They had waited patiently to acquire wisdom from a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, who had been billed to share his wealth of experience with them. Twilight was ebbing in the sky. Darkness gradually overtook daylight, but these up-and-coming lawyers never ran out of patience until Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN, arrived to a very warm welcome. A practising lawyer, Olumuyiwa Olowokure rose and introduced the Learned Silk to the assembly of young lawyers. “A. B. Mahmoud, SAN is a man of integrity,” said Olowokure. “He is one of the rare breed of lawyers who have brought “nobility” to the noble profession. He has contributed enormously to the practice of law, both in government service and private practice and he has remained a shining example to those of us coming behind. He is not one of those whom EFCC will come running after, thereby bringing this noble profession into disrepute. No. He is not a politician-lawyer. He is a sound professional lawyer who is committed to promoting the rule of law as well as the discipline and integrity of the Bar.” Another lawyer who is likewise a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Garba Tetengi, MNI vouched for the character, professional competence and integrity of A.B. Mahmoud, SAN, “I have known A. B. Mahmoud for over 30 years,” said Tetengi, “and I have always known him to be a man of impeccable character. I have always known him to be a man of his words. He is the kind of leader we need in the Bar Association especially now that Nigeria is waging a strong war against corruption in high places. I want you to welcome ‘one’ of your own, since he began his legal practice here in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. Having said this, I have the honour and privilege to introduce to you A. B. Mahmoud, Senior Advocate of Nigeria.” Finally, the Learned Silk rose to address the young lawyers. “I don’t have anything to say about myself after hearing what the two earlier speakers have said about me,” said A. B. Mahmoud, SAN “Actually, all I have to say tonight is about you, young lawyers. All I have to say is about how you would have successful careers in the Bar. I have had over 35 years of service at the Bar, and in all modesty I can say I am a successful lawyer. I have practised in government service and I have been in private practice, I have had briefs locally and internationally. So, the whole effort now is about you, about how you would go through a lifetime of successful practice. I tell you a little story: ‘I came here, to Port-Harcourt, 1980, to do the National Youth Service Corps as a young lawyer and I was given a brief to go to court as a Prosecutor. I was there in the company of my girl friend. It was my first experience in the court, and the Defence Counsel in this case was a SAN. “Of course, I felt intimidated. When called upon to make my presentation, I announced to the Judge: “My Lord, I’m a youth corper!” Of course, the judge adjourned the case and instructed me to tell my boss to make an appearance before him the next date. “I have said this to enable you know that I know the way you feel since I had been in your position before. That girl-friend is, today, my wife. And we are happily married with five children” A. B. Mahmoud chose his words deliberately. His unassuming disposition portrays a humble personality despite his exalted position and you could feel the sincerity of purpose and honesty of intention as he delivered his message of hope to the young lawyers. He assured them that he was going into the race for the presidency of NBA primarily to reshape the Bar and the Judiciary so that the young lawyers could have a conducive environment for practice. He made a comparison between the performance of a locally trained lawyer and another lawyer who received legal education abroad. “In our chambers, we engaged two sets of young lawyers – those trained in a local university, and others trained abroad,” said A. B., adding that “and we see the clear difference in their job performances. The ones trained abroad demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit and competence which are essential ingredients for success on the job while the ones trained locally lacked these essential success factors; and we have had to take on the responsibility of re-training these ones to ensure their competitiveness in the legal sector.” He announced to the young lawyers that if elected as President of the Nigerian Bar Association he would create the enabling environment for re-training the poorly skilled ones so that they would fit into the challenging terrain of law practice of today. Furthermore, he announced that about 500,000 lawyers were practising across the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, while an additional 5,000 fresh graduates join them every year from various law schools in the country. He then argued that the increasing number of lawyers raises the level of competition at the Bar. “This does not mean that Nigeria has more than enough lawyers.” He said. “No; far from it. One state in the United States of America has more than 500,000 lawyers practising and they are well engaged. We only need to create an enabling environment through the instrumentality of a vibrant NBA for all the lawyers to practise well, make a good living and create a good society founded on the solid foundation of rule of law. He told the young lawyers that a dynamic, peaceful and progressive society could only be founded on the bedrock of rule of law. “You can hardly move about today without fear and intimidation,” he said. “It’s either the kidnappers haunting you, armed robbers or herdsmen. You have insecurity in all its ramification. It’s all a manifestation of a dysfunctional society. The basic tool to correct all these social vices is the rule of law. “We have to leave this garbage behind,” he said. “Let’s create a new order based on the rule of law, and then we can have a peaceful, vibrant, dynamic and prosperous society.” He admonished the up-and-coming lawyers to think outside the box. “Be a global player,” He said. “There are tremendous opportunities outside which are inexhaustible, and you only need to key into these prospects to make a good living for yourself. “The world belongs to You an so I want to encourage you to dream big”, he said, “think big, dream big, go for the utopia. If you can dream it, think it, then you can make it.” He alluded to his interaction with Claude Eke of blessed memory who told him to “create a good career for yourself, a good society and make a good living for yourself.” It would be recalled that young A. B. Mahmoud was born in Kano and attended close to 11 primary schools in different cities including Kano, Zaria, Bauchi, Ningi, Wamba Barikin Ladi in Plateau State and finally attended Gwarzo Boarding Primary school in the last two years of his primary education before proceeding to Federal Government College Sokoto for his secondary education. He studied Law in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, from 1976 to 1979 and attended the Law school in Lagos in 1980 and was called to the Bar in July of that year. His legal career started with the Ministry of justice in Kano, 1979, where he was employed as a pupil state counsel. This was prior to his Law School days. He did the mandatory National Youth Service Corps programme in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and served the Ministry of Justice Kano for about 14 years before retiring in 1993 as the State Attorney General. During this period he had served in various capacities including Director of Civil Litigation, Director of Public Prosecution and Solicitor General. It would also be recalled that he and his colleague founded the Law Firm of Dikko & Mahmoud in 1993. He met his wife in the Law School and they were both together in Port Harcourt during the NYSC year. By Omololu Kassim Port-Harcourt ]]>