Doheney Admin System
Nov 1 · 5 min read

EFFICIENCY, AJIBADE & THE NBA PRESIDENCY;

The many tales...

I am a volunteer, just as you are, for the SP Ajibade 2020 NBA presidency.

I have quite a reputation for not giving my commitments to a cause lightly. Before i take a stand for anything, i must have been convinced of the credibility and worthiness of such cause. It is important that we are not impulsive or precipitate in our decisions to commit, because there are challenges ahead and our hearts will grow faint if we lack conviction. But if we are convinced, we will swim against the tide and reach the shore, come 2020, no matter the strength of the current.

In a galaxy of candidates vying for this office. I chose Ajibade. His light shines the brightest in a firmament filled with stars.

And i will tell you why.

The legal profession, as you will soon come to find out in the next few months after your call have gone to the dogs, in a manner of speaking. It didnt start today. The progressive rot has been slowly decimating the fabric of our justice administration system for decades now. But matters have come to a head now. To be a lawyer or a Judge use to be a thing of honor, prestige and glory. Not so today. If you listen closely to the news, you'll hear of lawyers assaulted and brutalised on a daily basis by the Police, EFCC and what not, sometimes in broad day light. A lawyer who goes to get his client on bail from the Police somehow is also a suspect, and many have been indiscriminate detained and dehumanised for just doing thier jobs. There are no consequences for these injustices meted on lawyers. The NBA is prostrate and doesnt seem to have a clue on what to do.

Where did people have the guts to go on street protests against Judgments of court?How did it happen that people can go on pages of newspapers to blatantly deride a Supreme Court judgment as "kangaroo" or "jankara" without consequences of any sort.

The justice system is simply not worth very much these days in the estimation of the public. Absolute zero confidence in the judicial system of which we are a part. It is our bread and butter. If the justice system dies, we lawyers have to go look for some other business because we cant earn a decent living from being lawyers.

Sometimes you dont quite blame them. Lawyers themselves have been the problem that have killed thier own profession. Once you are called to the Bar and have started practising, you will come to see what im saying.

The NBA has the most role to play in order to change this narrative and redirect the profession. But it has simply not happened. And the reason is simple. If you have an NBA leadership who themselves are under investigation for corruption or bribing judges, they cannot confront injustice or undertake reforms because they are focused on fighting to save thier necks. This has been a huge problem with the organisation. The days where the NBA was vibrant ombudsman for good governance is long gone.

In the last election, money played a significant role. Some aspirants compensated thier absolute lack of integrity or pedigree in selfless service with huge war chests. And i ask them today, those who paid your practising fee last year because they needed your votes, have they paid again this year? Have you recieved christmas and new year messages from them this year, since they won or lost, as you recieved when they needed your vote? What about all the promises to fight for the improvement of welfare of young lawyers, have you heard anything from thier lips in this regard since they won or lost?

So, we are determined to make the next selection of our next NBA president issue based, and not about mundane things that kill rather than exalt the moral of our members.

Who is capable among those who have stepped forward to lead? I have assessed them closely. I know each of them fairly. One of the front runners is currently being prosecuted by the EFCC for misappropriation of NBA funds while he was a local branch chairman. He is making the most noise. Another is spending money like its free flowing water. He is from one of the biggest law firms in the country. Ask him what his vision is for the organisation and he might just put 10k in your hands as his answer. He has the money. He wants to buy the position. Whether he knows what to do with it if he eventually gets it, God forbid, is really of no consequence to him. He just wants to get it for getting sake. Just one more box to tick on his resume of mundane acquisitions.

Then Ajibade stepped forward. A bit late i must admit, but its never too late to do tge right thing. I have know Ajibade for a while now. I know of no more than 10 other people in this profession who exhibits the sort of unpretentious integrity this man exhibits in all his dealings. An absolute gentleman who would rather not do it if not the right way. Squeeky clean reputation unsullied by even the slightest allegation, or even a rumor, of corrupt practice, throughout his career. And extremely vocal. He started selfless service to young lawyers, not only the NBA, years ago when he didnt dream he would ever contest for NBA presidency. He has organised so many trainings for lawyers, at his own cost, for years now. Ask his juniors in chambers about the good welfare and mentorship they enjoySo you cannot accuse him of being a philantrop just for the sake of ingratiating himself to people. I know of people who increased salaries in thier firm because they wanted to contest. Not SPA. His orginality and forthrightness are bankable commodities anyday, anytime.

And he has no godfather in this race. I have heard some persons have been annointed by "elders" of the profession who are benefitting from the status quo to the detriment of us all. Well, SPA comes on his own merit. Take him or reject him solely on his own antecedents.

I believe the NBA will experience a rebirth with this man. This is why i am volunteering.

Not only will i cast my vote for him, i will commit time and resources to ensure he wins. I will speak to people and proslytize them over to this cause. I want nothing from SPA personally, and i will take nothing from him. His covenant with us to do the right thing and foster a rebirth of this once noble profession is suffecient motivation.

Lets stand together gentlemen and make this happen.

Welcome on board.

    Doheney Admin System

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