The two-year tenure of the Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN led administration of the Nigerian Bar Association came to a successful end last Friday in Port Harcourt at the Association’s Annual General Conference. Jude Igbanoi was there to report on the proceedings.
With the theme ‘Democracy and Economic
Development’, this year’s conference, the 56th in the Association’s
history commenced on Friday August 19th 2016 amidst apprehension that
the court might stop the focal event on the conference agenda which was
the swearing-in of Mr. A.B. Mahmoud SAN as the new NBA President. In
spite of this and in the face of other challenges, Nigerian lawyers had a
relatively good conference and most importantly, there was a smooth
handover of leadership for 160,000-strong member Association.
The conference commenced in earnest with a
Thanksgiving Church Service at Christ Church Port Harcourt with the
outgoing president Augustine Alegeh SAN and other lawyers in attendance.
Thereafter the pre-conference National Executive Committee (NEC)
meeting held at the Chief Judges Chambers in the Rivers State High Court
Complex. Alegeh gave an account of his two-year stewardship of the
association to NEC and the commendations that followed thereafter were
quite overwhelming for the out-going president whose tenure has been
described as outstanding. Senior lawyers took turns to shower the
outgoing president with encomiums and well wishes.
The welcome cocktail party hosted by the
Rivers State Chief Judge, the Hon. Justice Adama Iye Iyayi-Lamikanra set
the tone for the conference as delegates were thoroughly entertained
before proceeding to the Port Harcourt Civic Centre for the Opening
ceremony.
In attendance were the host governor,
Nyesome Wike and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal. President
Muhammadu Buhari was represented by the Attorney-General of the
Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami SAN. Tambuwal in his
opening remarks recounted the humble strides his administration has made
so far, including massive investment in education, paying civil
servants and pensioners promptly, free Medicare for children and
pregnant women in Sokoto State and getting beggars off the streets (his
pet project).
Wike’s Charge to Lawyers
Governor Wike who headed the conference planning committee gave a thought provoking address to the gathering of lawyers.
Wike’s stated that ‘‘First, it is a rare
privilege and honour to chair the Local Organising Committee of this all
important general conference and to address such a critical segment of
the Nigerian society, lawyers, magistrates, judges, academicians,
business moguls and administrators all converged as distinguished
members of the legal profession.
Second, as your learned colleague, I most
sincerely admire and respect each and every one of you for the things
that you do to earn your living and the values that we all signify as
members of the noble profession.
This year’s theme: “Democracy and
Economic Development” is thought provoking. Although I am not one of the
keynote speakers, my interest in the topic impels me to share some of
my thoughts on the subject matter with you even as I wait to drink from
the knowledge fountain of the conference speakers and discussants.
There is a consensus that liberal
democracy fares better at fostering political freedoms and economic
prosperity. Although countries have different political trajectories,
ours is a constitutional democracy, which not only guarantees basic
democratic rights but also constrains the actions of political
authorities.
Also, Nigeria, like several other
countries, has accepted the ideal of democracy just as the founders of
our Constitution believed in the positive correlation between
democratically inclusive political systems and successful economic
development. Perhaps, that was why they inserted the nation’s economic
objectives under chapter two of the Constitution. Furthermore, as an
incurable optimist, I think that everyone of us also believes that it is
still possible to achieve economic prosperity under our democracy.
Arguably, the phenomenal economic
progress and prosperity enjoyed by citizens in liberal western
democracies lends credence to the hope we easily invest in the
connection between democracy and economic development, notwithstanding
the fact that non-democratic systems in places like China have also
proven to be beneficial to economic development.
However, after 17 years of
experimentation, can we truly say that Nigeria’s economy has prospered
under our constitutional democracy? My answer, which I believe, is
shared by most of you, is a straight no. Most of us hold the view that
Nigeria is not fulfilling its potential in economic development despite
the huge human and material resources at its disposal.
As I had earlier mentioned, our
Constitution provides and guarantees fundamental democratic platitudes.
However, constitutional guarantees, no matter how progressive, are
barely a collection of words. It is the government; nay, a responsible
government and the people that will make them effective to affect
positive economic, social and political outcomes.
So, the mere fact that we are now a
democracy would not translate to economic prosperity without more. This
must be coupled with a practicable vision driven by viable policies,
targeted investments, and trade, which in turn must be supported by
appropriate economic incentives such as legal protection of business and
property rights, adequate public infrastructure, and security of lives
and capital investments.
Thus, while the correlation between
democracy and economic development is strong, the missing link, in
relation to Nigeria, lies more in our inability to leverage on the
democratic system and its values to drive economic development through a
synergetic partnership and shared responsibilities between governments
at all levels and the private sector.
Clearly, we make mistakes whenever we
fail to recognise that democracy is never a mechanical condition.
Besides distributing political voices more broadly with the common good
as the measure, democracy also entails a host of complex demands,
including responsible governance, respect for the rule of law, respect
for human rights, including socio-economic rights, and an independent
judiciary.
Democracy also allows for the proper
exercise of democratic rights, including voting and having the votes
count, peaceful protests and criticism from opposition parties and other
elements as a necessary stimulus for effective service delivery and
accountability.
Therefore, our inability as a nation to
entrench and practice the bedrock values and demands of democracy is
largely responsible for most of the development challenges confronting
us as a nation.
In law, we say the fact speaks for
itself. And so, how democratic is Nigeria when governments at all levels
do not have any sense of responsibility; when the law and the justice
system is easily compromised and incapable of protecting the weak from
the powerful; when the electoral process is fraught with impunity; when
security agencies become overly partisan; when viable opposition parties
and voices are frequently emasculated; when those who defy the law
easily escape accountability; when our courts readily become the centre
rings of a circus for either the State or the powerful to abuse the
judicial process.
The point must not be lost that as
Nigerians, we all want to live in a country that is safe, secure and
prosperous, a country where all are equal before the law, where we all
enjoy our God-given freedoms of thought, religion and action, where no
one or region is deliberately left behind and the benefits of economic
growth are justly distributed, and where we exercise our democratic
rights to freely and fairly hire and fire our leaders.
But 56 years after independence our
country is still largely enmeshed in the throes of economic, social, and
political conflicts and violence just as some of our political leaders
freely personalise power, literarily expropriate public resources, and
operate either above or outside the law to deny us our democratic
rights, including development to the people. There are too many examples
to recall on this, but let me mention a few.
River State is the only State of the
country not represented in the Senate due to recurrent failure of the
Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct peaceful, free and
fair elections in the State since 2015. Yet, the National Assembly and
the rest of the country are unperturbed by this development, maybe
because, as Rivers people and a minority, we do not deserve to have our
voices raised and heard in the National Assembly in the first place.
I wish to emphasise that part of our
individual and corporate roles, as members of the NBA, is to protect our
democracy from being destroyed by leaders who hold the system in
contempt, using our voices, the law and the justice system as our basic
tools.
Indeed, we elevate society and our
profession when we fight to uphold democracy; when we fight at all times
for the independence and integrity of our justice system, when we fight
to protect universal access to our courts; when we fight for free and
fair elections; and when we defend the constitutional rights of all
Nigerians to peacefully congregate for lawful purposes.
At the same time, we stand condemned when
we take our democracy for granted and do nothing when undemocratic
forces subvert the rule of law, assault our democratic freedoms, hold
everyone of us down as captives; and when we keep mute in the face of
continuing injustice and repression.
There was a time when the NBA not only
acted as the conscience of the nation, never afraid to take principled
positions on critical national issues, and was never tired of fighting
to entrench the rule of law, judicial independence, electoral reforms
and public accountability.
Therefore, at a time when trust in our
democratic institutions, including the National Assembly, the Justice
system and even the legal profession has been shaken, I wish to remind
you that your roles as members of the NBA, as officers of the Court, and
as the stewards of the law and justice is more important now than
before.’
Outgoing NBA President Alegeh Speaks
In his own opening speech outgoing NBA
President Alegeh SAN berated the judiciary for giving a lot of
conflicting judgments in the past few weeks and called on the Attorney
General of the Federation and the National Judicial Council to call such
judges to order.
Alegeh stated that ‘The NBA AGC affords
us with the opportunity of discussing a myriad of topics which are
critical to national discourse and which form the basis of several
governmental policies on various sectors of the economy. Deliberations
at the NBA AGCs have been instrumental to the promulgation of laws and
policies that have promoted and helped shape the economy of our country
at various stages of its nascent democracy.
As members of the NBA, the foremost
professional body in Nigeria and the leading proponent of the Rule of
Law, we have an obligation to properly advise the Government of the day
on the way forward on issues that border on Human Rights Observance,
Rule of Law, Administration of Justice and others.
Every major developmental plan or project
undertaken by any nation in any sector of its economy requires a great
deal of legal planning and framework. Consequently, lawyers are an
indispensable factor in the economic prism of any country.
Anti-Corruption
The NBA restates its zero tolerance for
Corruption as well as its commitment to work with the Federal Government
of Nigeria (FGN) and all willing FGN Agencies to contribute its quota
in the battle to kill corruption before corruption kills Nigeria.
We must also stress that the war against
corruption must be fought within the ambit of the law and rule of law
must at all times be given primacy. The war against corruption can only
be won within the ambit of the law. There is no need to resort to any
other means other than legal means to win the war against corruption.
Lawyers have a huge role to play in the
anti-corruption war of the Federal Government. The NBA has played and
will continue to play an active role in the fight against corruption at
every level of government. We have collaborated with various agencies of
government in this regard. Our Anti-Corruption Commission headed by two
distinguished Senior Advocates of Nigeria have organised several
programmes and seminars to draw attention to the menace called
corruption and the various measures which Government can pursue to
effectively curb it.
State of the Economy
Our Economy is in dire need of an
intervention. Our major source of revenue, crude oil has dropped to an
all-time low, the lowest in the past decade. The value of our Naira
against the dollar has fallen astronomically thereby leading to the
implementation of various stringent policies and regulations by the
Central Bank of Nigeria to save the day. However, these measures
although designed for our common good has caused severe hardships in
several quarters.
Of increasing concern is the worrisome
trend of backlogs of unpaid salaries and pensions by several States of
the Federation. The financial situation of most States is pitiable and
their economies can best be described as hanging by a thin thread. We
are hopeful that the Federal Government will take urgent steps to
salvage the situation by taking drastic steps to diversify the economy
and reduce our dependence on Oil as the sole source of sustenance.
Conflicting Judgments
We have been inundated recently with a
barrage of conflicting judgments of our superior courts of record. This
is a worrisome trend that the NBA has continued to push to the front
burner and to agitate that steps are taken by our Courts to ensure
uniformity in its decisions.
We are aware that most instances of
conflicting judgments are principally as a result of forum shopping by
litigants and lawyers which is totally unwarranted and avoidable.
Oftentimes, the Courts are coerced into giving these conflicting
judgments by a few lawyers who refuse and neglect to disclose the
pendency of actions in the same court or the existence of a contrary
judgment to the Judicial Officer in contravention of our Rules of
Professional Conduct.
To resolve this issue, the NBA had
proposed for our courts to have an effective and efficient means of case
reporting and centralisation of judgments to make them readily
available and accessible to other divisions of the Court. This, in our
view, will cure the defect in the system and reduce considerably
instances of conflicting judgments in our courts. Additionally, Lawyers
found culpable in this act have been made to face disciplinary
proceedings before the LPDC.
Usurpation of Powers
We are aware of the recent indictment of
several persons by the National Human Rights Commission on alleged
commission of electoral offences and the threat by the NHRC to prosecute
these persons before the law courts.
Whilst we commend the NHRC for the good
work they have done and will continue to do in the area of human rights
abuse in the country, we wish to emphatically state that the
encroachment by the NHRC into the powers of INEC in areas of
investigation and prosecution of electoral offences is unwarranted and
unconstitutional. NHRC should focus primarily on its mandate and not
abandon same to perform the task of another agency. INEC is the only
body clothed with the constitutional powers of investigation and
prosecution of electoral offences.
We have over 4,000 cases of persons awaiting trial in our prisons. This should be the primary focus of the NHRC.
Boko Haram Insurgency
The efforts of the FGN and the Nigerian
Security forces are beginning to yield positive results. The Boko Haram
Insurgency is fast waning but the battle is not yet over. We commend the
efforts of the FGN so far and urge Government not to relent. We know
that the case of insurgency in the North East will soon be a thing of
the past.
Militancy in the Niger Delta
We note with dismay the resuscitated
agitations by some Militants in the Niger Delta going by the name of the
Niger Delta Avengers. We are aware that the demands and views of this
group does not reflect the general perception and thinking of the Niger
Delta region. We urge the Military and the Joint Task Force to ensure
that this mindless group of disgruntled elements are subdued and that
every form of insurrection in that region is quelled.
We commend the prompt intervention of the
Chief of Army Staff and hope that this issue will soon be a thing of
the past as this group has caused severe economic losses to the entire
nation via their incessant bombing and vandalisation of pipelines.
Appointment of New Justices to the Supreme Court
The NBA is in receipt of a letter from
the Chief Justice of Nigeria for recommendation of persons for
appointment into the Supreme Court. We commend the CJN for consulting
with the Bar on major appointments into the Judiciary and wish to assure
him that the NBA is a willing ally and will continue to collaborate
with the Judiciary on its initiatives and policies.
State of the Bar
NBA House Project
Our new Secretariat has been completed
and is presently being painted. We are proud to announce that we have
been able to fulfill our solemn promise to this august gathering and
indeed all our members that the sprawling edifice would be completed by
this administration.
We will soon announce the date for the
grand opening and commissioning of the Building. We urge you to take
time out of your busy schedules to visit the site and observe the
progress of the project prior to the commissioning. We have also sent
out letters to eminent Bar Leaders, Senior Advocates and select lawyers
for the inclusion of their names in the ‘Honour Roll’ of the project.
Many people have either paid or signified interest to pay the NEC
approved sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira). We urge those who
are yet to pay to take steps to make their payments before the
commissioning of the Building.
The NBA National Secretariat Building
Committee would present a Report to this NEC meeting. We are indeed
grateful to them for their dedication and commend them for their
industry.
Effects of the NBA Constitution
We wish to state that the provisions of the NBA Constitution and Uniform Byelaws for Branches are sacrosanct.
We are aware that the provisions relating
to dates for elections, qualification for elections and tenure
limitation have generated a lot of controversy especially within the
branches. It was on the strength of the perceived fallout and expected
disagreements on this issue that necessitated NEC’s approval to
inaugurate the NBA Branch Election Monitoring Committee. Part of the
Committee’s mandate was to supervise the modalities for the conduct of
elections into offices at the branch level and to formulate guidelines
for the conduct of such elections.
We will therefore not recognise persons
elected into office in contravention of the NBA Constitution unless and
until such branches comply with constitutional provisions.
Discipline at the Bar
The NBA restates its resolve to deal with all cases of professional infractions and misconduct with dispatch and without favour.
Lawyers are hereby warned to desist from
making disparaging comments against the Court simply because the
Judgments were not in their favour or because they do not like the
Judge.
Lawyers must imbibe the practice of
decorum and civility while commenting on a judicial pronouncement. It is
quite disheartening to see very senior and respected lawyers who
ordinarily should set examples for their juniors to be the ones who
engage in this unprofessional conduct. We must look inwards and tackle
issues of professional misconduct before we can make meaningful progress
in tackling societal issues.
Conferment of New Senior Advocates of Nigeria
We are in receipt of the list from the
LPPC of applicants for the conferment of the rank of SAN. We have
forwarded the list to our General Practice Committee chaired by JB Daudu
SAN and we are aware that the Committee has written to the Branches for
their comments on the respective applicants.
As always, we will conduct a transparent
process before making our recommendations to the LPPC. We wish the
applicants the best and pray that they scale through the exercise.
2016 General Elections
We introduced electronic voting to the
NBA elections. I commend the Electoral Committee for their hard work as I
am aware that the eyes of every lawyer and indeed all Nigerians were on
them to observe how they will deliver on electronic voting.
Demise of Members
The NBA has, within the past few months,
recorded huge losses occasioned by the unfortunate demise of some of its
resourceful members. These include James Enojo Ocholi SAN, Former
Minister of State for Labour & Employment; Bon Nwakamma SAN, Former
Attorney General of Imo State; Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, late Human Rights
Activist and Politician. We pray for the repose of their souls and the
souls of all the faithful departed. A minute silence was observed.
Distinguished NEC Members and Learned
colleagues, we thank you once more for your immense support throughout
the lifespan of this administration.
We assure you that we shall remain
focused in our bid to protect and safeguard the provisions of the
Constitution of our noble association by taking proactive steps to
improve the welfare of lawyers and raise the standard of legal practice
in Nigeria. We urge you not to relent but to further support and assist
us at all times to enable us achieve our solemn mandate to reposition
the Bar.’
Keynote Speaker
This year’s Keynote Speaker was the
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Republic of Rwanda, Mr.
Busingye Johnston. He shared experiences from his home country, which
after years of genocide and a bitter civil war rose from the ashes and
built a strong democracy and judicial institutions.
LAWYERS EXPRESS THEIR THOUGHTS
Dr. Akpor Mudiaga-Odje
The elections held by the Nigerian Bar
Association on the 30th and 31st July, 2016 albeit conclusive, has
generated some issues and agitation regarding the transparency of the
process adopted for voting i.e. Electronic Voting!
Without prejudice to the present action
instituted by J. K Gadzama SAN, challenging the validity of elections
and results announced therein, one can still commend both contestants or
combatants as it were, for availing themselves of the channel of due
process in challenging the validity of the elections.
This is a better option than the
electoral tragedy that plunged the NBA into an unpleasant interregnum
during the Gen Abacha era regarding the Kuye and Dalhaltu, NBA
presidency elections in the same Port Harcourt.
For the above reason of the Suit now
pending, it is legally wise to refrain from discussing in detail the
validity or otherwise of the elections.
My Expectations of the New NBA Exco
Of course he has fired the first salvo by
partnering with the Federal Government in its fight against the incubus
called corruption in Nigeria.
That is a very commendable pledge, but I
pray he follows it up with the patriotic and courageous zeal it
requires, because fighting corruption in Nigeria is not a coffee party
at all.
Corruption has permeated and perforated every facet of the Nigerian society.
He has to be a progressive and also
proactive as the late Chief Alao Aka Bashorun and Olisa Agbakoba SAN,
when the Bar championed the cause of society and the down trodden.
He should at all cost avoid patent and latent fraternity with Government at all levels including their Agents and Agencies.
Above all, he must ensure that Government
upholds the Rule of Law at all times, and protect courageous and
incorruptible judges from intimidation by Government and even lawyers
too.
The NBA should address and advocate for urgent reforms in the judiciary as well as the prisons.
The Administration of justice should be
on the front burner, whilst the Niger Delta and the vexed issue of
resource management and control can be properly expressed and driven by a
vibrant Bar.
There are high profile corruption cases
which need to be properly monitored by the Bar so that, the three way
criminal justice traffic, i.e. the public, the accused and the
prosecution will all be assured of fair trials and justice.
We also expect a totally radicalised Bar.
My late father, Dr Mudiaga Odje SAN OFR of blessed memory usually
accentuates that: “A militant Bar, Produces A Vibrant Bench”.
Mr. Dafe Akpedeye SAN – former Attorney-General of Delta State
Having promised a brave new bar, I expect
that steps would be taken to ensure an all-inclusive bar, starting with
dousing the hostilities that arose from the last elections. Again, I
anticipate that the new administration would be brave and bold to
confront salient national issues, particularly in these tough times. An
important issue that craves for immediate attention, is the issue of
incessant conflicting judgments that have constantly brought ridicule to
our judicial system. I am optimistic that the next administration would
as a matter of urgency constitute and strengthen the Judiciary
committee, in line with the extant provisions of the NBA Constitution,
to frontally engage the leadership of the bench in addressing this
issue. I would further suggest that my Brother Silk and his Exco also
pay attention to the issue of lawyers’ welfare across the nation. The
out-going administration has started with the introduction of the
lawyers’ insurance scheme, but a lot can still be done to improve the
welfare of lawyers. On the whole, I am optimistic that the A.B Mahmoud
administration would build on the gains of the outgoing president and
take the Bar to enviable heights!
I must first start by stating that the
NBA conference held annually, has remained an improvement of what was
done in the past. The conference this year with the theme Democracy and
economic development, is coming at a time that the economy of Nigeria is
struggling to remain afloat. The conference has indeed presented legal
practitioners and perhaps the entire nation with an opportunity to
espouse on a number of ideas and concepts that can be developed towards
evolving our nascent democratic dispensation. Indeed, our strength and
will as a democratic nation has never been this tested and only a
collective effort which stems from a discourse like this can provide the
much needed assistance and encouragement which the Buhari
Administration deserves. Nonetheless, it hasn’t been without minor
glitches, in terms of logistics. Again, I must applaud the choice of the
various speakers who have made presentations on the carefully selected
topics for the several sessions conducted. The organisation might not
have been perfect, but I think lessons have been learnt. With the huge
enthusiastic participation witnessed, I am certain that with the right
temperament and direction, the profession will attain commanding
heights.
Chief Layi Babatunde SAN
I appreciate and commend the kind gesture
of the President and his Executives, in specially inviting and
facilitating the attendance at the conference of elders who have paid
their dues. It is a gesture, that will go a long way in raising the bar
of our sense of appreciation as an association. It is indeed a lesson to
politicians, that the past cannot be all bad. However, moving forward,
our conferences need better organisation. It does not speak well of us,
that conference materials including bags are not given to delegates
until late into the conference. Allowing the platform of our conference
to be used, as an avenue for the sale or distribution of fake and
counterfeit primary legal documents (Statutes and other practice
resources) may amount to lending our Noble association to the promotion
of impunity. On the whole, there have been gains made and many lessons
for the future. The incoming executive should hit the ground running.
Mr. Monday Ubani – NBA 2nd Vice President
Again, we had issues with registration
and obtaining materials for the current conference. Apart from that,
every other thing went on beautifully, the guest speakers were well
chosen and they gave good presentations. Participation was also very
robust.
The incoming administration should take
note of the shortcomings of the present administration especially with
regards to the registration process of our conferences and try to
correct them and make our conferences flawless. It is doable because we
are witnesses of flawless conferences in other climes. This is not
failing to acknowledge the good works of Augustine Alegeh’s
administration in innovations and comprehensive interventions on many
areas of lawyers’ complaints about Nigerian Bar Association. The
completion of the NBA building, the stamp and seal project, insurance
policy etc are some of his commendable projects especially the E-voting
that is unprecedented. The outgoing administration has done really well
and the incoming administration needs to sustain and if possible surpass
these achievements.
An Anonymous (Physically Challenged) Lawyer
It is unfortunate that over the years and
till date the NBA has failed to recognise and make arrangements to
accommodate lawyers with disabilities in its conferences; and we are
supposed to be chief promoters of human rights.
Dr. Joseph Nwobike, SAN
In terms of the quality of representation
of lawyers in the past year, I think that the Alegeh led administration
tried its best within the web of limitations which submerged its stream
of programs. As we can all acknowledge, they introduced a number of
integrity building and professional development focused models. The Bar
should be grateful for that.
As for the in-coming administration, I
expect that they would quickly work towards providing solutions to the
problems introduced and escalated by the various programs introduced by
the Alegeh administration. These include the problems which arose in the
implementation of the stamp and seal policy and the electronic voting
mechanisms. They should also try to adjust and possibly make more
realistic and beneficial, the lawyers’ seal project. In respect of
continuous legal education, the administration should find a means of
encouraging the branches to engage in extensive continuous legal
education of their members. In this regard, the various law faculties
should be brought in as stakeholders, etc.
Another issue which requires the
substantive policy outlay by this administration is the issue of welfare
and remuneration of juniors in chambers. It is quite disheartening to
see juniors in chambers earn less than N50,000 per month. That is very
ridiculous, considering the cost of living in the country and the
dignity associated with the position of lawyers in the society. The
administration must find a way by which its decisions can be enforced.
The administration should work very hard to protect lawyers against
unwarranted attacks. As it is at the moment, lawyers are not only
orphans but endangered species in the public domain.
Mr. Okey Egbuchu
I only attended a day of this year’s
conference so far. The few sessions that I have seen have been robust.
The conference could be better organised. There are just too many
complaints. The NBA appears not to have found a way to manage the large
number of delegates efficiently.
Now, I expect the A .B. Mahmoud
administration to be at the forefront protecting the rule of law and the
fundamental human rights of Nigerians. This government seems to have
little regard for human life. There are just too many killings in which
the government is complicit in its silence, action and inaction. The NBA
must not be found wanting.
Mr. Paul Ebiala – former NBA 1st Assistant Secretary
I will assess this year’s NBA conference,
first from the organisational angle, then from its content in terms of
themes, topics and delivery.
On organisation, I’ll give kudos to
Lawpavilion for improving on its performance this year compared to the
rowdy and riotous situation we had in 2015 in Abuja owing to its shabby
handling of the distribution of tags. The sorting out of the tags this
year into the various Branches made collection much easier. However,
there were still lapses with regards to Lawyers who registered
individually. Gaining access to collection points to pick their tags was
a herculean task, resulting in anger and frustration.
Coming to distribution of conference bags
and other materials, it was a total failure. A situation where Lawyers
could not pick their tags, bags and other conference materials at the
same time is a complete failure and unacceptable, especially after all
the apologies and promises by President Alegeh to improve on last year’s
woeful outing. Thousands of Lawyers who registered and indicated that
they will receive their materials individually did not get conference
bags on time. It is a huge sham! Worse still, even when bags were
distributed to Branches for their members who indicated to collect
through them, no conference material was found in the bags, only a
miserable hand towel & key holder were found in some. That is a big
flop.
In terms of content, however, the
selected theme and sub-themes were quite topical, and their handlers
were also carefully selected. That is commendable.
On the whole, a lot needs to be done by
the next administration to improve the organisation of the next
conference. Any conference where participants cannot seamlessly pick all
their materials on arrival on a day before the commencement of the
conference is a failure. Most participants judge the success or
otherwise of a conference from the distribution and quality of
conference materials, especially after paying so much to register.
I’ll rate this year’s conference 55%.
Mr. Obinna McKenzie
For me, this year’s conference was just a
sham in spite of the huge sums of money paid by Lawyers for same as
well as the money committed to same by the host government and other
donors.
This is supposed to be a ritual that
comes every year yet the Alegeh led NBA could not organise a decent and
befitting conference for a profession that is supposed to be a pace
setter in Nigeria.
Therefore, he lacks the moral locus and
justification to criticise INEC in respect of the spate of inconclusive
elections in Nigeria. So, if he could not conduct a hitch free
conference for his constituency then he lacks locus to criticise INEC or
the Federal Government.
However, for the incoming Exco I suggest
that they should critically study this out-going administration with a
view to correcting them.
Dr. Gbenga Odutan – University of Kent, UK
This is the largest gathering of lawyers
in the same bar anywhere in the world and it shows in the scramble for
food and drinks. Over 150000 lawyers were registered and between 10 and
20 thousand showed up.
But more importantly the exchange of
ideas is as usual robust and rich. It is the intellectual equivalent of
the wildebeest migration for which Eastern Africa is well known.
The papers have been well received and
they include presentations on the Justice sector from Wale Fapohunda LRC
chair an ex Attorney General, Ekiti State; John Orakwe a straight
talking Prison Comptroller General (who took no prisoners in his
comments on the Nigerian governing elite classes) and Solomon Arase just
retired Inspector General of police.
Mr. Jonathan Ikiebe
While I acknowledge that organising a
conference of the NBA within our environment with its peculiar
limitations comes with a lot of challenges, I expected a far better and
well-coordinated conference. How does one explain that more than 50% of
the conference attendees did not get copies of the programmes until
Wednesday afternoon? Those who could afford to waste their precious time
to queue for bags got empty ones without conference materials. I
personally consider it the height of insult to see colleagues being
served food in cheap plastic bowls to be eaten with plastic spoons. I
know as a fact that most if not all the Exco members go for the IBA and
they see the ways things are organised but we seem not to learn from our
colleagues out there. Why can’t we send the programs to members in
electronic form before the conference. Why haven’t we taken advantage of
IT and have a more functional portal that deals with relevant
information and enquiries? Why not give meal vouchers to members and let
them choose what they desire from accredited caterers.
Mrs. Adaobi Egboka
The conference had a very good turnout of
lawyers, there were outstanding presentations from very renowned
speakers. The major challenge faced by participants was the late arrival
of the hard copies of conference materials which created confusion with
venues and time coupled with the distance traveled to locate breakout
sessions. The rain did not help matters.
The new president has to make a conscious
effort to unite the different factions from the fallout of the
election. The restoration of confidence of the average Nigerian in the
legal profession in Nigeria cannot be over emphasised. The Nigerian Bar
Association under his administration must serve to ensure that the rule
of law is at all times respected in Nigeria irrespective of whose ox is
gored.
Epilogue
As would be expected, this year’s NBA
Annual General Conference came with its fair share of challenges,
including the logistical nightmare of collecting conference bags and
materials. The torrential rains which Port Harcourt city is associated
with and the consequent traffic gridlock left delegates with mix
feelings of pain and pleasure.
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