There are many lawyers who are automatic members of the Nigerian Bar Association who may willingly change their membership or denounce it, and never give it to another, if at all they are given the opportunity to make such a choice.

This is not because they do not want to exercise their right to freedom of association at will, but partly because they feel that being a member of the bar comes with little or no benefit at all. To them, it is a waste of time. They feel that a body of lawyers like the NBA which ought to have one of the strongest voices in the nation seems to look like a toothless bulldog having been divided along tribal and religious lines, while others also think that they get little value for whatever they spend in the form of branch dues and fees.

Almost every year, some participants of the NBA Annual General Conference return with the complaints that the event is but a waste of time. To some, the funds from the bar’s common purse seem not to be well utilized. So year in year out, the conference bag is all they can show for being members of the Africa’s largest bar. The assessment has over the years been on the National. But how true is this observation? There are those of us who believe that the NBA is one body, and the National is but for general administrative convenience. It follows from this reasoning that the branches of the Bar is an extension of the bar itself, and not just an extension, the branches are the Bar. Those of this school of thought believe that the performance of the bar is determined by the performance of the branches and not necessarily the National, because the National can hardly get to the grassroots. So, how well have the branches of the bar performed? Are the branches channeling their energy rightly?

Few days ago, the social media was flooded with the report of the introduction of an ID card which has a Bar Code below the card. According to the information gathered by TheNigerialawyer (TNL), the bar code contains the enrollment numbers, names, photos of all eligible lawyers in that branch. And that, by merely scanning the barcode of the ID on a card reader, handset, and scanner it shows all the details of that lawyer including his photo. According to the Chairman, NBA Maiduguri Stickers and ID Card Committee, Zakaira Mohammadu Umaru, the bar code on the ID of the lawyer is used to identify fake or questionable IDs, or fake lawyer in the branch. In another development, the NBA Warri branch at the general meeting of the branch which was held on the 28th day of October, 2019, launched a Mobile App on Google play store for its website. Stressing that the world is now a global village, the branch chair, Michael A. Asugo, Esq., noted that the need to access information easily is a primary reason for the move.

The just cited examples are recent developments of projects embarked by branches of the bar. Indeed, the moves are quite innovative and power-driven considering their technological flavour. But even as sound as these projects appear, the question is: are they really necessary or the best at this time? This is a question begging for answers.

Alas, not every member of the bar sees the necessity in the moves. For some, though the issues that are addressed are issues that demand urgent attention, there are other ways to go about it which will help save the already unavailable fund of the bar and then channel the available one for the right purposes. For instance, the NBA has an already functional website for the national, which is maintained with millions of naira. Does it take anything away from branches to get, perhaps, a portal for branches to enable them disseminate informations to her members? It is the belief of some that if the National website is better utilized, the money spent by the branch to host a website and display same on Google play-store will be better utilized. Also, concerning the introduction of a digital barcode to curb quackery, one begins to wonder the need for such an ID card when the National has a provision for a national ID card for members already. It will definitely take nothing away from branches to adopt the national ID cards for her members and save them the stress of another one. If not for anything, the NBA Stamp and Seal is a very good means through which the alarming menace of quackery and impersonation is been fought.

In recent times, success has been recorded in the crusade to fetch out such quacks. To those of us who believe that the Bar is making headways, it is just a matter of time, and the legal profession will no longer maintain any safe-haven for such quackery. The facts speaks for it itself. Thus, in the glaring face of such recorded success, why spend money belonging to the bar to fight a war which is already fought, when there are obvious pressing issues facing the bar and her members?

Few days ago, the bar was shaken with the breaking news of the kidnap of one of our finest judges in recent times, Justice Chioma Iheme-Nwosu, in which the Benin branch of the NBA resolved to boycott courts if he is not released and, then, pass a vote of no confidence on Security heads. This is coming after other cases of abduction of bench-men and bar-men alike. Before us are also the alarming cases of police brutality of lawyers, cowing of lawyers for doing their legal job, and the age-long case of congestion of prisons. Not to talk of the welfare of lawyers on our face. Dissemination of information to members of the bar and the fight against impersonation and the likes are the least issues striking the bar at this time. Agreed, they cannot be ignored, yet they are not issues that demand so many resources considering the pending issues at hand.

It is high time members of the bar start asking question on how money belonging to them is used. Members have to start making executive members to be accountable on how money belonging to the bar is spent. How are branches fees and dues, including the 10% remitted to the branches from the National is being spent? Members need their welfare to be taken care of. There are young lawyers who do not have strong confidence in the profession because they are not considered in the big-plan. There are aged lawyers passing through health challenges and need some form of attention. There are lawyers out there who need soft loans to open their own law office, and also continue their education. There is the community waiting for lawyers to offer them pro-bono services, but hardly get those supports because they do not have even the little well-withal to achieve this. This and many more need the support of the bar through the branches.

While we cannot say that the dissemination of information and combating quackery are not important for the bar, branches must understand that not everything is to be done by the National, and there are more pressing issues facing the bar than those heavily addressed by some.

TheNigeriaLawyer Editorial