SETTING THE BAR ON THE RIGHT PATH: WHO THE CAP FIT, LET HIM WEAR IT

• By Adeke Aondongu Abel, Esq., LL.M

In less than 48 hours from now, lawyers in Nigeria will be electing a new set of leaders to run their affairs under the umbrella of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) for the next two years and the office of the President of the NBA is one of them.

The process will no doubt presents another opportunity for lawyers to yet elect leaders particularly a president who will address the many challenges that are bedeviling the legal profession in Nigeria.

There are three eminent members of the NBA who have indicated interest to be the number one officer of the Association. Amongst these men, there is only one man who is eminently experienced and qualified to lead the NBA having served as the Publicity Secretary, the Secretary and Chairman Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch at various period.

He was also elected as the General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association in the year 2002 after putting up a sterling performance at the branch leadership level.

It is also very interesting to note that this particular man has also occupied vital positions outside the legal profession, some of which are; Former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Ekiti State University, 2017-2018; Member Governing Council Lagos Multi-Door court (LMDC) of the High Court of Justice, Lagos State; Member Governing Council, Covenant University Ota, Ogun State; Member National Political Reform Conference (NPRC) set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2005; Former Member Appointment and Promotion Committee Board of Regent Covenant University; Former Secretary the Living Faith Church Deacons Assembly.

He is also a life member, of the Distinguish Body of Benchers – the highest Regulatory Body for the Legal Profession; member of the International Bar Association and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria to mention but a few.

It is pertinent to note that in all the positions he has occupied, he has exhibited quality leadership and uncommon capacity and has never been found wanting in anyway whatsoever. That person is no other person than Julius Oladele Adesina, SAN popularly known as
Dele Adesina, the Principal Partner of Dele Adesina LP.

His capacity to lead the Bar has been severally attested by well meaning members of the NBA. On his competence and credibility a well respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria J.S. Okutepa had this to say about Dele Adesina, SAN: “NBA president must be a lawyer of impeccable credibility with proven records of previous national and international services to the Bar. He must be a team player with vast knowledge of the internal workings of the NBA and legal profession. After a very careful analysis of those aspiring to lead the Bar as president of NBA, I see Deacon Dele Adesina, SAN as the only person with such credentials that is why I stand with and support Deacon Dele Adesina, SAN aka DASAN for NBA president 2020-2022!

Another respected learned silk, D.D Dodo; SAN had this to say on Dele Adesina, SAN: “You have the capacity, institutional memory and clout to provide us leadership now”.

These brilliant submissions on Dele Adesina by revered Learned Silks were further collaborated abd aptly appreciated by another respected learned colleague Chinenye Anoka when she enunciated with an Igbo proverb thus:

“What the elders see sitting on the floor, the young can never see even when they climb the tallest palm tree”.
There are reasons why it seems that all those who were there and saw when the NBA really worked desire to see DASAN at the helms. This is not about Seniors v. Juniors. I tell you that anyone who tries to create a dichotomy between the juniors and the seniors does not love the NBA. DASAN is a man who cares deeply for the profession, its young members as much as he respects the tradition of the Bar. I am with D. D. Dodo SAN on this. Wouldn’t you rather join DASAN to make the NBA better for all?”

Renowned human activist and Learned Silk Femi Falana also had this to say on the competence and credibility of Dele Adesina, SAN; “though not a radical in the pure sense of the word, Adesina is a solid liberal, a man of character, undoubted pedigree and experience, whose doggedness and assiduousness in the pursuit of the NBA’s core objectives make him a natural choice for the association’s leadership at a time like this.”

Most of the branch officers who served during his tenure as the General Secretary of the NBA have also attested to his productivity and competence.

He is indeed a personality “who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way”
which is the attributes of a quality leader as opined by John C. Maxwell.

There is no doubt therefore that the exalted cap of the NBA fits Deacon Dele Adesina and I am therefore calling on all legal practitioners to support him to wear it for the betterment of the Bar as succinctly captured in the words of respected Learned Silk Chief Yomi Aliu, SAN “ I support the best by far, Dele Adesina, SAN!”