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Like one of his predecessors, Christopher Adebayo Ojo (SAN), former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN) has indicated his intention to practise what he has always preached: people-oriented ledaership, anchored on tranpsrency and accountability and built on trust. He is contesting the October 20 governorship election in Ondo State as the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). In this report, Eric Ikhilae notes that with his yet unequalled performance at the NBA, Akeredolu could make a difference.

 

It is greed that the nation’s stunted development results from a succeeding generation of clueless leadership. But despite this consensus, the country has continually enthroned the worst among its citizens, a development resulting mostly from the existing succession process.

Apart from the fact that some individuals have entrenched themselves in the corridor of power, where they have always influenced the choice of who leads the country, the political process is seen by the urbane and accomplished professionals not only as murky, but too risky to be dabbled into unprotected.

There is also the challenge of a docile and uninformed electorates, who though constitute the bulk of victims of  misdirected state policies, seem to have resigned to despair.

But despite these challenges, there have been occasional cases in recent time, where accomplished professionals and distinguished administrators have dared to challenge the status quo with their involvement in partisan politics.

Many believe that this growing trend of gradual involvement in politics, by urbane personalities with proven integrity, is indicative of better days ahead. It is in this light that one views the decision of the former President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN) to take a shot at public governance in Ondo State.

Akeredolu is the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate in the state, with his only major opponent in the October 20 election being the Labour Party (LP) candidate and incumbent, Olusegun Mimiko.

Many say Akeredolu’s coming beholds good tidings having discharged himself excellently well in running NBA’s affairs between 2008 and 2010, where he set a standard that his successors are striving to sustain.

One of his predecessors at the NBA, Christopher Adebayo Ojo (SAN) attempted a similar move in 2011 in Kogi State. His ambition was abortive. He was shot down by the entrenched  forces in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who preferred another aspirant to  him.

Unlike Ojo, whose NBA was soft on the government,  subsequent upon which the Olusegun Obasanjo administration appointed him the  Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation while still in office, Akeredolu’s  NBA was critical of government to an extent that it was labelled an opposition organisation by the late Umaru Yar’Adua’s government.

He overcame series of moves by the then government, to break the ranks of the NBA under his watch. Although some of the association‘s officials succumed to government’s carrots, he stood his ground, insisting that the truth and the principle of rule of law must not be sacrificed on the altar of state’s patronage.

Even when in November 2009 an attempt was made from within the NBA to rubbish his personality, when some officials of the association circulated a petition entitled: Complaints against your fraudulent manifestations, violation of the NBA, he maintained his ground, denying all allegations. At the end, he was exonerated by the NBA’s National Executive Council.

His tenure raised the bar in the organisation of the NBA’s annual conference, with the spectacular outing recorded with the 2009 conference in Lagos. The Lagos conference had a record attendance of about 10,000 lawyers from within and outside the country. Till date, many still hold the conference out as a reference point.

For his unequalled contribution to the development of the association since its formation in 1933, the NBA in July, this year, named its multi-million naira national secretariat in Abuja after Akeredolu. The incumbent President, Joseph Daudu (SAN) justified the association’s decision.

Daudu was quoted in a recentl interview as saying the decision was informed by the need for “generational identification and recognition of those who had contributed immensely to the development of the association. Everything in the NBA is usually highly politicised. The sheer courage for him (Akeredolu) to go through the rigour is a testimony to his selfless service.”

Former NBA’s Publicity Secretary, Muritala Abdul-Rasheed, in a recent piece, praised Akeredolu’s streling qualities which, stand him, stood him out among his peers while in office.

“This was his unquenchable hunger for good governance as evidenced in his promotion of lofty ideals of the rule of law, preservation of civil liberties, proper accountability and sustained demand for social responsibility on the part of government.

“His inexorable stance against corruption could be felt in his numerous pronouncements and agitations that were effused at virtually every forum he had the opportunity to speak. Aketi is one of the few leaders I know, who managed to combine many of the attributes of great leaders in no small measures.

“He is honest, disciplined, humble, courageous, humorous, firm and remarkably intelligent and his activities at the NBA were permeated with exemplary demonstrations of all these virtues,” Abdul-Rasheed said.

Many of his admirers and colleagues in the law profession have also attested to this testimonial. A Senior Advocate, who pleaded not to be named, told The Nation that some senior lawyers, who believe in Akeredolu and his ability to achieve whatever goal he sets for himself, were working behind the scene to ensure a good outing for him.

He said they were planning to set up a body to help mobilise fund and people in support of Akeredolu’s ambition. This group, he said, would be launched in Lagos in a couple of days.

Akeredolu had, before stepping into partisan politics, identified the challenges plaguing  the country’s political system and identified why the bad among the citizens often emerge as the leader.

In a lecture in December 2009, Akeredolu contended that no amount of electoral reform or judiciary system can give the country free and fair elections if the people themselves refuse to take practical steps to ensure that their votes count.

To many, this is an opportunity for the people of Ondo State to make a right choice and take a practical step towards ensuring their socio-economic growth. This is because, from his message as contained in his campein web site:”aketi4gov.org,”Akeredolu appears confident and seems to have known where the solution lies.

“The starting point for good governance is transparency, accountability of leadership to the people and judicious use of resources for meaningful impact and development. I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement.

“I bring myself forward to seek the mandate of the good people of Ondo State imbued with confidence that I possess deep understanding of the crucial socio-economic issues which must be resolved for the progress of the state.

“I am more than convinced that given my experiences of administrative processes, my training as an attorney coupled with an unbroken stretch of practice for almost three and a half decades and my passionate bid to ensure that our beloved state is free from directionless and dishonest government, I stand out among other eminent indigenes of the state to bring about the much desired change,” he said in the site.

Mr. Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN) was inaugurated as the 25th President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on August 31, 2010 in Kaduna. During his two-year tenure, he waged many battles against authorities on several issues bothering on respect for the rule of law, credible elections, due process and fundamental rights of Nigerians. On August 31, he will hand over the baton of leadership to his successor, Okey Wali (SAN). In this interview, Daudu gives account of his stewardship. Besides, he speaks on the suspension of President of the Court of Appeal Justice Salami, the forthcoming NBA conference and sundry national issues. Legal Editor JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU met him.

 

The Annual General Conference (AGC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is less than one week away; what is your advice to lawyers attending?

Conferences are a veritable tool for the acquisition of knowledge. It is a major vehicle for any modern profession’s continuous education programme. The first major objective of the NBA conference is to ensure that those members who have invested their resources in attending, maximally benefit from the exercise. Secondly, it remains an avenue for relaxation and re-union.

Many lawyers are complaining about the recent increase on conference fees. What is your reaction to this?

A lot of money has been invested in the security and comfort of conferees. We are subsidising the conference to the tune of 35 per cent of the total cost. It is no longer fashionable to gather 10, 000 lawyers in one venue and be boasting that it is the largest gathering of lawyers anywhere in the world. Conferences as with every other commercial commodity of utilitarian values are for only those who can afford it. My advice therefore to lawyers is to maximise their advantage of attending the conference, pay promptly and be counted among the 3,000 lawyers that attended the best conference ever organised by the NBA.

What was the last two years like as the NBA President. How did it affect  your law practice, family and social life?

My experience as NBA President these past two years have been exceedingly rewarding. I give thanks to God Almighty for seeing me through the hazards and tribulations of the tenure. The office of NBA President is very demanding. It involves the direct administration of the NBA by being her spokesman and mouth piece, attending functions to which the Bar has been invited, making institutional courtesy visits to heads of government departments and agencies, organising conferences and seminars, conducting  six National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings,  two annual conferences and at least one  delegates’ conference, attending international conferences, attending local conferences, collaborating  with other professional bodies, responding to thousands of letters and other correspondence, presenting speeches, addresses and seminar papers, visiting branches of the NBA and other activities too numerous to mention here.

How was it in terms costs and funding?

I am highly gratified that I have come out safely and in one piece. On my part, I did not use NBA revenue to travel or attend any function. I paid my transport and hotel bills within and outside Nigeria anytime I am attending a function on behalf of NBA. I considered the use of my meagre resources as part of the service to the NBA.

The NBA had issues with the National Judicial Council (NJC) during your tenure. Are you happy with the way the matter was resolved?

The major issue in reality was constitutional, in the Third  Schedule to the Constitution,  particularly the provision constituting the NJC, legal practitioners were made to sit in council only for the purpose of appointing Judges. Whereas there were other serious issues, which lay-members participated in, such as discipline of Judges, supervision and assessment of performance of judicial officers and 11 other serious matters affecting the judiciary, from 1999, the NJC did not enforce this provision until the Senlong case when there was judicial pronouncement that participation of lawyer-members of the NJC in matters other than appointment was unconstitutional.

What happened after that?

Even thereafter lawyers continued to be present when issues of discipline was discussed by Council (so that lawyers would be abreast of the antecedents of Judges when appointment or elevation came to be considered) until during the face-off between the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloysius  Katsina-Alu (CJN) and President Court of Appeal,Ayo Isa  Salami (PCA) when the lawyers  were asked to excuse the meeting, at which point we simply had  to withdrew from the activities of the NJC.

Why did you withdraw from the activities of the NJC?

We did so in order to draw attention to the need to effect constitutional amendments to such a discriminatory provision and stayed away for three  months until the stakeholders committee set up by the  former  CJN  Dahiru Musdapher recommended the removal of this dichotomy in the amendments proposed by the judiciary to the Constitution. When the stakeholders report was brought to the NJC for ratification, we resumed our sitting.

The NBA called  for the reinstatement of Justice Salami as the President of the Court of Appeal. Till now, he is yet to be reinstated how do feel about this?

Our position is well known on this, it is an NBA decision and we have time without number expressed misgivings for the taking of the decision to suspend him in August 2011 while his case challenging the proceedings of the NJC was still pending in court. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria also relied on the pendency of the suit in court to refuse to take any further action on the matter when the NJC took their decision to recall him. As at today, there are matters pending in court, we feel that this mess should have been averted right from the onset when we took a position. We shall wait and see how it pans out as technically you cannot do anything when due process in the nature of sub-judice issues is thrown at your face.

During your campaign for NBA Presidency, you canvassed a number of reforms at the Bar, how far did you go with those reforms, why did others not sail through?

They were basically three in number, (a) reform of the criminal justice system, (b) secretariat reforms and (c) reform of the legal profession and justice sector. I will say that we went right from the outset to promote professionalism as opposed to politics. We started by organising the NBA secretariat in such a way that it would be able to execute professional programs and projects such as specialised workshops and conferences, we created three directorates (a) Administration, (b) Bar Services and (c) Programmes and as at today, they are all up and running. For example, NBA organised two  successful Human rights day roundtable for the year 2010 and 2011 in which the germane human rights issues were deliberated upon, we organised a seminar on the readiness of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) for the last general elections and stakeholders for the 2011 general elections chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, our Rule of law committee headed by Mallam Yusuf Alli (SAN) organised a successful Rule of Law summit to draw attention to rule of law lapses in the prevailing democratic dispensation. In February 2012, the NBA organised an epochal meeting with our development partners such as the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), UNICEF, Mac Arthur Foundation, USAID, DFID, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), UNDP, Lawyers Without Borders, the  European Union (EU), Legal Resources Consortium, Access to Justice and a few others. Another flagship event was the highly accepted Criminal Reform Conference 1 and 11 held in 2011 and 2012 at Abuja and Asaba.

What are the benefits of these conferences?

These conferences have highlighted the deficiencies in our criminal justice system and have offered comprehensive solutions thereto. Further to these, NBA organised a seminal symposium on the performance of Election Tribunals in Nigeria in the aftermath of the 2011 general elections at Benin-City Edo State, which was superlatively attended by high judicial officers and legal practitioners in the electoral justice circuit.  The Sections on Legal Practice and Business Law held their annual conferences and they have been adjudged to be of international standard. There were other numerous middle level programmes like training workshops for Staff and national officers, interactions with other Bar Associations and institutional visits to dignitaries and other personalities such as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Senate Majority Leader, Chairmen of the various anti-corruption commissions, Road Safety Corps, Judiciary heads in the States and FCT, National Orientation Agency to mention a few.

What was the purpose of those institutional visits?

These institutional visits are essential and or indispensible with a view to assessing the effectiveness of our national institutions and agencies and exchanging ideas with their chief executives.  The only reforms that we could not implement were those constitutional amendments to the NBA Constitution that would have reformed our electoral process and the entire gamut of Bar Administration. I was told that the Association rejected the reforms because their time had not come. So we’ll wait patiently for their time.

Judicial reforms remain one of the greatest challenges for the country. What is your reaction to this?

I agree and the essence of judicial reforms is to optimise justice delivery. At the moment the machinery for justice delivery is ponderously slow, corrupt and inefficient. The Nigerian masses are worse for it.  Corruption can be dealt with when there is a resolve to do so by all stakeholders. Slow trials however require a wholesale strategy starting with the appointment of knowledgeable judicial officers, to the change of existing rules and laws which contribute in no small measure to delays in both criminal and civil cases.

What did you do about these problems?

NBA under my watch has shouted itself hoarse about the imperative for immediate judicial reforms, the former CJN was also of the same view and to his eternal credit worked tirelessly within his short tenure for judicial reforms. I hope his successor tows the same line as reforms are a leadership-driven issue. We, the NBA,  ran numerous programmes to either highlight or promote judicial and justice-sector reforms. My successor Okay Wali (SAN) also is a reform-minded person and buys in to the need for a highly professionalised legal system. I am confident that our efforts will continue under this administration.

Following the perceived shortfalls in the last NBA election, people are calling for electoral reforms within the  Bar, some are calling for universal suffrage which will allow all lawyers to vote in our elections, what is your reaction to this?

Universal suffrage means that everybody should vote in the NBA in order to decide who leads the Association. This is preposterous and unworkable. We tried it before with a reduced population and the corrupt practices exhibited by lawyers crashed the Association in 1992. The delegate system was evolved to manage the corruption in the universal suffrage system where (a) unqualified persons were brought in to vote, (b) money was demanded and given to lawyers who ordinarily had no interest in the Association’s activities but were brought in to determine its future, (c) the level of honesty in the Nigerian society has dropped from the level it was in 1992 that it will be a disaster to attempt such a needless exercise in this day and age.

How then do you view the call for universal suffrage at the Bar?

The call for universal suffrage to me is a demonstration of the utter bankruptcy of ideas as to how to run a professional organisation in this day and age. A professional association like the NBA cannot be likened to the Federal Republic of Nigeria as some people are tempted to do. The Bar is a family of legal practitioners who are supposed to be enlightened and who ought to have a succession plan so that they are not perpetually distracted like the nation they live in by perennial leadership and political squabbles. International best practices suggest the exact opposite of universal suffrage. The International Bar Association (IBA), American Bar Association (ABA), East African Law Societies, Law Society of England and Wales,  the West African Bar Association (WABA), etc all have Bar Councils from which the leadership of the profession is chosen from.

Who are the Council members?

Council members are usually persons who have kept faith with the profession and have time and time again demonstrated their competence and trust in the running of their association. That should be the proper direction not to deface the professions by making a meal of politics and ignoring the serious professional issues like optimal justice delivery which the profession ought to be in the forefront of. There are at least 5 reasons why this unprofitable discussion of universal suffrage should be discontinued.

What are the reasons?

(a) The delegate system is a fair proportional way of ensuring equality of representation of the various ethnic groups in this country. The present system is not perfect but it has prevented dominance by one or two major ethnic groups in the leadership of the profession. We know those that universal suffrage will favour and those that ethnicity and tribal inclinations will not allow to become President or other leaders of the Bar. Proportional representation as we have it is the best for a professional association in a country with the kind of diversity that we have. Nigeria is a unique federation, throughout our history; we have evolved rules in all spheres of life to ensure that all segments are carried along in the process of governance. These measures are therefore the checks and balances for the sustenance of our fragile unity, the advocates of universal suffrage in the following circumstances will be opening up a Pandora’s Box, the end of which they cannot predict. The opposition to such a vile suggestion has commenced and I will be in the forefront.

(b) Again, proponents of universal suffrage are not happy with the role of branch chairmen and section leaders and their grouse is that these pillars of the Bar are too powerful. The truth is that majority of the supporters for universal suffrage cannot win elections in their local branches. They covet the role of Branch chairmen who conduct the process for the selection of a majority of the delegates to our elections. They now want a situation where they will bypass branch chairmen and talk to a nebulous electorate directly. Bar activities is service from the base and every participant climbs up the ladder. Lawyers have their profession to protect other than elevating the issue of election to a level that it does not warrant. Professionalism not politicisation is the watchword.

(c)  Thirdly, the proponents of universal suffrage have different reasons for promoting that course of action. It is a subtle attempt to continue their attack or quest for the eradication of the leadership rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria. In their thinking, if you take away the possibility of members of the rank leading the profession then you are one step away from removing their overall relevance. This to me is far-fetched as SANs promote the progress and professionalism of the Bar.Their thinking is that with the SANs out of the way and with the law school producing annually in the last 10 years an average of 5, 000 lawyers, that there will be enough population of junior lawyers to outvote any SAN in the race. This is a nightmare scenario as the legal profession as with all ancient calling prides itself upon age and maturity as an index for the assessment of quality delivery of services. It is therefore not an accident that SANs constitute the leadership of the profession along with Benchers. In the past four years, the hatred of SANs by the same group calling for universal suffrage led to the promotion of the call for the abolition of the rank. Nobody tried to urge for the abolition of the rank during my tenure because my views were well known on the issue, which is that it was a matter for the National Assembly to decide and one ultra vires the NBA. This approach having failed the only way to dislodge the leadership offered by the rank is to go for universal suffrage where by way of example juniors who will then be in the majority can be persuaded to vote for the Chairman of the Young Lawyers Forum or any other aggressive junior or any of the midlevel seniors who are in the forefront of the clamour for universal suffrage but who have no practice to launch them into the rank of SAN to emerge as President of the NBA. We see this contrivance clearly.

(d) The proponents of universal suffrage are some of the main actors in the break-up of the NBA in the Port Harcourt election of 1992. As I stated earlier, it must be said that certain disturbing trends during the use of universal suffrage was noticed, they include the influx and importation of fake lawyers to vote, the excessive monetisation of the election as every single voter was now shamelessly looking forward to being financially remunerated before casting his vote in one direction or the other. The rest is history as the Association broke up and remained comatose from 1992-1998. In trying to resuscitate the NBA, which task was not easy, pillars of the Bar, such as the late A.N. Anyamene ( SAN), Dr. Mudiaga Odje (SAN) of blessed memory, the Hon Justice MMA Akanbi, Anthony Mogboh SAN, Chief Bamidele Aiku (SAN), Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim (SAN) and a host of well-meaning seniors took the fledgling bar under the interim leadership of Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) on a course of lectures to the effect that never again should the NBA be brought so close to destruction through selfish reasons and grounds. The truth is that universal suffrage will be subjected to corrupt practices like universal bribery. The number of voters that will be angling for monetary inducement will be unbelievable. It will be a total mess. Nigerians have not overcome their tendencies to personal corruption.

(e) Logistically, for an Association the majority of whose members do not like to pay for Bar Services organising universal suffrage for over 70, 000 lawyers will be a financial disaster and a logistical nightmare. In such a situation every situation will be personalised to the individual voter.  The cost will be unbearable to the Bar. Indeed, Political Parties will now come in to take over the Bar such as the Military Government wanted to take over the Bar in the 90’s through the manipulation of the universal suffrage system. A word is indeed enough for the wise.

The National Assembly is making efforts to review the Nigerian constitution, which areas of the document would recommend for amendment so that we can have the peoples’ constitution?

The NBA on behalf of all Nigerian lawyers and indeed all Nigerians is a critical stakeholder in the constitution making process. While we know that in most cases, flaws detected in implementation of the country’s fundamental law need to be changed through the process of amendment. We believe that the process of amendment is not and should not be a ploy for the wholesale substitution of the existing constitution. The areas that require amendment must be areas that (a) promote true fiscal federalism, (b) promote an independent democratically elected local government, (c) promote a corrupt free, independent and impartial judiciary, (d) remove a substantial number of responsibility from the FGN as contained in the exclusive legislative list and move to a residual list or at best the concurrent list those items that obstruct true federalism, (e) create the parameters for the establishment of state police, etc. The exercise must not attempt to create additional states as majority of the existing ones are not economically viable and are merely escalating the cost of governance to the detriment of genuine transformational development. Indeed I think that states should be merged but on their own choosing.

Security challenges remain one of the greatest problems facing our country today. How do we solve this problem?

Yes and unfortunately so. The answer to the challenge is pitifully simple; government should take the fight against corruption seriously, evolve new strategies to fight it, be seen to be dealing with it, the government should also be serious with good governance. When there is a serious move by all and sundry to truthfulness and honesty, when there is wholesale re-orientation in our value system, then these security challenges will go away. All I am saying is that these challenges are the by-product of our loose and very corrupt attitude to life and governance. You cannot desire the good things of life without a corresponding responsibility to be disciplined, honest, truthful, straight-forward and God-fearing. Today, security challenges in the nature of terrorism et al are manifest in one part of the country; this does not mean that the remaining parts of the country are immune from other variants of security challenges. As I speak, the Vice Chancellor of ESUT was abducted even while enjoying protection from 10 heavily armed policemen. The panacea is good, strong purposeful leadership, one that operates on the principles that are universally acknowledged as good. Not principles that encourage dialogue with faceless terrorist cells whose objectives are not known and who have spilled innocent Nigerian blood that the state is under a duty to exact retribution for. There should be a limit to such escapist policies. It will only breed more of such groups as the message that we are sending is that the more you kill Nigerians the more Government will want to appease you, beg to keep you quiet.

Finally, what is your advice for  Okey Wali (SAN) as he takes over  the baton to continue from where you stopped?

The NBA’s goals and objectives as an association is well known to the incoming executive. They were elected because the Bar trusts that they will best project and execute the objectives of the Association. The NBA is a continuum. I am confident that they will keep the flag flying.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference is on in Abuja. Lawyers are demanding fundamental reforms in the association. This, they said, is crucial, considering NBA’s role in the sustenance of democracy, protection of human rights and holding the government accountable. The association’s last Delegates Conference threw up the need for electoral reform, with some lawyers arguing that contrary to outgoing NBA President Joseph Daudu ‘s position, universal suffrage is workable. These and more will dominate deliberations during the week-long event. JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU and JOSEPH JIBUEZE spoke to lawyers on their expectations.

 

The Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) kicked off at the International Conference Centre, Abuja yesterday, with high expectations from lawyers.

The event, may lack the usual high attendance which gave the association’s previous conferences the toga of ‘the largest gathering of lawyers in Sub-Saharan Africa in a calendar year’, no thanks to the hike in conference fees by the outgoing administration of Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN).

The hike and the fallout of the election held during the Delegates’ Conference are expected to dominate discussions. Many lawyers are calling for fundamental reform to better position the association to fulfil its role in safeguarding democracy. NBA President Joseph Daudu (SAN) is of the view that universal suffrage cannot work in the association’s election. Many of his colleagues do not agree with him.

In an interview with The Nation, Daudu said it was “preposterous and unworkable.” According to him, when it was first tried with a reduced population, corrupt practices allegedly exhibited by lawyers crashed the association in 1992. The delegate system, he explained, was evolved to manage the corruption in the universal suffrage system.The President said when universal suffrage was experimented, unqualified persons were brought in to vote, money was demanded and given to lawyers who ordinarily had no interest in the Association’s activities but were brought in to determine its future, while the level of honesty in the Nigerian society has dropped from the level it was in 1992 that it will be a disaster to attempt “such a needless exercise” today.

Daudu added: “The call for universal suffrage to me is a demonstration of the utter bankruptcy of ideas as to how to run a professional organisation in this day and age. A professional association like the NBA cannot be likened to the Federal Republic of Nigeria as some people are tempted to do.”Lawyers hold divergent views on the issue, but some who spoke to The Nation agree that there is need for some reform. Others spoke on their expectations from the conference. They include former NBA President-elect Okey Wali (SAN), former NBA President OCJ Okocha (SAN), Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN), Mr Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), Mr Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), Chief Chris Uche (SAN), who is the chairman of the conference organising committee.

Others include Chairman of Council, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Chief John Ochoga, former NBA General Secretary, Ibrahim Mark and Secretary, Egbe Amofin (Yoruba Lawyers Forum), Mr Ranti Ajeleti.The rest are Chairman, NBA’s Lawyers in the Media Forum, Mr Charles Odenigbo; former Secretary, NBA Lagos Branch, Mr Sunday Onu, Mr Aniedi Akpabi, Mr Godson Okoye and Mr Silas Onu.

Odinkalu believes there is an imperative to adapt, and such change begins with leadership. He said: “We have at our disposal today, a Bar that is not recognisable from what it was 20 years ago in terms of its demographics, footprint or skills.

“The data capture, integration and management capabilities we have today were not there 20 or even 10 years ago. Thus, we can easily re-organise membership records and management as the bases for a different way of doing things.”

On universal suffrage, Odinkalu said, all lawyers need not gather a place to vote. “Remote access and voting is now at the finger tips of any lawyer who has access to mobile telephony.

“The benefits will mean a richer and better organised bar, able, therefore, to invest in upgrading the skills of its members who, in return, acquire the right to determine who leads them and what programmes these resources get spent on. “The biggest argument for universal suffrage, however, was born of the Boston Tea party – no taxation without representation. If a lawyer pays practising fees and branch dues, which, in turn, are the mainstay of the NBA’s finances, why should he or she be compelled to proxy their votes to someone when they can, by themselves, exercise the right to decide who leads their Bar and how?”

This is the question that our dear and outgoing President failed to engage or address. In avoiding this, the learned Senior Advocate suggests that our Bar is in a state of what German Psychiatrist, Ernst Kretschmer, described as ‘stable equilibrium’.

“But Krestschmer also warned that this state has ‘never been spurs to great deeds.’ If our Bar cannot evince modest reform to advance its internal management, membership governance and leadership selection, then our corporate standing within Nigeria as well as individual standing as professionals will continue to diminish and so will our earnings.

“In summary, the arguments in support of universal suffrage are both instrumental and ethical: There is the technical capacity to achieve it. It enhances inclusion. It will improve the governance of our Bar because we cannot do it without reforming membership records and their management. “It’ll also enhance our revenues because it will be tied to verifiable payment of annual practising and branch dues. It is also compatible with advocacy for inclusion at the Bar.

“The benefits of the present ‘Jamboree’ are neither clear nor demonstrated beyond its historical links to an admittedly painful historical episode in Port Harcourt 20 years ago. But the world has moved on from 20 years ago. Do we have to get stuck in the past?” Odinkalu said. Ngige, who lost the last election to Wali, said there was the urgent need for electoral and constitutional reforms within the NBA.

“It is apparent that this cannot be wished away, though I envisage that those who have been benefiting from the current unacceptable state of affairs will do everything to thwart the inexorable move towards electoral reforms. But the hawks must not underrate the capacity of Nigerian lawyers to free themselves from this ‘second slavery.’

“It bears no repeating that the elections were massively manipulated. Some human rights and lawyers’ organisations have resolved to probe the elections to identify the culprits that have made the NBA a laughing stock.

“As things stand now, the NBA has lost the moral right to speak on electoral matters in Nigeria, since it is incapable of organising credible elections for less than 1,500 delegates.

“Also, the NBA accounting system is bound to be a thorny issue. The National Treasurer’s indictment of the regime in the 2011 Annual Accounts is a pointer to what to expect. I doubt that the situation has changed. It’s still the same old story.

“I urge lawyers to remain calm and address these issues with maturity. The days of the locust, hopefully, will soon be over.”

On the sections he is interested in, Ngige said: “I am a member of Section on Legal Practice (SLP). I will participate in their various programmes lined up at the conference.

“However, I am keen to see how the Annual General Meeting will unfold, as I expect key decisions to be made on how to move the NBA from its current state of inertia to its once glorious pedigree. That is assuming that our elders and senior colleagues will turn out in their large numbers.

“There are serious issues relating to electoral credibility within the NBA which must be debated. That we cannot conduct acceptable elections is totally unacceptable. We have been made a laughing stock among professional bodies and in the polity generally. Also, the level of transparency and accountability in the NBA gives a cause for concern,” Ngige said.

Okocha (SAN) said if NBA’s electoral system must be reformed, it should be done “altruistically.” His words: “I have heard and read, and so must have many of us, the allegations made by my Learned Brother-Silk, Emeka Ngige (SAN), that he was denied access to the Voters List; that the names of dead persons were on the Voters List, and that persons not qualified to be members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NBA were actually named in the Voters List.

“When did it become a right for a candidate of our NBA elections to be given a copy of the Voters List? Never. There is no such provision in the Constitution and Standing Orders of the NBA. As a matter of fact, the Electoral Committee chaired by our past President, Prince Lanke Odogiyon, actually did commendably very well in publishing the Voters List, a thing that had never been done in our past NBA elections.

“Voters Lists will always contain the names of dead persons; some actually die on the day of elections. But the critical questions that must be answered are whether any person has proof that any of those dead persons on the Voters List actually voted, or any persons actually voted in their names.”Voters or delegates, whose names are on the Voters List, are not necessarily NBA-NEC members. Delegates are selected or elected by branches, but all NBA-NEC members are automatic delegates by right.”So, let me appeal to all concerned, and, particularly, to Emeka Ngige (SAN) and his teeming supporters, to rise above self, and join hands together with the newly elected national officers so that we may take the NBA to the next higher level. Can we all now try to get along?

”We need to see whether a reform of our electoral systems and processes is called for. If we all, and I mean the majority of us, agree that we need to reform our electoral systems and processes, let us all, like the learned ladies and gentlemen that we are, embark on that task, altruistically and dispassionately, with the best interests of our learned and honourable profession paramount in our hearts and minds.”For now, may I pray and hope that we will have a happy, enjoyable and rewarding conference.”

Gadzama said the plight of young lawyers should be addressed. According to him, unlike what obtained in the past when there was only one Campus of the Nigerian Law School, there are now have six campuses which churn out lawyers year in year out.

“The result is that we now have more lawyers than we ever did. Naturally, competition for jobs has increased, meaning we have more ‘unemployed’ lawyers than before. I expect the NBA to find time to squarely address this teething issue before it spirals out of control,” he said.

He added: “Apart from gently but firmly ushering new wigs into legal practice, I would expect their remuneration to change significantly and positively. We still hear stories of the ridiculous salaries and allowances that these new wigs earn. This has to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

“We want to encourage the young ones and not scare them away from the legal profession. This is especially true, in view of the recent increase in registration fees for the Annual Bar Conference. These conferences serve as platforms and avenues for young lawyers to mingle with their seniors in the profession.

“Such an astronomical increase in registration fees could significantly reduce the number of attendees, especially from the younger ones. I most certainly hope that this is not the case. If it eventually affects attendance however, the NBA would do well to reconsider its decision to increase registration fees.”

For Okutepa, to come out of what he called a quagmire, the Bar must return to its core value of discipline, respect for constituted authority; leaders of the Bar must conduct themselves honourably within the ethics of the profession, while followers must submit themselves to dictates of NBA’s laws and constitution.

“The present freedom to say anything that comes to our mouths, even in the most inappropriate manner must give way to proper channels of doing things at the Bar. Indeed the Bar must look inward to do things right to all its members before venturing into issues outside the Bar. “This is the only way I think we can come out of our self inflicting quagmire. Those who are disparaging the leadership of the Bar must think twice before they inflict further damages not only on the Bar but themselves,” he said.

Okutepa urged lawyers to be security-conscious. He said: “My expectations are that the AGM will discuss and focus on issues that are relevant to the interest and well being of Nigerian lawyers in particular and Nigeria as a whole.

He said: “I will like to see AGM that discusses issues frankly and objectively devoid of parochial and mundane considerations. Lawyers must be allowed to air their views and lawyers must air their view professionally and in a well informed manner devoid of self serving interests.” Ubani decried what he called “insensitive conference fees” by the outgoing leadership of NBA without adequate input from the National Executive Council (NEC) members and others as appalling and unacceptable.

He said: “The present leadership has a great opportunity to correct themself. They are enjoined to revert to the old conference fees or at worst effect a minimal increase on the old conference fees and apologise for their intrasigence, and get some of our faith restored to the ideals of NBA. “That is a minimum request at this point in time that will make some of us register (I say some of us) because majority have made up their minds to attend this year’s conference without paying a dime since our President decided to be unrepentant.” Ajeleti expects discussions on the new N5000 note.

“I also want the Wali regime to fight against the introduction of the N5000 note. It will kill the economy. Today nobody accepts the N1 coin or any coin at all any longer.

“Once you make N20 a coin, it means the least purchasing price will be theN50 note. Furthermore, the N5,000 note will aid corrupt practices; you will need only less number of Ghana-must-go-bags to grease your way through.”Okoye said he would “not dwell so much on expectations.” He added: “But I will only advise my professional colleagues not let this legal system crash.

“A situation where non-SANs can no longer get briefs points to a system that is headed to lawlessness, because if there is law, you don’t need be a SAN to get a brief no matter how big. If this system crashes, there will be no where to hold a conference.”

Silas Onu of the NBA Abuja branch said one of the issues that need to be discussed is the increase in practicing fee for lawyers which, which he said will only make the Association weaker than it is, especially when you place side by side the amount being demanded and the benefit that members derive from the association.

He said: “I make bold to state that NBA is only relevant because lawyers are by law required to pay practice fee which gives a lawyer the right of audience in court. Remove the aspect of granting audience in court and lawyers will not even pay the present rate being paid.”

On reforms, he said: “The areas that urgently need reform are very many, but I will harp on the most important aspect which is the Electoral Practice of the NBA. Presently, the voting system in the NBA national elections is by delegation.

“The delegates elections is deeply endangering the NBA as persons running for elections have little or no regards for ordinary lawyers and concentrate their efforts in knowing those that will be made delegates by their branch chairman and make efforts to out-buy each other in the campaign.

“The recently held elections even went as far as preventing lawyers that are by all definitions financial members from accessing the venue of the manifesto as only delegates were allowed to go in. This is crazy! The leadership is gradually becoming that of a privileged few. We must support the reform of the NBA electoral process by giving all lawyers a voice in the ballot.

“It will gradually encourage merit and professionalism as against the present allocation of the presidency by Senior Advocates. It will make members feel part of the association and preserve it for generations to come. It will make lawyers that are interested in leadership to be more connected with the lowly and commoners.

“It will cut the cost of campaign as only a foolish person will set out to buy the votes of lawyers across the country. It will cut the cost of organising national elections as elections will hold in branches on a date to be fixed by the central electoral committee and cut off the need to lodge delegates in expensive hotels in order to win votes.

“With the growth in technology, internet is one of the best things to happen to mankind as votes will be compiled immediately from branches. Whoever emerges as President from such a popular election will be bold to represent the interest of the association ratherthan use it for personal gains.

“We must set example for others to follow in our journey to entrench democracy in Nigeria. We must develop a realistic means of impeachment for any office holder who is no longer working in the interest of the association. The NBA belongs to all lawyers not for a few.”

Others spoke on their general expectations from the conference. Daudu said: “Conferences are a veritable tool for the acquisition of knowledge. It is a major vehicle for any modern profession’s continuous education programme. The first major objective of the NBA conference is to ensure that those members who have invested their resources in attending, maximally benefit from the exercise. Secondly, it remains an avenue for relaxation and re-union.

‘’A lot of money has been invested in the security and comfort of conferees. We are subsidising the conference to the tune of 35 per cent of the total cost. It is no longer fashionable to gather 10, 000 lawyers in one venue and be boasting that it is the largest gathering of lawyers anywhere in the world. “Conferences as with every other commercial commodity of utilitarian values are for only those who can afford it. My advice therefore to lawyers is to maximise their advantage of attending the conference, pay promptly and be counted among the 3,000 lawyers that attended the best conference ever organised by the NBA.”

Wali said: “Well, as in other conferences, we pray that we would enjoy the conference. The NBA conferences are basically being run along the lines of the Sections. So, the programmes of the Section on Business Law (SBL), Section on Legal Practice (SLP), Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), Lawyers In the Media Forum (LIM) and so on will be of tremendous interest.”

The Sections will  deal with  topical issues that will be of  great benefit to Nigerian lawyers and obviously improve the quality of legal service delivery. I wish Nigerian lawyers safe journey to and fro the conference, may they enjoy the  benefits of a very successful conference.”

Uche assured participants that they would get a “wonderful”experience. “We want to assure all lawyers that we are prepared to give them a befitting and wonderful conference. “We have done so much with the National Executive Committee to make sure that all is well in terms of security, accommodation, social entertainment and so on.

“In fact, we have a friendship centre where lawyers can go and enjoy themselves, we did so much there to make sure that lawyers enjoy themselves at subsidised ratess, got accommodation at very good discount rates too.”

On his advice to lawyers attending the conference, Uche said: “Lawyers should take advantage of the facilities available at the conference to enjoy and  give themselves a hitch free meeting.”Mark said: “Well this is now like an annual ritual, lawyers combine it with their holidays. But with the topics lined up and the social functions attached to it, I strongly believe that it is going to be a worthwhile experience for lawyers attending the conference.”I equally know that some people have travelled abroad and may not be able to come, but it is indeed going to be a rewarding experience for lawyers.”

Ochoga said: “I expect a good attendance by lawyers especially with the new Chief Justice of Nigeria addressing the conference. I expect very robust and insightful sessions from the Section on Legal Practice (SLP).

“I expect that their programmes will sharpen our legal skills and enhance quality service delivery among Nigerian lawyers.”

Odenigbo expects the conference to add value to lawyers’ productivity and empower them for a more qualitative life and family and a better Nigeria with respect for the rule of law. He is specially looking forward discussions on strengthening the media.

Akpabio said: “In respect of the papers to be presented at this Conference, they are expected to be of very high quality as usual. Lawyers will certainly enrich their knowledge resulting from their contributions.”

Sunday Onu said: “The conference promises to be a most interesting conference with the various sections and fora of the NBA richly engaging the professional minds of the participants.”