It would be unfair & inequitable if the Midwest is not allowed to produce the next NBA President -Augustine Alegeh, SAN

Q: Nigerian lawyers are again set to elect a new leadership to run the affairs of the Nigerian Bar Association for the next two years. As a candidate for the office of the president, what is your interest in the leadership of the bar?

Firstly, I take it to be a positive development that more lawyers are taking interest in the affairs of the Bar, with over 120,000 lawyers enrolled at the Bar. If more lawyers take interest in the affairs of the Bar, then we’ll have better Association at the end of the day. This is because as we get more people, the quality of those involved in running the Association will improve. 

I have a positive record of service to the association. I have a proven record of performance. What we did in the Database Committee was something many thought was impossible, but we did it. I led the committee that provided that for the NBA. These are things people thought were impossible, but I led the team that made it possible. I can achieve more, because if I could achieve so much without being an elected officer, I see myself as doing more if elected. I promise to do more.

Q: Five candidates are in the race for the office of president this year. What are your chances of being elected President? And why do you think you should be elected?

As they say in law, the briefs have been filed. All the manifestoes of the candidates are in. The reason why I am the best candidate to lead the bar at this time is evident from a close review of the programmes contained in my Manifesto. 

The programmes I have put forward are contemporary. They deal with the present challenges of lawyers. They don’t address the problems like politicians with promises and grandiose ideas.We have come forward with specific details and specific programmes and we have set out on how to achieve these programmes.

We have taken on the welfare of lawyers and I believe that definitely a lot has to be done about the welfare of lawyers. When we take care of the welfare of our lawyers then each member will fulfil their obligations to the association as theywill have a sense of belonging in the association. Each member will then be a human rights defender and rule of law proponent in their respective communities. This would ensure the observance of rule of law at all levels in our Country. This must be of paramount importance to the association.

Q: What do you think sets your agenda apart from the other aspirants?

I am the only candidate in this election who has put forward clear identifiable practical proposals. I have put forward different programs. Firstly, from our Bar Practicing Fees I propose to institute an insurance policy for lawyers. The policy would be flexible to meet the beliefs and needs of Our Lawyers. It would be a choice based policy where each member would be able to opt for the policy that meets his peculiar expectations.

If we have 60,000 lawyers paying practicing fees and we take =N=500 from each lawyer to have a group insurancepolicy, which would amount to N30m yearly premiumavailable for  payment to insurance companies. If we increase the figure a little bit more, to maybe =N=1,000 it would translate to =N=60m or if we take 5% of every lawyer’s practicing fees, you can imagine what it would amount to.

I give the various scenarios because I do not see the President of the NBA as a maximum ruler who sits down and decrees what he wants. If elected, I intend to sit down with the National Officers, National Executive Committee, Branch Chairmen and with colleagues who are in insurance business to come up with a workable and acceptable plan to determine the premium that would be available for the insurance scheme.

Currently, lawyers pay between N5, 000 and N50, 000. If on the average we take N25, 000 as our base and decide to use 5% [=N=1,250] of that as our insurance premium, it would amount to about N37.5m if only 30,000 lawyers pay BPF. If we have a group insurance policy with a yearly premium of N37.5m, increasing to maybe N50m, I am sure that we’ll be able to get the best insurance policies available for lawyers. This is something that lawyers should not pay extra for. All we need is to deduct the agreed percentage from the Bar Practicing Fees (BPF) paid by each lawyer to fund the insurance premium payment.

This will also have additional benefits for the Association itself as it would encourage more lawyers to pay their BPF yearly. The increase in the number of lawyers paying BPF would increase and enhance the revenue base of the Association. This is because Lawyers who may presently not be paying BPF would see a need to pay up in view of the added benefit of a flexible insurance policy. As the number of those paying increases, the percentage deducted from practicing fees for the insurance may even be reduced. This is something that is within our reach. 

Q: Many have decried the idea of travelling twice for the Elections and the Annual general conference (AGC). What do you think is the best possible way to tackle this?

The concept of travelling to the Delegates Conference to vote in July when you will also need to travel for AGC in August is burdensome. Given the security challenges in the country, we should avoid doing things that will make us gather in large numbers. I don’t think we should expose ourselves to security hazards unnecessarily. We need to be security conscious. 

Moreover, we cannot be an Association in a digital age and cannot take advantage of digital solutions at our fingertips. Electronic voting is at our fingertips and we can no longer avoid it. If you understand the cost of elections to the NBA, you will realise that we can no longer do without electronic voting.

Let’s assume that the National Secretariat will provide accommodation for three delegates per branch. 109 branches times three will give you 327 rooms for two nights. If we estimate the average cost of a hotel room in Abuja to be N15, 000, it will cost about N9.8m on accommodation alone. These same people can in the comfort of their homes vote electronically. If you don’t like that, they can go to the Bar Centre, or at their Bar meeting they log on to a laptop and vote. Each delegate of the branch can vote in the Branch as the Branch can set up laptops and do secret balloting in the Branch instead of travelling to vote. That would save the cost of accommodation for the Association. 

Let’s talk about transportation of 327 people traveling to Abuja on an average of N40, 000. Lawyers will have to come from Sokoto, Badagry, Maiduguriand all over the Country and some will have to risk driving through boko haram infested areas to come and vote. The cost of transportation alone would be in the region of N13m and this is money we can save. This money that we can plough back into continuing legal education, money we can plough back into annual general conference. 

So, if we make all these savings, my definite promise is to have reduced affordable conferences fees. Everything ties to each other. I want to make this point that service to an association must be selfless service, but that service must also come with clear cut ideas that will bring positive change.

Q: Do you honestly consider a tenure of two years enough to accomplish all that you propose?

I believe that the tenure of two years is long enough. I have three programmes; I don’t have 10, 12 or 16. Just three and all my programmes are mind based programmes; Refocus Reform and Reinvigorate. Let’s all understand that our welfare is of primary importance to us. Once you develop an idea and it sinks into people, you don’t need 100 years in office.

 Personally I believe that even a tenure of one year is enough to make landmark changes in the NBA, refocus on the welfare of members, reform the secretariat, reinvigorate the entire bar as the voice of the people. These are things you can achieve in six months.

Q: Are there any proposals or programmes directed at the judiciary?

Yes, there are programmes for the judiciary which I have proposed and which I believe we can achieve within this period. Basically, I have proposed that the NBA works with Chief Judges of the High Courts and other Heads of Courts to make certain changes in our rules. 

For instance a practice direction stipulating that only affidavits prepared by lawyers should be allowed for filing would go a long way to eradicate false depositions and also provide an additional revenue source for Lawyers. An affidavitis a creation of the Evidence Act and it should be a deposition of truth. But today, if you depose to an affidavit for instance that ‘I Mr. X is the Chief Judge of Lagos State,’ take it to any High Court in Lagos State and file that affidavit, it will be accepted for filing. But are you the CJ of Lagos State? All they do is ask ‘how much have you paid?’ they stamp it and they give it back to you. But you see that is not the aim of an affidavit. An affidavit ought to be a statement of truth. When we insist that ‘each affidavit must be prepared by a lawyer” all the false depositions in affidavits will stop. Will a lawyer prepare such an affidavit, sign and put his stamp and seal? If you go to the Federal High Court today and file an affidavit, you must affix a passport photograph. But that is not the requirement of the Evidence Act. It was brought about by a simple Practice Direction of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. I intend if I am elected and sworn in, 

I will have a meeting with all branch chairmen. We’ll come up with a menu of requests to the CJs and the chairmen will then go to the CJs in their respective states to implement these things. 

If a CJ agrees, practice directions can be done in one month. I don’t have to travel to every branch to implement this. Why do I have to travel to every branch? The chairmen in these states represent the NBA. They are the ones will meet their state CJs. 

This issue of whether a two-year tenure is enough is because one man wants to do everything. Our campaign slogan is ‘Together We Can.’ That is why I say my programmes are easily achievable. 

Q: What does it mean to declare a state of emergency in legal education: as you have proposed in your manifesto?

Since I got called to the Bar 27 years ago, I heard that standards are falling. Each year standards keep falling. I don’t like complaining, I believe in practical solutions. I asked myself, we have members in the Council of legal education and we must give them an NBA position for them to push for implementation at the Council. 

I intend to declare a state of emergency and I intend to involve those in academia, those who have a stake in legal education and we’ll sit down together and examine all the issues in legal education. Beyond declaring a state of emergency, I also said ‘develop and put forward an NBA position.’ That is critical. 

Now, if we are teaching law students about Petroleum law, we have to get lecturers from Sciences to teach them about hydrocarbons. They have to understand the composition and content of petroleum. If you want to teach them business law, you must get someone from business admin and accounting to teach them the basics in that field. 

What I have learnt in my interaction with foreign lawyers during international Arbitrations is that when you discussing with them, you wonder whether it’s an accountant that you are talking with or whether it’s a chemist. You hear them talk about Bonny Crude and they tell you ‘this one is heavier.’ So, I asked them, ‘were you an engineer before?’ they said ‘No. when we are being taught about Petroleum law now, they also teach us about the petroleum.’ 

So, we need to go to Harvard, Oxford and some of the best schools in the world, get their course curriculum and ask ourselves, ‘which one of these do we intend to remodel our curriculum after?’ it may seem utopian! It may be too high for us to achieve in one day, but lets us start from somewhere and determine where we want to go and the changes we want to put in place. 

We have professors of law all over this country, and some are Senior Advocates. Some of them taught me. Professor Sagay SAN was my lecturer and he still in active practice. We can call them together. We have people like Professor Tunde Ogunwewo, who practices here and lectures in Queens College, London and in Harvard. We people like Professor Chidi Odinkalu and many more quality materials. We can call them together to challenge them on how things are done in those institutions and subsequently come up with a curriculum that would address all these issues.

Q: You have continued to express concerns over the fate of lawyers in the North East who as we understand, have virtually lost their practices as a result of the insurgencies in that part of the country. How would you tackle this if you are elected President of the bar and this crisis persists?

This morning I receive d a text message ‘Thanks, we pray for you and wish you success in the forthcoming elections. I admire your courage at the launch of the NBA fund in Gombe Branch.’ This was from a Magistrate in Gombe. I don’t know him personally, but he was in the hall that day. We were there to deliver speeches, but I said ‘we have colleagues next door whose professional lives are in shambles. What should we do for them?’ I launched that appeal fund on that day, and today people are rushing to add money to that appeal fund. 

I believe we can do more.  I was in Jalingo last week with the Chairman of Mubi Branch, the very next day there was a bomb blast in Mubi. Luckily no lawyer died, but a very close friend of ours, a lawyer lost his brother who was at that venue. Even in Gombe where we did the launching, there had been a bomb blast in front of the Governor’s house. So, the threat to our colleagues continues. We need to set up a special emergency relief fund to take care of our colleagues who are affected. 

Q: We understand you have secured a hundred percent endorsement of all the branches in your forum. How did you secure this?

You know we toil in vain, but for the Grace of the Lord. I take it as a blessing from God and I intend to do what I can. I am not the most Senior Advocate of Nigeria from the region. I am not the most politically active lawyer from the Midwest. Lawyers are known to object to almost everything, and it is very difficult to find such a large body of lawyers agreeing on one issue. It is all by the special Grace of God. 

But I have this to say, I decided to contest not because I was endorsed. Not because I thought I was going to be endorsed, but because I felt I have something positive to offer to the NBA. Also, I have a positive record of service to the association. I have a proven record of performance. 

Q: Some have said that you are government sponsored candidate. Why do they have these about you?

Let me state this clearly, personally I am not a card carrying member of any political party. I do not sit on the board of any government agency. Not at the state level and not at the federal level. I have stayed away. I have worked for Labour Party and I have worked for the PDP. I have worked for the ACN which now metamorphosed into APC, in the discharge of my professional duties.

I have represented the federal government in several cases, but that does not make me a federal government candidate. The federal government plays no role in NBA election because it is a delegates’ election which flows from the branches. For me I believe that those who sing such songs are those who are afraid of the coming change. A change is coming in the NBA. 

Q: What are your views about the current election guidelines, seeing that a number of lawyers have registered their discontent about the guidelines?

I should not be the one complaining. I don’t complain. I accept the rules. Whenever change comes, it is difficult for some people to understand. Think of how long you have been seeing that sign ‘Post no bill.’ Does it not seem to indicate that NBA is moving into the new age, that we do not support our members defacing courtrooms in the name of elections? It’s challenging, but I find it interesting and I accept it. 

Q: You were accused at a forum only last week of being too ambitious and that you led your people (the Mid-West) to jettison a pact that had guided NBA elections. Please tell us about this accusation and the pact, if there is any truth in it?

I normally wouldn’t glorify such talk. Let me make it clear that the position of the Midwest Bar Forum is well documented. There was no pact with the South West. The Midwest and the Southwest are grouped together in the West and it was a clear understanding that we’ll sit down and arrive at a workable solution for rotating the Presidency between the Southwest and the Midwest.

I was part of the delegation that met with delegates of the Southwest under Chief Bamidele Aiku SAN in Ibadan. We made it clear to them that we have always been in the West, but that you have always deprived us of anything zoned to the West. That they have always claimedthat anything zoned to the West is for the Southwest. That was why we took it to the general house and said ‘since you always claim anything zoned to the West as belonging to the Southwest, give us our own zone.’