Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has urged African legislators to pass laws that reflect the identity, history and values of the people they represent.
Speaking at the Fourth African Interparliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values in Accra on June 3, Bagbin said African parliaments must not blindly copy legal models that do not speak to the realities of their citizens.
“Our laws must look like the people they are written to protect,” he said.
He argued that laws which do not reflect the spirit and moral conscience of the people risk becoming disconnected from society.
“A law that does not resonate with the spirit, history, and moral conscience of the citizenry is a dead law,” he stated.
Bagbin said African parliaments have a constitutional duty to serve as a bridge between traditional heritage and modern statutory law.
He explained that when lawmakers legislate on family, culture and national identity, they are not acting outside their mandate but fulfilling a responsibility to protect the values of their people.
The Speaker said sovereignty is not only about national borders, but also about the right of citizens to define their social, economic and moral destiny.
By Noble Crosby Annan
