To bring value to the society we seek to serve, we must develop ourselves as lawyers- ALEGEH, SAN
2014 was a remarkable year for the legal profession, but most importantly for the Nigerian bar, as it witnessed a number of trends and developments that will define the dynamics of ‘doing business’ in Nigeria’s legal industry in 2015. From the inception of the current administration in August 2014, there have been a series of strategic plans and partnerships initiated by the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association to promote the welfare of lawyers in Nigeria.
With the break of a new business year for lawyers, LegalBusiness touched base with the President of the association, AUGUSTINE ALEGEH, SAN, who spoke with THEODORA KIO-LAWSON about the business of law, goals for the year, current trends/developments in the association and strategic partnerships bound to impact on legal business in Nigeria. Excerpts:
It seems to be a new dawn indeed for the nba. Congrats on sealing a great and strategic partnership with access bank & leadway assurance. Pray tell us more about your vision and goals towards a regulated legal practice in nigeria.
I believe that the condition of the legal profession is dependent on its ability to regulate its self. I have for a long time been in the forefront of the drive by the Nigerian Bar Association to achieving this goal. I was fortunate to have been appointed as the Chairman of the database committee, which successfully set up a proper database for all lawyers in Nigeria. Having now achieved this, the next step was to see enhance the welfare of members and address challenges plaguing the bar.
This is the reason we have taken up a number of projects towards these objectives, such as a proper identification for every Nigerian lawyer. We have however leveraged on available technology, to further enhance the process, by introducing a card solution alongside the Lawyers’ Identity Card.
We approached Access Bank to provide us with a card that doubles as both an ID card and a payment card for lawyers. To make the payment process efficient and effective, we also made them our official bank for all Bar fee payments. The goal is to make it easy for practitioners to make all payments, fees, dues, etc., while leveraging on the use of their cards.
He explains the process…
“You do not need to have an account with Access Bank to take advantage of the service/package this card provides. If you already do or intend to open an account with them, that is only an added advantage..”
You simply pay your bar practicing fees, you fill the form in which you will also indicate where you want your card sent to (bank branch), and it will be delivered for pick up at the requested branch. It’s as easy as that. With time everyone will get used to how it works. For me, it is a no-brainer and the very least we can do for the bar. We’ll now watch and see how lawyers take advantage of the opportunity this development presents. It comes with additional packages, such as salary advance, consumer loans, commercial housing loans (A maximum of Three Hundred Million Naira), credit cards and several other arrangements, such as sponsorship for the association imbedded in this partnership. It is a relationship that as we go along will become extremely beneficial to lawyers.
The nba president, emphasized the relevance of this identification cards, noting that the process cannot be over-emphasized.
He said,
“With this ID card, issued by the association and tied to the payment systems I have explained above, lawyers would be who they say they are; and quacks passing themselves off as lawyers would be easily identified.”
According to him, the features of the card, includes,
the name, enrolment number and photograph of each lawyer called to the Nigerian bar. It also doubles as an ID and payment card, and so would also carry the NBA logo in front and the Access Bank logo behind.
Explaining further he said, “For now, we have settled for prepaid cards. If you own an account with the bank, you can request that the card be also linked to your account, so you can make expenditures using your NBA ID/Debit Card. It could however be given to you as a debit or credit card, based on your request. As an association, we have simply settled for prepaid cards. If the bank decides to give you a credit card, that becomes a decision made by the bank; independent of our agreement with it. What we did was take the basic minimum option for our members (that is the debit card).”
The NBA ID card it is said, will give lawyers verified access to registries and wherever a valid identification is required for lawyers, including partner companies and organisations.
He also spoke aout THE SEAL…
Following the launch of our new seal, every legal document must be endorsed with the seal before execution. Documents such as affidavits, motions, writ of summons, land documents, etc. must have the lawyer’s seal for it to be a valid document. If you are not a lawyer and do not have a seal, you cannot file a land document. A tenancy agreement without a seal for instance, cannot be considered a valid legal document.
Given the profession’s traditional approach and pace to change, how easy was it to put this in motion working with members of the bar?
For me, the card solution was long overdue and as I keep saying, you need to present ideas to people and open up channels of communication for these to be discussed and examined. Let them know what you want to do, show them how it will work and how beneficial it would be for everyone. We could have signed this agreement in September, but we made sure to sensitize members of the bar before going ahead. We liaised with the branches through their chairmen and consulted on a lot of fronts, ensuring that everyone understood what the process was about and what it seeks to achieve.
No matter how good an idea is; where there is an absence of communication, an idea might hit a brick wall and get tossed out just for the lack of understanding. So we dealt with this as much as we could before proceeding. It would have been easier if we were transiting from an analogue-based ID card to a digital ID card, but when I thought of the fact that we didn’t any formal means of identification as lawyers, I deemed it necessary to put it on the front burner.
Is this part of the practical steps taken to secure more work for lawyers and empower them economically?
Yes. And this is not the only step we are taking to push quacks out of the business; to provide more work for our members. As soon as the seal is officially launched this 2015, any document without a seal will not be considered a valid legal document. The seal will comeswith the lawyer’s name and his/her enrolment number.
This is the basic minimum an association of lawyers should have. As much as we look outward to developing the society around us, I believe we should also look inward to developing ourselves as lawyers, if we are to bring any real value to the society we seek to serve. Working outward, we have put in place machineries for voter education and voter mobilization, both of which the NBA has taken on as high priority projects, and on a very large scale.
What we fight for is a commitment to empower lawyers economically with guaranteed employment and more legal work. `Where there is more work, the average Nigerian lawyers would have the ability to sufficiently provide for themselves.
Looking at best practices the world over, associations provide platforms and opportunities for members to thrive and be empowered to do so. And even where you make all these provisions and opportunities, the lazy lawyers would still not do the real work. In the light of this, we understand that we cannot satisfy everyone. Still, we will do our best as we have started doing, as we owe this obligation to the association we serve.
The reason for forming an association is to protect the welfare of its members. So, if we fail the put the welfare of our members in the forefront, there would be a disconnect, as members would feel no particular loyalty to the association. The measure with which we give, is the same measure we will get in return.
More Deals…
The Access Bank Transaction is a foundational transaction. We have several others lined up to ease and enhance lives and working conditions of our members. For instance, we have also signed an agreement with The Hilton, that gives us an almost 50% discount on room rates. A room of N80, 000 .00 will go to lawyers for about N48, 000 .00. We are also getting breakfast and a few other services at a 50% reduction. You will however require the NBA Identification (ID) Card to access all of these packages. All you need do is present your card to the Hotel or any of our other partners for identification and you are given any of these offers. There are various other deals and arrangements with hotels, other than the Hilton, bearing in mind the different income levels/strata of our members.
A further arrangement has been made in principle with Arik; which gives us a 20% rebate on all Arik air tickets. Again, your new ID card entitles you to this advantage. This deal should kick off sometime in the first quarter of this year, and if we keep working on packages like this, we will have an association with members who are happy and feel like they are truly a part of an association, which considers their welfare paramount.
Insurance for lawyers…
The agreement with Leadway Assurance is part of the entire package flowing from the payment of practicing fees. As soon as your practicing fees today, and your registration is verified; Access bank takes on the responsibility to begin the production of your ID and Debit cards with your passport photo and payment details, simultaneously, Leadway will receive the same details, with the premium deducted from your practicing fees, and thus will also begin the preparation of your insurance – which will be given in batches. Once this is done, any lawyer who has a claim will apply for this at the nearest Leadway Assurance office and seven days after you will be paid.
The NBA has secured a transaction with Leadway for premium insurance; which has four different grades and you can choose the grade that you want. We are also working on a closed-user group with the company where all lawyers would get a uniform rates for car insurance. The more people you have enlisted in the group, the lower the insurance. So if your average insurance rate is between 6%-7%, as a lawyer, you are likely to get at 2.5%. There are several other add-ons to this package.
Telecoms Package…
The NBA has also made arrangements for closed-user group with telecoms service providers to enable free lawyer-lawyer calls with certain telecom service providers.
You pay a subscription of about N500-N1000 a month and
The NBA has well over hundred branches, alongside sections and fora as well. What are the vital intricacies in managing a body this large?
SLP CRISIS
Curious about the ongoing controversy rising from the election of new officers to administer the affairs of the nba section on legal, lb asked,
“You seem undaunted by certain controversial situations within the bar. There is the matter of the slp in court, are you not the least concerned about having your ‘house’ together? Can this situation be settled amicably?”
HIS ANSWER:
It is important that we stay focused on our goals and objectives. You set your targets; you know where you are going and any stumbling block you encounter on your way, you should be able to turn into a stepping-stone. So we have turned SLP into a stepping-stone.
This section of the NBA started operations in 2004. When we came on board in August, the section had 63 members. Today, five months later I can confidently tell you that the section has over 3oo members.
There is a probability that if the controversy you talk about did not occur, we may not have achieved this, so I consider it a good stepping-stone for the Section on Legal Practice (SLP). In any event, whatever opinion or differences some parties had about SLP, have been resolved at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
For me, it was a non-issue. Some members of the association failed to realise that the association is bigger than all of us, and that our personal interests must yield to the collective good of the association. We are lawyers, and we must be seen to do things correctly at all times. I will not allow situations that do not represent us properly as an association to continue. And at the risk of being repetitive, I state again, that SLP has a Byelaw that provides for a nomination by Council and an election by the General Assembly at the Annual General Meeting.
They had a Council meeting on the 16th of July and they had the general meeting on the 26th of the same month. In the address read at the general meeting, the assembly was informed that Council had elected. How would that have happened? According to the byelaws, the Council had no such powers, it could only nominate. And so, there was no valid election. This of course created some grievances among members, and given the situation, it was necessary to step in and clarify that what they had done “according to the byelaws” was a nomination, and as such someone was appointed to administer the section in the interim, until such a time when the council is able to conduct a proper election, and the parties involved in the irregularity said “NO. You must allow the nomination to be treated as an election.” Why should I let such a situation continue?
Let’s take a look at the Section on Business Law, with the same byelaws. They had a nominations committee; nominations were made and no one was opposed! Then they had an Annual General Meeting (AGM) where all those nominated were presented and because there were no oppositions, they were ratified by the general house. So why was it so difficult for another Section (The SLP) to do so? Why couldn’t they work with their own byelaws? It is very simple, if in an association of lawyers, we cannot be bound by our own byelaws, which “WE” put in place to regulate our conduct, how can we now gravitate towards urging political parties to respect the constitution? Charity as they say, must begin at home.
Interestingly, the principal parties in this controversy were/are some of my staunch supporters and most trusted allies who voted for me at the elections. So you see that this is not a mission to witch-hunt anyone, it is only from a need to do the right thing and start on a very good note. There were other members of SLP who felt shortchanged by what the Council had done and I just couldn’t turn a blind eye. I have just been elected President and I owed them a duty to do the right thing. It didn’t make me any happier to know that it was those who were my close allies and associates, who had acted in breach of the law. Still, I acted in the best interest of the bar. Whether it is accepted now or rejected by the parties, is not such an issue for me, as long as I am certain that I did the right thing for the collective interest of the bar, and which is why I can carry on with my work undisturbed by all of this.
Quite a few people view your suspension of the slp election as a direct replication of the sbl crisis a few years ago; with the months and even years of inactivity that followed the restraint on the sbl. Some members are wondering if they should expect more of these duplicate actions of an administration they claim to remember not so fondly?
What happened with the SBL also happened justifiably, as the President did get the necessary approval from NEC to carryout that action. In this case, there was no election, so there was a lacuna and thus I didn’t have to go to NEC. Unlike the case of the SBL, the reverse is the case now, the SBL since the so called crisis has been getting better. The conference which took place at the Le Meridien, Ibom Resort, Uyo is recorded as the best the SBL has ever had in its history. At the moment, there are several other seminars, workshops and meetings lined up for the entire year. So this has had an entirely different effect on the progress of the section. I maintain that the only reason we took that action, was to uplift the Section and to promote legal practice in Nigeria. I assure you that SLP will in two years, be as strong as the SBL, if not more and will definitely achieve its full potential with nothing holding it back.
You started work in earnest right after you assumed office, putting your manpower together. One of the very 1st committees you set up was the nba constitution review committee, and part of the primary objectives or mandate of this committee was to review the current election system. Why was it a primary concern of yours to urgently change the system that brought you into office?
It is easier to carry out a reform when you have had first-hand experience of the things you aim to reform. During the period leading up to my election, I had to visit almost a hundred and nine (109) branches to canvass votes and support – as is the practice. This is a little less than the entire branches of the NBA. In the thick of the insecurity and insurgencies, I travelled the length and breadth of the nation. I journeyed to Yola, Sokoto, Jalingo, Gombe, etc. The only reason I didn’t go to Mubi and a few other branches was because my hosts expressed security and safety concerns. The Attorney General of Borno State specifically said he’d be sleeping with both eyes if I made it down there. And indeed, if you take an in-depth look or do a thorough analysis of the situation, you’d find that we could actually do without this stressful process. Even, Lagos, Ikorodu, Badagry and Otta branches cannot be done effectively in one week, how much more, a hundred and nine branches. Candidates are led to believe that failure to visit any branch is a mark of disrespect to that branch, but we cannot continue to encourage such a voting system. We don’t need to go through this – at least not in this age and time.
Additionally, we have our delegates’ conference and elections in July and the Annual General Conference (AGC) in August. So let’s use the instance of a man from Maiduguri, who drives to Abuja to cast his vote in July, then drives back to Maiduguri and then makes the same journey back again in August to attend the AGC. Isn’t it a tedious process for him?
Meanwhile, most of these delegates may not be able to foot the bills for these trips – taking care of fares, accommodation and logistics. So think also of the cost of these trips for the NBA and even the candidates, who may have to accommodate delegates at these times (first for 3 days -July) and then for another one week –August) in other to get their support or votes. Note that we have about a hundred and nine branches; with a minimum of 10 delegates from each branch, as some branches have much more than this – which gives us about a thousand four hundred (1,500) delegates. How much would a three-night accommodation for a thousand four hundred delegates amount to? Well, at N20, 000 (for an average Abuja Boutique hotel) it’s Twenty-Eight Million Naira (N28, 000, 000, 00) per night and Fifty-Six Million Naira (N56, 000, 000, 00) for three nights. We haven’t included Food, Beverage, Transportation and other logistics.
Speaking truthfully to the facts, delegates sometimes take rooms from all the each and every one of the candidates with promise of votes. So, the expense is way higher than we have just calculated. This is the cost of one election as designed by our constitution. So what we have in place is a system that encourages and thrives on corruption.
My people say you do not chase a snake away from your house and celebrate that it has found it’s a way into your neighbour’s house. If I have gone just through such a stressful, demanding and nerve-wracking process to become the leader of the bar, why not make it easier and less painful for others. I don’t think I want to see another colleague go through such a process again. This is why I have canvassed for electronic voting, so everyone can vote from wherever they are. The NBA elections fall within the vacation period, and I know a few close associates of mine, who had to break their vacation to come cast their votes and then rush back to continue their vacation with their families. For those who went on first-class tickets, that’s about a million naira (N1, 000, 000 .00) and for Business Class it cost them about Eight Hundred Thousand Naira (N800, 000 .00). This is an era where these members could’ve easily logged on to their PCs and to the Internet, to quickly cast their votes “at no additional cost to them.” Should we render our members bankrupt as an association? I don’t think we should encourage this any longer. Nonetheless, I do not own the bar, I can only suggest to the association. Which is why I put together a committee, so they can give us an informed report for electronic voting to properly guide us.
Do we have a report from the committee now?
The report is ready, but I haven’t met with the committee yet. we should hear from them soon.
Part of your goals for this administration, as outlined in your manifesto includes an agenda to protect the legal industry in nigeria from the influx of foreign law firms. How do you intend to do this?
Stamp and seal!
A foreign lawyer will not be able to seal a document in Nigeria, unless aided by mischievous Nigerian lawyers who have no inkling of their worth and would do anything for handouts. Whereas, if the tables were turned, the same foreign lawyer would not compromise these standards. We understand that the world is becoming a global village, but there must be rules of engagement. Without the requisite qualifications and adherence to the laws and strict regulations, I cannot walk into a jurisdiction within the United States and begin to sign off on Power Purchase Agreements. I will be sent to jail. So why do we sneak them in and out of here just because they throw peanuts at us. Is that how we want to grow our profession and our legal market? We have totally missed the point!
It is not such a difficult thing. If you want to come in, just be ready to play by the rules, as we would do in their own countries. There are reciprocal conditions in their countries. If we unify in our efforts to stop this intrusion, then maybe they would bring their governments to bear on the issues, so we can discuss what the Rules of engagement would be, country to country.
See continuation next week