At its 56th Annual General Conference held in Port Harcourt recently, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud SAN was sworn in as the new President of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA), a group of lawyers whose interest is to professionalise law and use same to promote the development of Nigeria.
The emergence of the senior lawyer as the 28th president of the association was not on a platter of gold because the election result was close to call between Mahmoud and another astute legal mind, JK Gadzama.
Although the election result is still being challenged at the court by the Gadzama group,observers are of the opinion that the new president is not a Lilliput in the bar having used his productive life to practice law and campaign vigorously for just and egalitarian society.
They also said the new president is armed with formidable credentials and service record which will enable him steer the ship of the NBA in the next two years
Already, Mahmoud has extended olive branch to his rivals in the last election to join hands with him in the arduous task of frontally tackling the challenges besetting the practice of law as well as taking the profession to another level.
In his acceptance speech, Mahmoud promised that his administration will pursue the overall national interest
Besides, Mahmoud’s victory at the election could not have come at a better time now when the nation is on the economic and political threshold and current government struggling to evolve a paradigm shift in governance through its campaign of change mantra.
Although his predecessors tried in their capacity to change the face of legal practice through proactive policies,there is still much to be desired in the profession as some members of the bar seem not to be on the same page with the change agenda blowing across the nation.
The practice of torrents of court injunctions and prayers for court orders by the members of the bar also remain some of the low points of the legal practice which pitched it against institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC).
To some Nigerians, the ‘learned men’ are not doing enough to use their knowledge to advance the progress of Nigeria and have derailed from the injunctions laid out to them on how best to employ their knowledge of the law by the first Nigerian lawyer, Chief Sapara Williams.
The new president of NBA, who may not claim ignorance of some of the ill of the profession in the country, obviously has a duty to nip them in the bud and return the association to the era of Chief Alao Aka Bashorun’s administration when the NBA was a formidable force to be reckon with in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in his congratulatory message to the new NBA’s helmsman, urged him to use his vast experience in private practice and public service, garnered over the years, to build on the legacies of his predecessor and contribute to reforms across the country.
“As the new executive settles down to work, the President looks forward to having a strong and sustainable relationship with the leaders, especially in jointly tackling the challenges currently facing the nation. “He prays that the Almighty God will grant the new NBA executive the wisdom to realise their vision for the association and the country.”
Besides, the Society for Global Justice and Equity Promotion has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to caution lawyers against filing multiplicity of suits on the same issues which could make mockery of the nation’s judiciary.
The group’s Deputy National Coordinator, Mr. Jolayemi Adekunle, said from their findings, lawyers could not be absolved from the blame in the conflicting vedicts because they were the ones who presented different facts to courts on the same issue to confuse judges
“We have found that some lawyers engaged in the unwholesome practice of arranging someone loyal to their clients to appear as a representative of the adverse party in order to mislead the courts into thinking that the proper adverse party has been served
“We are calling on the NBA President, Mallam Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud to summon a meeting of the General Council of the bar to address these issues raised by this unwholesome practice.In the main, the NBA should encourage lawyers to advise their clients properly and avoid a situation where lawyers would allow politicians to manipulate the courts for their selfish end’’
A Lagos lawyer, Barrister Anthony Anthony urged the president to look into the issues of high fees of registration for young lawyers in view of the economic situation of the country,
“The president should do something about the stamp, at least it should last for two to three years instead of yearly. This is so because the law profession isn’t lucrative as before again,’’,he added
Barrister Steve Adaramoye, Adaramoye urged the NBA president not should not shirk his responsibility from addressing the position whenever the government is going amiss.
He said: “The NBA president e should not shirk his responsibility to join the NJC to bring to book any erring member of the society. Importantly, he should join hands with NJC to ensure that there are right people at the bench. Some judges are not living according to the judicial oath. It is incumbent that he ensures judges live up the oath of that office. Whenever there is radical fundamental departure from the oath of the office, by those on the bench, he should be able to address it.”
Another Lagos based lawyer, Barrister Ebunoluwa Eleanor Ogunbayo, urged the new president should create an enabling environment for law graduates to encourage them practice through improved salaries
The new NBA president, he said should also take disciplinary measures against members who flout professional rules of practice are grossly inadequate in the judiciary.
He said: “Opening of too many small law firms, where a lawyer is a jack of trades enables him gets involved in all forms of practice without any special area of specialisation. This should be discouraged.
Lawyers should be professionally motivated. They should encouraged financially, encouraged to practice and attend workshops and conferences’’.
To Barrister Peace Akinbade, the new NBA president and his team should use their position to ensure upgrade of court facilities.
He said: “Young lawyers just like graduates should be made to undergo compulsory tutelage during their formative years. They should be encouraged to learn. The young lawyers should be properly equipped to encourage them to practice.’’
There is no doubt that the new president of the NBA and his team have a daunting task ahead of them. The earlier they swing into action to fix some of the ills afflicting the bar and chart a new path for the noble profession,the better for the image of the nation’s judiciary and other arms of government to work assiduously for the growth and development of Nigeria.
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