NLA website “Early Bird tickets are $100 for NLA Members and $130 for Non-Members. We recommend that you purchase your tickets before Standard Rates apply. The Early Bird period will expire on August 31, 2016 at 11:59PM. Standard Rates are $130 for NLA Members and $160 for Non-Members. The ticket price for everyone at the Door will be $180.” The venue of the event is the 630 Second Ballroom, at 630 Second Avenue. According to Mr. Sea, the keynote speaker will be joining a long list of Nigerian dignitaries who have attended the event in the past. He named such celebrities as including “Professor Wole Soyinka, a 1986 Noble Laureate in Literature, and world-renowned writer, poet and playwright; Professor Chinua Achebe, world-renowned writer and author of the award-winning novel, “Things Fall Apart”; and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former World Bank Managing Director and former Nigerian Minister of Finance. According to the NLA website, the annual Merit Awards Dinner are held “to celebrate the achievements of distinguished individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the legal profession and towards the advancement of public and community service, and to give out scholarships to law students of color from across the country, based on need and merit.” It was not immediately clear what President Jonathan will focus on in his address. Since losing the presidency last year, he has spent a lot of time abroad speaking to audiences about the success of his administration in tackling corruption and boosting democracy. In the next few weeks, he is scheduled to launch his foundation, the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, which he announced last year in a letter to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In the letter, he said he was back to work following the taking of power by President Muhammadu Buhari, “to continue to serve and dedicate my life to promoting peace and prosperity for all,” and that he would be “devoting the rest of my life and energy to making the world a better place.” ]]>