Suspension Of NBA Ikeja YLF Chairman: YLF Needs Ezekiel Bodunde By Olatunji Atoyebi

It is no longer news that Ezekiel O.  Bodunde, the NBA
Ikeja Young Lawyers Forum Chairman was suspended by the NBA Ikeja
Branch Chairman, Mr. Dele Oloke. Much ink has been spilled on the
matter and the facts are in the public domain.

I am not a member of NBA Ikeja YLF but the impact of this action
by the leadership of the NBA Ikeja has touched the souls of every
young lawyer in Nigeria. Is this the empowerment we were promised
when you campaigned for elections? Is this how to treat a
disadvantaged member of the legal community? If this how to protect
young lawyers?

All NBA Executives take an oath to uphold the Constitution of
the Nigerian Bar Association. It appears that many Lawyers have
either forgotten or are not aware of the purpose for which the NBA
exists. Section 3 (1) (b) of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended)
provides that the NBA shall engage in the “Promotion and
advancement of Legal Education, Continuing Legal Education,
Advocacy and Jurisprudence.”

To put this in proper perspective, the brouhaha in Ikeja is over
a Continuing Legal Education program organized by the YLF! This
event would add value to all young lawyers within the branch. Is
that not the core function of the YLF? According to the erudite Law
Lord, Niki Tobi, JSC (as he then was) in Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
& Ors v Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua “This is one thing that
will make the Hausa man, exclaim haba!”

Let’s tell ourselves the truth, the NBA is a mirror of our
larger society. Unless we have a paradigm shift, we will face the
music, not the future. Our leaders and elders need to embrace
innovation instead of seeing novelty and advancement as
insubordination and a power tussle. The world is moving forward and
leaving us behind. It is no coincidence that the most innovative
NBA branches which are under attack by the same backwards-thinking
mentality- I am talking of NBA Abuja and Ikorodu- and the national
NBA isn’t doing anything to protect the leadership of these two
Branches. No one is fooled, the world is watching.

I am in no way advocating for wanton disregard for laid down
Branch Regulations but methinks that in this case, the YLF ought to
have been given the benefit of the doubt. Even the Good Book in
Prov. 23:23 says “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also
wisdom, and instruction, and understanding”.

True empowerment involves delegation and independence. Young
Lawyers Forum as a fora established and recognized by the NBA
Constitution should enjoy some autonomy from the Branch. I humbly
implore the Executive Chairman of NBA Ikeja Branch reinstate the
suspended YLF Chairman.

When someone charged the renowned General Ulysses S. Grant, in
the President’s hearing, with drinking too much liquor, President
Abraham Lincoln, recalling Gen. Grant’s successes, said that if he
could find out what brand of whisky Gen. Grant drank, he would send
a barrel of it to all the other commanders.

You don’t need to be Abraham Lincoln to know that YLF needs
Ezekiel Bodunde! We need more young lawyers like Bodunde who
recognize that mental poverty is Africa’s biggest problem. Mr.
Bodunde, you are always welcome in Abuja.

I salute our leaders, Afam Osigwe, Desmond Yamah, Ezenwa Anumnu
and current Chairman of the NBA Abuja Branch, Folarin Aluko for
their unflinching support for young lawyers. God bless you.

Olatunji Atoyebi is the NBA Abuja (Unity Bar)
YLF Chairman.

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