Frontline legal luminary, Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN), has reiterated the call for psychiatric tests for political officeholders especially for governors as he described them as rascals.
Ali who spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, argued that not all persons holding political offices have the mental ability to do so, hence the need to determine their mental capacities for such offices.
“One thing we should know is that not all elected persons have correct mental status to occupy the position. After all, no mental or psychiatric test is done for any of them, but I think it should be done now from councillors to the highest office in the land. If you look well, some of our actors on the political scene present the picture as if they are mentally unstable; I think we have gotten to a point where psychiatrist test is necessary,” he said.
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On the lingering crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum crisis, Ali observed that the governors have opened themselves up for public ridicule and advised Gov. Jonah Jang of Plateau State to address himself as the chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Governors’ Forum rather than the chairman of all governors in Nigeria, stressing that Jang cannot lay claim to an office where he has only 16 governors behind him, majority whom are of the PDP.
“I have made several comments on this; it was not only a charade but also a total indictment on the government. I was listening to a TV programme and they said the chairman of the Governors’ Forum and they mentioned Gov. Jang, I laughed. People are just playing Ostrich. All the 16 governors under him are PDP governors and we know that PDP does not have all the governors in Nigeria. I think Jang should just be addressed as chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum,” he said.
“He claims that Mimiko is with them, imagine, out of sixteen, only one person. By this they have exposed themselves to ridicule and public opprobrium; I think it is quite unfortunate; they should retrace their steps and make amends,” he added.
On the cost of obtaining justice in Nigeria, he said it was relatively cheap when compared to other countries that practice Common Law like the country.
Said the SAN: “I don’t agree that the cost of getting justice is high in Nigeria with due respect. I think injustice costs more; injustice, costs more than justice. Not only in terms of money alone, but also in terms of humanity, even in terms of psychology. There is no scale or basis for comparison between what happens here and elsewhere because there is no data.
“The only way that thesis can be justified is if you take a survey of happenings in other common law practising countries and you now say that in England for example a case like this cost this but in Nigeria it cost this much, its unlike petrol or petroleum product, so except you have date that statement could best be said to be made for the fun of it.
“On the contrary, I believe that the cost of obtaining justice in Nigeria is relatively cheap; I know what happens in other parts of the world as regards the law profession,” he added.
Source: The Post
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