Why Kwara has not produce NBA President – Gold Barrister Bola Rasaq Gold was called to the bar in 1999 and had his tutelage with Iyiola Oyedepo while still working with Dayo Akinlaja now SAN. He was among the first graduands of Abuja law campus following his geometric educational progression from Kwara Polytechnic and Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto respectively and established his chamber in December 4, 2013. In this interview with ACTING EDITOR, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM, the former chairman of Law Dinner Committee and Young Lawyers' Welfare Association gave his perspective why Kwaran has not produced the NBA national President yet among other sundry issue of interest. Excerpts: Why has it been difficult for Kwara to produce the NBA President? I don't believe Kwaran don't have the wherewithal in term of qualified legal personalities that can challenge for the post of the National President of the NBA but the issue is that it has to do with the personal interest of the individuals that might want to go for the office. A person must have interest to aspire to become the president of the association. So if no Kwaran is interested, it cannot be forced on any other person just because such fellow is a Kwaran. The position to contest for such is subjective and the person must have interest even if he is a Kwaran and follow the normal procedure of the politics of the NBA to be elected president. That is my view and not that we don't have people who can do it and Kwarans are ignorant of the politics of the national bar. if Kwarans who have made their mark in the profession failed to signify interest, you cannot force them. But why the interest still lacking despite our progress and development as a people and jurisdiction in the country's legal community? It is subjective. We have Kwarans that have made their marks in the profession in terms of money, connection and whatever one wants to mention in the outer and inner bar, but if they don't have the interest of becoming NBA president, you can't force them to go, the issue is about politics and it has to do largely with interest. This issue is not about selection but election and to be elected, you have to aspire. Nobody can appoint you to that position, it is about election which of course has procedures. Why are Kwarans then shying aware from reaching the peak of their career as lawyers especially regarding bar politics? As legal practitioners, the peak is to get to the rank of a senior advocate of Nigeria. Getting to be the NBA President is politics and if anybody decides to be in the political aspect of the NBA, then the NBA presidency may be the peak. And by the current event, one does not even need to be a SAN anymore to be the President of the NBA. The NBA presidency is another area entirely that has nothing to do with the peak of the career, it has do with those who are in the political arena the NBA which not everybody is interested in. And those that have interest in the political aspect of the NBA are in the minority just like the entity called Nigeria itself because you will discover that those in the political arena of Nigeria are not in the majority. But in comparative terms, there is the belief that an NBA president by that status will be able to make more impact and bring political development to his state than just being a SAN which is personal? If we talk about involvement in appointment, the NBA president does have input in the appointment of any minister, commissioners, legislative and agencies of government. But the NBA president has representative in terms of appointment in the judiciary or he is there by himself. Mind you, we have to understand that this appointment which are related to appointment of judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and other, all have procedures. The fact that the NBA president is from Kwara State for instance does not mean that his position should be considered to appoint a Kwaran. The procedure has to come from the state judicial service commission. So, it is at the top where ratification will be done, the NBA president is just a member or has a representative. The only condition that is considered is whether the criteria set down are met. It is not that NBA president, please bring your candidate, such candidacy comes from the judicial service commission involved before it now gets to the national secretariat, not that it will pass through the NBA national secretariat. Are you then suggesting that the office of the NBA has no influence in National Politics? It has and that is the reason why the NBA is a pressure group, legislation must be made to advance the cause of the citizens of Nigeria and must ensure that rule of law is obeyed. The privileges of the office of the NBA president do not involved him looking for appointment for people. The NBA president will be accorded the desired respect at national level because he is representing that office. But he doesn't have any say in any appointment. But that does not mean the president himself may be influential but not as regards the toga of the office. There are some lawyers who are not senior advocates and whose worth is unknown but are far more influential than the NBA president. Why has the contest now become so acrimonious if this is the case? Of course the office has something to offer, but when you are talking about leadership, some people must aspire to lead organisations and the NBA in this regards is a well respected body throughout the world by virtue of the fact that they are bodies of legal practitioners and so people that have interest in the political aspect of the NBA are the ones that aspire. The acrimony we are experiencing is very natural because of divergent views and opinions. Is it not high time Kwara as a judicial division to push for that position? We may still have to come back to the point of takeoff. Kwara has produced the NBA National Legal Adviser, National General Secretary and if other Kwarans are interested in the Presidency of the NBA, nobody will prevent them, so long as it is the zone's time to produce the person. Chief Bayo Ojo and Chief Wole Olanipekun all SANs practiced here before they contested and won the position. It is not about state of origin but jurisdiction of practice. From the moment NBA president emerges, that segregation of where he comes from doesn't apply which explains when you go local to the branches, you will see that those who are NBA chairmen might not come from that state but that is his jurisdiction of practice. What do you make of the attempt to polarise the NBA? In any issue of election, losers will always complain and most likely never agree. That is normal in anywhere in the world. Already we have the Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON) Muslim Lawyers Organisation of Nigeria (MULAN) and we can have several others but the NBA will remain except the laws are amended. We can only have one NBA now but there are other associations of lawyers.
