A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Wale Babalakin, on Wednesday said that merit was no longer considered in the appointment of judges in Nigeria.
Babalakin, the Chairman of Bi-Courteny Nigeria Limited, who spoke at a seminar organised by the Nigeria Bar Association, Ibadan, Oyo State branch, said it was unfortunate that judges were not appointed on merit.
He said: “The major issue in Nigeria is the abandonment of merit.
“A system that abandons merit will continue to languish.”
Babalakin, however, advised lawyers to continue to think on how they could help develop Nigeria positively.
He said: “Lawyers must continue to think positively because that is the greatest asset.
“But we all know that the system has not encouraged lawyers.”
Babalakin, who decried the economic situation in the country, said Nigeria had been running deficit budget in the last three year.
He explained that the dwindling price of petroleum products would no doubt bring more hardship to Nigerians.
The senior advocate called for diversification of the Nigerian economy as a way out of the hardship.
In a keynote address, George Etomi, urged lawyers to develop expertise in the emerging sectors to succeed in the new legal economy.
Etomi, who spoke on the theme: “From Ibadan to the uttermost parts: Developing Expertise in Emerging Sectors,” said lawyers should train themselves in all the sectors.
According to him, the new legal economy demands that lawyers specialise in the different fields.
He said: “Lawyers must move into areas of the Nigerian sector such as power, health care, information communication technology, agriculture, and the creative industry that covers media, entertainment and intellectual property.
“Others are environmental law, oil and gas, construction, banking and finance.”
The Chairman of the occasion, Asue Ighodalo, stressed the need for lawyers in the state to work toward restoring the lost glory of Ibadan.
Ighodalo noted that Ibadan was the cosmopolitan city of Nigeria and lawyers should start new ways of developing the law and do away with the traditional ways.