‘Nigeria needs quality Bar and Bench’

Aborishade disclosed this at the launch of his new book, ‘Determination of Contract of Employment’, which held in Lagos at the weekend.The lawyer said the Bar and the Bench must be seen to be effectively playing their constitutional responsibilities without compromising the dictates of same.He explained that he wrote the book in order to explore […]

Aborishade disclosed this at the launch of his new book, ‘Determination of Contract of Employment’, which held in Lagos at the weekend.
The lawyer said the Bar and the Bench must be seen to be effectively playing their constitutional responsibilities without compromising the dictates of same.
He explained that he wrote the book in order to explore ways the law can be used to address social problems such as contract employment and the unprecedented degree of unemployment ravaging the country.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the increasing disregard of the rule of law by several private sector employers in Nigeria, saying it could spur industrial anarchy and chaos.
He said: “In writing this book, I felt it is necessary to establish the international standard established by the ILO and which is being practised in countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“We discovered that the international standard being adopted by the ILO is lacking in the Nigerian judiciary system. In some other African countries, common principles have been jettisoned in favour of the international standard, such as no employer has right to sack any employee without following the normal procedures.
‘’The two principles guiding the contract employment which is stated in the ILO recommendation are applicable in other countries, but they are not applicable in the Nigerian legal system,” Aborishade said.
He advocated the need to press the Nigerian authorities to ratify ILO Convention 158 of 1982 with a view to bringing the nation’s legal framework in line with the requirements of international best standards.
Speaking, former Attorney General of Edo State, who was also the reviewer of the book, Dr Osagie Obayuwana, said laws are being violated with impunity by employers particularly in the private sector as workers are denied the right to organise.
He also lamented that most Nigerians have not benefitted from the social justice system.
Obayuwana said: “More so, there is the general belief that the present crop of labour leaders have failed in their responsibility to promote the right of workers across the country.
“As the Nigerian situation continues to worsen by the day, the little gains of the labour movement to improve the living conditions of the workers have been eroded.”
He said the book represents “Comrade Barrister Femi Aborishade’s classical use of his legal skills to examine a specific and all important area of the law, to expose and dramatise the contradictions, shortcomings and insufficiency of the law as an instrument of class rule in a capitalist society.
“The impeccable well researched book is enriched by his consideration of numerous scholarly published articles from different countries and diverse perspectives. The author looks through over 215 decided court cases, from a range of courts from all over the world, some dating back as far back as 1865,” he added.
Speaking, Presiding Judge of the Lagos Division of the National Industrial Court, Justice B. B. Kanyip, described the book as a masterpiece on all that should be known in contract employment in Nigeria.