The Body of Benchers is arguably the most prestigious organ of the legal profession. It is, of course, not superior to our overarching professional body, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA; after all, whereas all of us lawyers, both at the Bar and on the Bench, belong to the NBA, only a handful of us end up becoming Benchers......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Apart from the courts, themselves, from customary court to our most sacred temple of justice, The Supreme Court, there is no organ of our profession we respect, as lawyers, more than the Body of Benchers.
In light of his most embarrassing excesses, his decidedly unlawyerly demeanor, his shamefully ungentlemanly posturing and his obvious addiction to unnecessary controversy, the Honourable Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and, former Governor of Rivers, Barrister Nyesom Wike, is the poster child and perfect specimen of precisely the sort of character that must not be a Bencher.
Nyesom Wike started out as an agbero, whom God, in His Infinite Mercy, Holy Magnanimity and Divine Providence, lifted up and took from the motorpark, made a local government Chairman, Secretary to The State Government, Minister of The Federal Republic, Governor for two consecutive terms, and, now once again a Minister but, unfortunately, decided to thank God for rescuing him from the motorpark by refusing to remove the motorpark from himself.
Indeed, you can force the horse to the river but not force it to drink from it, just as you might remove the agbero from the motor park, but the agbero might find it difficult to remove the motor park from himself.
I supported Wike’s nomination as Minister because he helped us win in Rivers State, but he has only succeeded in making himself an embarrassment to our government and a distraction to our President.
As to being a lawyer, the Body of Benchers must now declare Nyesom Wike as not a fit and proper person to be in their midst and sack him immediately from the most respected organ of our profession.
Onokpasa, a lawyer, was a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council and the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, TPLT, and writes from Abuja.