The Managing Partner of a law firm, Aelex Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators, Mr. Theophilus Emuwa, has said an unstable economy and social tension in most African countries are impediments to the enforcement of the rule of law.

He said such conditions could adversely affect businesses as well as the fortunes of legal practitioners.

Emuwa, who is the firm’s head of Corporate and Commercial Practice, spoke on Wednesday in Lagos during the 2015 Aelex Annual Lecture with the theme, ‘African countries: Politics, Democracy and Ethnicity.’

He said, “Economic and social tensions can affect how business is done and how the economy grows. Perhaps, if we did not have these troubles, we’ll be growing at 10 per cent,”

He said the lecture was aimed at providing a platform to explore solutions to national problems.

“Our interest in these issues is to the extent that they affect society and businesses ultimately. So, they’re worth thinking about and discussing and looking at ways to resolve,” he added.

The firm’s head of Energy and Environmental Law Practice, Soji Awogbade, expressed concern over the indifference of politicians to the plight of citizens.

He said, “I don’t think they listen to us after they get into positions. We have just transited from one dispensation to another successfully, and it is very important that we continue to assist that process by opening up issues, expanding on them and getting people to commit to nationhood.”

A former Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Ike Nwuchukwu, who chaired the event, said ethnicism was mainly responsible for challenges facing African countries.

“Our generation has failed. Those coming behind us must correct these mistakes and move our nation forward,” he added.

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