Tobenna Erojikwe: My Personal Story About a Man Who Genuinely Cares
I have had the distinct pleasure of serving as national Chairman of the Young Lawyers Forum (YLF) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) under two NBA presidents, Mr Paul Usoro SAN who appointed me, and Mr Olumide Akpata who retained me in the post until I volunteered to step aside early 2022 having delivered on my key objectives.
In the past, I have taken pleasant remarks about my tenure as YLF Chairman with all humility, but today, I will share a less known story about my path to that position. In 2017, still finding my feet in my first year as a lawyer, I applied for and received a sponsorship to attend an oil and gas law seminar organised by the NBA Lagos branch. At the event, one of the organisers, Tobenna Erojikwe, then Chairman of the branch’s Continuing Legal Education Committee (CLE), took me aside to tell me he saw a lot of promise in me just from reading my application email.
Tobenna subsequently invited me to join the CLE committee and I was the youngest in the room at the committee’s meetings but he ensured my voice was always heard and respected. He also entrusted me with the responsibility of planning a mentorship session on energy law with Mr George Etomi attended by over 60 young lawyers. For a young lawyer from humble beginnings, Tobenna’s support and friendship bolstered my confidence as I navigated the legal community.
When Tobenna called me in October 2019 to discuss the prospect of me becoming the national Chairman of the YLF, he was clear about how the YLF needed a leader who would focus on helping fellow young lawyers build the capacity they needed to thrive in the evolving legal market. Upon my appointment by Mr Usoro SAN, Tobenna was always available to provide strategic guidance, brainstorm with, and make relevant introductions across the country despite his schedule as a Partner at The Law Crest.
We would occasionally meet late at night because I was also busy as an Associate at a top law firm, Banwo & Ighodalo but he regularly accommodated my timing because he was passionate about empowering young lawyers.
In recognition of his efforts at the Lagos branch, Tobenna was appointed Chairman of the NBA’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) in March 2021 and has since displayed his transformational leadership at the national level, helping to centre capacity development for lawyers. Having such a progressive leader at the ICLE made it easy for the YLF, under my leadership, to secure ICLE’s support to launch a mediation training in partnership with a UK-based organisation that qualified successful participants as Associates of the UK Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
It was also largely due to Tobenna’s intervention, working closely with then NBA President, Mr Akpata, that we were able to bridge the funding gap of about N10 million when we hosted the National Young Lawyers Summit in Abeokuta in September 2021. An emergency trip outside the country prevented him from attending the Summit in person but did not stop him from joining a technical session or redeeming his pledge to the YLF.
With the benefit of working with different administrations of the NBA in varying capacities since 2018 and relating closely with different categories of lawyers across the country, I am convinced that Tobenna has the requisite altruism, capacity and commitment that the NBA needs to once again live up to its role as an organisation advancing the interests of all its members while contributing to the national polity. His brilliance as a lawyer, genuine interest in people and forthright approach to dealing with issues assure of having an NBA that truly leaves no lawyer behind.
