‘NBA Conference: El-Rufai Is Not The First Speaker To Be Dis-Invited’

Uche Mathew, a respected member of the Nigerian bar speaks to our correspondent, ANSELM MARTIN on the raging controversy in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), more especially the decision of some learned gentlemen to form a parallel group

Thanks for the opportunity to share ideas with you, Sir. Could you tell us, what does the law say concerning creating a factional body of the same association?

Generally speaking, the law does not prohibit people from breaking away from any association to form or join any other association of their choice as the freedom to associate is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution; however the Corporate Affairs Commission may refuse to register an association where the name is similar to that of an existing association or the name is likely to deceive members of the public in differentiating it from the original association.

So, one can form an association with a similar purpose with an existing association but for it to pass through the registration process, it must have a different name, symbol and means of identification that is from the body it’s breaking out from.

Many are of the view that the nNBA was formed majorly due to the El-Rufai issue, do you think it has a connection?

The conveners of the nNBA have severally denied that the dis-invitation of the Kaduna state Governor to the NBA annual conference is the reason behind their agitation to form another association within the Bar but the evidence on ground tends to indicate otherwise.

Though they may have others reasons, the El-Rufai issue certainly gave impetus to their cause and attracted sympathy and more followers to their cause especially from the Northern part of the country. And this is a major source of concern for me and every well-meaning member of the legal profession – that fractionizing the Bar along ethnic and religious line is an ill-wind that will do no one any good.

Can you tell us what you think should be done to avert the impending crisis if eventually the nNBA succeeds in creating the new body?

This is simple. The NBA must be run in an inclusive manner that makes provision for all segments of the Bar to find expression. The Bar for too long have been divided on various lines; ethnic, religious and other sentiments that tend to divide the Bar thereby making it difficult for the Bar to speak and act as one. The organisers of the nNBA should not be viewed as  rebels or punitive actions taken against them, rather, a channel of dialogue should be opened with them to understand their grievances with a view to settling it, as a divided Bar will obviously become a defeated Bar.

In handling this crisis, it’s important that we cast our minds back to the 1992 crisis of the NBA in Port Harcourt which led to the NBA not having national leadership until 1998. Such mistake must not be repeated with the current issue for the benefit of the Bar and the larger society which look up to the Bar as its voice and conscience in a democratic setting.

As a lawyer do you think NBA acted in bad faith by dis-inviting Governor El-Rufai as their guest speaker? 

-The NBA acted within its right to disinvite the governor to speak at its event. The Governor was only accorded a privilege to speak at the event and any privilege can be withdrawn at any time by the giver of such privilege. Mallam El-Rufai is not the first speaker to be dis-invited from speaking at the NBA Annual Conference. In the past, former INEC Chairman, Maurice Iwu and then Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State were disinvited by the NBA and it did not cause any uproar or viewed from neither ethnic nor religious ground and the branches of the NBA from their areas did not boycott or threaten to boycott the conference because their kinsmen were disinvited as speakers.

So, one is at a loss why some branches of the NBA decided to give the El-Rufai issue an ethnic or religious colourification in order to ignite a crisis over a non-member of the legal profession.

Also recently there was news that the nNBA sent a letter to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice intimating him of their plans to form a new body call nNBA. Does the Attorney-General have statutory power within the ambit of the law to disband the nNBA and what made them to seek his consent?

The Attorney-General of the Federation does not possess power to disband the nNBA or any association for that matter as that is a function exclusively given to the Courts by the Law. The right to form and belong to an association of one’s choice is a constitutional right that cannot be taken away except by procedure led down by law. The main reason the nNBA has sought the consent of the AGF is because of his position as the chairman of the General Council of the Bar and the AGF has promised to make a response to their request guided by the law. So all parties will keenly await the official response of the AGF to the request of the splinter group as that will go a long way to determining this saga in the Bar.

Many believe that the prayers of the aggrieved members, if allowed to stand, will lead to total disintegration of the NBA because as reported by premium times of Tuesday 1, September 2020 about 5000 lawyers are supporting the movement. What do you have to say about that?

Truly what has kept the NBA strong and united is the mandatory membership of the association as lawyers are compelled to belong to the association upon call to the Bar. Creation of another association in the Bar will break the monopoly of the NBA and most likely lead to the creation of regional bars which will ultimately weaken the powers of the NBA as the major strength of the NBA lies in its numerical advantage.

Do you think that those Northern lawyers are being sponsored by big players in the legal profession to sabotage or cause this confusion in the NBA?

There is no smoke without fire. For the conveners of the NNBA to have the confidence to beat this drum of war against the NBA, they must have some big backers and even financers as the project they have embarked on is a huge one. For now, no big or prominent lawyer have openly associated with the NNBA but some big shots including SANs by their body language have shown some sort of support for the splinter group. Also, some people also believe the Bar has become too politicized and politicians now have strong influence in the Bar as they sponsor election of Bar leaders who run to them during campaigns for support. This have put the bar and its leaders in a difficult as the politicians now have a say at the Bar and its affairs.

Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN has come up to say that NBA has rejected in its entirety,  the creation of a faction, do you align yourself with his submission taking into account what the 1999 constitution as amended says about freedom of association?

I find it hard to align myself fully with the position of the Learned Silk in view of the express provisions of section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). However the current position of the law as entrenched in our legal jurisprudence is that lawyers are automatic members of the NBA and the only way out of the NBA is not to be a lawyer. Membership of the NBA is automatic as long as you are a lawyer.

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In the case of CHINDO V OWHONDA(2008) 3 NWLR (pt. 1074) 341 at 361, the Court of Appeal held that no one was compelled to take up the profession of law and its attendant compulsory membership of the NBA, However, once one made a choice to study and practice law and thereby placing his name on the roll of honour belonging to the profession, he stands bound by the internal rules and regulations of the profession.

The current decision of the Court is not in favour of the NNBA but we will watch and see how this event unfold as this will determine the future of the NBA.

How would you describe the NBA dispute resolution mechanism if there is any and do you think the matter can be resolved amicably so as to aid tranquility, one leadership and one fold in the NBA?

The NBA is a body of lawyers and resolution of dispute via settlement is a basic skill that every lawyer possess. The current leadership of the NBA will definitely deploy its internal dispute mechanism to reach out to the various groups in the association that have one agitation or the other whether from the recently disputed election, the conference issue and other members who feel their interest are not well represented in the NBA but forming a factional association is the not the solution to the current quagmire bedeviling the NBA. I expect the respected members of the Board of Trustees of the NBA, Senior Advocates and other Bar leaders to broker peace between the NBA leadership and members of the breakaway group in the overall interest of the legal profession in Nigeria.

10. What do you think is the reason behind those forming the nNBA?

Truth be told, there are various agitations within the NBA that have gone unattended to in recent times. The El-Rufai issue is a smokescreen for the nNBA agitators to ignite this crisis and unburden their grievances.

There are also those who are disenchanted with the NBA electoral process since 2016 when electronic voting was introduced. The NBA cannot continue to have heavily flawed elections that end up in court with weighty allegations of criminality and electoral malpractices. For a body established to promote the rule of law, lawlessness cannot continue to categorize its electoral processes.

Also, the NBA for some reasons has not  been seen to run an all-inclusive system that involves all lawyers as some people tend to benefit from the activities of the NBA than others.

Those who have felt left out in the system will obviously welcome the nNBA and see it as a chance for their unheard voices to be heard in the legal community.

The NBA is truly in need of a sincere reconciliation process to assuage the grievances of members  as only by having a United Bar can the legal profession regain its lost glory and respect and speak truth to power with one voice.