NBA Confab: Northern Muslim lawyers opposed El-rufai’s invitation – Ozekhome

Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna 

The 60th annual national conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) kicks off Wednesday amidst growing opposition over the withdrawal of invitation earlier extended to Kaduna state Governor Nasir el-Rufai as the guest speaker.

Also, a Senior Advocate f Nigeria, SAN, Mike Ozhekome has said majority of those who spoke against the governor’s choice were Muslim lawyers from the North, while their Christian counterparts spoke in his favour.

Amidst all this controversy, another SAN, Niyi Akintola declared that the NBA has lost focus, saying the body has divided along the business and litigation lawyers.
The 2020 NBA conference is the first-ever virtual event to be held by the association with the theme ‘Step Forward.’

Invitation withdrawal
The NBA leadership withdrew the invitation to the governor following a strongly worded letter by a group of lawyers who listed the governor’s ‘many sins’ which they believed were not in tandem with the rule of law.

The governor was listed among other speakers at the conference scheduled for August 26-29, and assigned a session titled ‘Who is a Nigerian? A Debate on National Identity.’

Also listed for the session are Rivers state Governor Nyesom Wike,  a former governor of the state, Dr Peter Obi, his Anambra counterpart and vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2019 election;  Mr Peter Obi, a renowned  cleric, Pastor Tunde Bakare, an activist and former federal minister; Dr Oby Ezekwesili, and  the immediate past ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Mrs Salamatu Suleiman.

The rest are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Speaker House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Justice of Nigeria Tanko Muhammad, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Deputy Senate President  Ike Ekweremadu and Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN.
Agitations

Kicking against the decision on El-Rufai’s choice, the group of lawyers under the auspices of the Open Bar Initiative, a voluntary advocacy and justice initiative for lawyers across Nigeria, petitioned the NBA’s technical committee on conference planning to express their disgust.

Among others, the group accused the governor of lacking “empathy” for the continued spate of killings in the southern part of Kaduna.

It also alluded to the governor’s controversial statement on ‘body bags’ ahead the 2019 polls.

In the letter signed by the duo of Mr Joseph Silas and Auta Nyada, both convener and co-convener respectively, the group said:  “You may argue that it is a good thing to offer Mallam el-Rufai the platform of the #NBAAGC2020 so that he may be subjected to some examination by the participants.”

“However, as you can see, those who have criticised him so far, many of them well-placed members of our association, have suffered untold persecution from Mallam El-Rufai or his family.

“When these members of our association fought for their freedom and against their own persecution by Mallam El-Rufai, neither the NBA nor its leadership showed up. If you ask our members to criticise him now, will you protect them when Mallam El-Rufai levies his inevitable retribution and persecution or will you offer us balaclavas so that we will ask him questions with our faces fully covered?”

Ozekhome
Speaking to Blueprint on the telephone Sunday night,  Chief Ozekhome   dismissed the fear that the withdrawal of  Governor El-Rufai’s invitation could cause division within the body like it happened during the Priscilla Kuye –led  National Executive Committee(NEC).

Defending the NBA on the issue, Ozekhome said the decision was democratically taken by the NEC  of the association, arguing that it would rather  make the NBA stronger.

He said: “What happened during Priscilla Kuye is totally different from what obtains presently. This is only one person (El-Rufai) whose invitation was rejected. Similar thing happened in America. There is nothing special about it.”

“NBA is a body. It has a NEC. I am part of the NEC. We all had a meeting. It was participated by lawyers from all sections of Nigeria. All the lawyers who said they did not want him incidentally were all Muslims from the North. They are Muslims. Only three people spoke in favour of El-Rufai, and they are from the south. Including a Reverend Father, all Christians, who said he should be invited.

“But the overwhelming majority of speakers, most of them from the north, said he should not be invited; that the NBA should be a platform for credibility, justice and not injustice; that this man has been supervising the killing of people in his domain without caring. How comes that the Muslims in his domain that have never raised their voices over the killings in that area that are the ones that  are suddenly finding  their voices now?

“One person has been disallowed. Who makes it compulsory that he must attend that AGM? The technical committee was the one that invited all the people. It has not yet been sanctioned by the NBA NEC. The NEC must sanction anything done by the technical committee headed by Prof Koyinsola Ajayi. It was when the NEC met, based on the flood of petitions from the North that we said okay, we are not inviting him.

“We cannot kowtow to a vocal minority to say that something should not happen. So, I don’t agree with them at all. Nothing wrong was done to the man at all. If they want to nurture and keep a tyrant, let them keep a tyrant. We will not allow a tyrant inside our house,” he said.

Akintola
But another respected member of the inner bar, Chief Akintola, SAN, said the decision on el-Rufai  was a reflection of the problem  tearing apart the association and the larger society it operates from.

He described the governor as “a good candidate to address the conference because he is one of the egg heads in the country, one of the most cerebral, most articulate, most intelligent persons that we have in the country today.”

He said the issue around the withdrawal of the invitation arose  because the NBA which is supposed to be taking the lead had been polarised along religious and ethnic lines.

“If I were Governor El-Rufai, I would have cautioned them by now. He is a potential president of this country. What they are doing to him, is not good for him. They are dressing him in a garment that does not belong to him. Governor Rufai is highly cosmopolitan. If you listen to him, you will be proud that you have such an intelligent man as a governor of a state. But look at what they are turning him to,” he said.
Akintola said prior to the El-Rufai issue, the NBA was “struggling to exist with its rigged election and  the latest decision by the association on el-Rufai has worsened the association’s challenges.”

He said the association was no longer what it used to be and that few lawyers now show interest in the activities of the bar.

He cited the example of the last election of the national officers of the association as an example where only 29,000 of the over 200,000 lawyers in Nigeria showed interest in the election.

The silk further said of the 29,000 that showed interest, about 15, 000 lawyers were disenfranchised.

He said the NBA was already dichotomised into business and litigation lawyers with business lawyers in control of the bar.

Akintola said:  “The question we need to ask ourselves now is: Do we still have an NBA? I think what we have now are groups of businessmen.

“The bar used to be one body. But it has now been factionalised that we have a dichotomy between business lawyers and litigation lawyers.”
El-Rufai tackles NBA

Taking a strong exception to the NBA decision however, Governor El-Rufai said the association constituted itself into a judge and an accuser at the same time in the matter.

In the letter authored by his lawyer, Usman Akeem Mustapha, SAN and addressed to the outgoing  NBA President Paul Usoro, the governor expressed disappointment that the association withdrew the invitation based on an unverified petition by a group without giving him the benefit to be heard.

He said: “The news of the withdrawal by the Annual General Conference Planning Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, its earlier invitation to Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai as a guest speaker in the forthcoming NBA 60th Annual General Conference was received by my humble self with rude shock and bewilderment.

‘It is utterly scandalous to say the least. My response is principally dictated by the strange circumstance leading to and surrounding the said withdrawal of the invitation which is based on one-sided allegations contained in a petition by the so-called Open Law Initiative which was believed and acted upon by the Annual General Conference Planning Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association without any reference to Governor El-Rufai.

“The decision taken by the NBA to withdraw their invitation to Governor El-Rufai on the basis of the wild and unsubstantiated allegations contained in the Open Bar Initiative Petition without any reference to the Governor is not only a naked affront on the rule of law but also a contradiction of the NBA’s motto which held itself out as the custodian, defender and guardian Angel of the rule of law in Nigeria.”

The implications of this grievous decision by the NBA demonstrate a total disregard for the basic constitutional provision of fair hearing which is the foundation and bedrock of the rule of law designed for the safeguard of the fundamental right and freedom in any civilised and democratic society. It, therefore, beats all imagination that an elitist professional body like the NBA could take a decision that negates the very essence of this fundamental constitutional provision, no matter how tempting or appealing the reason may be.

“Going further, it is also instructive to note that the NBA sat down, constituted itself unto a court and adjudged Governor El-Rufai guilty of all the allegations contained in the said Petition without hearing a word from the Governor and thereafter proceeded to apply the sanction requested by the Petitioners which is a withdrawal of the invitation. What a ‘court?’ Can this be called justice and fairness? Is this exemplary?

“It would certainly not be out of place to insinuate political motives behind this unfortunate decision as the NBA as a professional body which is supposed to be in the forefront of the protection and promotion of the rule of law in Nigeria should know better than this. After all, members of the NBA Executive and Annual Conference Planning Committee as constituted can be counted among the brightest legal minds in Nigeria,” he said.

Muslim lawyers order boycott
Meanwhile, the Kaduna chapter of the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN)  has ordered Muslim lawyers to boycott the forthcoming annual conference of the NBA.

They said considering the spate of killings and banditry in Kaduna state and the North-west, el-Rufai is a critical stakeholder and addressing the Conference would have given him the opportunity to present the issues surrounding the challenges, while enabling NBA and its members to interrogate him on his roles, actions and inactions.

In a  statement jointly signed by the MULAN  chairman and secretary, M Yakubun-Hauwa and Muhammad Nasir Sidi respectively, they  said: “MULAN Kaduna branch is bewildered and disappointed at the unfortunate dis-invitation of Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna state to the Annual General Conference (AGC) of the Nigerian Bar Association, 2020.”

“The said decision of the NBA NEC is deemed by MULAN Kaduna branch as being parochial, sentimental, disuniting and tainted with favouritism and ethno-religious considerations.

“In view of the unfortunate decision of the NBA NEC, MULAN Kaduna branch is left with no option than to instruct its members to withdraw their participation in the forthcoming NBA AGC and enjoins all Muslim Lawyers in Nigeria to join in the boycott.”
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Bauchi lawyers
Also in a similar reaction, a group of lawyers under the aegis of Body of Bauchi Lawyers of Conscience (BOBALAC), described the decision as “flagrant violation of 36(1) (4) and (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).”

Chief convener of the group, Mr Jibrin Sa’id Jibrin, said: “We call on the National Executive Committee of the NBA to quickly reverse its decision to withdraw the invitation letter issued to El-Rufai; or withdraw the letters issued to (Former President) Olusegun Obasanjo and Governor Nyesom Woke as speakers.”

BOBALAC said El-Rufai  was not afforded fair hearing  by the outgoing leadership of the NBA. Under Usoro  who it said “is currently standing a criminal trial for some alleged offences, but was still allowed to govern the prestigious body under the presumption of innocence as he was elected to lead the Bar in 2018.”

Meanwhile, the Bauchi state chapter of the NBA has also threatened to stay away from the annual conference over  the development.

It said the NBA should be “seen as promoting the principles of the Rule of Law and attainment of justice to all manner of people irrespective of cultural, tribal, religious or political inclination.

“As lawyers, we should know the significance of the Constitution which is always binding on all its subscribers, now Section 3(6) of the Nigerian Bar Association Constitution and Bye-law emphasised on the maintenance of the highest standard of professional conduct, etiquette and discipline.

“Consequent upon the above, we call on the National Executive Committee (NEC) as well as leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association to immediately rescind its decision and apologise to our teeming members for reaching such unpopular decision which affects the hard-earned image of and integrity of the Nigerian Bar Association as an impartial umpire.

“Furthermore, failure to rescind its decision, the leadership of our noble branch has resolved unanimously and unequivocally to boycott the forthcoming NBA conference scheduled for this 2020. We also call on all the members of our branch to comply with the same above,” it said in a letter signed by the chairman, Abubakar Abdulhamid, and secretary, Shansuddeen Magaji.

Ex-Emir Sanusi cautions
Offering somewords of caution on the face-off however, former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Lamido Sanusi ll has described the development as sad for freedom of speech.

The former Emir, who arrived Kaduna on an official visit around 10:30am  Sunday, cautioned the NBA not to allow the controversy take religious or ethnic dimensions.
He said allowing the governor speak at the conference would have allowed the bar interact with him and seek clarification on his actions and inactions.

Speaking inside the governor’s office at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, where he was received by Governor El-Rufai about 1pm, the former monarch  thanked the people of Kaduna state who thronged the Air Force Base to welcome him.
Sanusi said he was aware that most of the NBA members were not happy with the decision taken to stop the governor from attending the conference.

‎”I’m aware that the vast majority of NBA members do not agree with those things. You know if you have an opinion people will either agree with you or disagree with you. But  a man ‎who has an opinion that can be agreed with or disagreed with is always better than a man who has no opinion at all.

“Nasir always has opinions, he knows what his position is on things, he says that position very clearly, some people will like it some people will not like it and that is what some people call controversial and being controversial is actually having an opinion.

“If you don’t want ‎to be controversial, you just be flexible, just flow with the wind and nobody knows where you stand, then you will not have any friends or enemies as the case may be. To be honest, I do not want to join issues because we have already heard the views of Nigerians and the response.

“I spoke with Koyinsola Ajayi who is the chairman of the technical committee who confirmed to me that he was the one who invited His Excellency to come and speak at the NBA meeting. He (el-Rufai) didn’t ask to come and speak and that the technical committee didn’t support the call to dis-invite him.‎

“You know if you are going to take action on people based on allegations, the president of the NBA himself have allegations against him that have not been proven. Nobody said anything about him because this is a matter that is before the court of law and people will wait for the court to decide.

“Everybody has a right to fair hearing and most important for me if you feel that the governor of Kaduna state is not doing right, you should invite him to your conference and ask him to explain what he is doing. Tell him what you think he is doing wrong and you will learn something from him and he will  learn something from you.

“Dis-inviting him is not the path of people who actually want progress. Because if you disagree with someone, having him in your hall where you can tell him your views is important and he can defend himself. If there are things he needs to improve upon, he will take onboard and if there are things that you don’t know he is doing you can be better informed.

“That is the best way to handle issues like this. But again I have seen the response from different branches of NBA and I hope this matter will not be turned to ethnicity and religious matter, it should be a matter of principle. If he is there he will add value to the conference and they can also learn from what he is doing.

“I hope if they changed their minds he will consider but it’s sad. Sad for freedom of speech because I  have known Nasir since we were 16-17s,  he is a nationalist.
Anybody who knows him, knows he has never ever associated with any ethnic or religious bigotry  all our friends and people never know us as northerners because we are just Nigerians,” he said.

Responding, Governor el-Rufai said the former emir was in the state not only to visit him but also as Chancellor of Kaduna State University and as Vice Chairman of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency.

‎He said Sanusi would spend a week in the state during which he would be briefed on the activities of the university and agency and also to interact with agencies attracting  investment to  the state.
Source: blueprint.ng