By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

We are moving away from the slogan of ‘the largest gathering of lawyers anywhere in the world’ and aspiring to be ‘the world’s most enlightened lawyers.”

Those were the precise words of the outgoing National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, SAN, while flagging-off the 52ndannual general conference of the association which began in Abuja on Monday.

The conference which had the theme “Nigeria as Emerging Market: Redefining Our Laws and Politics for Growth,” witnessed a low turnout of legal practitioners owing to varying factor ranging from internal crisis within the NBA fold, as well as alleged astronomical hike of conference fees by the outgoing national executives of the legal body.

Remarkably, by the end of the 5-days conference tomorrow, Daudu, SAN, will hands-off the reins of leadership of the NBA, just as Chief Okey Wali, SAN, takes over as the 26thnational President of the umbrella body of legal practitioners in Nigeria.

That the July 17, 2012, election that saw the emergence of Wali, SAN as president of the NBA, has continued to create disaffection and misgivings within a segment of the association are no longer news.

However, the onus is now on the incoming administration of the NBA to work assiduously with a view to stemming internal wrangling threatening to tear the legal body apart.

Aside the issue of alleged high-handedness by the outgoing national officers of the NBA, it is equally incumbent on the Chief Wali led executives to look into those complaints that led lawyers to carry placards in protest against the Abuja conference.

Even the presence of President Goodluck Jonathan at the event was not enough to deter the protesters who barricaded the entrance to the venue where they sang and danced while the opening session lasted.

Paramount among their complaints was the issue of “high and unreasonable conference fees” which according to Chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the NBA, Mr Onyekachi Ubani, who led the protest, was antithetical to the raison d’être behind such annual convention.

According to them, unlike what obtained in the past, lawyers of 1-5 years at the Bar were compelled to pay between N20-25, 000, 6-10 years paid N30-35, 000, 11-14 years, paid N40-45,000, 15-20 years, paid N50-55, 000, above 20 years, N70-75, 000, SAN/Attorney General’s / Benchers, paid N150, 000, judges, N75, 000, Magistrate, N50, 000, while Governors, Legislators and political office holders paid N200, 000.00  respectively to attend the Abuja conference, transportation, accommodation and feeding not included .

Some of the placards brandished by the protesting lawyers who called for the immediate probe of the outgoing NBA leadership over alleged financial recklessness, read: “NBA is not a Plc”, “No to arbitrary and oppressive Bar conference fee”, “NBA is not a commercial venture,” among several others.

Besides, majority of the delegates who paid the said fees, including SANs, were also shut out of the International Conference Center, ICC, whilst the opening ceremony of the conference lasted, a situation that further fuelled the protests, with some of them making demands for a refund.

The conference was such that after a rigorous accreditation process, delegates converged at the old parade ground which is about a kilometer from the venue, where they entered a coaster bus that conveyed them into the ICC. A process the protesting lawyers described as highly unreasonable.

Nevertheless, commenting on the unusual low turnout of lawyers at the event, the outgoing NBA President, Daudu said the registration by just about 3000 legal practitioners was an indication that the association was moving forward.

Daudu said: “to achieve this; Nigerian lawyers must embrace reform in thematic areas ranging from the quality of legal education to the quality of legal practice. Reform in the sense conceptualized by the Bar is not limited to electing national or branch officers alone, it is not a political matter, and it is a serious economic issue that concerns the well-being and economic potentialities of every lawyer.

“When I became the president of this great association, part of the platform on which I was elected was to improve the financial well-being of the Nigerian lawyer. It was apparent that all has not been well with the following key areas that touch on our professional livelihood; (a) our criminal justice system, (b) the quality of legal services provided by us, (c) the influx of a large number of fake lawyers, (d) the mechanism for enforcing discipline, (e) slow legal proceedings, (f) poor economic environment, (g) corruption in the system, among a few of the factors that require immediate attention from each and every one of us i.e. lawyers.

“The AGC is a congregation of lawyers gathered together for the serious business of deliberating on the future of the legal profession and the nation at large. It is not just a fulfillment of an annual convention for reunion and merriment,” he added.

In his own speech, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, who noted that Mr Wali, SAN, “is assuming office at a very challenging period, when our Association and indeed, the entire nation is in dire need of reform in many critical areas,” further decried what he called “the declining ethical standards in our profession.”

Adoke said: “I am sad to observe that some members of our profession have jettisoned the cherished values and traditions for which the Bar was greatly admired. Today, members of our profession are engaged in unwholesome conducts such as ambulance chasing, hijacking of cases/acting on behalf of clients without instruction, arguing their cases in the media and routinely running commentaries on issues that are clearly sub-judice.

“There are also reported cases of lawyers tampering with client’s money, corrupt practices and the perpetration of a host of other vices unbecoming of members of this noble profession.

“I believe that it is time for us to take decisive steps to reform and redeem our profession and regain our lost pride by showing the bad egg.