Former Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take a more active role in national affairs and serve as a watchdog over issues affecting the country.
Melaye made the call at the 66th Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference (NBA-AGC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he urged lawyers across the country to become more involved in matters of national interest.
He argued that members of the legal profession should not leave questions of national importance entirely to the NBA’s national leadership, but should also take action through their respective branches and jurisdictions.
Key Facts
- Dino Melaye spoke at the 66th NBA Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
- He urged the Nigerian Bar Association to become more proactive on national issues.
- Melaye called on the NBA to serve as a “watchdog and conscience” of the country.
- He encouraged lawyers to take action within their jurisdictions rather than waiting for the national body.
- He referred to the controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s educational records as an issue he believes lawyers should question.
Melaye’s Call For Greater NBA Involvement
Melaye said the NBA leadership should take up issues of common interest across Nigeria and encourage lawyers to participate actively in matters affecting the country.
He urged lawyers not to assume that responsibility for national issues rests solely with the NBA’s national president and executive.
According to him, lawyers operating through branches across the states can also respond to developments within their respective jurisdictions.
“We must make sure that the leadership of the NBA begins to take on issues of common interest across this country,” Melaye said.
He argued that greater involvement from individual lawyers and NBA branches would make the association more proactive in addressing national concerns.
Why Melaye Raised Tinubu’s Educational Records
While making his appeal, Melaye referred to the controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s educational records as an example of an issue he believes the NBA and Nigerian lawyers should take seriously.
He questioned the circumstances surrounding the educational information submitted by the President and mocked what he described as the absence of primary and secondary school certificates.
“The President of this country filled an INEC form, he’s the most brilliant person on earth. He went to university straight without attending primary and secondary schools. What are we saying about it? What questions are we asking about this?” he said.
Melaye’s remarks were presented as a political criticism of Tinubu and an example of the type of national issue he believes lawyers should examine.
The source does not independently establish Melaye’s claims about Tinubu’s educational history, so those remarks remain attributed to the former senator.
Lawyers Should Not Wait For NBA Leadership
Melaye also called on lawyers to become more active at the branch level.
He said NBA members should not wait for instructions from the national leadership before responding to issues arising within their states or jurisdictions.
“We have branch chairmen and branches across the states, if things happen within your jurisdiction and your state, you can take affirmative action within your jurisdiction without waiting for the national body,” he said.
His appeal therefore extended beyond the NBA’s national executive, placing responsibility on individual branches and their members to engage with issues within their areas.
The NBA As A ‘Watchdog And Conscience’
Melaye said the association should reclaim what he described as its role as a watchdog and conscience of the country.
He argued that this would require lawyers themselves to ask questions and demand accountability rather than expecting the NBA’s leadership to address every national issue.
“NBA must come back to be the watchdog and conscience of this country,” Melaye said.
He added that the leadership alone would not be able to fulfil that role unless lawyers across the country became actively involved.
The Broader Governance Issue
Melaye’s comments place the NBA’s role within a broader debate about professional institutions and accountability in Nigeria.
His appeal is not limited to the association’s national executives. He is calling for a more decentralised approach in which branch chairmen and individual lawyers can respond to issues arising within their jurisdictions.
The Tinubu educational-record controversy serves as the specific example he used to demonstrate why he believes lawyers should ask questions about national leadership.
However, the remarks should be understood as Melaye’s political position rather than an independent finding by the NBA or another authority.
Political And Institutional Implications
The call could be viewed as an appeal for greater participation by a major professional association in national governance and accountability.
Melaye’s argument places particular emphasis on the ability of professional bodies and their members to raise questions about issues of public interest.
His reference to Tinubu also demonstrates how questions surrounding political leadership can become part of wider calls for institutional scrutiny.
At the same time, the source does not indicate that the NBA has adopted Melaye’s position or that it has taken any action on the specific issue he raised.
Melaye’s Challenge To The Incoming NBA Leadership
Melaye urged the incoming NBA president to build on the work of the current national president and continue efforts to make the association more proactive.
He said lawyers across the country must take responsibility for asking questions and holding political leadership accountable.
He concluded that this collective involvement represented a major challenge for the association’s incoming leadership.
The central message of Melaye’s address was therefore broader than his criticism of Tinubu: he wants lawyers and the NBA to play a more active role in questioning issues of national importance and promoting accountability.
