The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, FCIArb in her inaugural address promises Lawyers across the country a welfare system like no other.
She highlighted the fact that her welfare package will not be selective or restricted to Colleagues within a particular Call Bracket rather it will be all-inclusive. Her welfare benefits ranges from decent Remuneration, health services, improved access to legal services etc. in her words:
We will build a Bolder Bar that works for everyone – a Bar that helps its members earn better, live better and practise better; a Bar that moves lawyers from surviving to thriving. This is more than a slogan. It is the standard by which you must judge us.
A lawyer who is economically vulnerable is not truly professionally free. A lawyer who cannot afford the tools of practice cannot compete. A lawyer who works without fair reward, protection or opportunity cannot fully serve the cause of justice. Economic dignity is not separate from professional dignity. It is essential to it.
We will pursue a realistic and sustained framework for fair remuneration. We will support lawyers with practical tools for pricing, business development, technology adoption, specialisation and access to emerging areas of practice. We will strengthen pathways to jobs, mentorship and opportunity. We will work with Branches, institutions and partners to reduce the cost of legal practice and expand access to finance, knowledge and markets.
We will not pretend that the NBA can command prosperity into existence. But we can remove obstacles. We can create opportunity. We can insist on fair standards. We can use our numerical strength to negotiate benefits that individual lawyers cannot secure alone. And we can build structures that allow talent and hard work to translate into a dignified professional life.
We will build a Bar of belonging: Every Voice, One Bar. Young and senior. Women and men. Advocates and solicitors. Public and private practitioners. Law officers, academics, in-house counsel, members of the Armed Forces and security services, lawyers in alternative careers, and colleagues living with disabilities. Large Branches and small Branches. Inner Bar and Outer Bar. No lawyer will be invisible, and no voice will be dismissed.
We will modernise the National Secretariat into a responsive service institution. Technology must simplify membership, not frustrate it. Payments, stamps, enquiries, continuing professional development and access to benefits must become easier, faster and more transparent. We will set service standards, publish performance indicators and report to you regularly, because leadership is not a title. It is an obligation to deliver.
We will invest in the knowledge and future-readiness of our members. Artificial intelligence, digital commerce, data protection, energy transition, cross-border practice and new models of dispute resolution are already reshaping legal work. We will not allow Nigerian lawyers to become spectators in the future of their own profession.
And because delivery must begin immediately, allow me to identify some of the first steps we will take.
First, we will open the doors of service. In the coming days, a portal will be made available through which members may offer themselves for service, indicate their areas of interest and submit their credentials. Appointments must draw from the breadth of talent within our Association and give meaningful expression to our commitment to inclusion.
Second, we will use the collective strength of the Bar to reduce the cost of practice and improve the daily lives of our members. We are working towards highly subsidised access to electronic law reports and the reintroduction of an NBA Affinity Card, which will serve both as a payment card and as a gateway to negotiated discounts on essential goods and services like air tickets, hotels, supermarkets, pharmacies etc.
Third, we will prioritise economic and physical well-being. We will engage the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on strengthening awareness of and compliance with the Legal Practitioners Remuneration Order. We will also establish a committee to develop lawful and practical mechanisms for encouraging the payment of living wages to our most vulnerable members.
Discussions are also ongoing towards a strategic partnership with the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja. If concluded as anticipated, the partnership will provide our members with access to discounted comprehensive wellness screenings and support free medical outreach programmes across the country because a healthier Bar is a stronger Bar, and a stronger Bar is a Bolder Bar.
Fourth, we will be transparent and accountable. Information about the departments and key personnel of the National Secretariat will be made accessible. Our digital channels and services will be reviewed. We will communicate periodically what the Association has, what we have spent, what we propose to spend and the purpose for which members’ resources are deployed. It is your money. You have a right to know.
These are initial steps, not the full measure of our ambition. Our commitments will be translated into timelines, responsible teams and measurable outcomes. We will tell you what we have done, what remains undone and why. Where we succeed, the credit will belong to the Bar. Where we fall short, the responsibility will be mine.
With this Bold statements, Lawyers can be rest assured that it will not be business as usual with respect to their welfare as the Bar will have an all-inclusive welfare.
Dr. Prince Azubuike
National Publicity Secretary
Nigerian Bar Association
