The Nation Newspaper

Tag: complex

  • NBA opens new complex to boost revenue

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has opened a six-storey building  on Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The building, which was erected through a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT), is  behind the NBA House and was built by Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) through one of his firms, Stabilini Visinoni Limited.

    Outgoing President Okey Wali (SAN) praised Babalakin, describing him as ‘a pride to the legal profession in Nigeria’.

    He said the land, which was given to NBA by the Law School, had remained unutilised despite being located at a prime place.

    Wali said the property was developed in order to boost NBA status as well as shore up its revenue base, just as he emphasised the need for continuity in governance.

    Wali said: ‘I must thank our colleague, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), for what he has done in putting this up in collaboration with the NBA. The terms are clear. It is a Build, Operate and Transfer. I thank Wale for the industry he has put into this.

    ‘Also, it is the grace of God to start from foundation and see the completion. We have to put on record the gratitude to all past presidents of NBA. It is a testimony to the continuity of governance at the Bar that leadership or government of NBA continues.

    ‘Leaders come and go but the continuity of NBA project persists. Just like you know, by His grace, within the next two years in the life of the next administration, we will be in Abuja to inaugurate the NBA House, which this administration has started.’

    Wali expressed gratitude to the Director- General, Nigerian Law School, Lanre Onadeko, as well as the Chairman, Council of Legal Education,  O.C.J. Okocha (SAN), among others, for granting access to the new building through the Law S

    chool premises.

    Babalakin explained the difficulty in creating access to the property, noting that the area was landlocked.

    “The only way we could go in was if we were able to create that access you see now. With his (Wali’s) determination as well as that of the Director General of the Law School and the Chairman of Council of Legal Education; it happen.”

    Babalakin acknowledged Wali’s “thorough dedication” to the project, adding: “He came to Lagos specifically for this project on a number of occasions, and I recollect with great appreciation and sometimes nostalgia how we walked round this premises, not once, not twice, when we were trying to identify the entry into the building.

    “In the same vein, I want to thank our incoming President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN), who is here today and who has just won a very convincing victory. I have no doubt he has the capacity, the mental fortitude and determination to push the NBA to the next level.”

    Babalakin also expressed gratitude to the former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Dr. Tahir Mamman, for his invaluable role in making the project possible.

    At the ceremony were the incoming NBA’s General Secretary,  Afam Osigwe; National Treasurer, Joyce Oduah; a former General Secretary, Obi Okwusogu (SAN); and Executive Committee Member,  Osita Okoro.

  • VIP complex

    VIP complex

    •From South Africa came the lesson that all animals are equal

    Just what is the big deal about the news that Nigerian dignitaries were forced to queue up to enter the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa, to watch the 2013 African Cup of Nations soccer final which Nigeria won against Burkina Faso? The fact is, it is indeed a big deal, especially as it involved two governors and a federal minister, among others.

    According to the report: “Unlike in Nigeria where top executives enjoy preferential treatment, the governors and other officials who were waiting by the side of the gate with the hope of getting access without observing normal protocol, were told to join the queue formed by other ticket holders.” The report said further, “Interestingly, no security officials from Nigeria were present to assist the officials.”

    Perhaps Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, his Anambra State counterpart, Peter Obi, and Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdulahi, experienced something of a culture shock. They reportedly waited in a queue “for several minutes” at the VIP gate before gaining entry into the stadium. The message was unambiguous: there was no way they would be allowed to jump the queue. They seemed unprepared for the undiscriminating personnel that manned the gate. Could they have expected special recognition? It is significant that the Nigerian dignitaries were not singled out to stand in a line, everyone else did.

    For the Nigerian VIPs, it was definitely a whole new ball game: apart from being subjected to the standard practice of queuing, they were without their usual overzealous protectors who would often go to absurd lengths to clear the path for power. The setting turned out to be a leveller of sorts.

    There is a point to ponder in this happening: back home in Nigeria where high political office holders generally have a superiority complex, it is unlikely that these same officials would have been so demystified. On the contrary, rather than stand in a queue prior to entry, they would have enjoyed special treatment on account of their positions and moved seamlessly into the arena, disregarding any existing queue. Alas, that is how power works in Nigeria.

    However, this egoism of power, which, it must be said, seems to be encouraged by the obsequiousness of the people, is a negative attitude that does the polity no good. When political office holders elevate themselves so high above the people, they tend to live in another faraway world and fail to connect with immediate socio-economic realities. Regrettably, self-centred power continues to be a major obstacle to the country’s development. Arrogant power must be made to understand one essential truth: it exists by the people and for the people, and certainly cannot be higher than the people. That is the beauty of the democratic system, in practical terms. So, the correct thing is that leaders must regard themselves as servants, rather than masters of the people.

    Judging by the report from the stadium, the body language of these Nigerian dignitaries mirrored their subconscious desire for acknowledgment, which did not materialise because the social milieu was quite different. It is hoped that they learnt a lesson in modesty from their experience. The impersonal approach of the gatekeepers as well as the behaviour of other ticket holders who used the VIP gate without attracting undue attention should be food for thought to them.

    Now that they are back home, it would be interesting to see whether the stadium affair, which no doubt provided useful leadership education for our VIP’s, would have any lasting positive impact on their idea of power and how it should be used.