Military President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore recently banned wigs and gowns for Bar and Bench in the country, triggering another round of strong advocacy for Africa to dump the colonial relics, YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports.
Days back, there was viral news about the Military President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, fulfilling his promise to Africanise the apparels of lawyers and judges from their decades-long European/colonial flavour. The ubiquitous black gown was reportedly replaced by an African traditional dress and the periwig, with a unique traditional cap.
The wig and gown are the garbs adorned by legal practitioners and judges in courts. It is a compulsory robe worn by lawyers when appearing before superior courts of record in Nigeria. The superior courts of record are established by the Constitution of Nigeria.
This news was received with warmth by Africans, especially in Nigeria, as it came amidst years-long push by African countries to abolish colonial-era wigs in judicial system. Infact, the Burkina Faso’s lead is being hailed as a significant move in demonstrating the seriousness to set Africa free from mental enslavement and colonial bullying.
However, a fact-check by AFP revealed that colonial-era wigs were never part of Burkina Faso’s courtroom attire. It said while Burkina Faso recently announced changes to judicial attire, transitioning to outfits made locally with indigenous fabric, colonial-era wigs have never been a part of the country’s judicial dress code.
Past efforts, too little?
The development has again raised the call by legal practitioners across Africa, who have continuously called for the abolishment of colonial-era court attires, including the use of wigs and robes, as part of efforts to transform the continent’s judicial system.
This is not the first time an attempt will be made to change the wigs and gowns in Africa. In 2011, then-Chief Justice of Kenya, Justice Willy Mutunga criticised the dress code and chose to take his oath of office in a suit. There was a similar debate in Malawi in 2017; same as in
Zimbabwe and Ghana, where there were calls for the abolishment of colonial-era court attire which was described as inappropriate for modern-day Africa.
According to AFP, claims that Burkina Faso, a former French colony banned wigs in court would not be correct, as Christophe Birba, a lawyer at the Burkina Faso Bar, told the news medium that the colonial-era wigs were never part of the dress code in courts. He said, “in Burkina Faso, there are no blonde wigs in the attire of judicial personnel. Such a thing has never been part of the work uniform. There is therefore no ban in this regard.”
Falana’s take
The calls for change have persisted over a long time and Nigeria is not exempted. Femi Falana SAN in a write-up titled ‘Majority of Judges and Lawyers Don’t Wear Gowns’ alluded that “between 1983 and 1987, the radical military regime of Captain Thomas Sankara changed the colonial name of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso. While the courts bequeathed by the former French colonial overlords continued to dispense justice to the elite, people’s tribunals were established to decide cases on the basis of African jurisprudence. The tribunal was constituted by representatives of workers, farmers, women and youths. The decisions handed down by the tribunals were hailed by the people. The experiment did not outlive President Sankara as the tribunals were abolished by the Blaise Campaore regime.”
He further said “Some Nigerian lawyers have condemned the action of the Burkinabe government for having the temerity to throw away foreign wigs and gowns from the courts. In glorifying colonialism in local courts, such lawyers are perhaps not aware that the British did away with wigs and gowns for the most part since 2007 and that lawyers are no longer required to wear wigs and gowns during civil court appearances or before the Supreme Court. Today, wigs and gowns are only worn by lawyers in criminal cases.
“Following the decision by British Courts to discard the wigs and gowns, the Malawian Constitutional Court has ruled to suspend the requirements for lawyers and judges to wear the traditional white wigs and black robes in the courtroom even due to an early season heat wave that swept through the southern African nation in November 2019.
“In Nigeria, wigs and gowns may soon be consigned to the dustbin of history as they are currently worn by the lawyers who appear in some of the superior courts of record including the Supreme Court of Nigeria; Court of Appeal; Federal High Court; High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; High Court of a State; National Industrial Court; Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Sharia Court of Appeal of a State; Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Customary Court of Appeal of a State.
“While the High Courts, Court of Appeal are largely patronised by a few members of the wealthy and privileged citizens, the inferior courts namely Magistrate Courts, Area Courts, Customary Courts and Sharia Court are attended by poor and illiterate citizens. Even though the wearing of wigs and gowns is mandatory in the “superior courts of record”, judges and lawyers are occasionally compelled to jettison their wigs and gowns due to our inclement weather.
“In the same vein, judges who sit in colonial buildings without ventilation and lawyers who appear before them also dump their wigs and gowns as the courts can no longer afford expensive diesel to power generators for judicial proceedings.
“On a daily basis, palaces of traditional rulers, police stations and mediation centres operated by Non-Governmental Organizations in all states of the Federation settle more disputes than the “superior courts of record.” The few lawyers who appear in such fora do not wear wigs and gowns. Yet, the majority of the cases decided in such fora are not challenged in appellate courts as the parties are usually satisfied with the decisions of the “judges” who do not wear wigs and gowns.
“Since Nigerian lawyers cannot be more Catholic than the Pope, they should be prepared for the cultural revolution that will soon consume the European-style wigs and gowns in the courts. After all, the majority of lawyers who appear in Magistrate Courts, Customary Courts, Area Courts, Sharia Courts, Arbitration and Mediation Centres, Judicial and Administrative Panels of inquiry, Courts-Martial, Coroners’ Inquests and Election Petition Tribunals do not wear wigs and gowns but formal legal suits.
“Comparatively, the rate of resolution of disputes in the Magistrate Courts and Mediation Centres is higher than the High Court in Lagos State. It is on record that out of the 23,900 judgments delivered by the Lagos State Judiciary from October 2017 to September 2018, the High Courts delivered 3,984 rulings and 2,876 judgments while the Magistrates’ Courts delivered 16,862 judgments and the Small Claims Courts delivered 178 judgments. However, between January and November 2018, the Lagos State Citizens’ Mediation Centre (CMC) resolved 36,788 disputes.
“From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that the masses of the people are satisfied with the quality of justice obtained in the inferior courts where judges and lawyers do not wear wigs and gowns. It is therefore hoped that Burkina Faso and other African countries that are dumping the foreign wigs and gowns will reform the informal justice sector that dispenses justice to the majority of the peoples of Africa,” he said.
Britain reject, Africa embrace
The age-long tradition of white, horsehair locks worn by high court judges was bequeathed to Nigerian judges by Britain as it did to all its colonies. This traditional dress has continued unhindered even though British lawyers have stopped wearing them. Judges and lawyers in Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Malawi and a few others have continued to retain the old tradition of wearing wigs and gowns decades after the end of colonial rule.
But, new generations of African jurists have been asking why the continent is still holding on to what they consider relics of the colonial era especially since some commonwealth countries like Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan, have since stopped using wigs in their judiciary. They argue that even in Britain where the tradition originated, there are reforms going on especially in England and Wales where judges have stopped wearing wigs in civil and family cases and only lawyers appearing in criminal courts continue to wear wigs and black gowns.
Also, lawyers appearing before the British Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council no longer wear robes since November 2011. And in American, lawyers only wear suits to court as opposed to the wig and gown.
Arguments
There is the argument that continuous wearing of wigs and gowns is due to the inability of the former colonies to restructure their legal institutions to reflect their cultures and local needs. Some state that wigs make a mockery of the judicial system in terms of ideology, local traditions, aesthetics and independence and serve as a daily reminder of Nigeria’s failure to reform its inherited institutions.
And while some lawyers argued that the robe gives the profession the seriousness it desires, others have asked whether the magistrate’s court where wigs and gowns are not worn operate less efficiently as a result of their attires.
For a school of thought, the tradition of Nigerian judges and lawyers wearing white wigs dates back to the colonial era when Nigeria was under British rule and has its roots in English legal customs, where wigs were worn as a symbol of the legal profession’s authority and to signify the seriousness of court proceedings, with this practice persisting in Nigeria for various reasons.
The reasons adduced include cultural significance as many legal practitioners see wearing wigs as a point of pride and a way to connect with the historical roots of the legal profession; colonial legacy which heavily influences the legal culture in Nigeria as well as the wig being seen as a symbol of professionalism; a way to maintain the dignity of the court and a symbol of the formal nature of legal proceedings and the respect afforded to the judicial process.
But it is also argued that changing long-standing practices can be slow and met with resistance and while some may argue that the wig is a tradition worth preserving, others think otherwise.
Though some jurisdictions in the UK no longer use wigs, in Nigeria, legal practitioners continue to adhere to the tradition amidst calls for modernising the legal attire without significant changes.
“Why Nigeria is beholden”
Attempting to explain why Nigeria is beholden to what the original owners have jettisoned, Vahyala Kwaga, former managing partner at Grandeur Solicitors said, “there are probably a variety of reasons but there is one that easily comes to my mind. I became a Legal Practitioner in 2009, so I think I’m somewhat qualified to answer this question. The answer has to do with the culture of guilds and how culture affects how a group thinks, believes, perceives and wants to be perceived. These guilds and professional groups have phrases known mainly to them, styles of speaking when in professional circles and attire that makes up the entire system of practices and mentality of that guild. These attitudes and perceptions about how group members view themselves and others also have to do with “social territory”, In group/Out group bias and the status quo bias. When you combine all of these together and place them in the Nigerian context, you get the unreasonable fixation on a relic of the past. But let me provide some background, first.
“Not a long time ago, in many parts of the world, blacksmiths, butchers, hunters, priests, etc., were the professions (collectively, they were guilds or groups of service providers, if you will). They were accorded dignity and respect because they were part of the social strata and provided a specialized set of services. Lawyers (mostly in Western Europe) could also be put together in this broad group. Because their services were key to social fabric and life, they had to have some unique garment that would separate them from everyone else. Lawyers adopted the black gown (to project somberness and seriousness) and wore the wig (to project wisdom but also because for some time, European men had wigs as a fashionable accessory). Being part of whatever guild or professional group again came with the respect, admiration and mystery ascribed to that guild or profession.
“Fast forward to pre-colonial West Africa, where the British had established their legal system along with its “culture,” you have to understand that this would have immense appeal to the yet-to-be Nigerians, who saw the dignity and power that came along with being an officer, in the court of law. They saw how this profession was respected and admired and saw it as desirable. The codes of appearing before a judge are so strict (at least in open court), that if a lawyer wears a gown but say, forgets her wig, upon speaking to the judge, the latter will say: “Counsel, I cannot see you”. Obviously he can see the lawyer but it’s the complete wig and gown that enables her presence.
“Till today, I still believe the Nigerian legal profession (judges and lawyers), see their professional lives as part of something bigger than themselves, something special and something honourable. There are negative aspects of this kind of thinking, however: you end up a slave to norms and practices (of a system of law that was practically forced on you) that can still retain a “core” substance, even if the frills aren’t there anymore.
“In my opinion, I don’t really see what the wig and gown do for Nigerian lawyers, except set them apart, visually. Then again, to many of my colleagues, it makes them distinct and feel like they belong to something. Realistically, you can belong to something without “dressing up” but I suppose those physical aspects of the legal culture, are too much a part of how they want to be perceived, that they do not want to let go,” he added.
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