Former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), and erstwhile Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, have called for a fundamental reform of Nigeria’s legal education, political culture, and ethical foundations, warning that the nation’s progress is being stifled by moral decadence and colonial legacies.
They spoke yesterday at the 2025 Annual Law Lecture of the Faculty of Law, Kwara State University (KWASU), Ilorin, in honour of renowned legal scholar and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN).
The lecture, titled: ‘Decolonising Legal Briefs: Towards Effective Implementation of the Local Content Law for the Benefit of Nigerian Lawyers’, examined the continuing colonial imprint on Nigeria’s legal system and the need to reposition it for national development.
In his opening remarks as chairman of the occasion, Osinbajo emphasised the urgent need for a moral and institutional renewal in public and professional life. He said the law should not serve as a tool of control, but as a vehicle for liberation, fairness, and progress.
“To decolonise our legal practice means freeing it from dependency on outdated colonial templates that no longer serve Nigeria’s realities,” the ex-vice president advised.
According to him, genuine reform requires empowering Nigerian lawyers through policies that promote local expertise, ethical conduct, and public trust in the justice system.
Osinbajo, who described Ali as “a symbol of diligence, character, and consistency in the pursuit of justice,” noted that his life and career represent the bridge between scholarship and practice.
“Law, at its highest essence, is about service to humanity,” he added. He lamented the erosion of ethical values in governance and society, warning that the absence of integrity renders even the best legal frameworks ineffective.
“Our greatest challenge today is not the absence of laws but the weakening of the moral fibre that sustains justice. The ethical foundation of leadership, governance, and the legal profession must be rebuilt,” Osinbajo stated. He urged young lawyers and students to view the law not merely as a means of livelihood, but as a moral calling.
“Every generation faces its own test of character. Yours is to restore public trust in the law and insist that justice must be both done and seen to be done,” he said.
Delivering the main lecture, Odinkalu called for a radical rethinking of Nigeria’s legal and political education, insisting that the current system perpetuates colonial legacies and moral dysfunction.
He traced the foundations of Nigeria’s legal and political order to colonial exploitation, arguing that the institutions were created to serve imperial interests rather than protect citizens’ rights. Odinkalu lamented that decades after independence, Nigerian legal education still depends on outdated doctrines.
“We continue to teach and apply laws that even the British have long abolished. If we cannot justify why we are teaching 19th-century laws to 21st-century students, then our legal education has lost moral purpose,” he asserted.
He decried the erosion of ethics and accountability in public life, stating that “in Nigerian politics today, success depends not on competence, but on criminality.” He called on universities to reconnect legal education with ethics, community service, and technology.
In his goodwill message, Ali reflected on the importance of purposeful leadership and moral integrity as the bedrock of national progress. He urged Nigerians to rediscover honesty, hard work, and empathy as core national values, stressing that “our national rebirth begins with personal renewal and collective responsibility.”
The Vice-Chancellor of KWASU, Prof. Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh, commended Ali’s exceptional service to the university and the legal profession, describing the yearly lecture as a platform to celebrate excellence and inspire future leaders.
