Mohammed Dele Belgore, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is from a line of  relegal luminaries in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. His late father, Justice Babatunde Mahmud Belgore, was the longest serving Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria. He was appointed in 1988, retired in 2001 and died in 2010. His uncle, Alfa  Saliu Madibbo Belgore, was also the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Apart from the fact that law flows in their family veins, the name Belgore rings the bell across the globe.

In an interview with this interview in Ibadan, Oyo State recently, the younger Belgore, who was the governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in the 2011 general election in Kwara State, dwelled on the challenges of being a Belgore.

“I should not do anything that can tarnish the name in any way. I must try to improve on it. But if I cannot improve on it, I must not tarnish it. And that has been the guiding principle in all of the things that I do.” He also spoke on his politics as well as the judiciary and the quality of lawyers being produced in the country nowadays.

Excerpts:

Why did you leave APC for PDP?

Well, we have said it repeatedly that APC failed to meet the aspirations we had. And when I say ‘we’, I mean our supporters for democracy. APC decided that we would need to follow certain people for reasons best known to them, which we felt had to be vested with control of the affairs of the party. Ordinarily, we would have had no problem with that if it were to be just for transitional arrangement. But in a situation where they were undemocratically given the control of the affairs of the party and that control is maintained at all event, was contrary to the expectations that we had. And in the circumstance, having tried and tried hard to fight it within without success, we were not left with a choice but just to leave.

Was it true that you ran away from APC because of Dr. Bukola Saraki?

No. That is untrue. As I said earlier, I have never run my political affairs on a basis of personalities. So, that is clearly not true. I have said it repeatedly that my desertion of APC is not the issue of Belgore against Saraki. I have nothing against Senator Saraki personally. So, there is no reason I should leave APC because of Senator Saraki. I left APC for the reason that I have just given you.

Was there any gubernatorial negotiation before moving into the PDP?

Well, that is also not true. I don’t know where that information came from.

 Then, what is the attraction that lured you to the party?

Well, PDP at the initial stage, we had a cause for change. And the change, of course, it is the change in the way the affairs of Kwara State would be run. And we felt that ACN at that time shared our aspirations. And that was why we chose ACN. It was a change from the ways things were being run. And that change had to come externally outside the PDP. That is why we were in the ACN. And now that the APC cannot meet our aspiration, as it happened that the forces against our aspirations are now essentially on the other side, that was why we took our decision. It is not because of anything personal but it is because of the ways things were being conducted.

What are we expecting from you in 2015?  

It is too early to say. If God spares our lives, things will be revealed as time unfolds. Our priority, my priority and those of my supporters, is to build a strong platform under the PDP with which we will be in a position to try to effect a change in the affairs of the state at all levels. So, the role that I play, the role that anybody plays at that time would be determined in the fullest of time.

With Senator Saraki , the acclaimed strong man of Kwara politics now in APC, do you think that the PDP can turn the table against him electorally in 2015?

I don’t know the number of times I had said it that I would rather not engage in personalities. What I believe is that, a strong PDP in Kwara backed by the people, with the commitment to change the guard of government will succeed in that objective, regardless of who may be in the other side.

What is your take on the National Conference?

Well, for me, there are two aspects of it. One is the conference and the second is the outcome of the conference. The outcome of the conference, I cannot predict and nobody can really predict it. So, don’t let us second-guess the outcome. But the mere fact that we are coming to talk, must be a positive step. It can never be anything wrong with people of a different ethnic group, different religions, different cultures, different ages, different professions, different vocations in life with different perspectives in this common entity we call Nigeria, coming together under one umbrella to talk, I mean, that is a good thing. And it is commendable. And I think the president has been praised for that good and commendable step. So, let us talk. We can then deal with the outcome later.

Do you buy the idea of subjecting the outcome of the conference to a referendum or the National Assembly, bearing in mind that there is no referendum in our constitution?   

A constitution is the wish of the people. It is a piece of paper. The people own the constitution, the constitution doesn’t own the people. So, it then emerges that a broad consensus is that, maybe we should go by a referendum, yes by all means, we change our constitution to accommodate it. But the constitution should not be an impediment towards making progress. The document was prepared by the people, I mean, was prepared for the people rather to serve the interest of the people. So, I don’t think there is any argument as to constitutionality or stopping the exercise. Let us get it done and then bring the constitution around it.

What then is your take on the so called ‘no-go-areas’? 

Every government, somebody elected, in my opinion, should have some no-go-areas, because there certain issues you cannot subject to public debate.

Such as…?

Such as certain matters of security. For instance, certain matters that may affect the corporate entity of the country. Its unity as a whole. Open discussion on them may actually cause more harm than good. It does not mean that we have a perfect arrangement. And it does not mean that that arrangement cannot be changed. It only means that a forum of a National Conference might not be the best to articulate such an issue.

Does that mean that a National Conference should not lead to disintegration of the country?

It should not. Now, put yourself in the position of the President of this country. Would you like to preside over the disintegration of your country? Would you set about a process that would lead to the disintegration of the country? I don’t think any responsible leader would want that.

How can we deal with the issue of Boko Haram?

Well, it would appear to be an intractable problem. And it is sad for what we see in the daily loss of lives. It is sad and regrettable, that perhaps these losses were avoidable. But, when you get to a situation such as this, you put the security of the nation, the security of the people and the security of the innocent lives at the top of your priority. And every means open to you, both force-reasonable force, minimizing casualties, dialogue, diplomacy, all of the mixed bag, then become viable options to use.

While nobody is happy with the situation and nobody wants it for it to go any day longer, I believe that it is not an intractable problem. And in due course, hopefully soon, the issue will be dealt with.

What burden does your pedigree as a Belgore puts?

Well, to me, what my pedigree means is that I did not create that name. The good name I enjoy was not created by me. Therefore, I should in all that I do, if I cannot, at the very least, improve it, I should not do anything that will tarnish it in any way. I must try to improve it. But if I cannot improve it, I must not tarnish it. And that has been the guiding principle in all of the things that I do.

Even at the height of provocation?    

We try to deal with the situation in the manner that it deserves at all times with proper decorum expected at any situation and from every individual. Hopefully, with that attitude, one is empowered to be able to handle hostile situations.

How would you assess the Judiciary in Nigeria? 

Well, numbers are misleading, so, I will not give you number. I would say that, it can be better. But I will not join those of who say the Judiciary is responsible for our problems and that the Judiciary is extremely bad. Yes, there is a lot of room for improvement.  Our Judiciary is not lagging behind in terms of development like other sectors in our society. The state of our Judiciary today is a product of the state of our nation. If a nation improves, we Nigerians, our attitudes would improve. Yes, we expect to see improvement in the Judiciary.

But it is important that we have a Judiciary that is functioning properly that is responsive  to the need of the society at large. And I am encouraged by the fact that efforts are being made to bring our Judiciary to world standard. It is not there yet, it still has a lot of problems, but there is a room for improvement and I am confident it would happen.

Are you comfortable with the quality of lawyers being turned out from our Law School?

I think that there is a lot to be desired if I have to be honest with you. I think there is overcrowding in the classrooms. We have also overcrowding in the curriculum. But, the problem is not really with the Law Schools. Perhaps the problems come from the universities and inadequate resources. Because once one comes through the university, why and how can anybody denies you of a place in the Law School? The Law School actually inherits the problem.

But I think with more creative ways to improve the quality of the products, we have got to have a paradigm shift in your attitude to the legal profession as a whole in Nigeria. Then, you would see a remarkable improvement. But with better infrastructure, I think, you can solve issues of overcrowding conditions in which the students live and are being taught.

Generally, I think there are lots of rooms for improvement.