CLOSING THE LOOP*

*CLOSING THE LOOP*

Dear Learned Colleague,
 
Compliments,
 
I do hope you are keeping well, and continuing to stay safe.
 
At the appointed time tomorrow, polls will open for you to cast your vote in the NBA 2020 National Elections. It is a keen contest, and the stakes are quite high considering the uncertain times, advances in technology, the (unfortunately) low public perception of the profession, and the challenges and concerns that we (members) all seem to have with our Bar Association.
 
As I stated in my introductory Letter of Intent some weeks back, “In these critical times, the calibre of persons to be elected must be of paramount interest to all of us. Clearly, we need men and women of vision, administrative capacity and intellectual sagacity to steer our ship forward. We need leaders who possess the qualities of integrity, charisma, erudition, competence, quiet dignity, gentlemanly comportment, capacity for work, preoccupation with excellence, and the ability to inspire others to action. The stakes are too high for us to fail!”
 
Over the last few months, a lot of attention has been focused on the contest for the office of the President of the NBA. Three (3) eminently qualified Gladiators have lined up and a fierce battle is on. Recent informal surveys have confirmed that almost every eligible voting lawyer has taken a position and is clear on his or her choice of Presidential hopeful to support.
 
However, not many voters have given serious thought to which candidates to support for other national offices. Beyond the choice of President of the NBA, it is imperative that in 2020, we elect a team of qualified, competent and progressive service-minded national officers to support the NBA President in delivering on his electoral promises. So I urge you to reflect carefully on the candidates for the various offices and what each has to offer.
 
The General Secretary of the NBA is a key player in the national officers’ team, and plays a critical role in assisting the NBA President to succeed and deliver on his mandate. If you are concerned about ‘the person who would lead the Bar for the next two years as President of the NBA’, you should also be concerned about the General Secretary that will emerge this year to work with and support him.
 
May I, therefore, urge you to consider carefully the choice of General Secretary that you will make sometime between 11.00 pm tomorrow Wednesday the 29th and 11.00 pm on Thursday the 30th of July, 2020 – when the NBA National Officers’ Elections will hold ‘electronically’. It should be a deliberate and well-considered decision premised on objective considerations of qualifications, expertise, experience, character, demeanour, and demonstrated competence especially in relation to that position. The position should not be filled by default, or sentimental considerations.
 
I have entered the contest and been cleared, and by God’s special grace my name will be on the ballot for the office of General Secretary. I have been tried and tested as Secretary and then Chairman of the largest Branch of the NBA – the Lagos Branch, and in several other positions of service and responsibility in and outside the Bar. I have never been found wanting. Given the chance this July, 2020, I will do much more on a bigger stage.
 
Over the past several months and particularly the last few weeks, I have articulated an issue-based campaign, and serialized the plans I would like to pursue to re-invigorate the NBA Secretariat and help improve the Bar. If you elect me as General Secretary of the NBA, I Pledge to serve with the passion, integrity and efficiency for which I am well known, and to pursue the six (6) Core Pursuits which I have elaborated in MY MANIFESTO to deliver a ‘Fit For Purpose’ Bar Secretariat. My Profile and Manifesto have been uploaded by the ECNBA and can be viewed at (or downloaded from) https://nigerianbar.org.ng/node/257.
 
I will place my time, energy, talents, experience and resources at the disposal of the Bar for the next two years, and offer the kind of premium stewardship which the Bar definitely needs at this time. The Bar needs a great scribe. I have been tried, tested and adjudged to be one.
 
I thank you for taking time to follow my campaign, and I humbly seek your mandate. We can and must do better, and that is why I am in this contest. Let us do this together. Let us win this election, and change the narrative – for good.
 
Very warm regards,
 
*Alexander Nduka MUOKA*
Candidate for General Secretary of the NBA
28th July, 2020