The Nigerian Bar Association (‘NBA’), as the professional association of lawyers in Nigeria with automatic and obligatory membership, espouses a cardinal objective of ‘promoting and advancing legal education, continuing legal education, advocacy and jurisprudence.’ The NBA must provide a structured system and opportunities for continuing professional development of its members. It has taken up this challenge.
The NBA has an Institute of Continuing Legal Education that accredits various CLE Training Providers. The Institute also assesses and awards CLE Points for the educational components of all NBA National and Sectional conferences and seminars, and those of Branches which apply and meet the criteria. A lot of work has been done in the area of promoting a learning culture at the Bar, I propose to strengthen the existing engagement.
Continuing Legal Education and Professional Capacity Development is one of the six (6) key thematic areas in the Agenda of Core Pursuits (set out in MY MANIFESTO), and shall be a core focus of the Secretariat under my watch. We shall do this by:
- Promoting affordable quality Continuing Legal Education and Professional Capacity Development for members of the Association;
- Promoting and facilitating sponsorship of practitioners by the Secretariat and their local Branches to programs beneficial to their professional growth;
- Identifying and focusing on acquiring expertise in under-served and emerging areas of the Law where practitioners can develop new competencies and accordingly enhance their capacity to earn better fees; and
- Supporting the Branches in developing critical capacity building programmes for their members.
The Covid-19 Pandemic, resulting lockdown and our ‘new normal’ have demonstrated that we do not need to gather colleagues in a physical location in order to share knowledge. Technology and applications have made virtual learning interactions readily available to everybody with a device or smart-phone, and we can leverage on this to bring CLE options closer to all our members – at an affordable or no cost.
If you elect me as General Secretary of the NBA, I Pledge to serve with the passion, integrity and efficiency for which I am well known, and to pursue this and five (5) other Core Pursuits which I have elaborated on in MY MANIFESTO to deliver a ‘Fit For Purpose’ Bar Secretariat. My Profile and Manifesto have been uploaded by they ECNBA and can be viewed at (or downloaded from) https://nigerianbar.org.ng/node/257.
I will place my time, energy, talents, experience and resources at the disposal of the Bar for the next two years, and offer the kind of premium stewardship which the Bar definitely needs at this time. The Bar needs a great scribe. I have been tried, tested and adjudged to be one.
I seek your mandate. Let’s do this together.
Warm regards,
Alexander Nduka MUOKA
Candidate for General Secretary of the NBA
