A chieftain of the ruling APC in Nigeria, Governor Bello Masari has reveal the difficulties of curbing corruption, as well as the role that could be played by legal practitioners.
Aminu Bello Masari
Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has lamented that the fight against corruption was getting tougher.
He blamed lawyers for the situation, saying they failed to do the right things. Masari, spoke when he received members of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Katsina State chapter, at the Government House.
“It is becoming almost impossible now to prosecute corruption in Nigeria. How can we have a decent society? If this continues, ultimately something may give way because we either fight it or it will fight us,” he said.
“The Nigerian Bar Association or lawyers should be at the forefront in defence, not only in court, but on what is right to the generality of the populace You should be at the vanguard of changing what is good, especially at this critical time in the development of this country.
“Even though lawyers are human beings like any other person, they have their preferences and also personal interest but all the same, there should be a baseline upon which it must operate from.
“What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. But what beats my imagination, something that is wrong and inside you, you know it is wrong and you go and say it is right. And say this is a profession of law.
“I’m a bit confused. How can you have a decent society if what is right is not right and what is wrong is not wrong? And in this era, I hope you won’t put the pocket first and you second. And that is why you find cases in court dragging for years.
“The lawyers have a great role to play, in fact, greater than any other one. This is because people see the temple of justice as the last hope but when it becomes the beginning of your problem, then where else do you go?”
On appeal for financial assistance to support its activities, Masari asked the association to submit its yearly budget which will be considered by his government.
He also assured the NBA that the state government would provide them with a brand new bus and plot of land to build their permanent office in Katsina and Funtua branches.