1.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 59th Annual General Conference
(“AGC”) of the Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”) holding from Friday, 23 August
2019 to Thursday, 29 August 2019. With the theme, “Facing the Future”,
this year’s Conference literally has something for everyone, lawyers and
non-lawyers alike. A key novelty is the several specialized Committee Sessions
– the outcome of collaborative work in content development for the Conference
by the three Sections of the NBA – SBL, SLP and SPIDEL – coordinated by the
Technical Committee for Conference Planning (TCCP). This Conference was
designed as a test-run of such collaboration, notably in content-development,
and it has been a huge success as is showcased by the diversity of the session
topics and the number of sessions – 41 in all, a record number. I invite you to
visit the Conference website (www.nbaconference.com) for the complete array of bouquet on offer.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 59th Annual General Conference
(“AGC”) of the Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”) holding from Friday, 23 August
2019 to Thursday, 29 August 2019. With the theme, “Facing the Future”,
this year’s Conference literally has something for everyone, lawyers and
non-lawyers alike. A key novelty is the several specialized Committee Sessions
– the outcome of collaborative work in content development for the Conference
by the three Sections of the NBA – SBL, SLP and SPIDEL – coordinated by the
Technical Committee for Conference Planning (TCCP). This Conference was
designed as a test-run of such collaboration, notably in content-development,
and it has been a huge success as is showcased by the diversity of the session
topics and the number of sessions – 41 in all, a record number. I invite you to
visit the Conference website (www.nbaconference.com) for the complete array of bouquet on offer.
2.
I must in particular draw your attention to the Rule of Law
Symposium Plenary – another innovation in this year’s Conference which I expect
would be sustained beyond this administration. As you all know, the essence of
our Association and indeed the legal profession is the defense, protection and
promotion of the Rule of Law. We believe that a dedicated Plenary on current Rule
of Law issues should therefore be a standard fare in our Annual Conferences.
The Rule of Law Symposium is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 27 August 2019 at
2pm and has such contemporary sub-topics like “Why the Rule of Law?”,
“Independence of the Legal Profession”, “The
Judiciary, Independence Beyond the Letters of the Law”, “Human
Rights and Criminal Prosecution” and “Promotion of Access to
Justice for Persons Living with Disabilities”.
I must in particular draw your attention to the Rule of Law
Symposium Plenary – another innovation in this year’s Conference which I expect
would be sustained beyond this administration. As you all know, the essence of
our Association and indeed the legal profession is the defense, protection and
promotion of the Rule of Law. We believe that a dedicated Plenary on current Rule
of Law issues should therefore be a standard fare in our Annual Conferences.
The Rule of Law Symposium is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 27 August 2019 at
2pm and has such contemporary sub-topics like “Why the Rule of Law?”,
“Independence of the Legal Profession”, “The
Judiciary, Independence Beyond the Letters of the Law”, “Human
Rights and Criminal Prosecution” and “Promotion of Access to
Justice for Persons Living with Disabilities”.
3.
Incidentally, the Rule of Law Symposium is a yearly staple at the
Annual Conferences of the International Bar Association (“IBA”) and it is
rather fortuitous
Incidentally, the Rule of Law Symposium is a yearly staple at the
Annual Conferences of the International Bar Association (“IBA”) and it is
rather fortuitous
that this year’s IBA Symposium, which is
scheduled for Friday, 27 September 2019 at Seoul, South Korea, has the topic
“Persecution of Lawyers and Judges – threats to the rule of law and the
independence of the legal profession”. This is almost a replica of some of the
sub-topics at the NBA’s Rule of Law Symposium and yet, the two organizations
worked independent of each other in developing the issues and topics for their
respective Rule of Law Symposium. This underscores the importance and
universality of the issues that would be discussed at the Symposium and we are
privileged to have Horacio Bernardes Neto, the President of the International
Bar Association as our very special guest for this Conference. He has
graciously agreed to deliver a Keynote Address at the Rule of Law Symposium
apart from delivering a Keynote Address at the Opening Ceremony of the
Conference on Monday, 26 August 2019.
scheduled for Friday, 27 September 2019 at Seoul, South Korea, has the topic
“Persecution of Lawyers and Judges – threats to the rule of law and the
independence of the legal profession”. This is almost a replica of some of the
sub-topics at the NBA’s Rule of Law Symposium and yet, the two organizations
worked independent of each other in developing the issues and topics for their
respective Rule of Law Symposium. This underscores the importance and
universality of the issues that would be discussed at the Symposium and we are
privileged to have Horacio Bernardes Neto, the President of the International
Bar Association as our very special guest for this Conference. He has
graciously agreed to deliver a Keynote Address at the Rule of Law Symposium
apart from delivering a Keynote Address at the Opening Ceremony of the
Conference on Monday, 26 August 2019.
4.
For the socially-minded, this Conference will not be all work,
networking and talk-shop; there are a number of exciting social events in the
programme starting with the 10 kilometre Health Walk scheduled for Saturday, 24
August 2019 at 7am taking off from Harbour Point – one of the two Conference
venues. There would also be a Welcome Cocktail on Sunday, 25 August 2019 at 5pm
and we would all be entertained with and by a stage Musical – “Fela and the
Kalakuta Queens” – on Monday, 26 August 2019 at 7pm. There is of course the
President’s Dinner – you would not want to miss that – on Tuesday, 27 August
2019 at 7pm and finally a Music Concert on Wednesday, 28 August 2019 at 6pm to
round off the Conference.
For the socially-minded, this Conference will not be all work,
networking and talk-shop; there are a number of exciting social events in the
programme starting with the 10 kilometre Health Walk scheduled for Saturday, 24
August 2019 at 7am taking off from Harbour Point – one of the two Conference
venues. There would also be a Welcome Cocktail on Sunday, 25 August 2019 at 5pm
and we would all be entertained with and by a stage Musical – “Fela and the
Kalakuta Queens” – on Monday, 26 August 2019 at 7pm. There is of course the
President’s Dinner – you would not want to miss that – on Tuesday, 27 August
2019 at 7pm and finally a Music Concert on Wednesday, 28 August 2019 at 6pm to
round off the Conference.
5.
Some of us may miss the fact that next year’s 2020 Conference
would be NBA’s 60th AGC. Attaining 60 is a notable landmark that is worth celebrating
and we shall celebrate it in an unforgettable fashion. What you will experience
in this year’s AGC will be but a foretaste of what we would roll out for the
NBA’s 60th AGC next year and you
cannot afford to miss it. The date for the Conference (21-27 August 2020) was
approved by NEC at its meeting on 28 March 2019 and we are already bubbling
with ideas on how to make that Conference memorable for all of us. We would
share our plans with you as soon as they are approved by NEC. Meanwhile,
welcome to the NBA 2019 Annual General Conference and enjoy to the fullest the
rich menu of our Conference and that of the City of Lagos.
Some of us may miss the fact that next year’s 2020 Conference
would be NBA’s 60th AGC. Attaining 60 is a notable landmark that is worth celebrating
and we shall celebrate it in an unforgettable fashion. What you will experience
in this year’s AGC will be but a foretaste of what we would roll out for the
NBA’s 60th AGC next year and you
cannot afford to miss it. The date for the Conference (21-27 August 2020) was
approved by NEC at its meeting on 28 March 2019 and we are already bubbling
with ideas on how to make that Conference memorable for all of us. We would
share our plans with you as soon as they are approved by NEC. Meanwhile,
welcome to the NBA 2019 Annual General Conference and enjoy to the fullest the
rich menu of our Conference and that of the City of Lagos.
Paul Usoro, SAN
NBA President