MY PLAN
1. A
Resource Secretariat: The
Lagos Bar has the best, most intelligent and celebrated lawyers in this country
in diverse fields of law. The Lagos Bar also has the largest concentration of
young lawyers in Nigeria. We need a Secretariat that can serve them better and
more efficiently viz:
a. We shall prioritize securing a befitting
office space and/or building for the occupation and use of the premier branch
as Secretariat
b. The Secretariat shall be made more
functional and a wealth of intellectual materials shall be made available to our
members, especially young lawyers to enable their research purposes as much as
we can
c. The Secretariat shall involve the finest
lawyers which we have in abundance in the branch to contribute articles,
lectures, workshop and seminar materials to the Secretariat
d. The Secretariat/Secretary shall lead from
the front and the Secretary shall write the first of the scholarly articles for
the Secretariat
e. The Secretariat shall constitute an
editorial committee at the end of each year to consider and determine which of
the materials are suitable for publication and they shall be so published in a
publication of the branch.
2. A more accessible Secretary/Secretariat: Members of the Lagos bar by reason of
their sheer number alone will need more from their Secretariat/Secretary than
other bar branches may do. We therefore need a Secretariat/ Secretary that we can
reach at all times and who will most times be available to help and serve us
better by:
a. Empowering the staff of the secretariat to work better, manage the secretariat
in an efficient and friendly manner
b. Encouraging secretariat staff to accord due courtesy to
members and be ready to help those in need especially our young lawyers at all
times
c. Ensuring an effective complaint procedure
as well as speedy resolution of challenges faced by members
d. Providing ICT facilities to enable the
Secretariat staff and members of the branch who visit the Secretariat take
advantage of such facilities to ensure their needs are met.
3.
Better management and dissemination of
Information: Information
as they say is key. The branch of a nationwide professional association must
make every effort to keep its members abreast of what is happening at the
national body and better still, it must keep
them informed of the sundry issues affecting them and their businesses at all
times. The Secretariat will do so by:
a. Increasing its information gathering
capacity on a weekly basis and germane and adequate information will be
promptly disseminated to members of the branch without necessarily waiting for
the National Executive Council Meetings before
we get information from the national
body
b. Instituting a periodic newsletter where
information shall be made available to members on a periodic basis
c. Encouraging members to be active
participants in the information gathering and dissemination process with the
Secretariat exercising control over all such activities in the best interest of
the branch.
4. A more functional and interactive
website: A website is
not just a repository of information any more.
A website should be much more and the Secretariat shall ensure a more
functional and interactive website by:
a.
Uploading
a lot more relevant information and filling in the gaps which already exist in
the current website of the branch including a periodic update on the activities
of the branch
b.
Uploading
and updating the members database on the website for the information and use of
critical stakeholders in the affairs of the branch
c.
Uploading
the articles, lectures, workshop and seminar materials generated by the Secretariat
to enable easy access to same by members of the branch.
5.
Periodic Newsletter (Secretary’s brief): The Secretariat shall start and
institute a periodic newsletter to be known as the Secretary’s brief. The
institutionalization of the Secretary’s brief is important for many reasons but
the obvious one is that it will help to standardize the office of the Secretary
as every elected Secretary from now on will run the newsletter on a periodic
basis. This should no longer be left to the whim and caprice of the person who
is Secretary at a particular point in history. The Secretary’s brief shall serve as:
a.
a
medium of communication between the branch Secretariat and the members of the
branch
b.
a
channel for generating and proper dissemination of information to members of
the branch
c.
a
feedback mechanism as members will be able to generate content and react to any
news item they feel strongly/concerned about all of which will be published in
the Secretary’s brief.
6. A Comprehensive Database & Issuance
of Identity Card: This
is also a key issue because if we do
not plan, then we plan to fail and there can be no proper planning without a
reliable and comprehensive database. If the Lagos Bar compiles a comprehensive
data base, then it can go a step further to issue Identity Cards to its members
and the Secretariat/Secretary intends to make this a matter of priority if
elected in the 2015 – 2017 administration and we will do so by:
a. compiling the names of those who have
paid their practising fees and branch dues for the current year and then push
it down in piece meal, year by year until the data of everyone who is a member
of the branch has been appropriately captured and entered into the database
b. opening a manual register of the data so
captured for members to inspect for possible correction before they are
uploaded unto the website for easy access to same by members of the branch.
7.
Register of Resolutions: Meetings and Minutes of such meetings are
the life blood of any association – a professional association for that matter.
The Secretariat with that in mind will ensure that:
a. Our minutes are well written with
adequate information and promptly made available to members for their purposes
b. All resolutions are well publicized and
adequately brought to the attention of members
c. All resolutions are drawn up and a
Register of Resolutions opened to facilitate a more responsive/efficient and a
non open ended meeting where we will not go over issues on which a resolution
has been passed before
d. When issues are raised the Secretariat
will quickly point it to the Chairman if a Resolution on the point has been
passed before using the register of Resolutions as a guide.
Once again,
my creed and my charter is “to build this profession of ours” with abiding faith
that it can be done.
“A
new kind of Leadership – for the Premier Branch”
