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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is urging members of the legal fraternity, in Ghana, Nigeria and the continent to uphold the integrity of the profession, and, thereby, ensure that the rule of law is upheld at all times.

Speaking at the 58th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday, 27th August, 2018, President Akufo-Addo noted that the legal profession has a rarefied position in our societies, and lawyers are assured of a special status.

“In both our countries, Nigeria and Ghana, it must be a source of pride for us that lawyers were in the forefront of the fight for liberation from colonialism. Indeed, since independence, lawyers have moved seamlessly between politics and the legal profession,” he said.

Whereas the legal fraternity has a lot to be proud of in the role played by lawyers in trying to promote democracy in our countries, the President stated that it is also true that lawyers have not always done themselves proud.

“The sad truth is that there have always been lawyers ready to find a way to justify some negative developments, no matter how bizarre. It is not surprising, therefore, that sometimes our profession has attracted the most cynical of comments,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo continued, “I hasten to add that this is not a new phenomenon as the legal profession has been bashed throughout the ages; be it from Shakespeare and the much argued over, ‘first, let’s kill all the lawyers’ or the line from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, ‘The law is an ass — an idiot’”.

Outside literature, he noted that it is not uncommon in everyday life to hear disparaging comment on the legal profession, “our fees charged for our services being the regular source of unhappiness, or the judicial process, which many feel does not deliver justice to them.”

He urged lawyers on the continent to be aware of these criticisms, and respond in a manner that asserts the integrity of the legal profession and its determination to uphold the rule of law.

In every facet of life on the continent, President Akufo-Addo stated that none of these things can be done effectively without engaging the long, octopus arms of the legal profession in one way or the other.

“There are contracts to be drawn and awarded, there are finances to be negotiated and they all need to be done efficiently and with speed; and at reasonable cost to the state,” he stressed.