Chief Justice Edward Wiredu has “ordered” a stop to all criticism of President John Agyekum Kufuor. Justice Wiredu said the President has been accepted by God because the people voted him into power, and wondered why the people of Ghana only see the faults of the President and rain criticisms on him.
“The right thing Ghanaians should do is to advise him and not to criticise the President,” he said in his remarks outside his prepared address at the 30th Law Week Celebration of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana.
The theme of the celebration was “Curbing Indiscipline and Corruption in Ghana: The Role of the Lawyer.”
Justice Wiredu said indiscipline in a society cannot lead to its progress and corruption in a society is an aspect of indiscipline.
He said corruption is a crime, which is usually committed by public office holders, and any public officer who demands a favour before performing a duty is corrupt and “corrupt persons should be ashamed of themselves for engaging in such heinous acts.”
“An indisciplined person is prone to commit any offence including corruption. There is the need for the elders in every house to train young persons to be disciplined, and all employers in the various establishments should bring the codes of discipline to the attention of their workers and enforce them.
If possible they should be revised to incorporate checks against corrupt behaviour,” he said.
Justice Wiredu asked both lawyers and students of law to maintain the level of nobility of the profession at a high standard so that they would be worthy of emulation by the society.
Additionally, he said, churches, schools, parliament, the judiciary, and the executive including political leaders, should make it a point of disciplining themselves and the society would naturally be disciplined.
He asked religious leaders not to preach on issues relating to morality, but should really practise the virtues of morality in their way of life strictly.
The President of the Faculty of Law Students Union, Mr. Benjamin Osei-Tutu, asked the school administration to restructure the course and add new courses to meet international expectations.
He said the two-year course should be maintained but the semesters should be made three instead of two, which will mean a drastic cut in the number of weeks spent as holidays.
He noted that considering the economic conditions of Ghanaians, the school fees should be maintained at ?5m until the economic fortunes of Ghanaians improve.
The former Dean of the Faculty of Law who is now the First Vice President of the International Criminal Court, Professor (Mrs.) Akua Kuenyehia, urged the students of law to put their house in order to have a moral high ground before they can join the crusade against corruption and indiscipline.
She said law students are not performing well academically because students do not appreciate the course. She pointed out that learning law is entirely different from learning the other courses at the university and advised students to re-orientate themselves in the study of the law
Source: GhanaWeb
