Young Lawyers Column Disenchantment of young lawyers growing
T“If the Nigerian Bar Association becomes irrelevant to us its members, it will eventually become irrelevant to the greater society.” - Funke Adekoya (SAN) here is no doubt that lawyers, especially young lawyers, are highly becoming disenchanted and disconnected with the parent body, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The disaffection is being expressed through non-attendance of NBA meetings, boycotting of NBA programmes and activities, non-registration with their local NBA branches and non-payment of practising fees and dues. This apathy stems from years of derailment of the visions of the founding fathers of the NBA and lack of appreciation of the plight of lawyers by the contemporary successive leaders.
How does one find comfort in an organisation where the seniors pay peanuts to their young ones and yet the parent body has not deemed it fit to put a stop to the unfortunate practice? To liken the condition of work in most law films in the country to a slave camp will be stating the obvious. It’s as if there is a cold war between the seniors and the young lawyers. To say that the seniors are scared or uncomfortable with the growth of the young lawyers may not be far from the truth.
It is only in the law profession that you see a graduate who spent six years in school being paid as little as N10,000. This is horrible. In many law offices, the secretaries/receptionists are paid more and better than young lawyers by the seniors. Yet, both senior and young lawyers belong to the same NBA. My take is that any senior that pays anything below N80, 000 monthly should know that he is helping to undermine the profession.
On many occasions, I have seen personalities labouring to justify the present system of election of the NBA EXCO members by delegate voting. Their argument is that delegate voting lessens acrimony, violence, rivalry and disunity associated with general participatory elections. This argument might have been tenable some years back when the system was first introduced but not anymore. Right from the time of its introduction to the present moment, the country has advanced greatly in inclusive democracy. All the facets of the country are embracing the concept of inclusive and participatory electioneering so as to deepen the root of our democracy.
Moreover, the delegate voting system is fraught with many irregularities as it has been discovered that it breeds corruption, as the delegates can be easily compromised/ manipulated and it disenfranchises other members of the body from electing who governs them.
I ask, when delegates go to the poll to cast their votes, whose wish do they express - their own personal wish, the branch Bars’ wish, the seniors’ wish, the young lawyers’ wish or the general members’ wish? The answer is neither here nor there. The massive irregularities in the last Bar election in Abuja is a pointer to the fact that a surgical operation is needed in our electoral system to return its heart and soul to its distinguished members.
The best and still the most efficient form of election is an inclusive election where every member of the Bar is allowed to vote. As Prof Chidi Odinkalu has advocated, the election can be conducted in the various branches and the results transmitted to a central collection centre for announcement. Through this, the challenges of all inclusive election must have been bypassed. This system will also prevent hijacking of the body by elements who may want to play god in who becomes who in NBA. Above all, this process will re-unite all members of the Bar as everyone will have a sense of belonging as there will be great interface between the executive members and the association members.
On the issue of fees, my opinion is that the hike in fees is the most undeserving disservice NBA has done to young lawyers. For crying out loud, what is the take home money of a young lawyer to be made to pay as high as N10, 000 as practicing fees?
Compelling a young lawyer to pay such fees when he is still labouring hard to justify his place in the Body is insensitive. What should have been done is to use the fees paid by seniors to subsidize that of the young lawyers as the disparity of earning power of the two is too glaring. After all, the aphorism that young shall grow still resonates in our hearts. This good gesture will also go a long way in endearing young lawyers, the future of the Bar, to NBA.
On the issue of welfare, I doubt if such concept exist in reality. May be it exists for some influential members of the Bar but definitely not for ordinary members. For some years now, I have been a member of the NBA but I am yet to see the trickling down of NBA welfare schemes/programmes to its members. One may ask, what is the essence of belonging to a body that has no effective welfare scheme for its members. Or is welfare not the core/ primary objective of the establishment of any association? Until NBA is sensitive to the agonies, plights and pains of its members, nobody will take it serious.
Using NBA as platform for professional and political benefits: This is an issue I do not enjoy commenting on due to its acidic effects that corrodes and erodes the fabric of the body. Using the advantage of holding a post in NBA to lobby for any political position or favour is a classic example of betrayal of trust and purpose. The history of NBA is replete with stories of personalities who vied for NBA positions not to serve but to use it as an avenue to attain other personal political agenda like ascending to the post of ministers, commissioners, advisers, judges, SAN’s etc. This is most unfortunate as it goes to the root of genuine intentions and desire of our acclaimed Bar leaders. A discernible observer may begin ask and doubt the genuine intentions of aspiring NBA leaders; Is it to genuinely serve the body or attain personal political goals? Your guess is as good as mine.
Get me right, ascending to any of such posts is good but should not be done using the instrumentality of the body to curry personal favour. Aspire to any political positions you want but please do not use the goodwill of the body to lobby for such post. Doing so polarizes the body. Such misnomer compelled Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka to call for review of how the body elects its leaders.
Mazi Obioma Ezenwobodo practices law in Abuja