*Says “I Did Not Seek This Office Simply To Make History, I Sought It To Make A Difference”.. — Unveils Agenda As 33rd NBA President
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The newly inaugurated President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has vowed to sanction lawyers who use abusive or insulting language against their colleagues on social media, warning that they will face public disciplinary proceedings.
She spoke on Friday in her inaugural address at the close of the 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, having taken over the leadership of the Association from Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, as its 33rd President.
Badejo-Okusanya said her administration would have little tolerance for professional misconduct, particularly where lawyers engage in offensive exchanges over political differences, noting that the conduct of some practitioners online had become a source of concern to the public and to the profession.
“Such lawyers will be subjected to public proceedings for bringing us all into disrepute in the eyes of the public, who look up to us and are increasingly aghast, as all right-thinking colleagues are, at the type of language that lawyers employ on social media against other colleagues, all in the name of politics,” she said.
She added: “So, we’re coming after you.”
On the judiciary, the new President pledged to defend its independence while insisting on improvements in the administration of justice.
“We will defend judicial independence, but we will not be indifferent to delay, conflicting decisions, corruption, or conduct that diminishes public confidence,” she said. “Respect for institutions does not require silence about their shortcomings. True respect requires the courage to help them.”
She added: “We will support the Bench while insisting on the integrity and efficiency of the justice system.”
On the Association’s relationship with government, she said her administration would engage constructively but would not allow the body to become an instrument of any government, political party, region, religion, interest group or individual, and that its loyalty would remain with the Constitution, justice, the rule of law and its members.
“We will collaborate where collaboration advances the public good. We will challenge where challenge becomes necessary. And above all, we will act with facts, fairness, discipline, and boldness,” she said.
Speaking after her inauguration, Badejo-Okusanya said her administration would be guided by the principle of “members first, always,” and that her decision to seek the presidency was not merely about becoming the first woman elected to lead the Association.
“I did not seek this office simply to make history. I sought it to make a difference,” she said. “This mandate is not a prize to be possessed but a trust to be discharged.”
Addressing the divisions arising from the keenly contested election, she extended an olive branch to her fellow candidates.
“I will be President not only of those who voted for me but of every member of the Nigerian Bar Association. The Bar remains my constituency,” she said.
She added: “There are no victims and no vanquished in the NBA. There is only one Bar, one profession, and one shared responsibility to leave the Bar stronger than we met it.”
She said she had reviewed the manifestos of the other candidates and would adopt ideas she considered beneficial. “Where we adopt them, I will not hesitate to acknowledge their source, and give credit where it’s due,” she said.
The new President said the economic welfare of lawyers, particularly young practitioners, would be a major priority.
She said the Association would intensify efforts to ensure compliance with the Legal Practitioners Remuneration Order, and would engage the Attorney-General of the Federation on measures to strengthen its implementation.
“The NBA must take responsibility for pushing the message that the Remuneration Order must be complied with. Our members deserve fair compensation for their work,” she said.
She announced plans to provide members with highly subsidised access to electronic law reports, as part of measures to reduce the cost of practice and improve access to professional resources, and pledged to revive the NBA Affinity Card, which she said would provide discounts on services including airlines, hotels, supermarkets and pharmacies.
Badejo-Okusanya promised to modernise the National Secretariat and to deploy technology to make interactions between lawyers and the Association easier.
“Technology must simplify membership, not frustrate it,” she said.
She said her administration would focus on equipping lawyers for emerging and rapidly evolving areas of practice, including artificial intelligence, digital commerce, data protection, energy transition and cross-border legal services, arguing that the Bar must prepare its members to remain competitive as technology and new business models reshape the profession.
She also promised to improve opportunities for young lawyers through access to quality learning and professional development across the country, to strengthen the Association’s response to members’ concerns, to empower branches, to promote transparency in appointments, and to strengthen disciplinary measures against professional misconduct.
The President announced that the 2027 Annual General Conference will be held in Abuja, with preparations commencing immediately and the theme and composition of the planning committee to be announced later.
“The work starts now. We will gather there not merely for another conference, but to take stock of our progress, deepen our knowledge, strengthen our bonds, and prepare us all for the future of legal practice,” she said.
Acknowledging that previous leaderships had made promises that were not always fulfilled, she invited members to hold her administration to account.
“I don’t ask you for blind faith. I ask you to hold us to account,” she said. “Our administration will consolidate what works, repair what doesn’t, and build what the future demands.”
She said she was called to the Bar in 2002, described her emergence as another stage in the succession of leadership within the Association, and paid tribute to her predecessor and to previous administrations, signalling that she would build on existing foundations rather than discard them.
She expressed the hope that her election would create opportunities for others. “By the grace of God, I will not be the last woman to occupy this office,” she said.
Setting out the measure by which she asked to be judged, the President said the symbolism of her emergence was not the point.
“When our tenure ends, may it not be said merely that a woman became president. May it be said that the Bar became better; that lawyers became protected and empowered,” she said.
“May it be said that we restored faith in what collective professional leadership can achieve. May it be said that we helped our members earn better, live better, and practise better. May it be said that we put members first and we delivered. May it be said that we left the association stronger than we met it.”
She added: “We will build a bolder Bar that helps lawyers earn better, live better, and practise better.”
She closed with a call to the membership. “The time for action is now. The work begins today. Let us build it together.”
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