I watched a video on how some lawyers destroyed registration booths during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference – and carted away registration materials: “Nigerian lawyers go on rampage, destroying registration booths and conference bags at NBA conference last night August 23..
“According to reports, the lawyers had gathered to collect conference bags which had hindered them from collecting other conference materials. The lawyers became impatient over the slow pace at which they were being attended to. Some of them forcefully reached out to get the bags containing the conference materials and this led to chaos that saw the registration booths being destroyed.”
We condemn this attitude exhibited by the supposedly learned men. But this is not typical: Nigerians live on the mindset of scarcity and that has remained our problem. We always think things will never get to us. And that is the reason we cut corners, fight and mess up things. Even the demons of corruption are rooted therein: steal for the great grandkids since before they are born, everything would have gone. But for experienced lawyers to do this, it means Nigeria is fading faster than some of us might have thought.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
Those days in FUTO, we used to “fight”, bulldoze, etc just to pay the N25 school fees. The question remains: why must you fight to do that? In reality, it makes no sense why a student will push and be pushed to pay school fees. Then, go to motor parks: check what happens there. The bus has 14 seats and 7 people are waiting, yet, those 7 will push to board.
I do hope the Nigerian Bar Association issues small penalties to these lawyers. We cannot have angry lawyers in Nigeria. The woman in Akwa Ibom who locked up Inibehe Effiong is enough evidence!
https://youtu.be/4cln4pzzt_s
---
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Feb 10 - May 3, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.
We are not producing and grooming enough quality humans here, and hiding under the umbrella of professional bodies cannot cover major shortcomings and inadequacies.
That people acquired professional certificates does not mean that they have excelled in civilization and are now ethically sound.
The junior minister of Labour is also a lawyer with even a SAN billboard, but how civil is he? You cannot really hide bad behaviour for long, once you are under pressure or get provoked, you will still advertise all of yourself to us.
What again are we gonna train our kids in? STEM won’t drill them in Ethics, Law focus on the ephemeral and not true Justice; the ones with Liberal Arts background are even shallower, so what could work at scale?
We need mass education on fundamentals of Philosophy and Ethics, until such a time when ordinary people can live out these virtues with ease.
The one they made Judge in Akwa Ibom, they still need to review her career and see if she should be near the bench, that is if the assessors are not in worse shape.
Not long ago that I watched Justice Mary Odili on why justices could be corrupt. Well, having a corrupt justice/judge is like giving what is holy to the dogs; it’s not permissible.