Over 10000 legal practitioners are already in Lagos for the 57th annual general conference of the Nigerian Bar Association NBA. It is the largest gathering of lawyers on the African continent.

The weeklong conference which started Thursday, is taking place at the Landmark Centre, Lagos with the theme ‘African Business: Penetrating Through Institution Building’.

Barrister Casmir Offor, from the NBA Rivers State branch, was called to Bar 1995, he paid N100,000 for early bird registration and has regularly attended the conference. He speaks on his expectations from the conference: “I expect to acquire knowledge and from the knowledge we acquire here, we will be able to move to the next level legally speaking.”

He said the NBA conferences are one of the ways to rate the NBA leadership.

“If the conference fails, it means the leadership has constraints but if they do well that means they have lived up to expectations.

“I just hope that the 57th AGC will not be a disappointment because there are a lot of expectations, and we hope that those organising it will meet these expectations,” he said.

Oluwaseyi Olayinka Ogunlolu, a young lawyer said in an interview with Daily Trust that he is attending the conference for the third time, adding that he has a lot of expectations as a young lawyer.

“My expectations are mainly for young lawyers in the society. Most of the young lawyers who pass out do not know areas where to practice and they can barely trace a step, they do not know what direction to go.

“By coming to this conference I will see other grey areas of law, novel areas of law that a young lawyer can venture into. Some lawyers can go into litigation, there are new areas of law now which are novel, these include entertainment law and intellectual property.

“Most young lawyers do not know these things and they need to know. You can even go to military law or immigration law. So my expectations are to see how this conference will point us to such novel areas of law,” Ogunlolu said.

Chairman, 2017 Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP), Prof. Kanyisola  Ajayi (SAN) said the conference will chart a path into the future, the digital age, in taking concrete action in institution building.

“This year’s conference would deliver on its promise of setting the agenda not only for the Nigerian economy but also Africa’s business space,” he said

He said the NBA conference,  has over time become a melting point of intellectual and policy shaping discourse.

NBA President, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud (SAN), said this year’s conference is organised against the backdrop of the challenges facing the legal professional and the country and indeed the African continent.

The theme, ‘African Business Penetrating Through Institutional Building’ was carefully chosen to underscore the challenge of bringing prosperity to Africa’s most populous country and by extension to the continent, he said.

Between yesterday and today, delegates will be dissecting avenues for Africa to break out of economic doldrums.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who was acting president at the time was one of the participants as delegates examined  topics such as ‘Roadmap to Economic Recovery’, ‘Military Business’, ‘Emerging Institutions and the ‘Leading Women’ among others.

The programme comes to a close tomorrow August 23 with the UN Forum medical screening and breakout sessions with topics such as ‘Legislation: Tool for National Planning’,  ‘Governance and Ethics’, ‘Tips for Building a 360 You’, ‘Emerging Trends in Global Legal Practice’, and ‘Home Baked-Home Made’.

Past NBA presidents, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), Prince Lanke Odogiyan, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), Ondo State governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN), Mr. Okey Wali (SAN) and Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN) will play key roles in the 57th conference.

Adelanwa Bamgboye & John Chuks Azu
The Daily Trust News