Thursday, October 8, 2009

NBA LAGOS BRANCH ELECTION: HOW CHIJIOKE OKOLI EMERGED CHAIRMAN

On Tuesday, the 14th July 2009, the N.B.A Lagos branch conducted general elections into her Executive Committee. A large majority of the people who participated in the elections as voters, observers and monitors believed that the process was free and fair. There are a few others however who had reservations about the wholesomeness of the elections that led to the emergence of the new leaders, who are as follows Chijioke Okoli Esq Chairman, S.B. Onu Esq General Secretary, John I. Duru Esq 1st Vice-chairman, Olufunmi Oluyede 2nd vice chairman, Geraldine Wey (Miss) Treasurer, Marian Jones Financial Secretary, Joyce Oduah Social Secretary, Nelson C.S. Ogbuanya Esq Publicity Secretary, Elubode B. Omoboriowo Esq 1st Asst. Secretary, Theodore Ezeobi Jnr. Esq 2nd Asst. Secretary, Chinedu Nnagozie Nduka Esq. Asst Financial Secretary, Sessi Sonayon Akojenu Asst. Publicity Secretary, A.B. Oyewo Esq Ex Officio and Gregory Ayodele Dasilva Esq Ex officio respectively.
To the doubters, the presence of “strange faces”, rather un-lawyerly looking types who turned up in batches and groups, with some of them speaking poor English to vote convinced them that not all the voters in the elections were lawyers, talk less of being members of the Lagos branch of the NBA.
But the school who believed in the fairness and freeness of the electoral process and which include Taiwo Taiwo and Gboyega Kolade (2nd and 3rd runner up chairmanship candidates), relied on the facts that all voters were duly accredited and majority of them known by other lawyers present.
In the 14 man Executive only six posts were contested to wit, Chairman, 1st vice chairman, 2nd vice chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer and Financial Secretary.
In four of the contests, to wit 2nd vice chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer and Financial Secretary, the ‘duellists’ were only two per post, male and female!
Interestingly in three of the four contests, the ladies triumphed. In the contest for Treasurer, Geraldine Wey floored Prince Sunday Abimbola, while for the post of Financial Secretary Mrs. Mariam Jones crushed Uchechukwu Isaac Obi and in the 2nd Vice chairman tussle Funmilayo Oluyede (Mrs) set Seth Amaefule aside to clinch the post.
However in the very important post of General Secretary, Sunday Bassey Onu a male powered beyond flouncy Mrs. Omohafe Theresa Opara to occupy the seat.
Even in the 1st vice chairman position where two of the candidates were men, the only female there, Rose Agbo could not her ground as John Duru defeated both her and Mike Olufemi Idowu, the other male contestant.
As well known, there were four contestants in the race for chairman-Kolade Adegboyega, Chijioke Okoli, Taiwo Taiwo and Dayo Onakoya.
Right from the “kick-off” of the race, it was clear that Onakoya who predictably came last would not make it, no thanks to a reticent personality of the candidate and a near mute campaign strategy that became energized too late in the day.
The other three candidates were always within the range of possibility of success. Initially, the clear favourite was Kolade, hotly pursued by both Taiwo and Okoli. Few weeks to the election though Kolade’s pace slackened and it appeared quite strongly that Taiwo, better accepted to older Yoruba lawyers had caught up with him.
On the contrary, Okoli’s fortunes appeared to have dwindled with the bolstering of Taiwo’s chances. As it turned out to be, that was a mere appearance. Working resolutely on the political field, physically and via e-communications, the- ‘be-hatted’ Okoli who looks like an entertainment impresario and saunters along like a happy strolling tourist, in the long-run simply out-campaigned his opponents even as he richly benefited from the fact that while has three opponents are Yoruba he is Igbo.
The soft spoken Okoli would however not agree that his ethnicity played a significant role in his victory. In an informal chat with the editor of this magazine, a few days after his victory he disclosed “Right from the on-set I prepared my campaign to meet with only one Yoruba candidate eventually on the field. Look at it, I won 45% (actually 48%) of the votes. Was it possible that if two of the other guys had stepped down from the race, would all their supporters have voted for the only one Yoruba remaining?”
Some observers attributed Okoli’s victory to the massive support he allegedly received from principals of ‘big’ commercial practice firms like Babalakin & Co., Okeke & Ajumagobia and Aluko & Oyebode, who brought their lawyers in numbers to vote in Okoli a commercial/corporate practice lawyer like themselves in as chairman. Even the Olasupo Sasore S.A.N the Attorney General of Lagos State a commercial law practitioner was also said to have influenced certain voters from the Ministry of Justice in the direction of Okoli.
That Okoli, would be the most likely candidate one to gain the chair became clear on Monday the 13th July 2009, when the well attended Annual General Meeting of the Lagos branch held. While the crowd paid no attention at all to Onakoya and gave a diminished regard to Kolade, Taiwo was met with occasional shouts of approval but Okoli was serenaded with irrepressible and continuous roars of affirmation “The Chair!”, “The Chair!”, by his supporters at the meeting. And chairman indeed he became the next day by scoring 335 votes in the contest to Taiwo’s 250 Kolade’s 109 and Onakoya 40.
The just concluded elections of the Lagos Bar is one which many Yoruba lawyers especially the older ones find galling. They see the out-come of the election as proof that “the Igbos have taken over our (read Yoruba) bar”.
Said one such embittered Yoruba irredentist lawyer “if you look at the list of the new leaders of NBA Lagos, you will not be unreasonable to think it is the list of the leaders of NBA Owerri, Onitsha or Enugu-most of the leaders are from the East and only one Yoruba person is holding any senior position”
However there are observers that such a lamentation as above is unfounded since Igbo and other non Yoruba lawyers appear to be more active in the affairs of the “Premier Branch”. Said one such observer “Don’t mind all those of our people complaining now. Do we attend the monthly meetings more than the Igbos? Even in the elections only 9 Yorubas were in the race out of 24 contestants. Out of those 9, three contested for Chairman, why another three contest for Ex-officio, so what chances do we have. In the very important office of General Secretary, was there any Yoruba candidate there?
Out of the six posts declared uncontested, there was only one Yoruba among those returned-un-opposed. Why didn’t the Yoruba contest in those other posts? On the day of the election was the venue not overtaking by the Igbos?