Nigerian human rights lawyer and lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has expressed deep concern over what he described as the disturbing trend of some lawyers, who were certified fit and proper to be called to the Nigerian Bar, now conducting themselves with the temperament of motor-park agitators.
Ejiofor, who is the Dunu-Ezeugosinachi, made the remarks in his weekend reflection titled: “The Republic of Double-Speakers: When Lawyers Become Merchants of Convenience and Integrity Is Auctioned for Political Crumbs.”
In the statement, he lamented that some lawyers now engage in hurling invectives and manufacturing outrage for transient political relevance.
According to him, “The law is a noble profession, not a theatrical circus for ideological acrobats.”
He acknowledged that while a lawyer may legitimately change political alliances, such a person must never sacrifice intellectual honesty, dignity, and consistency on the altar of ambition.
Ejiofor further stated that the public must be able to distinguish between principled evolution and shameless opportunism.
According to him, there was once a sacred era when the legal profession stood as the last moral cathedral of society , a vocation founded on honour, intellectual discipline, character, and fidelity to truth.
He noted that, in those days, a lawyer’s word was his bond and his integrity his most priceless ornament.
“Today, however, we increasingly witness the tragic emergence of a dangerous breed of legal practitioners who speak from both sides of the mouth with astonishing ease, prostituting conviction on the altar of political patronage and pecuniary gratification.
“Sadly, that disturbing era is once again fully upon us.
“During political campaigns, particularly in the build-up to the 2023 General and Presidential Elections, many who ought to have embodied restraint, professional dignity, and ethical sobriety recklessly abandoned every known standard of decency in desperate attempts to please their political paymasters.
“Truth became elastic. Principles became negotiable. Yesterday’s villains suddenly transformed into today’s saints, not by redemption, but by political convenience,” he said.
Ejiofor maintained that, as lawyers and ministers in the hallowed temple of justice, society expects certain irreducible minimum standards of integrity, consistency, and honour from members of the profession.
He added that once those entrusted with defending truth descend into the marketplace of opportunism as professional praise-singers and itinerant propagandists, the moral foundation of society itself begins to tremble.
The human rights lawyer further stated:
“During the heated political season, spokespersons for various presidential candidates flooded television screens and media platforms, glorifying their principals with near-religious fanaticism while demonising opponents with unconcealed venom.
“Nigerians watched as individuals like Daniel Bwala and Reno Omokri spoke with theatrical disdain against the current President, only to later find comfortable accommodation within the very political establishment they once condemned with evangelical intensity.
“Even more profoundly striking was the rhetorical ferocity with which Kenneth Okonkwo promoted Peter Obi while relentlessly disparaging Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 electioneering process. His media appearances were often saturated with moral absolutism, indignation, and aggressive certitude, all carefully packaged to portray one candidate as a messianic redeemer and the other as politically unworthy.
“Ordinarily, I watched many of these televised vituperations from afar with reluctant silence, restrained partly by respect for age and professional fraternity. Yet, there comes a point where silence itself becomes an accomplice to institutional decay.
“Having now carefully revisited interview clips in which Kenneth Okonkwo vigorously vilified Atiku Abubakar in 2023 while passionately promoting Peter Obi , the presidential candidate of the Labour Party at the time and his then principal — one is compelled to ask a legitimate and unavoidable question:
“What precisely distinguishes him today from those he once indirectly mocked and condemned, now that he reportedly serves as spokesperson to the very same Atiku Abubakar he once sought to politically diminish?
“Can any fair-minded and discerning observer genuinely identify any ideological difference between Kenneth Okonkwo, Daniel Bwala, and Reno Omokri?
“Or are we merely witnessing the same travelling theatre of political convenience , only with different costumes, different microphones, and different benefactors?
“The tragedy is not merely the political migration itself. Democracy permits association and realignment. The real tragedy lies in the reckless extremism with which these individuals previously prosecuted their arguments, only to somersault with breathtaking ease when political winds shifted direction.
“It is profoundly disturbing that some lawyers, who were certified fit and proper to be called to the Nigerian Bar, now conduct themselves with the temperament of motor-park agitators, hurling invectives and manufacturing outrage for transient political relevance. The law is a noble profession, not a theatrical circus for ideological acrobats.
“A lawyer may change political alliances; however, he must never surrender intellectual honesty, dignity, and consistency at the altar of ambition. The public must be able to distinguish principled evolution from shameless opportunism.
“Today, both Daniel Bwala and Reno Omokri appear to have been politically rewarded after swallowing their own public utterances with astonishing appetite. Yet, beyond appointments and political proximity lies a far more important question: what becomes of credibility once a man repeatedly contradicts himself before the full glare of history?
“Indeed, there is something profoundly tragic about men who once spoke with volcanic certainty against certain political actors, only to later dine comfortably at the same tables they once described as poisonous.
“This is precisely why the Nigerian Bar Association must urgently initiate holistic ethical reforms aimed at restoring dignity, discipline, and professional responsibility within the legal profession.
“Public conduct, especially by lawyers occupying strategic political communication roles, must not descend to the level of reckless propaganda devoid of intellectual sincerity.
“May Nigeria never permanently fall into the hands of professional double-speakers, ideological chameleons, and merchants of convenient outrage whose convictions evaporate immediately after political appointments arrive.
“History is patient. Public memory may sometimes appear weak, but eventually posterity documents every contradiction with merciless precision.
“And when that final verdict of history is rendered, no amount of televised eloquence will rescue the integrity that was willingly traded for political crumbs.”
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