NBA needs leadership shift” -Fapounda.
Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale
Fapounda has made case for ideological rebirth within the Nigeria Bar
Association’s (NBA) to give room for a transformation that would
ensure the upcoming generation of lawyers take over the mantle of leadership.
Fapounda who was speaking as guest speaker on a topic “The Nigerian
Bar Association in the 21st century: The lnterest of the Legal
Practitioner and the Competing to Act in the Public lnterest,” at
Chief Wole Olanipekun 1st Annual Lecture during the NBA, Ikere Chapter
Law Week celebration in lkere-Ekiti explained that the infusion of
young blood with the mindsets of the 21st century societal demands
would make the practice of law more impactful.
The Commissioner who thanked the past and current leadership of the
association for their indisputable contributions to the Nigeria legal
profession however recommended a fusion that would enable the younger
generations bring the imports of their ages into leadership.
“May I suggest at the risk of annoying my generation – those of us in
the ‘about to retire’ age group, that we need a generational change in
the leadership of the NBA. We need a leader from the digital age, with
the knowledge, energy and zeal to reform our profession and challenge
our frail legal system”, he affirmed.
He also made case for a better condition of service for legal
practitioners noting that a better standard of living would ensure a
higher percentage of lawyers take up cases that are of public
interests adding that piles of legal interventions required across the
country are higher than the numbers of lawyers available for such cases.
He explained that poverty, ignorance and illiteracy were increasingly
denying a huge sector of the population access to Justice appealing
that NBA should rise up to the challenge of getting Justice for the
down trodden.
He applauded a former NBA Chairman, Wole Olanipekun for his
unprecedented contributions to the legal profession noting that
upcoming lawyers should tap from his wealth of experience for their
progressions.
Earlier in her speech, the wife of the state governor, Erelu Bisi
Fayemi had advocated for laws in support of women’s plights.
She condemned cultural and social practices that tend to subvert the
rights of the women folks noting that laws should be made to ensure
the rights of women as well as their male counterparts were protected.
Ogoga of lkere kingdom, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado lauded the
organizers of the event for the initiative especially for the honour
bestowed on Wole Olanipekun whom he described as a leading light in
the Nigeria legal profession.
Fapounda while adopting the practice of Alternative Dispute Resolution
( ADR) as the as the solution to the burden of cost and time which
litigation places on the judicial process opined that ADR should be
officially recognized as a means of mediation while lawyers who resort
to it should be adequately compensated.
He promised that the current administration in the state would not
relent in its commitment to the welfare of judicial workers and would
keep pursuing the upliftment of the judiciary as the hope of the
common man.
