Special Season’s Greetings:
Happy new year my
learned seniors and friends.
It is so good to
be here again and it gives me an extra shot of joy to know that you are here
too. Welcome to a brand New Year, the good year of our Lord, 2016.
My dear
colleague, this is a long mail. I therefore crave your indulgence and beg you
to find the patience and equanimity to read to the end even if you may not
fancy my writing skills or like my style and would otherwise have skipped not a
few paragraphs…
When I look back
on the out gone year, 2015, I marvel. They say time flies! How very apt!! Time
sure flies!!! Would you believe it is already to this day, six months ago that
you elected us and entrusted us with the onerous task of administering the affairs
of the “premier branch”?
Re: My Plan:
Promises are the
bread and butter of any election cycle in any field of endeavour anywhere in
the world and whilst the campaigns lasted, those of us who were not “lucky”
enough to go it alone, unopposed made promises. You will recall that I called
mine, “My Plan”. In my plan, the promises I made were essentially encapsulated
in seven sub heads thus:
1. A
resource Secretariat
2. A
more accessible Secretary/Secretariat
3. Better
management and dissemination of Information
4. A
more functional and interactive Website
5. Periodic
Newsletter ( Secretary’s Brief)
6. A
Comprehensive Database and Issuance of Identity Card
7. Register
of Resolutions.
Thank God, on the
strength of the plan put before you, you elected us that fateful day in July,
2015 to serve you but the position we now hold is one we hold in trust for you.
I want you to know that we all consider it very high office with great
responsibility and we do not make light of this. We hold our various offices
with high sense of responsibility.
That being so, it
is only right for you to know what we are doing with the mandate you freely
gave us and how well we are serving you and we think a time like this when you
are gearing up for new challenges in a new year is a good enough time to let
you know how we have fared thus far.
Considering the
promises I personally made again, as it turned out, the new Chairman of the
branch also had some of these ideas in mind and these promises beautifully
dovetailed into a program of action which this Executive Committee of the
branch (hereinafter referred to as the EXCO) has pursued from day one with all
sense of urgency and vigor.
An EXCO with a Common Purpose:
We resolved from
the very beginning that we will not be carried by every wind that blows or
every strong current that seems comely and we have stuck fast to that. We are
going to diligently pursue and achieve only that which is possible even though
we appreciate why almost everyone thinks we should go in all and every
direction. Make no mistake about it. For whatever it is worth, it bears
reiterating that this is an EXCO in which everyone is pulling in the same
direction.
In a way, a
positive way at that, we are an EXCO in a hurry and we are quietly but
efficiently going about the business for which you elected us. We will not be
able to achieve all the goals set in Six months, we may not even finish
the job in the Two years we have but you can be sure that it will not be for
lack of diligence or want of trying.
One thing I can
and will assure you right away is that when this is all over, we will all say
in these paraphrased timeless words - with hope and virtue, we braved once more
great difficulties, and endured the storms that came. It will be said by the
future generation of bar men that when we were tested we refused to let this
journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed
on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great work of
remaking the Lagos NBA and delivered it safely to future generations.
Now see what we
have done and are still doing…
A Resource Secretariat:
We made
delivering a Bar Centre/Secretariat the core priority as we promised during the
campaigns and we practically combed the environs of the Lagos State High Court,
Igbosere, Lagos for a suitable property from the day the EXCO was inaugurated.
We eventually found one just behind the High Court (169, Igbosere Road, Lagos)
offered for sale and after months of negotiation a purchase price in the sum of
N90,000,000.00 (Ninety Million Naira) was finally agreed and the branch
promptly made part payment of the cost in the sum of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty
Million Naira) and the balance of N40,000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira) is to be
paid over the next Seven months.
The imperative
urgency of the moment is that the Bar Centre/Secretariat must be built and to
this end a Building Committee is already in place and will be inaugurated at
the January, 2016 branch meeting. The prototype of the proposed Centre has
already been unveiled at the 2015 Annual Bar Dinner on the 10th of
December, 2015. We will call on all of us to give towards the realization of
the project. Please when the time comes give generously, help us fulfill the
manifest destiny of the Lagos branch as the ‘premier branch’ of the Nigerian
Bar Association.
We have some
Articles and books at the branch office at the High Court Premises, Igbosere,
Lagos. Anyone who is interested may look them up and see what is useful for his
or her research. Young lawyers in particular are to note this.
May we also use
this opportunity to call on our members to help us by contributing Articles and
books to enhance the resource Secretariat we promised and which the Lagos
branch richly deserve.
Please do this
for us. It is a project that is dear to the heart of the current EXCO.
A more accessible Secretary/Secretariat:
In line with the
promises we made, you now have a Secretary who actually comes to work at the
branch office almost every day and gets to meet and interact often with branch
members who use the services of the Secretariat. The Secretary promised a more
accessible Secretary/Secretariat during the campaigns and we have strived to
keep that promise inspite of personal heavy work schedule and other
professional commitments.
The staffs of the
Secretariat are now more responsive and serve everyone better and with
courtesy. I am the first to accept though that there are still a few grey areas
to be sorted out but let us at the same time appreciate that they do a
difficult job in what is a less than conducive environment and the pressure on
the Secretariat staff since the upswing in the application for Stamp will
overwhelm any work team however dedicated but the Secretariat has met this need
with a stellar work ethic.
Even at that, we
are poised to serve you better in the New Year. As well as the secretariat
staffs did in 2015, you will find that they will do even better in 2016 and any
time I am not at the Secretariat and there is something you think comes under
the purview of the Secretary directly please do well to reach me any time of
the day and any time at night if you will!!
The NBA Lagos Newsletter:
One other thing
this EXCO is getting right is the Lagos NBA Newsletter in electronic format. As
I write, the 9th edition of the newsletter was sent out to
members in mid December, 2015. You will recall that we promised a newsletter to
be known as the “Secretary’s brief” whilst the campaign lasted; well I like to
let you know today that there has been a slight variation on that.
The newsletter is
now simply called “NBA Lagos Newsletter” and it is ably edited by Emeka
Nwadioke, an Ex-officio member in this EXCO. Please if you do not already
receive the newsletter, kindly send your E: mail addresses to me at obaoni@yahoo.co.uk or
to the editor, Emeka Nwadioke onemekan88@gmail.com. We
will incorporate your E: mail address into the mailing list and ensure that
every edition of the newsletter reaches you.
A more Functional and Interactive Website:
We promised a
more functional and interactive website and I am glad to again let you know
this day that we have engaged the services of a renowned and competent
institution which has many years experience working with Legal practitioners to
build the new website and work is already ongoing on that score. The website is
being built as I write.
The new website
is one that is a lot more functional than what we are used to. It has features
like a payment portal where you will be able to pay your branch dues and make
other payments to the branch right from the comfort of your homes and/or
offices. It has a Lawyer’s Directory where all your data will be captured in a
comprehensive format but it comes with a caveat: only members who have paid
their practising fees and dues for the current year will be able to access the
database for purposes of confidentiality and the protection of data.
There are many
other innovative features which may be too cumbersome to recount here. We hope
to launch the website in time so members can utilize it for the payment of
branch dues from the year 2016.
A Comprehensive Database and Issuance of Identity Card:
A comprehensive
database and issuance of identity cards was also one of the promises we made.
The database is being compiled at the branch office and when the new website is
launched soon, it will further help in no small measure to enhance the data
compilation process as you will be required to feed necessary information into
the website when you utilize the payment portal for making any payments to the
branch.
We are in good times
and in a way we are lucky to have the current Leadership of the NBA which is a
highly effective and proactive one and one of the many good things the
leadership under Augustine Alegeh, SAN, have done is the introduction of the
Access Bank/NBA Affinity Bar Card which can serve the multiple purposes of
identity card, bank payment/withdrawal card, medium for discounted transactions
with some Hotels, Airlines and other institutions partnering with the NBA.
The affinity bar
card carries your full names and passport photograph and it clearly identifies
you as a legal practitioner and a member of the NBA. We believe this clearly
and adequately serve the purpose for which we promised the issuance of identity
cards.
We can easily
obtain and use this card for now whilst we work out the best way in which to go
with regards to a means of identification of members of the branch. Please
obtain the forms at the branch office, complete it with accurate information
and we will send it to Abuja so your affinity bar card can be issued. If you
have already done so, please check at the branch office as some cards are ready
for collection.
Register of Resolutions:
Another promise
we made was that your minutes and reports will be better written, resolutions
reached at meetings publicized and adequate information sent to you in time and
a register of resolutions drawn up to facilitate a more effective and efficient
meeting.
Thus far, several
members have testified to the quality of information they get from the minutes
these days and how all the statutory reports they have gotten from the
Secretariat till date have been excellent and of high quality replete with
adequate information they could use.
The Register of
Resolutions will be drawn up in no distant time even though without it the
monthly general meetings of the branch held since the inauguration of this EXCO
has been effectively and efficiently managed time wise and only one meeting has
exceeded two hours by a paltry 10 minutes thus far.
Addendum:
This EXCO has
done a lot more good things that I could not directly promise during the
Campaigns as they were not reasonably within the purview of the work of the
Secretary. Some of these good works are enumerated below.
· Establishment
of the Premier Bar Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society
· Sponsorship
of 10 young lawyers to the 2015 Young Lawyers Forum Workshop in Benin City, Edo
State
· Continuation
of the usual branch activities at the Annual General Conference of the NBA,
Abuja, 2015
· Courtesy
calls on the Chief Judge and other Leaders of the Judiciary in Lagos State
· Fraternal
visits to Bar Leaders
· Appearances
in Agenebode, Edo State, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nnewi, Anambra State, Ibadan,
Oyo State to condole with some members of the branch who lost their loved ones
· Sponsorship
of the Project Facilitator and Desk Officer to the Lawyer’s E:mail Registration
and Profile Management System Training at the National Judicial Institute under
the auspices of the Supreme Court and the Nigerian Bar Association
· The
hugely successful Human Rights Summit with the theme “Towards Combating
Corruption and the Protection of Human Rights” ably anchored by the office of
the 1st Vice Chairman
· A
wonderful 2015 Annual Bar Dinner with the theme “Undressing Themis”
· Continued
liaison with the leadership of the Judiciary to get the robbing room renovated
and furnished accordingly and as you read this, renovation work has started at
the robbing room
· A
prudent Financial and Treasury Department husbanding funds with a clear eye on
delivering the Bar Centre/Secretariat.
Forgive me if I
have seemed to go on and on. What is it they say? ‘To be forewarned is to be
forearmed?’ Right!! Recall I did warn at the beginning of this piece; “this is
no regular mail”.
I loath to close
this as there are a few more issues I would love to address; but stop I must. I
cannot really afford to test your patience any further even if I will!!
I thank you so
much for coming this far with me and please know that I hold you in high esteem
and appreciate the trouble I have had to put you through. Be assured of my highest
esteem and that of the entire members of the EXCO wherein I am privileged to
serve you as Secretary.
Thank you.
Not so fast!!
One more thing!!!
Let these words
of Martin Luther King Jnr. be a constant reminder of what you owe yourself,
others and the branch, “every man must decide whether he will walk in
the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This
is the judgement; life’s most persistent and urgent question is what are you
doing for others?” And for the Lagos NBA, permit me to add.
I end this by
humbly asking you to call to mind the immortal words of Frantz Fanon
thus: “every generation must discover its true mission which it either
fulfills or betrays”. In a professional sense, I dare say I have and you have
discovered yours, it is the remaking of the Lagos NBA, we must fulfill it.
I still have gone
on and on right?
Thus far really
and no farther!
Thank you once
again and have a great year.
Stephen O. Obajaja Esq.
Secretary.
08052066172
