Former minister of education, Oby Ezekwesili, has urged lawyers in the country to uphold the integrity of the legal profession and not trade it for financial gains.

Mrs Ezekwesili spoke on Monday during a panel session at the ongoing 2025 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual Conference in Enugu.

She lamented the state of the economy and the hardship faced by Nigerians, especially the poor.

She cautioned lawyers against allowing the profession to be “handed over to a bunch of lousy politicians,” warning that such tendencies could destroy future generations.

“Lawyers are the best minds any society could have. A profession that rewards pre-examined behaviour cannot be one that truly cares about tomorrow,” she said.

Decrying the notion that politics is a shortcut to wealth, Mrs Ezekwesili described it as an “anomaly” and urged lawyers to re-evaluate their role in shaping Nigeria’s future.

She further charged them to demand better governance and accountability from political leaders in order to safeguard the nation’s development.

Mrs Ezekwesili, also an economic policy expert, decried the federal government’s handling of economic reforms, noting that good reforms were done badly due to the government’s refusal to listen to advice.

“For petroleum prices, we normally advise that liberalising and getting market pricing of a commodity like that is what to plan for; otherwise, it will infuse the economy.”

She stated that the removal of fuel subsidy, though a necessary reform, was poorly implemented, resulting in rising inflation and widespread suffering.

“That reform was not prepared, so we ended up in this situation as the country operates a one-commodity-based economy,” she said.

Mrs Ezekwesili, a former World Bank director, noted that the poor were bearing the brunt of the government’s mismanagement, with over 133 million Nigerians now living in poverty.

She blamed the crisis on failure to reward hard work and the mishandling of key economic reforms.

“Lawyers should take responsibility for providing necessary guardrails for the behaviour of the political class.

“You represent the heartbeat of professionalism in our country and in any society,” she said.

Mrs Ezekwesili further emphasised the need for accountability in governance and prioritisation of citizens’ welfare.

But defending the administration, the minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, argued that the problem was not Mr Tinubu’s reforms but the wrong economic choices of previous governments, particularly the prioritisation of consumption over production.

He disclosed that fuel subsidy ended on May 31, 2023, with no provision for it in the budget from June 4.

“I believe the expenditure of this government is in the right direction in terms of infrastructure. The only way to adapt is to increase productivity,” he said.

The minister added that Nigeria’s debt servicing had risen from 83 per cent to 93 per cent within a year, warning that without current reforms, the figure would have exceeded 100 per cent of government revenue.

(NAN)