THE 2013 NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE: AN OVERVIEW

Transcription

1 THE 2013 NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE: AN OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION For the last fifty three years, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA has been holding its Annual General Conferences in various cities in Nigeria. At the NBA, it is our belief that the exchange of information and ideas through our Annual General Conference can strengthen the Bar s role in fulfilling its tripartite role. Firstly, the NBA Annual General Conference, AGC can be educational and informative for lawyers. Secondly, lawyers can learn from the experiences of other individuals and organizations and thirdly, they can often lead to recommendations that can be used in a number of ways. E.g. proposals that may lead to law reform or exert pressure on government. And so when over 8,000 members of the NBA cutting across the Bar, Bench, academia, CSOs, private sector, legal officers in Ministries etc. gathered in Calabar, Cross River State from 25th 30th August, 2013, it was yet another Annual General Conference of the NBA. The 2013 AGC has come and gone with reminiscences. Over the conference period, the serene and tourist city of Calabar particularly the Tinapa Business resort, hosted about 8,000 registered participants from the 100 branches of the NBA, international guests, colleagues from the diaspora and invited guests. OVERVIEW 1

2 The theme of this year s conference was Law Leadership and Challenges of nationhood in the 21 st Century Nigeria. The Keynote speaker was Professor Jonah Isawa Elaigwu, an Emeritus Professor and my humble self as the Chief Host in my capacity as the President of the Bar. There were over 20 working sessions and 40 events at the conference. The conference kicked off with a Jumat service on Friday, 23rd July at the Central Mosque, Bogobiri Street, Calabar and a Thanksgiving Service at the Chapel of Redemption, University of Calabar on Sunday, 25th August, The theme of the conference was carefully chosen in view of the current state of affairs in Nigeria. We believe that the challenges facing Nigeria as a nation are the absence of the appropriate legal framework that will trigger credible, free and fair elections and economic development. All this will lead to accountable and exemplary leadership. The conference was generally well attended with the figure of attendance estimated to be over 8,000 lawyers from almost all the state branches Opening Ceremony The opening ceremony took place on Monday, 26th August, 2013 at 10:00 am, under the chairmanship of Hon. Justice S.M.A. Belgore GCON, Past Chief Justice of Nigeria. The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, ably represented by the Honourable Attorney-General and Minster of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN, CFR declared the conference open. Also in attendance were the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, Senate President, David Mark, GCON, represented by, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR, legion of very important personalities, an array of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, cross-section of senior and junior members of the Bar, as well as other invited guests. Showcase Session 2

3 A showcase session was held on the same day on the topic Challenging the Giant: 100 years of Building a Nation, which featured Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, GCON former Vice President of Nigeria and Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross Rivers state. Plenary Session On Tuesday, 27th August, 2013, a Plenary Session chaired by the NBA President, Okey Wali, SAN which was an innovation for the first time in our conferences, took place at Emporium B, Tinapa Business Resort, Calabar. The plenary session was designed in view of the importance and significance of the topic which is Gatekeeper or Whistleblower? A Lawyer s Reporting Obligations Under the Money Laundering Regime. NBA Sections And Fora Also on Tuesday, 27th August, 2013 and Wednesday 28 th August, 2013, as is traditional, our 3 sections i.e. Legal Practice (SLP) Business Law, (SBL) and Public Interest/Development Law (SPIDEL) and the various Fora of the NBA covering the interests of Young Lawyers, Women, Media Lawyers, Armed Forces Lawyers, Academia, etc. had their separate sessions within the conference period and various issues which underscored developments in the legal profession and their implications to Nigeria s nationhood in the 21st century were discussed and recommendations made. These sessions were packed with eminent panellists and discussants to do justice to the topics on offer at the various sessions. Social Events The conference was interlaced with so many social events in order to create a congenial atmosphere for relaxation, re-union and networking for members within the shadows of serious intellectual discourse. This included a friendship center, home hospitality, the Annual Bar Dinner, Young Lawyers Party, and a gala/variety night. 3

4 Annual General Meeting On Thursday, 29th August, 2013 the Annual General Meeting of the Bar was where reports of our activities so far and those of our affiliate statutory bodies were received. On Friday, 30th August, 2013, the conference came to an end with the issuance of a communiqué issued, after which participants departed for their various destinations. The communiqué has since been distributed to media houses across the country. INNOVATIONS To ensure a successful conference the following innovations were employed: 1. A Conference Driven by the National Secretariat: The usual practice was the appointment of a Conference Planning Committee to organize the Annual General Conferences. The overhead incurred in hosting CPC meetings, transportation and other related expenses is usually on the high side and the flow of information between the CPC and the National Secretariat constrained. To avoid these challenges, this administration decided to constitute a Technical Committee which formulated the policies while the National Secretariat drove and implemented the policies which enabled the National Secretariat to be at the center of the conference and also reduce the cost in the planning process. 2. Jumat and Thanksgiving Service: A Jumat Service was held on Friday, 23rd August and a Thanksgiving Service, on Sunday, 25th August, 2013, to kick off the conference. 3. Online NBA-AGC Payment and Registration: At the 2013 AGC the use of online payment and registration was introduced. Conferees can now register and pay for NBA conferences online. The web portal for the payment is managed by Cinfores, who also managed the registration process. 4. Plenary Session: 4

5 A Plenary Session which was another innovation at the 2013 NBA-AGC was held on Tuesday, 27th August, It was designed in view of the importance and significance of the topic which is Gatekeeper or Whistleblower? A Lawyer s Reporting Obligations Under the Money Laundering Regime. 5. Sale of NBA Branded Items: The sale of NBA branded materials such as NBA ties, NBA Branded card holder and NBA car stickers. 6. Flash Drives: The NBA also distributed flash drives to participants in which the papers presented at the conference had been stored. SUCCESSES The 2013 NBA-AGC was a huge success which has been attested to by public opinion and press statements. Areas of successes include: 1. The plenary session which was an innovation at the NBA-AGC 2013 was a huge success and was also well attended. 2. Conference Materials: The conference materials provided were adequate. 3. Crowd Management: Conference registration in past years has been a source of concern but was successfully managed at the 2013 NBA-AGC. 4. Documents in flash drive: This was well received by participants. This decision was informed due to the complaints we have received from past conferences that the CDs used to store the papers were defective. 5. Secretariat Driven: The Secretariat Driven approach of the present administration proved to be a huge success as it greatly helped reduce the overhead meeting cost of the Committee that would have been incurred by the Association. 6. Gala/Variety Night: The Gala/Variety night hosted by the Cross River State Government was a huge success. It showcased the rich cultural heritage of Cross River State. 7. Stamp and Seal Policy: The Stamp and Seal Policy of the NBA was approved by the National Executive Committee of the NBA and the Annual General Meeting for implementation. 5

6 CHALLENGES 1. Late submission of forms of registered members by some branches to the National Secretariat which made it difficult to correctly estimate the expected number of participants at the conference. 2. The late registration of participants made it difficult to plan. A month to the conference we had under 2,000 registered participants. 3. The online registration process proved a challenge to lawyers as a lot of lawyers were not familiar with the process and resulted in the low number of online registration for the conference. 4. Different venues were used for the AGC sessions, as the hub for the conference, the Tinapa Business Resort could not provide as many halls needed. This made it difficult for participants to attend the sessions as Tinapa was quite a distance from the other venues but buses were provided to convey participants to the venues. 5. Accommodation for participants also proved to be a challenge as the number of registered participants exceeded the capacity of hotels in Calabar, but again the Local Organizing Committee was just fantastic in helping source accommodation for lawyers. LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Registration: There is a need to address the issue of late registration by conferees to enable proper logistics arrangement, as late registration constituted a logistical nightmare. 2. Support System: There is a need for further capacity development at the Secretariat to build on the great strides already made. 6

7 3. Early conference planning and early production of conference documentation would go a long way in ensuring the success of the conference. 4. Fundraising Strategies: A more aggressive and efficient fundraising strategy is required 5. NBA Sections and Fora need to be more involved in the planning and running of our conferences, as Sections and Fora are barely noticed, even for their sessions which they should actually manage. NBA-AGC: Thinking Ahead I would like to state categorically without fear of contradiction, that the NBA- AGC is the highest gathering of lawyers anywhere in the world. Even at the International Bar Association Annual Conferences, the highest number of participants is not always more than 4,000. So this number does not precipitate logistical challenges unlike in Nigeria where there are infrastructural challenges. The minimum number of participants at the NBA- AGC is 8,000 every year. The only conference hall in the whole of Nigeria that can take between 8,000 10,000 persons seated is Emporium B, the Tinapa Business Resort, Calabar, Cross River State. Even the international conference Center, Abuja can only take about 4,000 persons at full capacity. So the question is how do we manage the mammoth crowd of participants at our AGC? The NBA should start thinking whether one Annual General Conference every year can still be sustainable or whether there are other options. CONCLUSION: Remarks from colleagues, Press comments and public opinion prove that the 2013 NBA-AGC was indeed a huge success and we owe the success of this conference to the Almighty God, the NBA President, National Officers, TCCP Chairman, Joe Agi SAN and the members of his Committee, Cross River State 7

8 Government, donors, sponsors, LOC, Secretariat Staff and all our colleagues who contributed in every way to the success of the conference. Learning from the mistakes of the 2013 NBA-AGC we are optimistic that the NBA will attain the level of hosting successful conferences in no distant future. Thank you. By Adamu Turaki 8