A Back to the Future Moment for the Nigerian Bar Association
When General Ibrahim Babangida, a two-star officer, seized power from Muhammadu Buhari in August 1985, political opposition in Nigeria was largely crushed. Through a combination of brute force, regime nihilism, and targeted actions framed as anti-corruption efforts, the coalition of dissent—including the press, organized labor, students, and politicians—was silenced. The only remaining bastions of opposition were professionals, notably some doctors in the Nigerian Medical Association and lawyers in the Nigerian Bar Association.
Babangida's Co-optation Strategy
For Babangida, ensuring regime longevity meant co-opting these groups. From the medical field, he recruited Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a respected pediatrician with activist roots, as Health Minister. Ransome-Kuti was the elder brother of rebel musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, while another brother, Bekolari, led protesting doctors. The NBA, however, was the most effective critical outpost, though it was divided into two opposing camps.
At the time, NBA president Bola Ajibola, an Egba blueblood, led activist opposition against Buhari's use of military tribunals, which defied liberal notions of fair hearing before civilian judges. As special military tribunals increasingly replaced law courts, Ajibola emerged as a voice for enlightened values. In contrast, former NBA Public Secretary Chief Gani Fawehinmi supported Buhari's campaign against perceived plunder by ousted civilian politicians, believing radical measures were necessary to correct the country's course.
This high-profile tension within the NBA on such an existential issue ironically bolstered the association's public standing. Babangida saw an opportunity and made Ajibola an offer he couldn't refuse: to become Attorney-General and Justice Minister, effectively decapitating the NBA's opposition. Ajibola accepted, and Ebele Nwokoye served out his term before being elected president until August 1987.
Consequential Tenures and Structural Shifts
Ajibola held one of the most consequential tenures as Attorney-General for six years. When Judge Taslim Elias died in 1991, Babangida nominated Ajibola to the International Court of Justice, replacing him with another NBA president, Clement Akpamgbo. Priscilla Kuye, then first vice-president, stepped up, becoming the first and only female NBA president thus far.
In 1992, the NBA was due to elect a new president in Port Harcourt, but the conference descended into chaos with fisticuffs, court orders, and allegations of firearms. A secret post-mortem by past-president Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams cited polarisation, increased political interest in the NBA presidency, and external influence as factors. The report, never officially published, blamed too many participants, over-use of money, and election fever, suggesting leadership should be a privilege for senior male lawyers through assured succession.
After a six-year hiatus, NBA elections shifted from mass membership entitlement to a delegate system, including elected officers, National Executive Committee members, branch delegates, Life Benchers, and Senior Advocates of Nigeria. This led to a sense of capture within the association.
Digital Revolution and Universal Suffrage
A decade later, the digital revolution sparked a movement to open elections to all members. In 2015, President Augustine Alegeh achieved a constitutional amendment mandating digital elections based on universal suffrage for fee-paying members. Since then, elections have become more contested and controversial, with some senior lawyers advocating a return to the delegate system, blaming universal suffrage for indiscipline at the bar.
2026 Election Crisis
2026 is another election year for the NBA, and already, two High Court judges in Ibadan have issued orders restraining electoral processes. One order requires the NBA to recognize only one aspirant, Muyiwa Akinboro, as the consensus candidate of Egbe Amofin, a society of Yoruba lawyers. This order subsists until April 15, threatening a timely transition.
There are issues with this: Egbe Amofin is unknown to NBA constitutional organs, few voters belong to it, and the idea of a court-imposed president disregarding member franchise is no longer far-fetched. This could end the NBA as we know it, with tantalizing parallels to the 1992 Port Harcourt debacle.
It is the year before a national election in 2027, external influences are palpable, and a woman is a leading candidate, with court orders potentially frustrating her campaign. While it may not be 1992 all over again, for the NBA, the more things change, the more they remain the same.
