Kemi Pinheiro, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and legal scholar, has urged the president-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, to make reconciliation and unity the defining priorities of her administration as she prepares to assume leadership of Africa’s largest association of lawyers.
Mr Pinheiro made the call in a congratulatory statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday following Mrs Badejo-Okusanya’s historic election as the first woman to be directly elected president of the NBA by the association’s membership.
Describing the president-elect as an accomplished lawyer and consensus builder, Mr Pinheiro stated that her emergence represented a defining moment for both the NBA and the legal profession in Nigeria.
He, however, noted that she would assume office at a time when the association faced deep internal divisions that could weaken its influence if left unaddressed.
“The Bar is currently polarised along several lines—generational, ideological and, at times, personal,” he said. “Healing these divisions and building a truly cohesive, inclusive and purpose-driven Bar must be at the heart of your agenda.”
