Prominent legal luminary, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, has challenged the newly elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, to make organizational unity her immediate priority as she takes the helm of Africa’s largest legal body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya, affectionately called “Mrs. B” by colleagues, made history by becoming the first female president directly elected by the association’s membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a congratulatory statement, Pinheiro praised the President-elect’s proven excellence, inclusiveness, and boldness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he coupled his commendation with a candid assessment of the challenges ahead, warning that the prestigious association is currently divided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Bar is currently polarized along several lines\u2014generational, ideological, and sometimes personal,” Pinheiro stated. “Healing these divisions and building a truly cohesive, inclusive, and purpose-driven Bar must be at the heart of your agenda.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pinheiro emphasized that internal unity is more than an organizational goal; it is a national necessity. He argued that a divided NBA cannot effectively fulfill its public duty, noting that a united Bar is essential to protecting the rule of law, advancing the welfare of lawyers, and serving as a strong voice for justice and good governance across Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Badejo-Okusanya’s election marks a significant institutional milestone. While Dame Priscilla Kuye served as NBA President in 1991, she assumed the position from the vice presidency following the resignation of the then president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Badejo-Okusanya’s victory marks the first time the NBA’s general electorate has directly elected a woman to the association’s highest office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pledging his full support to the incoming administration, Pinheiro concluded by expressing his commitment to helping build a stronger, more united, and more effective Nigerian Bar Association.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prominent legal luminary, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, has challenged the newly elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, to make organizational unity her immediate priority as she takes the helm of Africa’s largest legal body. Mrs. Badejo-Okusanya, affectionately called “Mrs. B” by colleagues, made history by becoming the first female president<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":97124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-judiciary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97125,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97123\/revisions\/97125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/97124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/datelineafro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}