NBA LEADERSHIP BEYOND FINE SPEECHES: GOOD LEADERSHIP IS MEASURED BY IMPACTFUL ACTION, NOT ORATORY
(A Humble Response to J.S. Okutepa, SAN)

By Sylvester Udemezue

BACKGROUND

At the ceremonies marking the Opening of the New Legal Year 2025, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, SAN, delivered an address that attracted wide commendation from senior members of the Bar, during a discussion on The Law Centre (TLC) WhatsApp platform. Learned Kunle Edun, SAN praised the speech as “fantastic,” noting that it touched on critical issues affecting the administration of justice and reflected seriousness and frankness, describing the NBA President as “our pride.” Mr. Femi Falana, SAN also commended the oratory, but cautioned that it must not end with fine words, invoking the classical distinction between Cicero, whose speeches impressed, and Demosthenes, whose words stirred people to action. He stressed that the NBA President should now “walk his talk with the cooperation of Nigerian lawyers.” J.S. Okutepa, SAN added that the President was at his best, spoke with precision and courage, and deserved accolades for calling “a spade a spade.” In reaction, I acknowledged that while the NBA President indeed spoke well, this has been a recurring pattern: eloquent speeches on pressing issues (including judicial decay, the Remuneration Order 2023, brutalisation of lawyers, the plight of young lawyers, expansion of practice space, and opposition to emergency rule in Rivers State, etc) have not been matched with concrete or impactful actions. I argued that the Bar appears to be under a leadership more concerned with oratory than with pragmatic reforms or the welfare of its members. My observation concluded that the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had consistently spoken well but had failed to follow up with tangible actions. Responding to my said observation, a senior lawyer, Mr. Okutepa, SAN countered that all stakeholders, including vocal critics, are guilty of speaking well without acting, suggesting that the critique of the NBA President should also apply to others who limit their intervention to rhetoric. The learned silk’s words: “We are all guilty of what you accused the NBA president of. We have all been speaking well including yourself of the Reality school. Nothing spoil.”

With the greatest respect, I find the response by the great learned response troubling, not because it may be seen by disinterested bystanders as amounting to a form of gaslighting, but mainly because, in my humble opinion, it appears to be an attempt to draw a false equivalence between ordinary commentary by concerned lawyers and the solemn duty of effective leadership vested in the NBA President. The current essay therefore seeks to restate, clarify, and reinforce the argument: that the role of the NBA President is not to merely deliver excellent speeches, but to initiate concrete, pragmatic, and measurable actions in the interest of the Bar and the legal profession.

LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT ACTION, NOT MERE ORATORY:

There is a reason the occupant of the NBA Presidency is elected to that high office, while others, like myself as Proctor of The Reality Ministry (TRM), are outside the circle of elected NBA leadership. There is a reason Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and not myself, was elected President of Nigeria. There is a reason Justice Kekere-Ekun, and not myself, became Chief Justice of Nigeria. There is a reason Godswill Akpabio, and not myself, became Senate President. The underlying point is clear: leaders are elected or appointed not just because they can SPEAK well, but because they are expected to ACT well, to govern, to reform, to solve problems, and to produce results. If leadership were only about eloquence, there would be no need for elections or appointments, since almost anyone can make fine speeches.

FALSE EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN FOLLOWERS AND LEADERS

With due respect, it is a fallacy to suggest that because “we all speak well,” the NBA President should not be judged differently or held to a higher standard. Ordinary members of the Bar (including Sylvester Udemezue as the Proctor of The Reality Ministry) may analyse, criticise, or speak out. That is their role as stakeholders and followers. But the NBA President, by virtue of his office and mandate, is duty-bound to move beyond speeches and deliver concrete, pragmatic leadership. It’s precisely because Nigerian lawyers entrusted him with their mandate that the NBA President cannot be excused for limiting himself to speeches with concrete action. Thus, comparing Sylvester Udemezue as the Proctor of TRM with the President of the NBA is a category error. Followers may speak but leaders must act.

AREAS WHERE THE CURRENT NBA PRESIDENT HAS SPOKEN WELL BUT DONE LITTLE IN ACTION

The record of the current NBA leadership is filled with eloquent speeches that are yet to translate into tangible reforms. Permit me to highlight some areas where the current NBA President has excelled in oratory but failed in follow-through:

(a) Justice Delivery And Judicial Decay: The NBA President has spoken repeatedly about the dilapidated state of the judiciary. Yet, there has been no programme, policy, or initiative to help reverse the decay. The Bar’s role is not limited to praising the Bench; it must push for reforms in justice delivery which directly affect lawyers’ livelihood and the rule of law.

(b) Shrinking Legal Practice Space: The Nigerian legal profession suffers from a rapidly shrinking practice space. Lawyers are largely confined to law firms and ministries of justice, with few opportunities elsewhere. The NBA could, for instance, lobby for legislation mandating legal departments in all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), Local Governments (LGAs). Yet, nothing of such has been attempted by the NBA President.

(c) Non-Lawyers Practising Law In the Name of Criminal Prosecution: Police officers who are not called to the Nigerian Bar continue to conduct criminal prosecutions across Nigeria. This anomaly undermines the profession while thousands of qualified lawyers remain unemployed. The NBA has condemned this practice verbally, but failed to pursue sustained engagement to curb it.

(d) Section 66(4) of the Legal Practitioners Act 2020: This section contains provisions beneficial to lawyers but remains unimplemented. Where is the NBA’s advocacy to ensure its execution? Silence has prevailed where action is needed.

(e) Professional Discipline and Ethics: Weak enforcement of professional discipline continues to undermine the integrity of the Bar. Again, speeches abound, but systems remain weak.

(f) SAN Conferment and the Academia: The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) has by enactment reserved only one slot for the academic category in the award of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. This unlawfully, unjustly and unfairly diminishes the contributions of legal scholars. What is the NBA’s position on this? Silence. Are lawyers in the academia not members of the NBA, entitled to NBA President’s care and protection from the unjust exclusion and victimisation which they currently face?

(g) Implementation of the Remuneration Order 2023: While excellent in content, the Legal Practitioners’ Remuneration (LPR) Order 2023 is incapable of self-execution. Less than 1% of Nigerian lawyers actually apply it. Beyond sweet speeches by the NBA’s Remuneration Committee and the NBA President, no effective enforcement mechanism or support framework has been provided. Are lawyers expected to feed on rhetoric?

(h) Brutalisation of Lawyers by Security Agencies: The President has condemned it, and rightly so. But where are the structured engagements, constructive advocacy, concrete efforts and the institutional protections from the NBA and other stakeholders? None exists.

NBA’S AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: CAN THEY BE ACHIEVED BY SPEECHES ALONE?

The Constitution of the NBA, 2015 sets out the Association’s aims and objectives in Section 3. These include: Maintaining the integrity and independence of the Bar and Judiciary; Promoting legal education and continuing legal education; Improving the administration of justice; Supporting law reform; Providing legal aid and access to justice; Maintaining discipline and professional conduct; Promoting cooperation with international legal organisations; Protecting the principles of the rule of law and human rights. With all respect, none of these objectives is achievable by fine speeches alone. They require concrete, pragmatic actions, robust policies, stakeholder engagements, and deliberate reforms.

THE DANGERS OF MISTAKING ELOQUENCE FOR GOOD, EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

The danger of celebrating oratory over substance is that it conditions leaders to substitute rhetoric for action. When we, as lawyers praise our leaders merely for “fantastic” speeches, we send a dangerous message: that words alone equal performance. That mindset emboldens leaders to substitute rhetoric for substance. Example: if every time an NBA President delivers a fine speech, lawyers rush to hail him as “our pride” or “the best,” he begins to believe that his job is done once he speaks. This malaise has infected both the Bench and the Bar. A deceased former Chief Justice of Nigeria was openly celebrated by a professor of law for his excellent valedictory speech, as though that speech, and not reforms, were the legacy of his tenure. The learned Professor did not point to any reform the affected CJN achieved while in office. It’s the same culture of misplaced priorities that has now infected the Bar as we see people praising NBA leaders for speeches and not actions. With due respect, if we continue applauding Bat leaders for speeches while neglecting their duty to act, we risk reducing the Bar to a theatre of oratory, while the profession decays.

CHALLENGES FACING THE JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT MERE SPEECHES (HOWEVER FANTASTIC) CANNOT SOLVE

Nigeria’s justice system faces well-documented, verifiable challenges, including: Prolonged delays in justice delivery; Dilapidated and obsolete court infrastructure; Shortage of judicial personnel; Corruption, bribery, and unethical practices; Poor case management and record-keeping; Limited access to justice, especially for the poor; Executive/Political interference in judicial independence; Incomplete or half-hearted reforms; Erosion of public trust , among others. If I may ask, which of these challenges has been solved (or even meaningfully addressed) by the NBA President’s eloquent speeches? The answer is: none.

A CALL TO FACE REALITY: A CALL FOR ACTION

Dear learned silk, Sir, leadership is not about speaking well, captivating oratory. It is about doing well: ACTION, ACTION and MORE ACTION. The NBA President should not be judged by the quality of his oratory but by the substance of his achievements; not by how well he speaks but how well he does to resolve the profession’s problems and advance the welfare and economic advancement of its members. If the benchmark of good NBA leadership is fine speeches, then the institution has lost direction. Let us therefore stop equating eloquence with effective leadership. Let us demand tangible reforms, measurable programmes, and practical results. What we require is: practical A
advocacy and efforts for justice sector reforms; Legislative lobbying to expand the practice space; Installation of effective legal mechanisms for impregnable enforcement of the Remuneration Order; Effective mechanisms to curb police brutality; Strengthening of disciplinary mechanisms; Concrete efforts to activate implementation of Section 66(3) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020; Constructive engagement with stakeholders on SAN conferment reforms; Practical programmes to improve legal education and access to justice, among many others. Without such tangible steps, mere speeches (however fantastic) amount to little more than theatre.

CONCLUSION

With due respect, the Proctor of The Reality Ministry is not the President of the NBA. The NBA President was elected to lead with action, not just with words. If eloquence alone were the criterion for leadership, if all we need are “excellent speeches,” then virtually every lawyer could be President of the Bar because most of us can “speak well”. However history, posterity, and the profession demand more than mere speeches. They demand courage, vision, responsibility, and above all, practical and pragmatic actions. Until we shift our focus from speeches to verifiable results, the Nigerian Bar and its members will continue to languish, while leaders bask in applause for empty rhetoric.
Long live the NBA!
Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue (Udems),
Proctor, The Reality Ministry of Truth, Law and Justice (TRM).
08021365545.
udems@therealityministry.ngo.
www.therealityministry.ngo
(30 September 2025)