I have since spoken with senior corporate counsel at First Bank and I have been assured that they knew nothing about this advert. I am advised that the advert is the brainchild of the bank’s marketing department, working in collaboration with some external law firms and I am assured that it has been pulled from circulation. 

 1. The division between the Bar and the Bench;
 2. The division between the Outer Bar and the Inner Bar;
 3. The division between “Young Lawyers” and Senior Lawyers;
 4. The division between Litigators/Advocates and Commercial/Transactional    Lawyers;
 5. The division between the Official Bar (Government Lawyers) and Private Practitioners;
 6. The division between In-House Counsel and Private Practitioners;
 7. The division between the Academic Bar and the rest of the profession; and
 8. The division within the Bar and the Bench along ethnic or religious lines.
 
The impact of these divisions on the current state of the legal profession in Nigeria is insidious. We must come together if we intend to succeed in turning around the fortunes of the legal profession and the justice sector as a whole.
Let's Do Better.
 *Dr. Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, FCIArb*

My attention has been drawn to a statement made by Asiwaju Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN in which he suggests that the office of President of the Nigerian Bar Association is the exclusive preserve of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).
 
I respectfully disagree with this position. There is nothing contained in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Constitution or in the history of the NBA to support this assertion.
 
There is near unanimous agreement that one of the most popular and effective Presidents the NBA has had is Late Alao Aka-Basorun and the NBA has had other non-SAN Presidents since.
 
The focus should be on the character, capacity and antecedents of persons who aspire to lead our profession and not on their title or rank.
 
There are serious challenges facing the profession at this time and we need to unite the profession in order to effectively address them.
 
Dr Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, FCIArb.

“Dr Ajibade is a young, intelligent, vibrant, most resourceful attorney. He is integrity personified. He is of exemplary character and humble to a fault. He is a go-getter, amiable and an embodiment of intellectualism. I support his aspiration to lead the NBA. One thing that will interest you is that I have never supported a loser before in the NBA election. The implication of that is that Dr. Ajibade, SAN will definitely win in the election.”

PROF SESAN FABAMISE,*
Dean, Faculty of Law,
Afe Babalola University,
Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State

"Dr. Babatunde Ajibade SAN is a goal getter, an achiever and a wonderful team player. His moral uprightness and unshaken integrity revolves around the orbit of forthrightness. His administrative acumen and contributions to the Bar over the years are immeasurable. On this premise, I have no doubt whatsoever about Dr. Ajibade's capacity to lead the Bar to greater heights."