Tuesday 15th November, 2022.
BY: CHIEF MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, CON, OFR, LL.M, Ph.D.
INTRODUCTION
A nation is said to be developed when the standard of her discipline and
ethics are measured in comparison with others in the developing society.
Where this is lacking in Nigeria for instance, is what has led her to fail to
measure up with other developed nations of the world. Today, we shall
continue our discourse on this.
ETHICS AND MORALITY (continues)
To analyse law, refers must be made to a classic tale, originating in India,
of a group of blind men and elephant even though there are numerous
variations of the story, but I enjoy the Jain’s version in particular:
“Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a village. One day the
villagers told them, “Hey, there is an elephant in the village today.”
They had no idea what an elephant is. They decided, “Even though
we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway.” All of
them went where the elephant was. Every one of them touched the
elephant.
“Hey, the elephant is a pillar,” said the first man who touched his leg.
“Oh, no! It is like a rope,” said the second man who touched the tail.
“Oh, no! It is like a thick branch of a tree,” said the third man who
touched the trunk of the elephant.
“It is like a big hand fan,” said the fourth man who touched the ear of
the elephant.
“It is like a huge wall,” said the fifth man who touched the belly of the
elephant.
“It is like a solid pipe,” said the sixth man who touched the tusk of
the elephant.
They began to argue about the elephant and every one of them
insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated. A
wise man was passing by, and he saw this. He stopped and asked
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them, “What is the matter?” They said, “We cannot agree to what the
elephant is like.” Each one of them told what he thought the elephant
was like. The wise man calmly explained to them, “All of you are
right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently because
each one of you touched a different part of the elephant. So, the
elephant has all the features of what you all said.”
Because of the multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary nature of law
several theories and schools of law have been propounded to wit: the
Naturalist School, the Socialist Theory, the Positivist Theory, the Realists
Theory, the Utilitarian Theory and so on, but we are not going to wear
ourselves out with the various theories. For the sake of this write-up, we
shall adopt the definition proposed in the Black’s Law Dictionary above,
that is:
“As that which is laid down, ordained, or established. A rule or
method according to which phenomenon or actions co-exist or
follow each other. Law, in its generic sense, is a body of rules of
action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority and having
binding legal force. That which must be obeyed and followed by
citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences. Law is a solemn
expression of the will of the supreme power of the State”.
“WAITING FOR GODOT” is a term coined from the story – Waiting for
Godot – to describe a situation where people are waiting for something to
happen, but it probably never will. Simply put, it is to engage in wishful
thinking or to build castles in the air. The phrase is coined from the play by
Samuel Becket. The play is basically two clowns waiting for someone who
never shows up. It’s a metaphor for humanity waiting for some revelation
of God’s presence amid horror, destruction and chaos.
They never get it. At the end a messenger boy comes to say Mr. Godot is
very sorry but he’s unable to come today, but perhaps tomorrow. That’s
life. Waiting for Godot is a tragicomedy in two acts by Irish writer Samuel
Beckett, published in 1952 in French as En attendant Godot and first
produced in 1953. Waiting for Godot was a true innovation in drama and
the Theatre of the Absurd’s first theatrical success.
NATIONAL ETHICS
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National ethics simply means a set of conduct and behaviours expected of
every citizen, the breach of which attracts punishment. National ethics is
defined as a system of morals, rules, and behaviour which every
community in a country is bound to abide by and a breach of such rules
usually attracts punishment.
National ethics is stated in the Constitution of a nation to guide the
behaviour and conduct of citizens in their places of work. It serves to
establishment of law and order and attainment of meaningful development
in a country. The present Constitution of Nigeria states the national ethics
to comprise the following: Discipline, Integrity, Dignity of Labour, Social
Justice, Religious Tolerance, Self-Reliance, and Patriotism.
Discipline, Integrity, Dignity of Labour, Social Justice, Religious Tolerance,
Self-Reliance, and Patriotism.
By discipline the Constitution meant Nigerians should try not to be corrupt,
disobedient to laws or embezzle government’s funds when they found
themselves in a position of leadership. Citizens are expected to be
disciplined, always observing self-control and associating themselves only
with people of good character. The importance of discipline which cannot
be overemphasized include but not limited to the following: Discipline
builds good habits; Discipline helps one stop procrastinating; Discipline
helps one manage one’s time better; Discipline helps one achieve your
goals; Discipline boosts one self-esteem; Discipline helps one master
things; Discipline makes one more reliable; Discipline improves one’s
ability to manage challenging emotions. When you have discipline in your
life you can make small sacrifices in the present for a better life in the
future. Discipline creates habits, habits make routines, and routines
become who you are daily.
Like a muscle, discipline can be trained. The more you work on your
discipline the stronger it becomes. You see this in sports all the time, the
more disciplined team ends up beating the undisciplined team with greater
talent. Disciplined teams can see the big picture and use restraint during
adversity. Teams who aren’t as disciplined lose their cool and end up
costing themselves a shot.
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By integrity the Constitution states that Nigerians should try to be firm and
honest in all their activities. They should not allow others to drag them into
illegal and dishonest activities.
Integrity is a characteristic that many of us value in ourselves, and it’s one
we look for consistently in our leaders. But what does it really mean to
have integrity? It is the quality of being honest and strong about what you
believe to be right.
One could say that integrity is always doing the right thing, even when no
one is looking, and even when the choice isn’t easy. Or, one might see
integrity as staying true to oneself and one’s word, even when one is faced
with serious consequences for the choices that you’re making.
When we have integrity, we gain the trust of our leaders, our colleagues
and our team. We’re dependable, and, when we hold ourselves
accountable for our actions, we become role models for others to follow.
All of this, in turn, directly impacts our success in life.
Dignity of labour entails that Nigerians should be proud of the work they do
irrespective of its nature provided it is legal. It also means labour should be
rewarded accordingly. That is, we should have respect for those who work
for us. The dignity of labour is the philosophy that all types of jobs are
respected equally, and no occupation is considered superior and none of
the jobs should be discriminated on any basis. Regardless of whether
one’s occupation involves physical work or mental labour, it is held that the
job deserves respect. Simply put, any form of work, manual or intellectual,
is called labour and respecting any kind of job (manual or intellectual) is
called “dignity of labour”. Dignity of labour, in a nutshell, is the experience
of self-worth and achievement that a person derives from his or her work.
It is experienced when a person is treated as an equal in the workplace
and when they feel useful to their company and to society in general.
By social justice the Constitution implies that Nigerians irrespective of
where they come from should be treated fairly and rightly. That is, they
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should be given equal opportunities in terms of access to justice,
employment, education, etc. This could help to bridge the gap between the
rich and the poor to the barest minimum.
Justice is the concept of fairness. Social justice is fairness as it manifests
in society. That includes fairness in healthcare, employment, housing, and
more. Discrimination and social justice are not compatible. Now, social
justice applies to all aspects of society, including race and gender, and it is
closely tied to human rights. More specifically, what does social justice
mean?
Social justice means that everyone’s human rights are respected and
protected. Everyone has equal opportunities. This doesn’t guarantee that
society will be perfect, and everyone will always be happy. However,
everyone will have a fighting chance at the life they want. They aren’t held
back by things out of their control like systemic obstacles or discrimination.
By Religious tolerance the Constitution simply means that Nigerians
should learn to stay together without violating each other’s right in their
practice of religion. That is, they should learn to believe that the religion of
every person is important to him. Therefore, every Nigerian should
consider the religion of another Nigerian important to the believer. That is,
we should learn to believe that, much as we value our religions other
people, too, value their religion no matter the pattern of worship.
This goal is a complex one due the great diversity of religions and spiritual
beliefs existing in the world today especially in our society. Religion is also
a very emotional topic. It can often be difficult for individuals to put their
personal biases aside and consider ideas or situations objectively. (To be
continued).
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“In just about every area of society, there’s nothing more important than
ethics”. (Henry Paulson).
