The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ijebu Ode Branch, has called for greater accountability, transparency, and a return to fundamental character in leadership in the country.

Members of the bar and society bemoaned the precarious state of the rule of law in Nigeria during the 27th Bar Lecture of the branch, which was part of its 2025 Annual Bar Week themed ‘Law and Governance: The Nexus.’

Former President of the NBA Lagos Branch, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), in his assessment of Nigeria’s adherence to the rule of law, emphasised the indispensable role of citizens in holding government representatives to their constitutional duties.

He said: “Accountability and transparency are part of the measures for assessing how strong and how big the rule of law is.”

Akangbe criticised the “selective application” of law, branding it a clear “indication for a weakness in rule of law.” Akangbe maintained that institutions must be strengthened, and lawyers must relentlessly “keep pushing the boundaries and advocating for rule of law.”

Chairman of the NBA, Ijebu Ode Branch, and Baagbimo of Ijebu, Prof. Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf, underscored the inseparable bond between legal frameworks and effective governance.

Yusuf’s address challenged society to confront the very essence of its formation and the role of laws in improving lives.
“There is no governance without law, and there is no law without governance,” he declared, painting a picture of a symbiotic relationship between law, governance, and society, as further stressed by a Professor of Sociology at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Prof. Babatunde Adetola.

Adetola, who critiqued societal decay, traced it back to a fundamental deficit in character. He said: “Character is everything. It is the only thing that can preserve an individual. Why we are not making sufficient progress today is because many of us, from family level to external level, lack character.”

He offered grim examples of the erosion across professions, from doctors who “will inject you and kill you” to lawyers who “change the entire process to make sure you even go today.”

For Adetola, the nation’s “so much confusion is rooted in this absence of character,” arguing that without a return to this core principle, “there is no way we can actually make progress as a nation.”

Bringing the discussion back to the practical challenges within the legal profession, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, Principal at Otayemi Law Office, highlighted the debilitating issue of sluggish justice delivery in Ogun State.

While reaffirming the intrinsic interdependence of law and governance, Otayemi described as “wicked” the government’s failure to automate court proceedings. “Why are we subjecting our judges to such stress?” he asked.