Africa Unites!

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) under the leadership of Augustine Alegeh, SAN, this week played host to representatives of over 20 African countries at the First African Bar Leaders Conference, which ended yesterday in Lagos.

The event aimed at identifying key factors necessary to achieving reforms in the justice sector and economic development, brought together leaders of the legal profession across Africa to exchange and share practical experiences about reforms in the Administration of Justice on the continent.

Kicking off on Sunday with an Opening Ceremony/Cocktail, the three-day programme was declared open by the Governor of Lagos State who was represented by the Attorney General, Adeniji Kazeem.

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association in his welcome remarks stated that the conference provided a common platform for African Bar Leaders to meet, discuss and spearhead remarkable solutions for Africa’s problems.

“The task before bar associations and law societies in Africa is to lead the discourse on judicial reforms and to highlight its critical role in fostering economic growth and development.”

Sessions and topics at the event provided a lot of positives for participants at the Conference, as speakers were drawn from across the length and breadth of Africa.

According to the NBA president, this resonates with the bar’s commitment to ensure issues that affect the collective interests of lawyers around the continent are exhaustively discussed.

“As Africans,” he stated, “there is a dire need for us to work harmoniously to develop our continent and foster economic ties across borders irrespective of cultural diversity and religious affiliation.

“This Conference will also address the issue of polarisation within the African legal community and the importance of cohesion and harmonious relationship amongst individual Bar Associations in Africa in order to further develop and deepen the knowledge of law across Africa.

He also highlighted the need for African countries to embark on massive reforms in the Justice Sector.

“These reforms, if implemented, will foster increased economic growth and development in Africa. Conversely, the failure of governments in Africa to address this issue of judicial reforms at all levels erodes public confidence in the judicial system and encourages the resort to self-help and extra-judicial means of dispute resolution thereby occasioning a state of total chaos and economic regression,” he said.

In her address, Hon. Justice Kekere-Ekun, who stood in for the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed, lauded the idea behind the African Bar Leaders Conference. While speaking, she highlighted the developments in the judiciary and the endeavour to ensure efficient and speedy administration of Justice in Nigeria.

Adding to what the president had said, the Executive Director of the association spoke about the relevance of the gathering and the idea behind its theme. She said, “The purpose of this programme is to create opportunities for our lawyers, as well as engage foreign concerns interested in doing business in Nigeria.”

On his part, the Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Olawale Fapohunda, noted Africa’s poverty indices, stating that the consequential challenges are well known and documented.

“What we now require are solutions and collaborations in our response; specifically within our sphere of competence. This is what this Conference seeks to achieve,” he said.

The event saw the attendance of over 20 bar associations and law societies including Tunisian Bar, Rwandan Bar Association, Gambian Bar, Liberian National Bar, Cameroon Bar Association, East African Law Society, Ugandan Law Society, Law Society of Zimbabwe, Law Society of Kenya, Malawi Law Society, Tangayika Law Society, Barreau De Guinne, Barreau De Benin, Ordre Des Avocats Du Niger, Ordes Des Adocats du Burkina Faso, Ordres des Avocats á la Cour de Lomé aú Togo, The African Bar Association and Pan African Lawyers Association (PALU).

Other international institutions and organisations in attendance include, FIDA Zanzibar, FIDA Sierre Leone, FIDA Cameroon, FIDA Ghana, FIDA Benin, the African Development Bank (AFDB), Ecowas Court, African Court, and most importantly, the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda was represented by the Director of Jurisdiction Complementarity and Cooperation Division, Phakiso Mochochoko.