On 29th July 2019, the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch fondly called the “Premier Branch” made history as a foundation laying ceremony of its Bar Centre was performed that very day. The ceremony was performed by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, while the ceremony was initiated by the out gone (2017-2019) NBA Lagos executives under the able leadership of Mr. Chukwuka Ikwuazon.
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My take on this watershed is that my clamour and agitation over the years that it does not befit a premier not to have a shelter of its own seems to have yielded a positive result. Some years back, I was so disturbed that a whole premier branch had no place to call its own. Therefore I raised the alarm in an article published in the Daily Independent Newspaper of 15, December 2011 titled: NBA LAGOS: THE PREMIER IN SEARCH OF SHELTER wherein I said:
“…If the NBA branches in Ibadan, Ilorin, and Yola among others can today boast of befitting secretariats or Bar Centres while the NBA, Ikeja (the tiger) is constructing one, then why not the Lagos branch of the Association? Is building or having a befitting secretariat or bar centre for the NBA Lagos has never been part of the agenda of the successive Lagos NBA executives? There was once a talk about NBA Lagos having a land in Lekki which is still shrouded in mystery…”
I believe with the foundation laying ceremony, the mystery has now been broken. It is better late than never. I have once argued that the best place to accommodate the NBA Lagos Branch Bar Centre was no other place than the Lagos State High Court premises or its vicinity. But since finding a place within the High court and its vicinity has been very difficult , resort has to be had to the land in Lekki. Am always of the view that the search for a place within the premises of the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere or its vicinity came so late. If the NBA Lagos leaderships had developed that vision (of having a Bar Centre) in the early 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s ,I believe the succeeding generation of NBA LAGOS executives would not have faced the difficulty being faced in recent times. Leadership is all about being visionary.I know not less than two very senior lawyers that bought properties to build their law firms on Igbosere street.When I was part of the 2013 -2015 NBA Lagos Executives, the bell I continued to ring to the hearing of the executives then was that there was the need for our team to break the jinx of at least lay the foundation of the NBA Lagos Bar Centre. In the Series 12 of the BRIEFCASE (a newsletter) I ran during my tenure as Publicity Secretary of the branch, I wrote under what I called – NBA: BETWEEN LAGOS AND IBADAN:
“In 2004 and 2014, NBA Ibadan marked in grand style its 50 and 60 years of its existence respectively.NBA Lagos is claiming to be the premier branch while at the same time NBA Ibadan is claiming to be so.But which of these two branches is the real premier of the Nigerian Bar Association? I must confess we will not be able to finish this great debate in this particular series of the BRIEFCASE as am yet to complete the research on this very serious issue. But I will start with what Mr. Chris Ogbogbo wrote sometime in 2004 when the NBA Ibadan was preparing for its 50 years anniversary celebration.My learned colleague who was then the PRO of the Ibadan branch wrote thus: ‘The Ibadan Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association has turned fifty years and for this reason drums are being rolled out for an elaborate celebration .The November celebration is not simply to mark its being the premier branch (and by implication the mother of all branches of the bar)…’ This is the contention of the Ibadan branch. If you see our (Lagos branch) bus what is written on it is ‘Nigerian Bar Association (The Premier Branch)’. To be very frank, I think we will need the view of the likes of Pa. Tunji Gomez who is barman to the core to really tell us which of the two branches (Lagos or Ibadan) the premier of the Nigerian Bar Association is. Am still looking forward to have an audience with him on this very important issue.”
I went further in the BRIEFCASE that:
“To call a spade a spade,Ibadan seems to take this issue of premiership more serious than us because within the period of ten years,Ibadan twice celebrated 50 and 60 years of its existence.In 2004 under the chairmanship of Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) they launched their N250 Million Bar Centre Building Project, but here in Lagos we are still searching for a shelter to call our own secretariat.I once wrote an article on this issue sometime in 2011.Please see the Daily Independent Newspaper of 15th December 2011.If we are truly older than Ibadan ,what have we been doing all this while? I have suggested that if we cannot get a land , no matter how small within the High Court or the Court of Appeal premises to erect our Bar Centre/Secretariat ,we can look for a property within the vicinity to buy, renovate or rebuilt as our secretariat.And that on the land at Lekki we should engage a corporate developer to develop same on BOT basis.Many people have accused us that the only thing we know how to do in NBA Lagos is to organize befitting Black Tie Dinners.I strongly believe that if we had exerted the type of efforts and energy we put into organizing dinners into our Secretariat Building Project , a structure would have long been in place being known as LAGOS NBA SECRETARIAT and by now we will have no difficulty in answering the question:Where is the NBA LAGOS SECRETARIAT BUILDING?”
With the foundation laying ceremony of the NBA LAGOS BAR CENTRE in Lekki, Chukwuka Ikwuazon’s executives team have won a medal for breaking the jinx and have secured a place on the positive side of history as I had said in my article of 15, December 2011 that :
“Any NBA Lagos executive administration that succeeds in the stride of at least laying the foundation or completing the Secretariat/Bar Centre will surely be on the positive side of legal history “
I therefore congratulate Mr Chukwuka Ikwuazon and his team for a job well done.While again congratulating Mr. Yemi Akangbe and his new team as well as welcoming them on board, the burden is now on them to build on the foundation and make the NBA Lagos Bar Centre a reality. It will not be a good story for us having an abandoned project. In making the project a reality, they will need to mobilize all the well meaning lawyers within and outside the branch to make meaningful contributions to the project.I had earlier suggested what any incumbent executives could do to make the Bar Centre a reality and Yemi Akangbe and his new team should take note of this:
“One can argued without fear of being contradicted that many lawyers in Lagos or elsewhere own the positions they attain or enjoy today to the Lagos NBA which was probably as a result of their involvement in the Lagos NBA activities.It is high time those judges ,Senior Advocates ,Politicians and Heads of organizations among others reflect on why the Lagos NBA still remains a premier in search of a shelter to accommodate itself all these years as well as how a befitting Bar Centre /Secretariat for the premier can come to reality”
There are some NBA Branches’ Bar Centres that were single handedly built by some individuals as donations to those branches. Today, NBA Lagos still continues to have problem on the use of Lagos State High Court Foyer at Igbosere, Lagos for its activities as same absolutely belongs to the Lagos State Judiciary whose permission must be first sought by the NBA Lagos before its use. If the Chief Judge declines its use, there is nothing the NBA Lagos executives can do.
ARE LAW MAKERS TURNING TO LAW BREAKERS?
Recently, a video went viral where a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was seen assaulting a woman in a sex toy shop in Abuja.With the public outcry that greeted the incident, Senator Elisha Abbo was subsequently arraigned before a court and he is now standing trial. Another incident has happened in Kwara State where it was reported that two Honourable members of the state House of Assembly along with some hoodlums attacked and gave a serious beating to man said to be a tenant to one of the two law makers for owing him rent payment. One continues to wonder the kind of politicians being elected this time around.The moment some politicians get to offices they allow the power to run into their heads. Unlike in the civilized countries where politicians see themselves as servants of their people, here it is a different ball game altogether because politicians here see themselves as masters.
Sometimes when some politicians misbehave in public you continue to ask how those people got their parties tickets to run for elections. This is a product what is being called politics of godfatherism. A godfather always prefers manipulating the process to favour to his godson whom he believes will do his bid when he (the godson) gets to the office. A godfather will not like seen a person who will not do his bid in power.The history has taught that whatever deal that is between the godfather and his godson that is not premised on in the interest of the people (electorates) will always end up hitting the rock. I once wrote some years back under what I called THE PARADOX OF MADE IN NIGERIA DEMOCRACY that:
“…In Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja rode to power through the back of his godfather in person Chief Lamidi Adedidu, the late Alafin of Malete believed to be strong man of Oyo State politics. But when Ladoja, the godson refused to play ball with his godfather by sharing the cake (State fund) with him, the problem started and within a tickle of an eye, Ladoja was impeached by the forces in the state House of Assembly who were loyal Chief Adedibu .It took the intervention of the Supreme Court to restore Ladoja back to power. Hope you have not forgotten the showdown between Jim Nwobodo and his godson Chimaroke Nnamani in the Enugu State.In Kwara State the story was a bit different, Olushola Saraki, the Turaki (now Waziri) of Ilorin was a man entirely different from Adedibu because whenever he had problem with any of his godsons in power, he did not believe in rocking the boat .He would wait patiently for the defiant godson to finish that particular term. In 1999, the late Naval Admirar Muhammed Lawal became the civilian Governor of Kwara State under the platform of the ANPP through the support of Olushola Sariki, but they both soon parted ways. Saraki moved to PDP and told Lawal that his second term in office as Governor was inside his (Saraki’s) pocket. In 2003 election Saraki’s biological son in person of Bukola Saraki contested under the platform of the PDP against Lawal of ANPP to become the Governor. Remember that during the Second Republic, Saraki made Adamu Attah the Governor of the old Kwara State on the platform of the NPN and when the problem started between them and Attah decided to run election for the second term, Saraki persuaded his supporters in NPN to vote Cornelius Adebayo of the UPN who won the election in 1983 before the Army took over power.”
Why must a senator consider it reasonable assaulting a woman in public? Why must a person claiming to be an Honourable member of a State of House of Assembly thought it wise that the best was to deal a tenant owing him rent was to beat him like a snake rather than going to the court? We are now having situations where those that claiming to be the lawmakers are flagrantly disobeying and breaking the law.Any lawmaker that breaks the law must be made to face the law and sanctions appropriately.There must be scapegoats to serve as deterrent to others as if this is not done there is possibility of many lawmakers turning to lawbreakers. When people are electing politicians into power, they must try to know the kind of persons they are voting for.
REMARKABLE PRONOUNCEMENT ON ATTRIBUTES OF LEGAL PRACTITIONER
Now, it is, I think, a fair characterization of a legal practitioner’s responsibilities in the country that he stands as a ‘shield’ in defence of right and to ward off wrong. In a profession charged with such responsibilities, there must be exacted those qualities of truth speaking, of high sense of honour, of the strictest observance of fiduciary responsibility.
Per MUSDAPHER JSC (as he then was) in Okike Vs L.P.D.C (2005) 15 NWLR (Pt. 949) Pg. 510 Para C.
THE SETTLED PRINCIPLE OF LAW
On effect of elevation or retirement of a member of judicial panel on pending judgment
“It is now firmly established by this court through a long line of judicial interpretations that a decision arrived at by the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court in which a member who participated at the hearing and at conference and signified his views therein, could, on account of death, retirement, elevation, dismissal or other cause, have his judgment pronounced or read by another justice as the case may be.”
See SHITTA-BEY Vs. A-G. FEDERATION (1998) 7 SC (Pt. II) at Pg. 139, Line 10
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