BY GRACE ANYANWU, ABUJA – The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has challenged lawyers to stand up for the rule of law, saying that any nation not bound by the fine principle of democracy is bound to fail.
Senator Ekweremadu, who gave the challenge at the reunion dinner of the 1986 Law Class of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in Enugu, Saturday night, expressed concern over the judiciary and therefore urged lawyers to also defend the independence and unity of the judiciary.
In his words: “Today, the judiciary is challenged and we must not forget that this arm of government is at the heart of our democracy. Therefore, we must not allow its unity and independence to crumble.
“We must stand up for the judiciary and we must stand up for our own rights. We must ensure that the rule of law prevails because any country without the rule of law is bound to fail.”
While calling for continued commitment to the cause of the country despite present challenges, Ekweremadu said; “We must remain committed to the cause of our country, the cause of unity, and the cause of peace. The country belongs to all of us and we are not going to expect anyone to change the course of things for us except ourselves. We must never despair, no matter the situation because ours is a profession that believes in possibilities.
“In the course of the World War II, Churchill told the people of England that if everybody defended his own, the whole of England would be defended. We all have a role to play to have better country”, he enthused.
Ekweremadu eulogised the UNN, particularly the Faculty of Law for working hard to preserve the standard and reputation of the institution despite obvious challenges.
“The very regrettable trend in Nigeria today is that most of our institutions are beginning to decline. But this is one institution we have seen that has grown over the years and the Law Faculty if making much progress,” Ekweremadu concluded.
