The elections into offices of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) will be held this July.
The Eastern Bar Forum, an association that is not recognised by
the constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association has been throwing
itself about like a severed tail of a wall gecko that willbecome
famished sooner or later from its struggles.
The Association has embarked on a massivemisinformationof
Lawyers in a desperate bid to gain relevance after the new NBA
constitution relegated its powers to the thrash can of NBA
politics.
Lately, they have deployed coercion after their messy adoption
scheme sank before it sailed to the rocks that were supposed to
sink it all the same. This is evident in the latest article
released by Azebi Bobobraye a sympathizer and member of EBF
titled. “Lawyers must respect Eastern Bar’s Adoption
Practice”
It is unfortunate that the Eastern Bar Forum is still holding on
to the past. A past where the Nigerian Bar Association
conducts its election by undemocratic system of delegate election
where only a chosen few decide who leads Africa’s biggest Bar
Association. A past where Presidents emerge by mere adoption by a
regional group and everyone falls into line for fear of
victimization. A past that separated lawyers from their
affairs. A past that was brutish, archaic, barbaric, nasty,
uncivilized and undemocratic. A past no right thinking lawyer will
relish except those who benefited from it. A past where the
EBF and their likes had de facto possession of the NBA while other
lawyers had de jure interest.
Then in 2015, the New NBA constitution rolled in like a
bulldozer and cleared the jungle, making all lawyers stakeholders
in their affairs. Lawyers subsequently took both de jure and de
facto possession of what rightly belonged to them. The EBF
and its likes lost control and fled. Fortunately, like a
displaced rebel group, they have regrouped. They have been firing
shots from exile but unfortunately, their shots have hit no target
and will never do.
The Nigerian Bar Association has zoned the 2018 – 2020
presidency to the East which constitutes Abia, Anambra, Akwa ibom,
Bayelsa, Cross-river, Enugu, Ebonyi and River state. The
Eastern Bar Forum, in a brazen show of power, appointed
itself an arbiter over who gets elected from the region. In
furtherance of their agenda, they organized a charade in Port
Harcourt and adopted a candidate hoping that about a hundred
thousand lawyers across Nigeria will comply. It obviously
won’t happen.
The adoption was indeed comical as lawyers began to wonder if
this group wanted to stop the election by imposing one person on
the generality of lawyers. The damage could have been easier
to control if that was their only voyage but they further delved
into a greedy and selfish interpretation of the second schedule
2.2(c) of the NBA constitution. This is one thing that will
become their Achilles heel.
The second schedule 2.2(c) of the NBA constitution provides that
the geographical Zone that produces the president of the
Association shall produce the Vice President.
It was pursuant to this provision that the current president of
the NBA from Kano emerged as president and Caleb Dajan from Plateau
emerged from the same zone.
In the case of Eastern Bar Forum, they advanced an argument that
since they adopted a candidate from the core east, therefore the
Vice should come from the Core East. They took ALL and adopted
another candidate from Imo state for the position of Vice President
unapologetically excluding the candidate from Akwa Ibom – Cross
River who showed interest to run as Vice President. Many
lawyers are of the view that such an action lacked tact.
Yes it lacked tact. The Cross River/Akwa Ibom part of the
East is the only part that is yet to produce an NBA
President. They have made a case for their region but the
Eastern Bar Forum has turned their back on them.
One would have thought that the EBF would have been more
tactical the way the North did it but lack of tact took a better
part of them which is evident in the list of other positons they
adopted. They adopted only Core eastern lawyers for all the
positions the constitution of the NBA did not zone to any
particular zone which were free for all except for one person who
practices in Anambra state. This is brazen and without due
regard to whatever interest other lawyers from other parts of the
country may have. No position was left for horse trading. It
was a display of poor knowledge of political arithmetic. This
action has kept other lawyers across the country on alert. It
has also made them apprehensive of what the real plans of EBF
are.
At the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Ilorin
on the 1st of March, 2018, many lawyers across the country
expressed their disdain over the selfish adoption and wondered if
the EBF wanted to turn the NBA to a Town Union Association.
They were visibly disturbed.
In all these, Paul Usoro, the only candidate from outside the
core Eastern state is emerging as a candidate with National appeal.
A man every lawyer regardless of region can trust. At the NEC
meeting, many lawyers from Western and Northern Nigeria angry with
the selfish adoption of all positions by the EBF openly declared
their support for Paul Usoro. This undoubtedly will add to
the Achilles heel of EBF.
Paul Usoro’s declaration of intention to run for the position of
the NBA presidency unsettled some of the candidates who declared
before him. His declaration was met with a hostile resistance
by the supporters of some of the candidate who started throwing
muds at him by misrepresenting and concocting scandalous narratives
to stop him but instead of succumbing, Mr. Usoro rose with the tide
to the admiration of his opponents who are beginning to loose
disciples to him.
Scandals, fake news and misrepresentation of facts are not new
in the NBA elections. In fact, it has become one of the
indicators for predicting who the next NBA president will be.
In the 2010 election, news broke out that JB Daudu was anti
human right and he partook in the sentencing of Late Saro
Wiwa. It shook his campaign but he won.
In 2012 another scandal bordering on the Federal Government
funding Okey Wali’s election trended. Voters were made to believe
that even the state government in River State moved funds from the
treasury to support the election. The circumstances of his short
stint as Attorney General of Rivers State came to focus in an
unfriendly manner. Okey Wali won. (That election will remain one of
the most expensive elections in the history of the NBA).
In 2014 election, information about Austin Alegeh’s involvement
with James Ibori and the rumour that EFCC was investigating him
started trending. Austin Alegeh won.
In 2016 election, the Pfizer scandal in Northern Nigeria that
happened years ago resurfaced. AB Mahmond won.
The 2018 election has come with its own share of the
scandal. Lawyers are watching as history is set to do the
needful.
This will be the 2nd time the new order introduced by the
2015 constitution will be put to test.
In 2016 election, an adopted candidate failed the election for
the first since post crises NBA. The reason is simple. The
universal suffrage that came with the constitution killed the
potency of adoption.
In this year’s election, the Eastern Bar Forum has adopted a
candidate but progressive lawyers across the country are working
hard to keep their ship on troubled waters to maintain the
new order; the order of freedom and liberty.
In my view, there is a high likelihood of success in favour of
the new order upon which the foundation of the legal profession
anchors.
Anthony Atata writes and Documents the NBA
The elections into offices of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) will be held this July.
The Eastern Bar Forum, an association that is not recognised by
the constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association has been throwing
itself about like a severed tail of a wall gecko that willbecome
famished sooner or later from its struggles.
The Association has embarked on a massivemisinformationof
Lawyers in a desperate bid to gain relevance after the new NBA
constitution relegated its powers to the thrash can of NBA
politics.
Lately, they have deployed coercion after their messy adoption
scheme sank before it sailed to the rocks that were supposed to
sink it all the same. This is evident in the latest article
released by Azebi Bobobraye a sympathizer and member of EBF
titled. “Lawyers must respect Eastern Bar’s Adoption
Practice”
It is unfortunate that the Eastern Bar Forum is still holding on
to the past. A past where the Nigerian Bar Association
conducts its election by undemocratic system of delegate election
where only a chosen few decide who leads Africa’s biggest Bar
Association. A past where Presidents emerge by mere adoption by a
regional group and everyone falls into line for fear of
victimization. A past that separated lawyers from their
affairs. A past that was brutish, archaic, barbaric, nasty,
uncivilized and undemocratic. A past no right thinking lawyer will
relish except those who benefited from it. A past where the
EBF and their likes had de facto possession of the NBA while other
lawyers had de jure interest.
Then in 2015, the New NBA constitution rolled in like a
bulldozer and cleared the jungle, making all lawyers stakeholders
in their affairs. Lawyers subsequently took both de jure and de
facto possession of what rightly belonged to them. The EBF
and its likes lost control and fled. Fortunately, like a
displaced rebel group, they have regrouped. They have been firing
shots from exile but unfortunately, their shots have hit no target
and will never do.
The Nigerian Bar Association has zoned the 2018 – 2020
presidency to the East which constitutes Abia, Anambra, Akwa ibom,
Bayelsa, Cross-river, Enugu, Ebonyi and River state. The
Eastern Bar Forum, in a brazen show of power, appointed
itself an arbiter over who gets elected from the region. In
furtherance of their agenda, they organized a charade in Port
Harcourt and adopted a candidate hoping that about a hundred
thousand lawyers across Nigeria will comply. It obviously
won’t happen.
The adoption was indeed comical as lawyers began to wonder if
this group wanted to stop the election by imposing one person on
the generality of lawyers. The damage could have been easier
to control if that was their only voyage but they further delved
into a greedy and selfish interpretation of the second schedule
2.2(c) of the NBA constitution. This is one thing that will
become their Achilles heel.
The second schedule 2.2(c) of the NBA constitution provides that
the geographical Zone that produces the president of the
Association shall produce the Vice President.
It was pursuant to this provision that the current president of
the NBA from Kano emerged as president and Caleb Dajan from Plateau
emerged from the same zone.
In the case of Eastern Bar Forum, they advanced an argument that
since they adopted a candidate from the core east, therefore the
Vice should come from the Core East. They took ALL and adopted
another candidate from Imo state for the position of Vice President
unapologetically excluding the candidate from Akwa Ibom – Cross
River who showed interest to run as Vice President. Many
lawyers are of the view that such an action lacked tact.
Yes it lacked tact. The Cross River/Akwa Ibom part of the
East is the only part that is yet to produce an NBA
President. They have made a case for their region but the
Eastern Bar Forum has turned their back on them.
One would have thought that the EBF would have been more
tactical the way the North did it but lack of tact took a better
part of them which is evident in the list of other positons they
adopted. They adopted only Core eastern lawyers for all the
positions the constitution of the NBA did not zone to any
particular zone which were free for all except for one person who
practices in Anambra state. This is brazen and without due
regard to whatever interest other lawyers from other parts of the
country may have. No position was left for horse trading. It
was a display of poor knowledge of political arithmetic. This
action has kept other lawyers across the country on alert. It
has also made them apprehensive of what the real plans of EBF
are.
At the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Ilorin
on the 1st of March, 2018, many lawyers across the country
expressed their disdain over the selfish adoption and wondered if
the EBF wanted to turn the NBA to a Town Union Association.
They were visibly disturbed.
In all these, Paul Usoro, the only candidate from outside the
core Eastern state is emerging as a candidate with National appeal.
A man every lawyer regardless of region can trust. At the NEC
meeting, many lawyers from Western and Northern Nigeria angry with
the selfish adoption of all positions by the EBF openly declared
their support for Paul Usoro. This undoubtedly will add to
the Achilles heel of EBF.
Paul Usoro’s declaration of intention to run for the position of
the NBA presidency unsettled some of the candidates who declared
before him. His declaration was met with a hostile resistance
by the supporters of some of the candidate who started throwing
muds at him by misrepresenting and concocting scandalous narratives
to stop him but instead of succumbing, Mr. Usoro rose with the tide
to the admiration of his opponents who are beginning to loose
disciples to him.
Scandals, fake news and misrepresentation of facts are not new
in the NBA elections. In fact, it has become one of the
indicators for predicting who the next NBA president will be.
In the 2010 election, news broke out that JB Daudu was anti
human right and he partook in the sentencing of Late Saro
Wiwa. It shook his campaign but he won.
In 2012 another scandal bordering on the Federal Government
funding Okey Wali’s election trended. Voters were made to believe
that even the state government in River State moved funds from the
treasury to support the election. The circumstances of his short
stint as Attorney General of Rivers State came to focus in an
unfriendly manner. Okey Wali won. (That election will remain one of
the most expensive elections in the history of the NBA).
In 2014 election, information about Austin Alegeh’s involvement
with James Ibori and the rumour that EFCC was investigating him
started trending. Austin Alegeh won.
In 2016 election, the Pfizer scandal in Northern Nigeria that
happened years ago resurfaced. AB Mahmond won.
The 2018 election has come with its own share of the
scandal. Lawyers are watching as history is set to do the
needful.
This will be the 2nd time the new order introduced by the
2015 constitution will be put to test.
In 2016 election, an adopted candidate failed the election for
the first since post crises NBA. The reason is simple. The
universal suffrage that came with the constitution killed the
potency of adoption.
In this year’s election, the Eastern Bar Forum has adopted a
candidate but progressive lawyers across the country are working
hard to keep their ship on troubled waters to maintain the
new order; the order of freedom and liberty.
In my view, there is a high likelihood of success in favour of
the new order upon which the foundation of the legal profession
anchors.
Anthony Atata writes and Documents the NBA