Form of Government

(xix) Any law or executive action which derogates from or interferes with the right of any citizen to form, register, and operate a country-wide or Region-wide political party shall be null and void and of no effect.

(xx) Any law or executive action which declares the Federation or Region a one-party State shall also be null and void and of no effect.

(xxi) No lin~itations on or derogation from any of the fundamental human rights shall be lawful save (a) in time of war or emergency*, in the interest of defence, public order, or public safety;

(b) in so far as such limitations are imposed solely for the purpose of securing due protection or respect for the rights, interests or freedoms of other persons or groups of persons or the public at large; and

(xxii) In the determination of his freedoms and rights, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such a manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.

(22) The appointment of a Judge or a public servant should be free from any taint or semblance of political influence or partial affection.

(23) Only a barrister or solicitor who possesses one or more recognized university degrees with at least second-class honours in one, and has had at least 10 years’ practice at the Bar, or as an alternative, 5 years’ practice at the Bar plus 5 years’ experience as a Magistrate or court official, should be appointed as a Judge. * An emergency would be deemed to exist only in the event of widespread natural calamities such as flood or famine or widespread disorder and rioting likely to lead to considerable loss of life.

(24) The Civil Service should be divided into classes-such as Professional, Scientific, Technical, Administrative, Executive, and Clerical; and entry into each class, other than the Professional, Scientific and Technical classes, should be by competitive examination. Entry into the Professional, Scientific; and Technical classes should be by the possession by the applicant of the prescribed professional, scientific, or technical qualification.

Promotion within each class should be strictly by merit. All employees of statutory Boards, Corporations, Commissions, or Bodies, shall be deemed to be members of the Civil Service for purposes of first appointments and promotions.

Over the door of the Academy atAthens, says tradition, was the following inscription: No one without a knowledge of mathematics may enter here. In the Academy, Plato taught men to become lawgivers, statesmen, judges, and leaders.

If we had our way, we would insist that no one without a good knowledge of mathematics, or logic and methodology, and psychology, in addition to his professional qualifications, should be elevated to the Bench. The rigorous mental drill which these disciplines enforce; the tidiness of mind and precision in thought and presentation which the study of mathematics, logic, and methodology inculcates; the dependable tools for the investigation, analysis and interpretation of facts which logic and methodology provide; and the breadth of outlook and a deep comprehension of ‘the complex of human passions’ which psychology imparts – all these, among other things, are a sine qua non of any healthy trial or adjudication of disputes. The Court, as an organ of the State, is sui generis. It is the citizen’s bulwark of last resort against the tyranny and unconstitutionality of the Executive and Legislature, and against illegitimate invasion of, or arbitrary threat to, his rights, liberty, property, and life, from any quarter whatsoever. Those who are posted to protect this bulwark against violation must possess the finest intellectual and moral equipment.

For many obvious reasons, Nigeria cannot and must not, in future, brook mediocrity in any sphere of her public life; more especially so when such mediocrity tries to show its face in that sphere where, if admitted, it will be entitled by Constitution to wear the ermined robe and the silk gown of judicial finality.

It has been said that the hood does not make the monk, and that examination is not a true test of a man’s ability. Well said. But it must be conceded that to wear the hood without being a monk is impersonation or a piece of play-acting; and that the only truly objective test and measure of a man’s intellectual attainments and hence of his ability is the scale of his performance at an examination. The better his performance the greater his potentialities. In this connection, we hasten to acknowledge – and here we would like to confine ourselves to the Bench and Bar – that there have been a few instances where those who had had comparatively lesser academic attainments have performed most brilliantly at the Bar or on the Bench. These men are few and far between; and they belong to that race of Nature’s freaks which will for ever defy and falsify objective classification, estimation, and forecast. They are, in popular parlance, the exceptions which prove the rule.

It will, we hope, be generally agreed that an honours degree from a good university does more than just act as a pointer to high intellectual attainments and an above-the-average ability. In addition, it infuses into its possessor, confidence, self-respect, sense of sufficiency, and intellectual courage. It cannot be disputed that the average standard of academic accomplishments in the judiciary should be as high as, if not higher than, that prevailing at the Bar or, indeed, in other sectors of our public life. Furthermore, the Bench, because of the unique role it is expected to play, should be so adorned by its occupants that it becomes invested with such a halo as can spontaneously command general respect, and at the same time exert a most powerful attraction on the best among the lawyers.

Unfortunately, this is not at present the case in Nigeria. We happen to know a number oflegal practitioners who have consistently turned down offers of judgeships, not so much because the acceptance of such an offer would bring financial loss to them, but chiefly because they cannot equate judgeship in Nigeria with elevation.

In addition to academic qualifications, a person should have long and intensive practice at the Bar before being appointed as a Judge. Such a practice will strengthen and enhance his academic qualifications and moral qualities. He will be immensely enriched in experience, thereby. What is more, his success at the Bar will fortify his spirit of independence and self-reliance.

In any case, the independence and impartiality of the judiciary cannot be secured by making the Bench accessible to those who have not done so well in the academic race and/or find it difficult to make a living at the Bar. It probably did not matter very much when appeals lay to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as our Final Court of Appeal. But now we are, quite rightly, on our own. And it becomes imperative, in the interest of justice, that we

should make the Nigerian Bench as strong as ever we can.

It will no doubt be argued, with justification, that this proposition will work unfairly on Magistrates who have not had five years’ practice at the Bar before their appointments and/or do not possess the required university degree. In order to meet these cases, there should be a proviso to the effect that on the coming into force of the new Constitution, ten years’ post-call experience at the Bar and/or on the Magisterial Bench plus the required university degree would be enough in respect of serving Magistrates. It follows then that Magistrates who aspire to move up to the High Court Bench but do not possess the prescribed academic qualifications will have to tackle some university degree examinations, as external students. Those who feel too old or too tired for this kind of exacting but exhilarating mental exercise should be content to stay where they are. It has been said that Governments may come, and Governments

may go, but the Civil Service remains for ever. It is a most merciful thing indeed that the Civil Service remains largely unaffected by the vicissitudes of politics. What a tragedy, for instance, it would have been if the recent reverses in the fortunes of politicians had hit the civil servants more or less equally! The smooth take-over by the army would have been impossible. There would have been a chaotic collapse of public administration, with harsh and injurious

effects on the welfare of the people. The importance of the Civil Service in any society cannot be over-estimated. Without the civil servants, Government programmes would not even be worth the paper on which they are.

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