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| Chief ‘Folake Solanke |
A legal icon and first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief ‘Folake Solanke, says the country is losing so much on account to lack of respect for time.
She also decried the declining reading culture with its attendant loss of quality advocacy skills among Nigerian lawyers.
The 85-year-old SAN expressed these concerns last week at the 12th edition of Aelex law firm’s annual lecture, where she was chairman on the occasion.
The lecture, with theme, “Schooling without learning,” was delivered by a former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, at Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos Island.
Solanke, while declaring the lecture open, seized the moment to criticise the widespread habit of showing up late for appointments among citizens, saying it was worse that people try to justify lateness with the claim that the country operates by “African time.”
Noting that she had arrived for the 2pm event, 30 minutes ahead of time, Solanke began by saying, “I want you to know that I arrived at half past one; I was just waiting quietly for you to arrive, because time is of the essence and Nigeria is losing a lot because we do not have respect for time. There’s no African time, you are either punctual or you’re late.”
The octogenarian also took a verbal jab at the Nigerian lawmakers.
She had proposed to tell a short story, saying, “I am sure the eminent guests here will like to hear the story. Would you?” And then she went on to emphasise her deliberate choice of the adjective ‘eminent’ as opposed to the more common ‘distinguished’ in the context.
“I made sure I didn’t use the word ‘distinguished’; I used ‘eminent’, because they say it (distinguished) has a different meaning in the Senate,” Solanke said, drawing loud laughs and applause from her listeners.
She lamented what she described as eroding professional ethics among the young generation of lawyers, saying it points to the need for pupilage after the law school.
She said, “In our legal profession, we like to describe ourselves as learned, the meaning of being learned is knowing the law. Undoubtedly, the well-formulated and apt title (of Aelex lecture) is the result of observation of Aelex of the abysmal performance of some lawyers at the Bar. Sometimes, some of them are lacking in advocacy, good appearance, proper decorum, proper language, courtesy, and learning. Some bring shame to the learned profession. After law school, there must be a period of pupilage before proper legal practice.”
Quoting from a paper she had delivered earlier at the maiden edition of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria annual dinner, she added, “Now, to young lawyers and to others who point fingers at judges from the Bar to the bench, and address them as ‘you’, be it known that the correct way of addressing a judge is ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordship’ or ‘the court’.
“It is an aberration to be rude to a judge. You, who are present here, should warn the other finger pointers, who are not here, not to do it again. There is no ‘You’ on the bench.”
Solanke stressed the importance of reading and continuous legal education for lawyers.
In his lecture, Ibidapo-Obe alluded to the exodus of Nigerian students to foreign countries in search of quality tertiary education, noting that Nigerians account for 50 per cent of the student population in most Ghanaian varsities.
Ibidapo-Obe decried a situation where Nigerian schoolteachers are graded on 40 per cent pass mark, saying this is the foundation of the continuous lineal regression in the quality of graduates from the nation’s tertiary institutions.
“A teacher is supposed to have skills to impart on the mind. For teachers who attend NCE and get 40 per cent pass mark, their students will get 16 per cent and by the time you get to the next generation, the students will learn nothing,” Ibidapo-Obe said.
He linked the rot in the Nigerian education system to the takeover of schools by the military government.
The don stressed the need for better funding of the nation’s education sector.
Earlier, the Managing Partner, Aelex Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators, Mr. Theophilus Emuwa, explained that the firm’s annual lecture is aimed at stimulating debates on important national issues.
She also decried the declining reading culture with its attendant loss of quality advocacy skills among Nigerian lawyers.
The 85-year-old SAN expressed these concerns last week at the 12th edition of Aelex law firm’s annual lecture, where she was chairman on the occasion.
The lecture, with theme, “Schooling without learning,” was delivered by a former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, at Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos Island.
Solanke, while declaring the lecture open, seized the moment to criticise the widespread habit of showing up late for appointments among citizens, saying it was worse that people try to justify lateness with the claim that the country operates by “African time.”
Noting that she had arrived for the 2pm event, 30 minutes ahead of time, Solanke began by saying, “I want you to know that I arrived at half past one; I was just waiting quietly for you to arrive, because time is of the essence and Nigeria is losing a lot because we do not have respect for time. There’s no African time, you are either punctual or you’re late.”
The octogenarian also took a verbal jab at the Nigerian lawmakers.
She had proposed to tell a short story, saying, “I am sure the eminent guests here will like to hear the story. Would you?” And then she went on to emphasise her deliberate choice of the adjective ‘eminent’ as opposed to the more common ‘distinguished’ in the context.
“I made sure I didn’t use the word ‘distinguished’; I used ‘eminent’, because they say it (distinguished) has a different meaning in the Senate,” Solanke said, drawing loud laughs and applause from her listeners.
She lamented what she described as eroding professional ethics among the young generation of lawyers, saying it points to the need for pupilage after the law school.
She said, “In our legal profession, we like to describe ourselves as learned, the meaning of being learned is knowing the law. Undoubtedly, the well-formulated and apt title (of Aelex lecture) is the result of observation of Aelex of the abysmal performance of some lawyers at the Bar. Sometimes, some of them are lacking in advocacy, good appearance, proper decorum, proper language, courtesy, and learning. Some bring shame to the learned profession. After law school, there must be a period of pupilage before proper legal practice.”
Quoting from a paper she had delivered earlier at the maiden edition of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria annual dinner, she added, “Now, to young lawyers and to others who point fingers at judges from the Bar to the bench, and address them as ‘you’, be it known that the correct way of addressing a judge is ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordship’ or ‘the court’.
“It is an aberration to be rude to a judge. You, who are present here, should warn the other finger pointers, who are not here, not to do it again. There is no ‘You’ on the bench.”
Solanke stressed the importance of reading and continuous legal education for lawyers.
In his lecture, Ibidapo-Obe alluded to the exodus of Nigerian students to foreign countries in search of quality tertiary education, noting that Nigerians account for 50 per cent of the student population in most Ghanaian varsities.
Ibidapo-Obe decried a situation where Nigerian schoolteachers are graded on 40 per cent pass mark, saying this is the foundation of the continuous lineal regression in the quality of graduates from the nation’s tertiary institutions.
“A teacher is supposed to have skills to impart on the mind. For teachers who attend NCE and get 40 per cent pass mark, their students will get 16 per cent and by the time you get to the next generation, the students will learn nothing,” Ibidapo-Obe said.
He linked the rot in the Nigerian education system to the takeover of schools by the military government.
The don stressed the need for better funding of the nation’s education sector.
Earlier, the Managing Partner, Aelex Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators, Mr. Theophilus Emuwa, explained that the firm’s annual lecture is aimed at stimulating debates on important national issues.
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