Herbert Wigwe Urges Nigerian Lawyers to Embrace Globalisation

Wale Igbintade

The Group Managing Director of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, has urged Nigerian legal practitioners to embrace globalisation and remain adaptable in order to foster global trade and international investments.

Wigwe, stated this yesterday, while delivering a keynote speech at the 2023 Annual Law Week event organised by the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA).

 The event with the theme: “Facing the Future: Law in a Globalised Economy,” was aimed to assess the evolution of legal practice and explore the crucial role of the law in an increasingly interconnected global economy.

 Delivering the keynote address, the Access GMD emphasised the significance of standardising laws across different countries to facilitate seamless international trade, affirming that, “with diverse legal systems in each country, the standardisation of laws are imperative to facilitate international trade and investment.”

He said: “If we are to encourage engagement in cross-border trade and investment, the globalised economy needs legal systems that offer certainty and predictability to businesses.

“It is therefore essential to establish robust legal frameworks and effective enforcement mechanisms that ensure parties can rely on the law to resolve cross-border disputes and protect their rights.”

Drawing from his extensive experience as a banker and leader of Access Holdings’ expansion across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, Wigwe highlighted the profound impact of globalisation on businesses and economies across continents.

He also emphasised the pressing need for legal systems to adapt to the rapid pace of technological advancements, the challenges of cross-border transactions, and the complexities of international regulations.

“As we navigate this new reality of globalisation, we must embrace it wholeheartedly. Only by embracing change and actively working towards harmonising legal systems can we fully leverage the benefits of a scaled economy,” Wigwe concluded.

In his remarks the Administrative Judge of the Federal High Court in Lagos, Justice Olayinka Faji, disclosed that newly built Federal High Court Court building would start operating before the end of the year.

He said there were, at least, four courtrooms that have been retrofitted and it would start operating in the new building. Because those are the four courts that have been completed with the state of the art.

Justice Faji said: “I have seen the courtrooms, my chief judge has seen the courtrooms and he has been assured by those building it that it will be ready before the end of the year. I don’t want to say before September, but I know that before the end of the year.

“We’ve had challenges; funding is a basic problem probably because as somebody has said here, the government itself doesn’t see the judiciary as an arm of government and all the things that happen with budgeting also affect the judiciary.

“All the issues at the National Assembly also affect the judiciary.”

Justice Faji also stated that the judiciary must rise above the local challenges and consider the legal global technology and how it can enhance the judicial system in the country.

Speaking on enhancing the practice within the court system he said: “They can make use of artificial intelligence that will guide non-lawyers and litigants to know the strength of their cases and to know how to proceed. Infrastructure is a basic issue we really need to work on that, including electricity, and internet connectivity.

“I’m looking at the ideals and how we can work with them. One basic challenge is the infrastructure; another is knowledge one other challenge is the reluctance of lawyers to accept to change. Lawyers are very slow in accepting change, they see the court as a place and not as a service. The court is a service.

“I think the way to go is digital and I also think that there is a lot to be done as a whole. The legal profession needs to regulate itself, judges must be bold to impose costs.”

Also speaking, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye said as far back as 2004, the Lagos judiciary had been trying to integrate e-filing and still is not working at the optimal level.

She said: ”If the truth must be told standards are falling on the Bar and the Bench, we need to pay attention to the kind of curriculum our new lawyers are being taught at the law school so that they can be very versatile. “

The Annual Law Week brought together distinguished leaders and intellectuals from the legal profession and various sectors to engage in thoughtful discussions surrounding the theme of the event.

Notable personalities who delivered goodwill messages included Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Executive Governor of Lagos State; Honourable Justice Kazeem Alogba, Chief Judge of Lagos State; Mr Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, National President, Nigerian Bar Association, and Honourable Mubashiru Obasa, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.