The Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has challenged African lawyers to foster unity amongst the people of the continent in order to ensure integration and rapid development.
Speaking when he received members of the African Bar Association, who were in Sokoto for their Executive Committee meeting, Governor Tambuwal said one of the best ways for the countries on the continent to reap the benefits of globalisation was to collaborate with each other and bring its people closer.
The governor said, “I urge you to use the platform of the African Bar Association to foster unity and integration in Africa, and to promote good governance and sustenance of human rights of our citizens.
“Africans can gain a lot if they trade and interact closely among themselves. As a people, we should try to be more of our brothers’ keepers, and work more closely more than ever before.
“This association has lofty ideals, which, if properly harnessed, will provide a roadmap for others to follow in the development of Africa.”
In his remarks, President of ABA, Hannibal E. Uwaifo, said the association had done a lot in the promotion of rule of law and human rights, and would strive to ensure that Africa was free from hunger and disease, using the instrumentality of the law.
Uwaifo said African governments must do more to harness the natural resources available in the continent, and should give agriculture the priority attention it deserved. He said a lot had changed in Nigeria in the recent past, and hailed the Federal Government for giving their members visas on arrival into the country for the meeting, a situation he said would boost inflow of persons into Nigeria.
While commending Tambuwal and the Sokoto State government for giving priority attention to the most pressing needs of the populace, Uwaifo said the executive committee meeting was a prelude to their annual conference, which would hold in Port Harcourt in 2017.
