CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 824 NEW LAWYERS OF GHANA.

A Call Beyond the Wig and Gown

Today, as 824 new lawyers are called to the Bar, Ghana witnesses not only an expansion of the legal profession but a renewal of national hope. In a country of about 32 million people, this number means nearly every family has a reason to celebrate. Every home, directly or indirectly, is touched by this milestone, a reminder that justice, when rightly pursued, is a collective inheritance.

Yet even as we celebrate, we must also reflect.

Our nation does not lack laws; it lacks laws that liberate, laws that evolve and laws that serve.

There are albatross laws that weigh down progress.

There are outdated statutes that choke innovation.

There are missing laws that leave our environment, digital space and vulnerable citizens unprotected.

And there are noble laws but weak enforcement that leave justice hanging between text and truth.

This is your moment, Counsel.

To be called to the Bar is to be called to the burden of national rebirth.

Ghana’s challenges today are not beyond the reach of the law, they are begging for its boldness:

In education, we need legal frameworks that uphold access, relevance, quality and accountability in both public and private systems.

In health, we need clearer laws to protect patients, regulate pharmaceuticals and make healthcare delivery equitable.

In agriculture and environment, laws must defend our rivers, forests and soils against exploitation masked as development.

In digital innovation, we must pioneer smart legal protections for data privacy, online safety and intellectual property.

In governance, we need laws that restore integrity, reduce corruption, and enforce meritocracy.

In gender and family life, we need reforms that protect the vulnerable, empower women and ensure children’s rights are never traded for convenience.

In youth and employment, we need legal policies that match skills to opportunity and reward productivity not proximity to power.

In national unity, we must craft laws that see every tribe, tongue and region as one heartbeat under justice.

Dear new lawyers, Ghana’s Constitution was not meant to be framed and forgotten, it was meant to live, breathe and EVOLVE through your service. Should our minerals continue to be exploited because of laws, entrenched clauses and so on? Please, test the laws, test and test and test again for relevance.

You are not just called to courtrooms; you are called to classrooms, communities and parliaments.

You are called to rewrite not just laws but legacies.

Let your calling be a call to reform.

Let your brilliance be a bridge to national development.

And let your integrity be your loudest argument.

Congratulations once again to the 824 new lawyers of Ghana.

May your pens defend the powerless, your voices restore public trust,

and your practice remind the nation that justice: when served well; is the highest form of patriotism.

“When education forgets its purpose, society forgets its respect. The law must remember both.”

 

Written by: Alice Frimpong Sarkodie (MsSarkLifeCoach) – Director – Nobel Heights School.