OPINION: NBA ‘fractionalisation’: Okutepa missed the point (1)

By Mike Ozekhome

I have just read the reaction of my good friend, Mr Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, to one of my reactions to the attempt by some “aggrieved” Northern lawyers to form a parallel NBA, as published in Saturday Tribune of 29th August, 2020.

Mr Okutepa, SAN, sorely missed the point. To start with, he salivated over only a tiny phrase of my one line of my one-paragraph statement, wherein I said the move was “wrong and dead on arrival”.

He carefully and comfortably isolated this phrase from and suppressed the full contextual words that immediately followed, wherein I said, “they have no reason to attempt ethnicising and religionising an innocuous dis-invitation of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State.

He was invited not as a Muslim or Northerner but as Governor. And NBA NEC bowed to popular pressure about his bad governance style, especially the daily slaughter of Southern Kaduna Christians and disinvited him.”

I wholly stand by this statement of mine, lock and barrel; hook, line and sinker.

I do not want to believe that Okupeta deliberately suppressed my simple statement, by isolating the phrase “dead on arrival” from its natural environment in which I used it.

I also do not want to believe that he may actually be one of the few elders at the Bar who feel quite hurt by the outcome of the last NBA elections, and therefore want to use a front to break the Bar.

For historical context, I totally disagree with him on his litany of historical narration, albeit highly skewed and one-sided. Mr Okupeta, SAN said, amongst others: “When I read the views of some of my colleagues, and in particular the view of Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, whom I love and respect, that formation of another Bar Association outside of NBA is dead on arrival, I feel terribly amazed.

Such statements are not only provocative but are clearly not pacifying and reconciliatory.

“To make such statements in the face of recent events in NBA, is to add pepper to already aggravated injuries… “They can and nobody can stop them. Let nobody say it is dead on arrival. Such statements are clearly inciting and provocative.

You don’t dare a person who has capacity to do a thing and say he or she should do it …” My one-paragraph interview which carefully counselled against “ethnicising” and “religionising” El-Rufai’s dis-invitation by the NBA NEC was what was actually conciliatory.

It was, rather, Okupeta, SAN’s lengthy statement that was divisive and subtly encouraging a break-away faction by the above words, coupled with the following: “The current leadership of NBA will do itself great good if it does not allow itself to be misled by stand that tends to promote the breakaway or divisions now too ripped to be plucked.

There is a saying in my place that when a foolish man is holding gold in his hands on the main road, there is a wise man following him at the back.

Those who have ears to hear should hear.” Let me respond to Okupeta, SAN’s native saying also with a proverb in my own place, that “you have to first drive away the fox before you blame the fowl for wandering too far into the bush”.

Let me add another proverb of my Weppa-Wanno, Etsako people, Edo State, that “you do not cut off your head simply because you have a headache”.

The issue I dealt with in my one -paragraph interview which was clearly (I do not want to say deliberately) interpreted out of context was to simply counsel the young lawyers, as an elder of the Bar, that “they have no reason to attempt ethnicising and religionising an innocuous dis-invitation of Malam Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State.

He was invited not as a Muslim or Northerner but as a governor. And NBA NEC bowed to popular pressure about his bad governance style, especially the daily slaughter of Southern Kaduna Christians and disinvited him.”

I stand by these words of caution. Whilst eulogising the timely words of wisdom of respected Malam Yusuf Ali, SAN, and Chief Yomi Aliu, SAN (which I also largely share of), Okupeta, SAN carefully ignored an equally powerful view shared in the same interview, by Special Counsel to the Oyo State Governor, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), who described the action of the Northern lawyers as one that “is not feasible because they do not have the support of other lawyers.

It is not feasible. I think it is just a few individuals and they do not have the support of the members of the Bar”. Let me be very clear on this.

I do not support any balkanisation of the Bar. I am quite clear about this. As clear as a whistle.

If Okupeta, SAN, however supports fractionalisation, he should come out plainly and say so. He should not use me as a convenient hanger to speak in parables, and subtly canvass for balkanisation of the NBA.

I speak always as a conciliatory elder of the Bar. That is why I have always refrained from publicly endorsing any presidential candidate (as many of them do with eclat).

This is because it leads to polarization, unnecessary schism and mutual suspicion. Elders should canvass for votes for their candidates quietly, using behind-thescene persuasion, so as to uphold the dignity of the profession.

My conciliatory stance had been made known much earlier, even before the oneparagraph Tribune interview.

This was at the very Annual General Conference (AGC). I had strongly counselled and begged the aggrieved members not to form a new Bar; in the larger interest of the legal profession and country.

Here was what I said, inter alia: “So, when I see some of these people talking, I always wonder and say, where is your history…you think you can defend El-Rufai more than us.

How many of you know that as far back as 2006, I defended Mallam Nasir ElRufai free of charge when he was barred by the National Assembly from holding public office for the next ten years.

I called him, I went to court, I won it, both at the Federal High Court and up to the Court of Appeal.

I did not charge a kobo. How many of you know that he is a personal friend and like Mr. President cried out at the NEC meeting, this man you people are talking about, he’s my own personal friend.

I have nothing against him. Nothing personal against him but everybody has everything against him in terms of his governance.

Not necessarily as a Muslim or Northerner because he was never invited to the NBA conference as a Muslim or Northerner but as a governor and it was in that regard that people had a disagreement.

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“And for some people to turn around and start to religionize and ethnicize that, I think that is not fair. We must be honest with ourselves.

“For those trying to form an alternative Bar, please, let me use the oxymoron, make haste slowly…don’t go that way, when the tongue and the teeth disagree, inside the same buccal cavity, with the teeth biting the tongue, they sooner than later settle because they need each other for the tongue to help to speak up and for the teeth to help to masticate the food that the tongue itself will enjoy.

“So, drop all these issues of trying to form an alternative Bar, whether you call it New NBA or Progressive NBA, it’s not going to work.

The progressive forces in this country within the Bar, the elders of the Bar, most members of not all, Senior Advocates of Nigeria who know where we are coming from will resist it.