time. I didn’t do it alone; I had a very supportive Exco and we collectively worked together to lay the foundation of what the bar is doing today.

In what ways have you impacted the less privileged as a legal practitioner?

Well, for the less privileged in society, it’s a daunting situation. There’s unlawful oppression in almost every sphere of life. They get oppressed by the security agencies and they have no means to defend themselves. That’s why you see that prisons are congested. On the private side of life, you have different kinds of abusive situations. In domestic issues, you see a lot of abuse—people are assaulted and they have no remedy; people are arrested till today without any lawful justification. So, for me, I try to offer legal services when they can’t afford it. But in the society we live in, you find out that it is the people you’re trying to assist or support that will come around to say, “Lawyer let’s leave them alone,” that “the pressure is too much,” or “I don’t want to die,” among other reasons. So in terms of percentages of efforts and success, it’s very low. Not for lack of effort, but it’s the societal situation and you find out that people would follow the due legal processes, which is some kind of burden to them.

How would you assess the brand of Nigerian politics compared with what is obtainable in other countries?

In terms of comparison, you can’t be specific. Here, we say politics is local ultimately. Now, the major concern in the Nigerian situation is that oftentimes, you will see that there’s an absence of fairness. Our democracy is still growing, and then, we need to be patient with it. But, when we are talking of patience, it’s not idle patience. We should work towards ensuring fairness in the electoral system within the party and during the general election. It is this fairness that can build the confidence of the people—both in democracy and in the eventual government that emerges.

You have contested twice as a gubernatorial candidate under the APC in 2019 and 2023. Is this political fire still burning in you?

Essentially, I participated in the internal selection process of APC to be the party’s flagbearer for the governorship election in 2019 and 2023. By the grace of God, in the ongoing process for 2027, I will be part of it. And I pray I succeed this time.

You are from a renowned family in Ibadan—the Agbaje family. How has this background shaped your growing-up years?

Well, like I tell people, it’s a borrowed name for me, and I became a member of the family, the name had not been damaged. So, it’s always at the back of my mind that I must not do anything that would stain the name. This makes me cautious in anything that I do, so as not to bring disrepute or a stain on the name. Significantly, the name has earned the respect of the Ibadan people, and it has opened doors for me. I had an interesting encounter. I was doing business outside Ibadan, and I was having a bit of a challenge. Then the Speaker at the time, Dr. Akin Onigbide, now a SAN, called and said, “Look Akeem, nobody knows you in all these places you’re operating; if you come to Ibadan, doors will be open for you.” But, it wasn’t just about the name opening doors, he described me as a needle with a thread. And that means that people will trust me because they know where I come from. And in case they have any issue with me, they know how to pull me back to behave well, and I found that to be true.

The Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes recently conferred on you the Most Distinguished Ibadan Indigene Award. What does this mean to you?

It’s my World Cup. It’s a significant achievement. There is a proverb that says, “They made the fourth to the king in the town, and if you complain, they will ask you, are there only four people in the town?” So, it’s a privilege to be given this award. I appreciate it and I’m grateful to Almighty Allah for it, and I treasure it.

What do you think are the gaps in the conduct of LG elections?

It’s a dicey situation, to be honest with you. I believe that in the true interpretation of the constitution, the local governments are on the residual list, which means that their affairs should be superintended or regulated by the state, including their elections. Now, it’s like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We should be courageous enough as a country to ensure that we have free and fair credible elections at the local government level. We should think of appointing people of integrity into the chairmanship position, and limit the involvement of the governors in the financing and administration of local government elections. But, in the absence of that, a safer option might be to have INEC conduct the election. But, if you have INEC conducting the election, and the government at the centre has a preference for their party, then we will be back in the same situation. But, the ideal thing would be to have a process that insulates the state electoral commissioners from interference by the government. But that can only be achieved if you have people of integrity who have principles as state independent electoral commission chairmen.