Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has issued a powerful call to action to Nigerian lawyers, urging them to rise beyond slogans and become bold defenders of justice, ethics, and national reform.
El-Rufai delivered the keynote address at the 2025 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Barnawa Branch. Speaking passionately, he urged the legal profession to stop being “a profession that is feared but not respected, visible but not trusted, numerous but not impactful.”
“Law Is a Calling, Not Just a Career” – El – Rufai Admonishes Nigerian Lawyers
He reminded lawyers that the legal profession is more than a means of livelihood — it is a noble calling based on integrity, conscience, and courage.
“Whether you draft laws, argue cases, or advise clients, you carry the weight of justice on your shoulders,” El-Rufai said. “You are not just service providers. You are standard bearers.”
He called on legal professionals to stop being passive observers in Nigeria’s challenges, adding:
“There is too much silence in the land amidst serious constitutional violations and the destruction of institutions.”
Referencing a 1989 Supreme Court ruling (Nigerian Reports, Part 105, Page 558), El-Rufai emphasized the NBA’s responsibility to uphold public trust in the legal profession:
“The NBA must ensure that its members adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct.”
He urged the association to renew its ethical core by focusing on continuing legal education, pro bono work, and internal democracy.
“Let us invest not just in the glamour of conferences, but in the grit of reform,” he added.
El-Rufai also encouraged lawyers to go beyond winning cases to influencing national policy and governance.
“Let the NBA and all lawyers work to shape policies, not just cases. Let them challenge bad laws, not just comply with them. Let us all uphold the constitution, even when it is inconvenient to do so.”
El-Rufai shared that his collaboration with legal experts over four decades, particularly in the past 27 years, inspired him to study and earn a law degree.
“I have seen brilliance, courage, and vision. But our country needs more — not just brilliant minds but brave hearts. Not just professionals but patriots,” he said.
He ended his address with a heartfelt appeal:
“As we celebrate Law Week, may it not be just a ritual of robes, suits, and rhetoric. Let it be a time of reflection, rededication, and reform.”
