Akinlade Chides Decision By NBA Lagos To Host Multi Million Naira Dinner Amidst Ineffective Responses Of The Branch To Human Rights Abuses

*Says Dinner Tradition Has Become Insignificant and Unnecessary In Light of Current State of the Country
*Says NBA Has Prioritized Dinners and Conferences Over Response To Human Right’s Activities
*Charges NBA Leadership To Stop Wasteful Spending and Rebrand

Ex-Chairman NBA Ikorodu Branch, Bayo Akinlade has chided the NBA Lagos Branch for its decision to host what he referred to as a multi-million Naira dinner amidst growing human rights abuses and dwindling lawyers income.

In a statement, Akinlade called out the NBA Lagos Branch, noting that the tradition of holding dinners for it’s members, though seemed noble, has become insignificant and totally unnecessary in the light of the current state of the country.

“While this tradition may have been instituted for a reason that seemed noble and in keeping with the ethos of the profession, it has in my view become insignificant and totally unnecessary in the current state of our economic and judicial conditions,” he stated.

Akinlade Esq, alleged that in 2019, the Branch spent 30 million naira which in his view was totally unnecessary and unscrupulous.

“In 2019, I was informed that the Branch spent some 30 million Naira, I wrote about it but it seemed that it’s leaders didn’t get it.

“How can you spend that much on a 4 hour event?.

“I was shocked and decided to do the math… Divided 30 million by maybe just 250 attendees in a 4 hour period… How much did each person spend per hour?…. 30k per hour is you answer! what was the probative value of the money spent? Zero ”

Akinlade noted that in light of all these, it was very disheartening to see that the NBA Lagos branch cannot even raise substantial funds to enable it’s members to respond to human rights violations, and that most of its committees that work to implement the core function of the NBA constitution do not have the funds to operate effectively. This, according to him, makes him wonder “what all those big and influential lawyers in the Lagos Branch stand for.”

Remarking on the capacity of the NBA Lagos branch, Akinlade stated: “The NBA Lagos Branch is actually the largest in Nigeria but unfortunately one of the most irrelevant in terms of standing for Justice and the promotion of the Rule of Law. (My Opinion”

He continued: “I wonder what an over 8 thousand member Branch is doing in the midst of all the human rights abuses and the dwindling standards within the legal profession. It has become a joke really!”

Speaking on the prioritizing of dinner and conferences by the NBA, Akinkade Esq questioned “Is the NBA about dinners and a billion naira annual conference?” To this he answered it isn’t.

He went on to note that it pains him when the same NBA looks to other CSOs to sponsor it’s human rights activities when it spends millions on a meal in a few hours.

According to the former NBA branch chairman, there are some traditions that the NBA must review and simply stop engaging in.

However, he asked “Which leader will have the foresight and the guts to stop the stomach infrastructure concept and use the NBA Brand to make a difference?”

On a final note, Akinlade established that his challenge to the current leaders is to stop what he tagged as “wasteful spending” and rebrand. “Eating dinners is not what we want to be doing in the Nigeria we are in today,” he said.