By John Austin Unachukwu
The Head of the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Kazeem O. Olaniyan,has joined issues with a Law School teacher, Mr. Sylvester Udemezue (aka Udems), over the later’s ceaseless attacks on the Southwest Lawyers Forum and its adopted candidate, Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN).
Udemezue had in his article entitled: “NBA 2020 Elections: 13 Reasons Why Adoption by Tribal Groups Is Unsafe for the Health and Progress of the Nigerian Bar Association” condemned the adoption of Adesina (SAN) by the Yosruba lawyers body.
Udemezue wrote his piece condemning the Adoption of Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN) by the Southwest Lawyers’ Forum (Egbe Amofin) whose turn it is to produce the next President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
It is the tradition at the Bar for the group whose turn it is to produce the next president of the NBA to adopt a candidate of their choice where possible. This is the tradition of the Bar. But if it becomes difficult to adopt a single candidate, all contestants from a particular region are allowed to go and contest the election.
Adoption by regional groups in the past produced the following NBA presidents: Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Oluwarotimi Akeredolu ( SAN), Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN) and Okey Wali (SAN). The adoption made by the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF) in the last election, which would have produced Chief Arthur Obi Okafor (SAN) as current NBA president was truncated by what could be best described as computer wonder, the rest is now left for the court to decide.
In his13 reasons why adoption by tribal groups is unsafe for the health and progress of the Nigerian Bar Association.” Udemezue stated: Adoption is inferior to Article 9 & Part 2.1(d) of the 2nd schedule to the NBA Constitution by virtue of which, in 2020, any lawyer that hails from the core Southwest is entitled to aspire to become the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in 2020.
“Only parties to a tribal adoption know the secret terms and conditions of such an adoption there always are. So, electing the adopted lawyer means mortgaging the interests of the entire NBA membership who would then be forced to kowtow, albeit indirectly through the leadership (president), to such adoption conditions which may not be (are usually not) in the best interests of the NBA as a whole. It is better to elect a person untainted by such parochial, unpopular and retrogressive concept of tribal adoption.
“Adoption by tribal groups only helps to further divide rather than unite NBA members. The adopted person is viewed more as a product of ethnicity and sectional, parochial interests.
“NBA deserves to be ruled by a lawyer who is elected by an overwhelming majority of eligible Nigerian lawyers based on broad acceptance and genuine leadership credentials, and not based on any tribal ‘adoption’ ”.
“The concept of Rotational Presidency in the NBA prescribes that all lawyers in Nigeria should elect by universal suffrage one lawyer from the NBA Zone whose turn it is to produce the NBA President. Rotation does not require any tribal group to be the one to adopt, choose or present a candidate to NBA members, for sheepish endorsement.
“ If we elect a person “adopted” by a tribal group as NBA president, the tendency is that on assumption of office, he would most likely kowtow to ethnic tunes, parochial & tribal sentiments, trying to please the tribal adoptors, instead of detachedly facing the task of NBA leadership with the broad, free and independent mind required to deliver good governance.
“Tribal adoption hinders inclusiveness; an NBA president that emerges through adoption would be a leader for some and not for all. A true NBA president must adopt all-inclusiveness as his/her motto, carrying along all lawyers from all parts of the country, and thus creating an environment in which all lawyers from all sections feel empowered to express their opinions freely within the larger group. Diversity of thinking is critical to effective collaboration, management and progress.
“An NBA president foisted on lawyers from all the 36 states plus Abuja, by a purported adoption by some members of a tribal group (the scope of whose membership does not extend beyond six states) would not be free to observe essentials of broad-based good governance.
“Electing a lawyer purportedly adopted by a tribal association would mean that ‘universal suffrage is now meaningless’ since a tribal group is now the one imposing its decision on the entire membership of the NBA. Is it not better to allow all eligible lawyers from the relevant portion of the NBA Zone to come out as candidates, and then let all lawyers elect whomsoever they feel is the most competent?
“An NBA president, who is a product of tribal “adoption” may not be free, on assumption of office, to declare, as Marty Rubin once did: ‘I pledge allegiance to Nothing and No one but only to the freedom for which it stands?’
“I read a comment where someone said a certain aspirant to the NBA Presidency in 2020, had in the past come out a couple of times, to contest the same position, but was prevailed upon to step aside for some other aspirants; and that the lawyer who had been “stepping aside” for others should be allowed to go this time, since “he had made enough sacrifice in the past by so “stepping down” for others.”
‘’With due respect, NBA is not a private property of that particular lawyer. The mere fact that anyone had stepped down in the past, to pave way for another lawyer to get elected, is not any good reasons to insist that such a person must be the NBA president now? Whatever agreement or secret deal such an individual (aspirant) purportedly had at that time, with those in whose interest he had stepped down, is not binding on the present generation of NBA presidential aspirants.
“Continued existence, influence of such tribal groups (through “adoption”) is one major reason genuine unity and progress have eluded the NBA for a long time now. I therefore humbly implore lawyers to ignore any story of adoption by any tribal group or branch, by whatever name called, and to go all out in July 2020 to elect an NBA president of core Southwest extraction in line with Article 9 and Part 2.1 (d) of the Second Schedule to the NBA Constitution” Udemezue stated.
In his response, Olaniyan urged Udemezue to spend a little time more productively in preparing his lecture notes at the Nigerian Law School for the students he professes to be lecturing, rather than focusing 99 per cent of his time on the adoption by the members and leaders of Egbe Amofin Oodua, the Forum of Southwest Lawyers, a group which he does not belong to in the first place
He said: “A critical examination of his hatched job reveals no sense of logical reasoning other than a deliberate attempt to scandalise the members and leaders of Egbe Amofin and disparage the candidate so adopted while extolling the virtues of his preferred candidate. His write-ups, including this particular one, lack objectivity and fair-mindedness. May be Sylvester is not aware that in Jurisprudential thought and logic, not all sound arguments are logical but all logical arguments are sound. His argument, at best, has committed what is known by the logicians as”argumentum-ad-verecudian“.
“Few days ago, Udemezue wrote in another article entitled: “The content of my support during NBA elections’’, after a careful thought, deep analysis and in line with the principles I hold dear, I have chosen to not only support but to diligently and vigorously canvass support for Babatunde Ajibade (SAN) to become the next president.
‘’While I work very hard and pray that Ajibade should win because I think he is the best among equals, I have prepared my mind that whoever wins is the will of God,” Udemezue stated
Olaniyan stated that nobody challenged Udemezue then because he was trying to sell his highly parochial and perjured subjective mind to his fellow travellers. But to have continued to display, rather arrogantly, to take a swipe at our respected leader, at least as a free born, fully bred Yoruba person, such arrogance is viewed as a diarrhea of the mouth of a stupendous ignoramus.
“Let nobody be deceived about his subjectivity and he should allow that will of God to prevail. If he indeed meant what he said, why did he again decide to make series of damaging and disparaging remarks about the ever respected.’’
Egbe Amofin and her adopted candidate
In the article, he once again deprecated the adoption of Egbe Amofin when he said, “electing the adopted lawyer means mortgaging the interest of the entire NBA membership… That adoption by tribal groups will divide rather than unite NBA members.
“Does any adoption stop the adopted candidate from submitting himself to universal suffrage by lawyers? The answer is no. Was adoption by a forum in competition with adoption by another forum? The answer once again is no.
“An adoption of a particular candidate in preference to other candidates from the same forum does not by any means derogate from the integrity and independent mindedness of the candidate so adopted to treat lawyers equally without fear or favour contrary to Udemezue’s puerile submission.
“ Few instances will confirm this assertion. Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) was adopted by the Eastern Bar Forum in 2006. He became President and led the NBA members fairly and squarely. J. B. Daudu (SAN) was endorsed by the Arewa Lawyers in 2010. He led a very purposeful administration and carried all Nigerian Lawyers along. Okey Wali (SAN) was adopted by the same Eastern Bar Forum in 2012. As President of the Bar, he loved lawyers equally and led the NBA in unity. Augustin Alegeh (SAN) was adopted in 2014 by the Midwest Bar Forum. He led the NBA to the best of his ability. Where was Udemezue when those events took place?
In particular, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) was adopted by the Egbe Amofin in 2008. He became president of the NBA unopposed; a fact that united the generality of lawyers in contradistinction to the discord, dissension and disharmony that nowadays characterise NBA elections, some of which have ended in the court. Of a common feature with NBA elections in the recent times is to see members who supported a supposedly lost candidates becoming totally disenchanted, disillusioned and disinterested leading to the withdrawal of their participation in the affairs of the association.
“ Is Udemezue really a member of the NBA and yet he is not aware of this present phenomenon? Does Udemezue realise that the corruption and recklessness that characterise the recent NBA elections and the consequent recourse to the court for adjudication is a disgrace to the profession that is otherwise noble and honourable?
‘’All the above references question the rationality of his highly subjective arguments.
‘’Other arguments, such as adoption, will hinder inclusiveness and that adoption will foist a president on lawyers are self-defeating because lawyers will still exercise their right to vote at the NBA election, notwithstanding the adoption by the forum of any zone. What Udemezue fails to realise is that the Constitution of the NBA 2015, as amended, created and endorsed the zones. By implication, it also recognised the fora that exist in these zones.
‘’Furthermore, the constitution recognises the sections and fora within a zone by interpretation. Therefore, if in the enlightened opinion and interest of a zone/ section/forum, they decided to manage their affairs to eliminate the scandalising of the electoral process through monetisation and corruption of members of the association by financial inducements, Udemezue’s disagreement with them confers no right on him to consistently and persistently condemn the actions and the opinions of that Group. He does not love the NBA more than any other lawyer in this country neither does he have a monopoly of knowledge.
‘’He stated: ‘The existence of the fora and later the zones is a product of historical expediency because of the 1992 debacle of the NBA, which it appears that Udemezue is ignorant of. Besides, the fora have become the recognised pillars on which the NBA is rested. No amount of illogical reasoning, barren and subjective arguments will cover or becloud the essence of the belief and philosophy of the Yoruba race that charity begins at home’.
‘’Once again, let Udemezue continue in the support of the candidate of his choice but Egbe Amofin will insist that he must stop forthwith the culture of persistently insulting and assaulting the sensibilities of members and leaders of the forum of Southwest lawyers over a decision they have no regret. If this is not stopped, Egbe Amofin will not hesitate to lodge a complaint to the President of the NBA and the Council of Legal Education, his employers.
“For the reasons above and other reasons which might be saved for some other day. I therefore urge all right thinking lawyers in Nigeria to discard the said write up into the refuse dumb where it rightly belongs for lacking in merit,highly illogical, outstandingly unreasonable, substantially subjective, uncommonly irrelevant and therefore constitute fantastic beautiful nonsense,” Olaniyan said.
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