In
one of the serious conversations I had in the past with a professor friend who
is equally my old time mentor, the don categorically told me that the best
thing that could happen to any rational human creature was to leave legacies on
the sands of time. Therein, I strongly looked into his eyes and asked him, “what
is the best step to be taken to ensure that such feat is actualized?”
In a candid manner, he responded unequivocally
“my dear, you will never leave legacies if you are not a sound and independent
thinker”. To throw more light, he further stated that independent thinkers do
not allow anyone to think for them, hence on a daily basis, they cough up
reasonable time thinking of how to make a difference. This simply signifies
that whatever we do in life is begotten by our thinking faculty.
It
is indeed glad and amazing to note that while many were invariably busy
thinking of how to ferment trouble in the land, a certain Nigerian jurist was
doggedly busy thinking about how to make remarkable history. He is no other
than Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji of Imo State extraction.
Judge
Eboe-Osuji, a fine lawyer with a difference, was on Sunday 11th
March 2018 elected the President of the revered International Criminal Court
(ICC). The legal luminary, who bagged his Bachelor of Law degree from the
University of Calabar, Cross-River State and was called to the Nigerian Bar in
1986, is the first Nigerian to record such a feat.
The ICC, which is an intergovernmental
body and international tribunal, has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals
for the global crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity as well as war
crimes. Its primary intent is to complement existing national judicial systems.
Hence, it exercises its functions when national courts are unwilling or unable
to prosecute criminals, or when the United Nations (UN) Security Council or individual
states refer situations to the court. It commenced its statutory duties
precisely on 1st July 2002.
Judge
Eboe-Osuji, born on 2nd September 1962, further obtained his Masters
of Law degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada in 1991 and Doctor of
Law degree from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On December 16,
2011, he was elected as a judge of the ICC; he won the office in the fifteenth
ballot in the Assembly of States Parties with 102 votes.
He would be serving as President in the war
crimes tribunal for a three-year term with immediate effect, alongside Judges
Robert Fremr of the Czech Republic and Marc Perrin de Brichambant of France who
were respectively elected as First Vice-President and Second Vice-President.
The presidency, consisting of the president and the two vice-presidents, plays
a key role in providing strategic leadership to the ICC.
In his
victory statement, which he released immediately after the election, Judge
Eboe-Osuji said, “I am deeply honoured to have been elected by my peers as
President of the International Criminal Court. As I take up my duties, I feel
encouraged that I am able to rely on the wide experience of the two
vice-presidents,…, both of whom I have closely worked with previously…”
The 55-year-old Judge Eboe-Osuji who practised
briefly in Nigeria after he was called to the Bar before migrating to abroad,
had prior to his election as the President of the ICC served in various
capacities. From 1997 to 2005, he worked at the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda (ICTR) as prosecution counsel and senior legal officer to the judges
of the tribunal.
From 2005 to 2007, he worked in Canada
as a barrister and law lecturer. He became the Legal Adviser to the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, in 2010; just to mention but a few.
It’s noteworthy that he was equally called to the Ontario and British Columbia
Bars, both in Canada.
I therefore join other well-meaning
Nigerians – both home and in the Diaspora – to celebrate this rare gem who has
proven that he has hitherto been working round the clock to write his name in
gold; that he is a true Nigerian; that he’s one of the few who believes in
leaving footprints on the sands of time; that he’s unarguably an independent
thinker.
However,
as we celebrate this Imo-born distinguished fellow, it’s worthy of note that he
is expected to see this position as a stepping stone, and not the limit of his
career. In view of this, I challenge him to work extra mile toward ensuring
that in the next three years when he is expected to take a bow, he would be
leaving the jurisdiction far better than he met it.
Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji needs to take
into cognizance that millions of Nigerians now look up to his person, hence the
need for him to carry out his obligatory duties as a role model. He mustn’t be
reminded at all times that, by recording this feat, he has written his name in
the Guinness Book of Record, thus is required to do everything humanly possible
to defend it.
The Nigerian government, on its part,
ought to as well learn how best to celebrate their own when he/she makes them
proud. Their appreciation shouldn’t stop at a mere Twitter tweet. Overtime
whenever a Nigerian distinguished him/herself in the global sphere, you would
only observe a government official – on behalf of the Presidency or as may be
the case – congratulating the fellow merely via a tweet on the social media. We
must go beyond such gesture while appreciating our own for updating the
country’s presence on the world map.
As
this unique jurist makes history in the ICC, as much as I enjoin him to sustain
the tempo, other Nigerians thinking how to ferment trouble are equally urged to
individually have a rethink with a view to thinking how remarkable history
could be made. And, it’s needless to state that the government ought to be
willing to seek the wealth of experience of such a citizen who has succeeded in
writing his name in gold. Think about it!
Comrade Fred Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub (DRH) - Owerri
__________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056Twitter: @mediambassador
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