A thought-provoking message shared by J. S. Okutepa on a lawyers’ WhatsApp group has sparked conversation among members of the Nigerian Bar Association over the place of zoning and recognised fora within the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association. In the post, the learned Silk argues that as long as the NBA Constitution recognises zoning and the rights of fora, members cannot fairly disparage the decisions taken within those structures or deny them the right to seek judicial remedies where they feel aggrieved. Below is the message as shared on the platform.

“Have we read the NBA constitution and the rights donated to Fora in the NBA constitution?
First there is no democracy in NBA. What we have been having are not democratic at all.
To have the freedom we want, let the zoning of offices be abolished from the NBA constitution.
Let fora too be abolished from the NBA constitution. Let it be the rights of all lawyers to aspire to lead the bar. Let us abolish all forms of fora in NBA constitution.

But as long as we retain zoning and recognising fora in NBA constitution and lawyers subscribed to such fora, then nobody should disparage the fora in the name of collective decisions of all lawyers and condemn the decision of the alleged few that are members of the fora who took decision and communicated that decision.

As long as we retain the rights of the fora in the NBA constitution, it will be unreasonable to think that any fora that feels short changed has lost the right to seek for judicial remedies. NBA constitution was not drafted for decoration.
It is binding on all of us. That is my honest view.”

—J.S.Okutepa, SAN