SAN commends NBA president for prioritising legal education

The newly appointed Legal Education Committee Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Professor Damilola Olawuyi (SAN), has lauded the NBA President, Afam Osigwe(SAN), for prioritising legal education.

Osigwe, in his recent address, had outlined his two-year agenda to revitalise the legal profession in Nigeria, thereby announcing the immediate establishment of the NBA Legal Education Committee, and stating that, “This committee will formulate and present the NBA’s position on the reform and development of legal education in Nigeria.”

The NBA President highlighted the committee’s objectives, including a review of curricula in Nigerian universities and the Nigerian Law School to align them with international standards.

He also proposed new criteria for hiring and retraining law lecturers, and improving infrastructure in law school campuses, stressing the need for practising lawyers to engage in teaching at law faculties and the introduction of a mentorship scheme for law students.

Osigwe further announced the membership of the committee, comprised of  Prof. Damilola Olawuyi, (SAN) as Chairman, Prof. Kamal Dawud as Alternate Chairman, Dr. Jonathan Ekperusi as Secretary, and Dr Matthew Anusiem as a member.

Reacting to his appointment, Olawuyi, a leading legal scholar and United Nations Independent expert, appreciated the NBA President’s focus on legal education, stating, “By identifying the reform of legal education as his top priority, Osigwe has demonstrated his commendable and exemplary desire to spearhead transformational innovation in our training of future lawyers.”

Olawuyi urged academics and other stakeholders to actively engage with the NBA Legal Education Committee as it rolls out innovative programmes.

Calling for lawyers skilled in areas such as data analytics, Olawuyi said, “We need lawyers who are skilled in business management, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, as well as equipped with market awareness and entrepreneurship skills.”

Olawuyi reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to driving discussions on legal education reform and collaborating with stakeholders to ensure the development of practice-ready lawyers.

“The NBA Legal Education Committee is well placed to continue this important discussion, and we look forward to working with all stakeholders in this important task,” he stated.