The Nigerian Bar Association Enugu Branch (ENBAR) has inaugurated its Young Lawyers Forum (YLF) for the 2022 -2024 period
In a statement titled “WHO THE CAP FITS, LET THEM WEAR.”issued by the NBA Branch to announce the new YLF Executives, the Branch noted that the new Excos have excellent leadership qualities to complement the Enugu Bar.
The statement reads in part:
Events do not just happen, but arrive by appointment.
A great feat was achieved on the 29th day of July, 2022 when the Enugu Bar(ENBAR) Executives led by Chief C.N.N Nwagbara constituted and inaugurated new Executive members of Enugu Bar (ENBAR) Young Lawyers Forum (YLF).
The Enbar Chair, C.N.N Nwagbara, Esq took this step as a leader per excellence who is leading by example in Enugu Bar which is celebrated as the ‘Secondus nullus.’
These new Excos have excellent leadership qualities to complement the Enugu Bar in achieving her Statutory duties in favour of her members.
The members of Enbar YLF Executives who were inaugurated on Friday, 29th July,2022 were:-
a) Emmanuel Osita Nwafor, Esq. as the Chairman of Enbar Young Lawyers Forum;
b) Ihuoma Evangeline Erondu, Esq. as the Vice Chairman of Enbar Young Lawyers Forum;
c) Chinonso Nwobodo, Esq. as the Secretary, Enbar Young Lawyers Forum; and
d) Collins Akpusi, Esq. as the Treasurer of Enbar Young Lawyers Forum.
When our team contacted the newly inaugurated Enbar YLF Chairman, Mr.Emmanuel Nwafor, he said:-
“First of all, we send our gratitude to the amiable Chairman of ENBAR in the person of Barr. C.N.N Nwagbara and his great Excos who found us worthy to be constituted as the Executives of ENBAR Young Lawyers Forum for 2022 to 2024.
We also extend our gratitude and appreciation to the good members of ENBAR and in a special way to all the members of ENBAR YLF for providing the enabling environment under which we are to execute our unreserved services to the Bar and the society at large.
We also appreciate the efforts of the immediate past executives of ENBAR ably led by Sir (Barr) Jude Ezegwui and his team, God bless you all.
Our Sincere and humble promises are that we are going to devote ourselves to the services of the Young Lawyers in Enugu Bar to improve their welfare, bridge the gap between the senior members of the bar and the Young Lawyers and create a conducive environment under which we will succeed in our endeavours as we maintain a smooth relationship with the Bench and the bar at large.
We will improve on the good works of the immediate pass executives of the YLF led by Chielozona Onyenta, Esq.
In collaboration with Enbar Excos, we will also provide educational programs and materials for the improvement and learning of Young practitioners and academics in all areas of practice including media law, Debt Recovery law, entertainment law, Data Protection Law, Business and Commercial Law, Technology law and ADR procedures as we aim to contribute to the enhancement of Arbitration and ADR practice in Enugu State and to draw attention to problems in law, which impede the effective use of these processes.
Currently, we have chartered Arbitrators in Enugu Bar who are willing to share their experiences, knowledge and train us in this field.
By God’s grace, We will carry all members along and we will carry the important stakeholders along,too.”
~ Emmanuel O. Nwafor, Esq (Chairman, YLF, Enbar Branch).
It is on record that this is the Second Young Lawyers Forum in Enugu Bar as the first was inaugurated by the immediate past Chairman of Enbar, Sir Jude Ezegwui while Chief C.N.N Nwagbara and his Excos inaugurated the second Enbar YLF in the history of Enugu Bar.
The Young Lawyers Forum oversees activities geared towards providing young lawyers with education, social activities, networking opportunities and ensures active representation for young lawyers in the Nigeria Bar Association. Most importantly, the Young Lawyers Forum also provides leadership opportunities to members who might not otherwise have access to such opportunities, while providing new and innovative programs that benefit young lawyers relatively new to the Nigerian legal practice.
According to the immediate Past NBA President, he said that:
“If we must retrieve our declining virtues – in decorum, words and deeds – there must be an all-encompassing reorientation, with commensurate emphasis on both the young and the senior lawyers. It is therefore critical that the issue of ethics and discipline coupled with skills acquisition should be in the front burner of the NBA YLF. That emphasis would move the YLF – both at the National and Branch levels – away from the lure of NBA politics and the tendency to use our young lawyers as cannon fodders therefore. We must consciously insulate our young lawyers from the intoxicating but fatal aroma of NBA politics and its financial inducements and seductions.”
It is true that the seniors have the responsibility to set the tone in this regard and to mentor the young lawyers aright and away from these political entrapments which, if not decently and well handled, have the tendency of eroding and corroding not only the ethics and discipline of our profession but also our moral values generally.
As the former Enbar YLF Chairman, Chielozona Onyianta,Esq was handing over to the new administration led by E.O Nwafor,Esq, he congratulated them and further said:
“I have no doubt that this new YLF Enbar Excos will do better than our administration.”
The new faces of ENBAR Young Lawyers Forum have started work immediately and they are planning to host their first meeting in a grand style.