As the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) gets set to elect a new leadership, there is a need for members of the most honourable and most respectable profession to think about not only restoring the dignity of the legal profession in Nigeria but taking it to a new height.
According to John Maxwell, everything rises and falls with leadership. Every voter must reflect on the state of affairs in the profession and our dear country today. We must tell ourselves the truth that making wrong choices of leadership has brought us to where we are today as a profession and as a country.
Erojikwe, who is currently the Chairman of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) of the NBA, is a leader that can be trusted. His impact has been felt not only as a transformational leader but also as a servant leader. His competence and capacity have now been confirmed by all and sundry.
A man who can revive an almost comatose ICLE, organise seminars and webiners free of charge by reputable practitioners, judges and academics to improve the knowledge of lawyers and enhance their law practice and financial earnings is worthy to be supported by all to serve.
The NBA is a major stakeholder in the dispensation of justice, upholding constitutional democracy and rule of law. It’s also a beacon of hope for the ordinary Nigerian.
The NBA must have as its leader someone who like Ceasars wife should be above board. NBA must return to the days of Alao Aka Bashorun when the NBA had an activist legacy policy geared towards a just, fair and progressive society where NBA was the voice of the oppressed and voice-less.We do not want an NBA leader that has baggages that would not allow him to speak out for the good of Nigeria when necessary.
We want an NBA leadership that has empathy for young lawyers and can carry them along. We want an NBA leader who has a long history of excellence and is humble, approachable, and innovative. We want an NBA president who can unite the Bar.
We want an NBA leadership that every lawyer, every judge, and even members of the public can be proud of. That leader is Tobenna Erojikwe a who is a man of candour and excellence.
He comes with a simple, clear, impactful, achievable three point core agenda;
(1) Promoting empowerment, capacity building, welfare, inclusion, and equity for our members.
(2) Restoring the dignity of the Nigerian Bar by insisting on adherence to the rule of law at all times and advocating for a more efficient justice delivery system.
(3) Advancing structural reforms, administration, and governance initiatives by implementing already existing NBA reports and frameworks on these subjects.
We expect lawyers to vote with the fear of God. A vote for Tobenna Erojikwe is a vote to make NBA great again.
— Okeke writes from Abuja.
Gatekeepers News is not liable for opinions expressed in this article, they’re strictly the writer’s
