Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN, has called on the International Bar Association to broaden the meal choices at its conferences to reflect the cultural and culinary diversity of participants, particularly African lawyers who travel from across the continent to attend the global gathering. Ubani is a former Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association and former Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL.
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Ubani made the call following his experience at the 2026 IBA Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he said several African delegates expressed disappointment over the absence of familiar African dishes from the lunch menu.
According to him, he personally raised the matter with one of the designated IBA officials in Copenhagen, making what he described as a passionate case for the culinary preferences of African delegates to be considered when conference meals are planned.
“At the very least, rice dishes with a generous helping of pepper should find their way onto the menu,” he said humorously.
Ubani said the IBA official received the suggestion positively and assured him that she would push the proposal, particularly as preparations begin for the Association’s next conference in Singapore.
Although the issue might appear minor against the wider professional and legal discussions that dominate international conferences, Ubani argued that food forms an important part of cultural identity and can contribute to making participants feel included.
“Food is more than just nourishment; it is also culture, identity, and a taste of home,” he said.
He explained that his intervention followed complaints from a number of African colleagues at the Copenhagen conference who observed that African meals, particularly familiar rice dishes, were absent from the lunch offerings.
“Their disappointment was understandable, and that inspired me to take up the matter,” Ubani said.
The senior lawyer urged African delegates to speak with a united voice on the issue and continue advocating for greater consideration of their culinary preferences at future IBA events.
Taking the campaign a step further, Ubani jokingly expressed optimism that sustained advocacy could eventually see traditional African meals such as pounded yam, semovita, vegetable soup and egusi soup served to lawyers at international conferences.
“Mark my words: with a united voice and persistent advocacy, we may yet see in future, pounded yam, semovita, and perhaps even a steaming bowl of fresh vegetable soup with egusi grace the IBA lunch table! With God, nothing is impossible,” he said.
For Ubani, the issue ultimately goes beyond a preference for particular meals and touches on the broader principle of inclusion at an international gathering that brings together lawyers from different cultural backgrounds.
He maintained that an organisation which celebrates diversity within the global legal profession should also consider reflecting that diversity in seemingly smaller aspects of its conferences, including catering.
“So, let African conferees unite and push this culinary agenda. After all, if the IBA celebrates diversity in the legal profession, surely that diversity should extend to our dining tables,” he said.
“A little African flavour at an international conference will not hurt anybody. Indeed, it may just make the conference a lot more enjoyable,” Ubani added.
His intervention has consequently turned an everyday conference experience into a light-hearted but broader conversation about cultural representation, with the senior lawyer hoping that future IBA gatherings will offer African delegates not only international legal discourse but also, occasionally, a familiar taste of home.
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