Nigerian Lawyers Cannot Afford Compromised Bar – Prof. Oyebode
Trained in both the former Soviet Union and the United States, as well as in Canada, Prof. Akin Oyebode, the retired Professor of International Law at the University of Lagos, as expressed apprehension over the present situation of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
In his opinion on the current state of the NBA, and what agenda the incoming administration should set to save the Bar from its present quagmire, Oyebode said, “As a law teacher for over 40 years, I think we deserve a better Association than what we are getting today.”
Speaking with Newswire correspondent at his home in Lekki, Victoria Island, Lagos on the issues radiating around the forthcoming NBA Election, Prof. Oyebode said election into the executive of the NBA have become a bazaar; it is the highest bidder that gets the goods. To become President of the association, you need a lot of money.
It has nothing to do with your potentials or your promises. It’s being heavily financed because the NBA has a powerful voice in the affairs of the country.
I know from reading newspaper reports that one (Arthur Obi) Okafor, SAN is the front-runner. One Paul Usoro is also in the running, and other candidates. And even the young man that was disqualified. But from my own experience, the NBA is no longer what it used to be – certainly not like when Alao Aka-Bashorun was President. Chairman Mao was his nickname; he was something of a follower of Chinese communism. Also, the late J. O. B. Omotosho in Ibadan. They imbibed radical tendencies, which they brought to bear on the outlook of the NBA.
Now, Gani (Fawehinmi, SAN) is gone, and the likes of Femi Falana, SAN are doing their best to fill his shoes. But there aren’t many committed radicals in the Bar. So, like the rest of society, the Nigerian Bar is witnessing an end to ideology. People vote for you based on your clout, financially speaking.
Someone said that a people get the leadership they deserve. I guess one would say the NBA will get the Presidency they deserve.
The truth, though, is that the Bar has a long history, so every age, every period, will throw up the leader for that period. Though I’m not an active or activist member of the Bar, I wish the bar well, because we cannot afford a Bar that is compromised and cannot stand for the truth, and cannot engage the powers that be in the country on the issues that affect the people.
So it will be precipitate to volunteer an opinion as to who should be elected into the next executive, or what its agenda should be.
