Every year, new wigs are donned with pride.
Every year, hope is renewed.
Yet for many young lawyers within the Nigerian Bar Association, the first five years of practice are defined not by growth,but by survival.
Long hours.
Multiple court appearances.
Drafting, research, client conferences.
And at the end of the month? Compensation that barely sustains transportation.
This conversation is not about entitlement. It is about dignity.
A profession that demands excellence must also protect its entry-level practitioners from systemic exploitation. While many senior colleagues do their best within economic realities, the absence of enforceable minimum standards leaves too much to chance.
The result?
- Talented lawyers leaving practice prematurely
- Burnout within the first few years
- Erosion of professional confidence
- A widening class divide within the Bar
Minimum remuneration is not an attack on chambers. It is a stabilizing framework.
Other professions set benchmarks. Why should ours rely solely on goodwill?
A responsible agenda should explore:
1️⃣ A nationally recommended minimum remuneration framework (with flexibility for regional realities).
2️⃣ Incentives for compliance rather than punitive hostility.
3️⃣ Periodic review tied to economic indices.
4️⃣ Collaboration with senior practitioners to ensure sustainability.
When remuneration is unstable, welfare becomes reactive.
When standards are clear, welfare becomes preventive.
The future strength of the Bar depends on how we treat its youngest members today. If we protect them early, we preserve the profession long term.
This is the conversation we must have calmly, respectfully, but firmly.
Because welfare is not charity.
It is institutional responsibility.
— SIR. OAIKHENA OSAGIE, DIL, BA (HONS) L.LB (HONS) BL, L.LM, ACTI
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