Task Before The First Female CJN

The President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan made history, last week,

when he swore-in Honourable Justice Mariam Alooma Mukhtar as the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). The President had recommended her following her clearance by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

At her inauguration, President Jonathan said, Mukhtar’s appointment was based on merit as she was the most senior judicial officer at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and that sidelining her and appointing another would be incongruous, unfair and unjustifiable.

It was therefore not surprising that the Senate in its historic session on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 confirmed the President’s recommendation, thereby making Mukhtar the first female CJN in Nigeria and the first woman to head an arm of government at the Federal level.

The Tide sees the appointment of the new CJN as a clear testimony of the President’s desire to give women a voice in the country. It also stands to encourage the womenfolk to prove themselves and to play active roles in governance and in nation building.

In the same vein, Mukhtar’s appointment has further erased all the prejudices against women as the administration had earlier surpassed the 35% affirmative action on the appointment of women into governance.

History will not forget President Jonathan for making a woman to head an arm of government for the first time in Nigeria. The gesture will not only groom more women for service but also position them for higher political office. Clearly, her elevation will, definitely, serve to embolden Nigerian women to aspire more socially and economically.

Justice Alooma’s extra-ordinary journey to the top was not an over-night affair as she worked twice as hard as others. She was a judge before joining the nation’s apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria in June, 2005. Prior to her appointment, as CJN, she was the most senior justice at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

As she ascends the pinnacle of her career as the 13th Chief Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, expectations are high. Apart from the need to bring pride to the womenfolk, Alooma is taking over a judicial system that is fast losing respect.

We have no doubt that her sojourn from the bar to the bench would have prepared her for the challenging task ahead of her new job. Without a doubt she would have made up her mind to play a role in repositioning the nation’s judicial system in line with the transformation agenda.

Judging by her integrity and impeccable records, we can only join millions of other well-meaning Nigerians to congratulate her and hope to see a better judiciary under her watch. She has at hand the duty to win back public confidence to the judiciary. The job will not be easy but a  faithful focus on good will always overcome evil.

Over the years, so much has happened to the judiciary and so many solutions have been proffered to no avail. Nigeria will want Justice Alooma to mobilize enough political will to put to work some of the obvious changes that must be made in the judiciary. Leaving things to remain the way they were in 1960 will be an implied failure.

The judiciary, seen as the last hope, of the common man cannot however succeed without the support and co-operation with other stakeholders such as the bar, the bench, the police, the legislature and the executive, all of whom the CJN needs to work with.

Similarly, the judiciary under Justice Alooma’s is required to make strong contributions to the on-going constitutional amendment so as to ensure that Nigeria puts together an acceptable and populist constitution which will stand the test of time.

On the whole, this appointment should challenge more women to prove themselves by contributing to the peace and progress of the country at any level they find themselves. They must come out of the feeling of marginalization and take up pivotal roles in the polity.