In his manifesto made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, Ogiegbaen who was a Former Chairman of the NBA Benin Branch presented his plans if elected as General Secretary in the July 16 Bar Election into 4 subheadings.
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He promised to ensure swift production and delivery of seal and stamp, introduction of digital stamp, establishment of the Office of Public Defender amongst others.
MANIFESTO OF OGIEGBAEN, CALLISTUS BENSON, A.I.C.M.C. FOR THE OFFICE OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION (THE NBA): 2022 – 2024
‘‘The Bar as a Mighty Fortress for the protection of rights and the prevention of wrongs’’
1.0. INTRODUCTION
Distinguished Colleagues, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Benchers, Leaders and Elders of the Bar. My name is OGIEGBAEN, CALLISTUS BENSON, a Private Legal Practitioner and the Founder and Managing Partner of the Law Firm of C.B. OGIEGBAEN & CO., of No. 101, Boundary Road, G.R.A., Benin City, engaged in Commercial Law Practice and Litigation. I was called to the Nigerian Bar on the 28th day of September, 1999 and have since been engaged in the uninterrupted practice of the noblest profession known to mankind. I have been involved in the various aspects of legal practice for a period spanning over twenty-two (22) years. I am a Financial Member of our great Association and an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators.
I have over the years served our August Association in various capacities at the National and Branch levels. I was Secretary of the Benin Branch of the NBA between 2012 – 2014 and a Member of the National Executive Council of our great Association within the same period. I was Chairman of the Benin Branch of the NBA from 2018 – 2020 within which period I was also a Member of the National Executive Council of our Association, indeed the Benin Bar assumed the sobriquet ‘‘The Lion Branch’’ under my tenure as Chairman to commemorate the critical steps that we took while in office and the many things we dared to do on behalf of our great Association. I am currently the National Executive Committee Representative of the Lion Branch to the National Executive Council of our great Association and sadly the last as a result of the recent amendments to the Constitution of our Association.
In all of these offices or capacities in which I have been privileged to serve our great Association, I have tried to distinguish myself and carry out my duties on behalf of the Bar with great commitment, conviction, dedication, courage and a single mindedness for which our past and present leaders are known.
It is therefore with a great sense of humility, responsibility, retrospection and some form of nervousness that I submit myself as a Candidate for the position of the General Secretary of our great Association.
2.0. THE AGENDA FOR TRANSFORMATION
It has always been my endeavour to collaborate with critical stakeholders of our great Association and others who share our vision to advance a more efficient and vibrant National Secretariat for our great Association, in this regard, I do not only intend to introduce and pioneer contemporary innovations at the National Secretariat but also to consolidate on the various reforms introduced by our past leaders and more importantly to leverage on the giant strides already taken by the present crop of our National Leaders and the ground breaking innovations already introduced by the temporary incumbent of that exalted office, JOYCE ODUAH, ESQ.
In carrying out my duties and responsibilities however and in executing my agenda listed hereunder, I intend to be guided by the omnibus provisions of the NBA Constitution (as Amended).
It is therefore with the greatest sense of honour and privilege that I present to my distinguished Colleagues, my AGENDA OF TRANSFORMATION.
2.1. Swift Production and Delivery of Stamp and Seal, Reduction in the Cost of Procuring NBA Stamps and the long overdue Introduction of the Electronic Stamp Regime
The introduction of the NBA stamp and seal by the Augustine Aleghe led National Executive Council remains a watershed in the history of our great Association, the initiative of which has drastically helped to reduce the incursion of fake lawyers into our August Association, however with the expansion of the frontiers of legal practice into other hitherto uncharted aspects of our law and the mandatory requirement to affix the NBA stamp to all legal documents prepared by lawyers, the need for the speedy production and prompt delivery of stamps to our lawyers has assumed very high degree of paramountcy in legal practice. Happily, the present Administration has broken new grounds with its firm commitment to the production and delivery of stamps to our lawyers in the various Branches across the country.
If elected General Secretary, I will advocate for and work tenaciously with the NBA President to ensure speedier production and delivery of the NBA Stamp and seal to our lawyers, even to the remotest Branches of the NBA wherever they may be in any part of the country. I shall also advocate for a reduction in the cost of procuring the NBA Stamps and an abolishment of the one year expiry date regime. I believe lawyers should apply for the NBA Stamp only when the stamps in their possession are used up or where they voluntarily wishes to add to the stamps in their cache for purposes of exigency. The present practice of compelling lawyers to compulsorily apply for the NBA Stamp yearly even when often times the stamps in their collection are still much is mercantile to say the least and should be discouraged.
It is my determination to advocate for and ensure the introduction of the electronic stamp regime which I consider to be overdue in a digitalized world and in the face of the global pandemic.
2.2 The Establishment of the Legal Assistance and Prisoners Rights Initiative (LAPRI) and the Inauguration of the Office of the Bar Public Defender
It is my determination if elected as General Secretary of the Bar to work with the NBA President and to use my tenure to put in place social advocacy programmes that would be of benefit to the indigent members of our community who cannot afford the services of a legal practitioner. In this regard, I shall work with the NBA President and the National Executive Council of our great Association to establish a Committee of the Bar on LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND PRISONERS RIGHTS INITIATIVE (LAPRI) and to inaugurate the Office of the Bar Public Defender to Head this Committee.
I have already taken these unprecedented steps at the branch level when I was Chairman of the Benin (Lion) Branch of our great Association when in line with my campaign promise and immediately after my swearing-in, I made good my promise to our members by establishing a Committee of the Bar on Legal Assistance and Prisoners Rights Initiative and inaugurated the Office of the Bar Public Defender to head this Committee. I then proceeded to appoint the first Bar Public Defender in the history of our great Association in the person of MATTHIAS OSARENREN OBAYUWANA, ESQ. whose exploits so far has brought so much accolades and respect to the Benin Bar. The Committee is currently handling over three hundred (300) cases pro bono for indigent members of the public and has worked closely and assiduously with the Citizens Rights Department of the State’s Ministry of Justice in the area of representation for members of the public who cannot afford the service of legal practitioners and prison decongestion.
Indeed, because of the work of that Committee on behalf of the Bar, my Office was inundated with commendations from the Office of the erstwhile Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of the State, Human Right Bodies, Prison Officials and other well meaning members of the Civil Society including Criminal Law Experts from the European Union under the auspices of ROLAC.
It is widely believed and rightly so that the inauguration of the Office of the Bar Public Defender, the first of its kind in any of the Bar Branches in the entire country inspired the Government of Edo State to make a proposal to the State House of Assembly for A BILL FOR A LAW TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER, FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE AND FOR CONNECTED PURPOSES in which the Bar played a major role in fashioning out critical sections of the Bill.
It is my desire and passion working closely with the National President of our great Association to replicate this feat at the National Level after all, THIS BAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DEFENDER OF THE PUBLIC AND A VANGUARD OF THE PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT.
I draw inspiration from the dictum of the Learned Justice KAYODE ESO, J.S.C. when he stated succinctly in ARIORI Vs. ELEMO;
‘‘A large majority of our people are economically poor, educationally backward and politically not yet conscious of their rights… it is the duty of the Bar and the Bench to protect their rights against themselves’’.
Understandably and happily, this present crop of National Leaders have blazed the trail in the titanic battle to deploy the Bar as a fearless tool and a necessary check on the ever thickening back of Executive excesses and rascality.
It is my sincere conviction, that even in the face of booming guns and blaring sirens the Bar and the Bench remains the bastion of justice, the last hope of the common man, the path to democracy and the protector of the rights of all and sundry including the Government itself.
2.3 Continuing Legal Education
As we often say in the course of legal practice, ‘‘God forbid that a lawyer should know all the law’’, it is therefore of utmost importance that the learning process in the legal profession is a continuous and rigorous exercise and the continuous improvement of skills through continuing legal education is a sine qua non for any legal practitioner. The reason for this is simple, apart from the traditional areas of our everyday legal practice, there are presently emerging new areas of law opening up new vistas in our legal profession requiring specialized knowledge and skills, it is therefore imperative that our members must constantly improve themselves and upgrade their skills to be able to fit into these new frontiers of law. In this regard, the NBA has a primary role to play in encouraging continuing legal education for the Nigerian Lawyers in line with one of our Association’s principal objectives which is, ‘‘the promotion and advancement of legal education, continuing legal education, advocacy and jurisprudence’’.
Admissibly, the 21st Century has had a global effect on legal practice and made it more competitive amongst lawyers from the various jurisdictions, for our members to be able to hold their own anywhere, continuous legal education becomes necessary and important to advance their knowledge and skills and prepare them for the challenges ahead.
Happily, the present leadership of our great Association has upped the ante in the area of continuing legal education with its continuous legal education series through workshops, seminars and the various webinar series. If elected as the General Secretary of the Bar, I will work with the NBA President to further deepen and entrench continuing and mandatory legal education regime for our members. It is my determination to ensure that the National Secretariat in collaboration with the NBA President and the NBA Committee on Continuing Legal Education will in addition to other programme and seminars sponsor training and education on emerging areas of law, strengthen strategic partnership with various local and foreign institutions in the form of exchange programmes with resource persons and corporate bodies both locally and internationally who offer specialized courses with a view to providing discounted or free courses for our members.
2.4 Creating a Synergy and Deepening ties between the NBA National Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Branches that makes up the NBA
The NBA National Secretariat provides administrative support and services to all Nigerian Lawyers including the Branches, Sections and Fora, it is therefore of utmost importance that there is a synergy between the National Secretariat and the Branches, the Sections and the Fora to make for the seamless working and operations of the wheels of the Administration of the Bar. It is my determination if elected General Secretary of the Bar to deepen the ties between the National Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Branches, Sections and Fora by the establishment of a forum for each of these stakeholders so as to raise the level of interactions and interface with these critical stakeholders of our great Association.
I have been a Branch Secretary and Chairman and understands clearly the disconnect that sometimes exists between the Branches and the National body of our great Association and the feeling of lack of consultation and meddling that sometimes pervades this relationship and so it is my determination if elected to bridge the gap between the National Secretariat and the other Secretariats of the NBA and create a working, sustainable and professional synergy that works for all in the interest of our great Association. In this endeavour, the National Secretariat shall operate openly and transparently in such a way that the activities of the Bar and policy decisions are not viewed as being undertaken by a few or done surreptitiously and under subterfuge. In this regard, the National Secretariat shall constantly relate directly with individual members, law firms, NBA Branches and critical stakeholders in the legal profession in new ways that are beneficial to the Bar and ensure that our policies directly reflect the imputes and aggregate opinion of our members.
2.5 The Long Overdue Establishment of NBA Liaison Offices in the Geo-Political Zones
The Constitution of the NBA supports the establishment of NBA Liaison Offices in other parts of the country other than the FCT, so as to bring the activities and operations of the National Leadership and Secretariat closer to our members who view the National body as a monolithic structure whom they cannot relate with, some of whom have never been to the National Secretariat thereby situating the National Leadership very far from our members.
To make the Secretariat and Leadership more accessible to our teeming members who reside outside the FCT, it is necessary to bring the National Leadership and Secretariat closer to our members outside the FCT. If elected as General Secretary of the Bar, it shall be my endeavour to advocate for and work with the NBA President as well as the NEC of our great Association to establish the NBA Liaison Offices in the States of Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Edo State in the Midwest to reflect the large membership in these States and their proximity to other States.
2.6 Remuneration and Mentorship Scheme for our Young Lawyers
Our young lawyers constitute the future of our great profession and provide hope for continuity and preservation of the finest traditions in our treasurable Association. Besides, apart from other imaginable considerations there are the fundamental and transcendental bonds of affection, friendship and common interest arising from our cognate professional origin. Sir William Holdsworth put it thus in his book, The History of the English Law:
‘‘As college and university are separate entities, and yet closely united, so the judges and sergeants on the one hand, and on the other hand the apprentices of the law in their Inns, were separate bodies, and yet closely welded together by ties of similar education, similar interests and similar pursuits, into one great profession of the law’’.
Our young lawyers however face daunting and humongous challenges in their career in the face of poor and inadequate remuneration, the practical implication of which is that our young lawyers find it extremely difficult to meet up with their basic responsibilities of providing necessaries for themselves like feeding, transportation or paying of house rent including their professional responsibility of paying the Bar Practicing Fees or Branch Dues or paying to attend Conferences and Seminars or to procure fashionable apparels i.e. suits, shoes, wigs and gown, dinner whites, e.t.c.
I note however that this generation of young lawyers are the link between two periods in our history, one of the periods represents the degradation of the values and mores of an otherwise elitist profession as a result of some form of squalor which period has seen everything go away from us like soap bubbles leaving our members empty handed and the other of this great reawakening and a dire need to transcend our present socio-economic and political status.
The path chosen under the present leadership of the NBA for the training and blossoming of our young lawyers has accorded with the profound choices made by New Nigeria for the promotion of our young lawyers, this path will lift them out of the bug of tradition, superstition and customs, it will raise their vision of the world, it will help them to appreciate a multitude of civilization without renouncing their own, it will cultivate their personalities, it will strengthen their qualities and ultimately make up for their inadequacies.
The spirit of our young lawyers are ‘‘like points of light in a broad and peaceful sky’’. If elected, I intend to use the mandate and authority freely given to me by our members to advance the welfare of our young lawyers for their ultimate preservation in the society of man and in the legal profession, after all we are not given authority to advance our own purposes, nor to satisfy our whims and caprices, or to make a great show in the world or a name. There is but just one use of this mandate and authority and it is for the general good of all, it is to serve all and sundry.
If elected, I shall join the NBA President to lead the way for a whole new beginning for our young lawyers by declaring a National Emergency on the issue of poor remuneration and mentorship scheme for our young lawyers. I shall deliberately advocate for and ensure adequate remuneration for our young lawyers and raise the mentorship scheme to a whole new level. It is my determination to become a voice for our young lawyers, I shall in all communications with our young lawyers either formally or informally and at different seminars and foras encourage them to seek for diverse and multiple sources of income so as to be able to meet their obligations.
I have already experimented with this alternative source approach at the level of the Benin Bar where I served as Chairman between 2018 – 2020. Under my encouragement, direction and mentorship, our young lawyers sought for and embraced diverse and multiple sources of income and the results is that their standard of living improved and they were able to acquire new vehicles, rent nice and sometimes luxury apartments and some built their houses and got married because of their improved personal economy, indeed my period as Chairman witnessed the highest number of marriages amongst our young lawyers like never seen before and I encouraged them to look within and inward for spouses and future partners before looking outside which gave rise to the many marriages between our members to the extent that our older members of the Bar who were already married added to what they already had under the economic boom and our members responded by calling me ‘‘Uhunoma (good head) Chairman’’.
I also encouraged our young lawyers and indeed the lawyers of the Benin Branch to dress well by ensuring that their whites, bibs, collars and collarets remained white and neat at all times and that their suits and shoes should create an image of who they are including improving their office settings so that the clients would be in no doubt as to their credit standing and capacity when they charge humongous sums as fees as clients hardly take grimy lawyers seriously or lawyers in grimy offices nor are they inclined to pay them well.
Besides lawyers with dirty bibs, collars, shirts, wigs and gowns hardly become Senior Advocates as the Judges and the Elite of the profession take note of these details and so it shall be my endeavour as General Secretary if elected to advocate and encourage our young lawyers to seek for diverse and multiple sources of income and to always be mindful of their personal hygiene, to always be neat and to ensure that their work space is conducive for the litigants who throng there daily. This will ultimately ensure greater improvement in their economic wellbeing.
2.7. Management of the NBA National Secretariat and Secretariat Reforms
By virtue of Section 8 (5) (e) of the NBA Constitution (as Amended), the General Secretary of the Bar is saddled with the enormous responsibility of managing the NBA Secretariat, the National Secretariat being the engine room of the Association and so in line with international and modern best practices and to make the Secretariat more effective, efficient and responsive to the yearnings of our members, I shall strive for an ICT Based Innovative Secretariat especially in an age where everything is now tech or internet driven and in an era of the information super highway. I shall introduce modern technology into the operations of the NBA by working closely with tech experts to improve on an already ICT driven National Secretariat. I shall seek to achieve global, digital and media standards that will enable the Secretariat organize and conduct media and virtual meetings and conferences not only during Exco or NEC meetings but also with the Executive of the Branches including the domestic and international public. I shall manage the various social media platforms of the Association and ensure the functioning of the Official NBA Call Line to be more responsive and effective whilst operating a 24 hours round the clock service for the benefit of our members as this will facilitate speedy response to our colleagues complaints and enquires and make the Secretariat more accessible to our members who live outside the FCT and overseas.
If elected General Secretary of the Bar, I shall ensure that the ongoing reforms in the Secretariat and the Bar generally are maintained and the temple of reforms and innovation in the Secretariat continues unabated. It shall be my endeavour to maintain and update annually a comprehensive E-Directory of our lawyers spread across all the Branches of the NBA in Nigeria and Overseas and to meticulously keep a roll of our members including an up to date list of the Branches of the Association.
If elected, I will work with the NBA President to professionalize the NBA National Secretariat and reposition it for effective and efficient service delivery to our members and the public by ensuring that staff of the Secretariat undergo regular training and retraining and attend capacity building seminars so as to improve on their existing skills and acquire new one, the practical implication of which will be that the day-to-day operations of the National Secretariat will be handled by skilled, experienced and suitably qualified personnel.
I shall in line with extant provisions of the NBA Constitution (as Amended) tenaciously record and keep the minutes including attendance and summary of decisions taken at the AGM, NEC and other meetings of the Association, I shall also ensure an effective communication and management of our correspondences by ensuring that circulars, letters and other correspondences of the Association are duly written as directed by the NEC and the NBA President and expeditiously dispatched.
If elected, I shall ensure that the windmill of justice grinds steadily and efficiently by ensuring that processes and petitions against professional misconduct are processed speedily, objectively and professionally and to ensure that updated of such petitions are provided to the petitioner’s from time to time through the Legal Department of the NBA.
3.0. CONCLUSION
Conclusively and in line with the justice delivery mantra of the NBA, I believe there is always room for improvement as far as justice delivery is concerned. Consequently, if elected as General Secretary, I shall join the National President of the NBA to urge the Federal and State Governments to sustain the administration of justice in the country by doing the following:-
a. To consider the desirability of making use of mechanical recording equipments and stenographers in court proceedings throughout the country instead of the judge having to take down evidence in long hand. It is gratifying to note that the Supreme Court has already embraced computer technology in its operations.
b. To ensure that the Judge’s library in his chambers either at the court or in his residence is stocked with Law Reports and valuable books and Journals which are updated from time to time so as to facilitate the process of reliable adjudication.
c. To note that the provision of adequate stationery is very vital to the efficiency of the judiciary, hence record books, files, typing papers, stencils, carbon papers, cyclostyling papers, envelopes, correcting fluids etc. must never be in short supply.
d. To see to it that court buildings are properly maintained and that they are well furnished and kept clean not only for the comfort of the Judges and their staff but also for the comfort of the litigants, witnesses and the audience who come to watch court proceedings.
e. To provide each Judge with a well furnished residence so as to ensure his full relaxation after the usual energy sapping and brain exhausting judicial sittings. Standby generators should be provided in the Judge’s Quarters because of frequent power failure.
f. To provide road worthy and regularly serviced official cars for all Judges and other categories of judicial officers so as to ensure their mobility and comfort in the discharge of their duties.
g. To guarantee adequate police protection in their offices and their residence because of the very delicate nature of their assignments.
h. To provide full health care facilities for all Judges and other categories of judicial officers and in particular to subject them to regular periodic medical checkup because of the nature and demands of their jobs.
i. To constantly ensure that the salaries paid to Judges and other categories of judicial officers are always adequate to sustain them and their families bearing in mind the rapidly changing economic realities of our country thereby removing any possible temptation of their receiving bribes or other forms of gratification.
On their own path, the Nigerian Judges must not rest on their oars but must be faithful worshippers in the temple of justice by bearing in mind the following:
a. To know that a truly independent judiciary depends on the intellectual caliber and the quality of character of the Bar from which the Judges are drawn.
b. To agree that Judges should be able to catch up with the dynamics of our ever changing society by continuous legal education bearing in mind the famous words in the Old Justinian Institute “Ignorantia Judicis est Calamitas Innocientis” (The Ignorance of the Judge is the calamity of the innocent).
c. That a Judge should not use his power to punish for contempt to suppress methods of advocacy after all the lawyer and the judge are co-worshippers in the temple of justice.
d. We are constantly guided by the famous statement of Lord Denning who has said inter alia in his book, The Road To Justice: ‘‘It is no use having laws if they are administered unfairly by bad Judges or corrupt lawyers. A country can put up with laws that are harsh or unjust so long as they are administered by just Judges who can mitigate their harshness or alleviate their unfairness’’.
e. To be guided by the Biblical Injunction in the Fifth Book of Moses called Deuteronomy where Judges and Lawyers have been directed as follows ‘‘Thou shalt not wrest Judgment, thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous’’.
My desire and vision to serve the Bar cannot be actualized without the overwhelming support of our members. It is in the circumstances that I respectfully and with the greatest sense of humility ask for your support and the opportunity to serve the Bar as GENERAL SECRETARY so that together and with you as our Association’s guides, philosophers and friends we can actualize these plans for our treasurable Association.
OGIEGBAEN, CALLISTUS BENSON, A.I.C.M.C.
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