THE 60th edition of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, annual general conference which held in Lagos between Wednesday and Saturday, August 26 and 29, 2020, was nearly scuppered by the usual Nigerian demon of injecting ethno-religious and sectional sentiments into efforts to forge a common direction for this country.

The conference, the first virtual outing of the body of Nigerian barristers with the theme: “Step Forward”, initially had Governor Nasir el Rufai of Kaduna State as one of the guest speakers. However, a group of lawyers who were displeased with the governor’s handling of the Southern Kaduna massacres, threatened to pull out of the confab unless he was withdrawn.

They argued that it was unacceptable to give el-Rufai the honour of addressing the gathering given some of his utterances over the bloodletting. As more members joined the boycott threat, and to save the conference, the NBA executive had to cancel the invitation of the governor.

The conference was further threatened by the Jigawa, Bauchi and Kaduna chapters of the NBA which called for a boycott of the conference because according to them, Governor el Rufai “was not given a fair hearing” by the organising committee.

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In spite of this, however, members’ participation was unprecedented in the Association’s history as attendance heavily surpassed the average 12,000 recorded annually. It clearly showed that those who sought to break its ranks based on sentiments failed woefully. The fear already being entertained in some quarters that the NBA was probably headed for a break-up was laid to rest.

We congratulate the Association, particularly its new president, Olumide Akpata, for this ability to ride the storm and successfully pull off the conference with the house intact.

It is a shame that after almost 60 years of independence and a total of 106 years of living together as a single political entity, Nigerians have not been able to discover the one-Nigerian way of things. Nigeria remains a mere geographical expression. The much-touted concept of One Nigeria is just an empty mantra that only served a useful, unifying purpose for the federal side during the Nigerian Civil War.

Instead of a common vision and mission, we often see situations where a section of country is always torpedoing pacts and common resolutions once their overbearing regional purpose is not served. Nigeria cannot move forward unless its various divides adopt a common vision, purpose and approach.

We congratulate the NBA for weathering its storms over the years and remaining relevant in our unfinished business of pulling Nigerian governance out of its militaristic and dictatorial traditions and giving more power and liberty to the people. The NBA, as one of the consciences of the nation, should not be dispirited in its effort at holding public officers to account for their actions and utterances.

VANGUARD