By Sylvester Udemezue
With utmost respect, it is difficult to avoid the observation that many Nigerian lawyers (including law teachers) often appear detached from the realities of the society in which they live and work. We sometimes carry on as though the social, political, and moral decay afflicting the wider society has no bearing on our profession or its institutions, as though we are immune from the vices and dysfunctions that define the national experience.
This attitude, in my humble view, partly explains why legal education in Nigeria has not advanced at the pace or depth that the nation urgently requires.
Consider, for instance, a situation where discussions or materials relating to issues of national insecurity are expressly prohibited on a law teachers’ social media platform. One cannot help but wonder: what could possibly justify such a stance?
If law teachers are truly committed to genuine intellectual engagement, they should recognise that they occupy a strategic position among those who bear a moral and professional responsibility to help steer Nigeria away from insecurity, stagnation, and societal decay, away from the destructive grip of religious intolerance, ethnic chauvinism, and narrow-mindedness that continue to undermine our collective destiny.
What is the true worth of academic research if it contributes little or nothing to addressing the pressing challenges confronting our society? Of what use are our so-called “intellectual discussions” if their impact is neither felt nor seen beyond our academic circles? What value does our knowledge as law teachers hold if we remain silent or indifferent to the problems plaguing our nation? How can we be relevant change agents when we prohibit discussions on issues that directly affect our students, our universities, and the very future of legal education?
Every week, terrorists, bandits, and other violent groups attack schools and universities, killing, maiming, and abducting lecturers, students, and community members. Yet, in some quarters, discussions about these tragedies are treated as taboo, as though silence could insulate us from the consequences. Can we truly claim to be serious-minded scholars under such circumstances? With due respect, we cannot. Not until our intellectual efforts begin to resonate beyond our classrooms and journals: until they are seen and felt in the policies, values, and social transformations shaping our society.
The truth is that Nigeria’s academia is often stifled by self-interest and careerism. Too many of our scholarly pursuits are aimed more at personal advancement than at national progress. Yet, the irony remains that genuine personal advancement is best achieved in a society that itself is advancing. We cannot rise above the moral, social, and institutional environment in which we live unless we want to run away as in JAPA. Legal education (like every other sector) will continue to struggle if we, its custodians, remain disconnected from the wider realities of our society. Legal education does not exist in isolation; it thrives only in a stable, progressive, and secure environment. We must, therefore, begin to ask ourselves some honest questions:
(1). How many of our much-celebrated or Scopus-indexed publications have any measurable impact on our immediate communities?
(2). How much of our scholarly discourse is directed toward finding real solutions to Nigeria’s myriad challenges?
Among the direct consequences of our intellectual complacency and detached intellectualism is that, in the wider society (and even within the legal profession itself) law teachers are often perceived as making little or no impact on national development, the administration of justice, law practice, or the advancement of the legal profession in Nigeria. This perception, unfortunately, may have contributed to the recent decision of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) to restrict the number of law teachers awarded the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to just one per year. A striking example of how law academics are viewed outside legal education circles can be seen in the comments of Jibrin Okutepa SAN. In a widely discussed public statement, he argued that many academics conferred with the SAN rank are “largely unknown,” and that their works are “neither well-known nor major sources of reference” in the legal profession. (See: Jibrin Okutepa, “Many Academics Conferred with SAN Title Are Unknown and Their Works Are Not Reference Points” TheNigeriaLawyer, 28 October 2023). According to him, the LPPC guidelines envisage that the rank be awarded to academics whose teaching, research, and publications make substantial contributions to legal practice and become major reference points for judges, lawyers, and students alike. However, he lamented that most academic SANs have failed to meet this standard, as their scholarship has little visibility or relevance in the practical development of law, policy, or justice delivery.(See: Jibrin Okutepa, “Reforming the Rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria” Independent Nigeria, 16 October 2022).
Whether or not one agrees with his tone, the substance of Okutepa’s criticism underscores a painful truth: legal academics in Nigeria are increasingly perceived as detached from the realities of practice and the pressing needs of the justice system and national development. Such perceptions, justified or not, should compel us to re-examine the focus and impact of our scholarship. Until we begin to align our intellectual energies with the urgent needs of our society, our collective relevance as lawyers and educators will remain in doubt, and the progress of legal education will continue to be slow, if not completely stagnant.
The reality is that advancing personal academic careers and contributing to national development are not mutually exclusive pursuits. Indeed, it is entirely possible (and even desirable) for legal scholars to promote national progress through their research, intellectual discourse, and scholarly writings, while simultaneously achieving individual academic growth and career advancement. The two goals are complementary, not contradictory. The time has come, therefore, for deep introspection: and, more importantly, for deliberate action.
Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue (udems),
Lawyer, Law Teacher and Proctor, The Reality Ministry of Truth Law and Justice (TRM)
08021365545.
udems@therealityministry.ngo.
www.therealityministry.ngo.
(04 November 2025)
