I recently read online an article written by Oluwaseun Bankole titled ‘An Open Letter to Nigerian Bar Association Executives, Heal the Ills’. The article is an open letter to the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association to respond to the plight of young lawyers.
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As a young lawyer, I agree with the spirit and intent of the article, I know it comes from a good place. I would however like to interrogate some of the assumptions in the open letter. There is an adage that a child who wishes to eat with the elders must wash his/her hands first. According to this adage, a young person who wants to sit at the big table should bring more than just a healthy appetite. This speaks to a degree of mental preparation, maturity and personal responsibility. After all, the legal profession is a profession of responsibility- to the Court, Society, clients and colleagues.
By way of preliminary commentary, I should state that there is nothing wrong in dancing to music at a concert. We all know the saying about all work and no play. If we work hard, we deserve to play hard, whether its Peruzzi (yes he was at the UNBarred Concert), Teni, Wande Coal or Sunny Ade.
Mr. Bankole’s open letter generally cites some of the unfair ways in which young lawyers are treated. He asks “in what ways has this association come through for its youngest members?” “Has the Nigerian Bar Association which is responsible for catering for its objects which also includes its members “nonchalantly neglected its duties”?
He talked about the need for a minimum wage, stamp and seal reform, employment prospects, lawyer-police relationship and free CAC accreditation for young lawyers. I beg to differ slightly with Mr. Bankole on the issue of free CAC Accreditation and NBA stamp. The truth is that nothing is free, even in Freetown. It should be fair to concede that the NBA Stamp should be issued upon payment of practicing fees. Those who want extra stamps can thereafter make payment for additional sheets. That way we can see what part of our money is doing. I suggest that NBA can and should make the availability of stamp and seal incidental and dependent on payment of practicing fees.
My point of divergence from Mr. Bankole is that the focus should not be on NBA National alone, but on the Branches. The real question is ‘what are our Branches doing for young lawyers?’
Section 3 (1) (l) of the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association 2015 (as amended) enjoins the Association to create “schemes for the encouragement of newly qualified members and assistance to aged or incapacitated members of the Association.”
Since NBA is most effective at the Branch level, it is important that the Branches must take up the responsibility to provide these buffers for young lawyers. I’m sure other Branches have their own programs but I can only speak for my Branch. The NBA Abuja Branch has so many schemes targeted at lawyer’s welfare such as the Employment Placement Scheme, Young Lawyers Training & Internship Scheme, Young Lawyers Mentoring Series, Lawyers Health Insurance Scheme, Monthly Fitness and Health Outings, Discussion Series, Free Trainings and Networking events, Digital Skills Acquisition for Lawyers, a Digital Law Library with free access for members and so on.
In preparing for the AGC, the NBA Abuja Branch Chairman, Mr. Folarin Aluko created a flight scheme that provided subsidized flights for Lawyers with Dana Air. The Chairman even sponsored some young lawyers with free tickets to and from the AGC! In total, too many lawyers took advantage of this scheme from Abuja and its environs even up to Owerri and Port Harcourt.
Permit me to say, Mr. Bankole, that the change we want can be better achieved at the Branch level. After all, it was Mahatma Gandhi who said “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. This is why it is important for young lawyers to pay their Branch dues and attend Branch meetings. Last year, I attended a free Discussion Series organized by the NBA Abuja Branch on the Entertainment industry and since then I have started growing a client base in entertainment. Capacity development is a huge way we can benefit from NBA. We have also attended free trainings on Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, Managing Clients, Billing and so many other areas.
I would also like to specially highlight another issue which has become very topical. In the words of the great Martin Luther King Jr. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Sexual harassment matters. It has become very prevalent especially where it concerns young lawyers. There is a need for NBA national to provide a strong policy mechanism to address sexual harassment of young female lawyers.
Finally, it is important for Young Lawyers to identify with the Young Lawyers Forum of your Branch. The YLF is an avenue for engaging with the wider society. If your branch doesn’t have one, you can help set it up. The Young Lawyers Forum is provided for under the 8th Schedule to the NBA Constitution which should be replicated in each Branch. According to Sabuz Shahriar Khan “the greatest power of youth is that they can think beyond boundaries”. Young lawyers are the future and the recent AGC highlighted the need to protect and secure that future.
Olatunji Atoyebi is the Chairman, Young Lawyers Forum, NBA Abuja Branch (Unity Bar).
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