Law School Teacher, Udemezue Esq, lists 10 problems that would have been solved If Successive NBA Leaderships were not Clueless
Renowned Nigerian Law School lecturer and legal scholar, Sylvester Udemezue Esq, has openly criticized successive leaderships of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for being “clueless, focus-less, unpragmatic, and ineffective.” In a strongly-worded statement, Udemezue argued that the NBA’s failure to provide effective leadership has contributed significantly to the inefficiencies in Nigeria’s legal system and justice delivery.
According to Udemezue, the shortcomings of the NBA leadership are evident in numerous areas, particularly in the country’s slow and outdated justice delivery system, which he described as “the slowest and among the most ineffective in the world.” He highlighted several specific points to substantiate his argument, including the absence of progressive reforms and the neglect of lawyers’ welfare and professional standing.
According to Udemezue Esq,
IF SUCCESSIVE NBA LEADERAHIPS KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING,
1. Our justice delivery system wouldn’t be the slowest and among the most ineffective and the most archaic in the world.
2. Lay policemen would have ceased to act as prosecutors in court in a country that has over 200,000 lawyers most of whom (jobless, frustrated) roam the streets in search of jobs.
3. .Section 66(3) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 would have been implemented to ensure constant my monitoring of human rights situations at all police stations in Nigeria.
4. All local government areas would have had legal departments, as is the case in all of the civilised or progress-minded world.
5. There would be no government agency without a legal department, manned by lawyers.
6. Nigerian national legislature would have been making impregnable laws to move Nigeria forward.
7. Lawyers wouldn’t be the most lowly/poorly paid and the most shabily treated in the public/civil service while medical doctors are the most highly paid and signifyingly treated. Even in legal establishments, medical doctors are more highly paid than lawyers working in same (legal) establishment.
8. Laymen wouldn’t be doing lawyers’s traditional jobs and getting away with it.
9. Other professionals would have ceased stealing lawyers’s traditional jobs.
10. By now, lawyers’ professional remuneration would have been standardised in such an impregnable manner, that it would be impossible for any lawyer to under-charge without being detected for punishment.
Udemezue expressed frustration that the NBA has failed to advocate for laws that would significantly advance the nation’s progress, while also neglecting the welfare and professional growth of its members. He asserted that if the NBA leadership had been proactive and pragmatic, the legal profession in Nigeria would be on par with global standards.
Udemezue further promised that he could provide up to 60 points to substantiate his position, emphasizing that his observations are based on extensive research and critical thinking.