Ex-AGF calls for localisation of Nigeria’s legal system

A former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agagbi (SAN), has said there is a need to localise the nation’s legal system to suit the needs of the people.

According to him, Nigeria’s legal system is foreign and not moving with the tides of change as it is supposed to.

Agabi, stated this on Wednesday, at a press conference in Abuja, held ahead of the launch of the inaugural edition of an initiative tagged:” The Legacy Dialogue”, which is a flagship event of the Johnny Agim Foundation, otherwise known as JASAN Foundation.

The former minister noted that Nigeria needs to correct itself from negativity saying there is a widespread misconception of what democracy, politics, and the judiciary are really about.

He said, “Our legal system is foreign. Essentially that’s what it is and there is a need to adapt this legal system to meet local needs. We are not doing that fast enough. We are not adapting the laws to meet local circumstances fast enough. The truth is that in the globalizing world, in a changing world, the world is changing faster than we can cope.

“We have a misconception of democracy, we think that democracy means the right to do as we please.  We have a misconception of politics, we think in politics good and bad are equal. So there is a need for the nation to correct itself.”

He, however, downplayed the narrative that the Nigerian judiciary has lost its pride of place, noting that the Nigerian legal system is doing well.

“But we are doing well. I can tell you that. People tend to think this is a backward nation, this is a corrupt nation, but we are doing well and we must encourage ourselves.

“If we proceed from the premise that we are doing well and discourage ourselves by branding ourselves, stigmatizing ourselves as corrupt, and so forth, it doesn’t help. Nigerians must recognize that we are doing well. Rome was not built in a day”, he said.

Meanwhile, he hailed the JASAN Foundation’s initiative which is set up for young lawyers in public universities to foster excellence in the legal profession through mentorship, sponsorship, legal reform, and advocacy.

He noted that young lawyers needed guidance and support to help advance the course of the judiciary in Nigeria.

In his remarks, the founder, JASAN Foundation, Johnny Agim (SAN), stated that as a lawyer with a humble beginning who went through the public university, the initiative is a project close to his heart.