The Nigerian Bar Association on Wednesday said the association has consistently maintained that to achieve transformative change in the world, issues relating to gender equality and empowerment must be prioritised and adequately addressed.
The NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, said this while commemorating this year’s International Women’s Day, with the “Theme Digit All: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.’’
He said that this year’s theme which focuses on innovation has given the world a veritable platform to assess and reassess how to maximise the use of digital technology to bridge the gender gap.
Maikyau added that the next global agenda should therefore put in place developmental policies and pragmatic mechanisms to accelerate equality and equity with the aid of technology.
According to him, the NBA is delighted to join the rest of the world to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.
He added, “March 8 every year is set aside to celebrate our women and their outstanding achievements and contributions to society. This year’s event is not different and as an association, we are taking the time to celebrate all the female members of the legal profession who have done their bit for the advancement of the legal profession and the betterment of our world.
“If there were cultural, historical, and anthropological excuses for placing issues of women on the backburner in the past centuries, such excuses are no longer tenable in the light of the giant strides and advances in technology.
“It has been shown that there is no empirical basis for the assumed limited capacity and capability of women. The on-going global technological disruption will have maximum positive impact if, and only when, there is unrestricted access to all, the legal profession being no exception.
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria prohibits discrimination against persons on the basis of sex, amongst other things, thus granting everyone equal status before the law,” he said.
The NBA President further stated that the umbrella body of legal practitioners was committed to working with relevant stakeholders to ensure that innovative policies and practices are adopted for the advancement of women.
“We will continue to work with the government to ensure that our laws and policies reflect gender equality and equity. We will also partner with national and international development agencies to guard against the exploitation of our women and guarantee their continued participation in society; playing pivotal and not just subsidiary roles.
“We note with concern that, out of the 193 candidates who have contested the presidency of this country since her return to democracy in 1999, only four of them are women. In the just-concluded presidential election of February 25, 2023, only one female candidate appeared on the ballot against 17 male candidates.
“It is our firm belief that, with proactive policies and innovative solutions, more women will continue to find their voice in society. Consequently, we will continue to stand up for not just equal opportunities for all, but also for gender equity,” he said.
In celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day, Maikyau, said that the NBA acknowledged and celebrated women, especially the female pioneers in the legal profession.
He said these women blazed the trail for others to follow and shattered glass ceilings to reach for the stars in a hitherto male-dominated sphere.
“In this regard, we celebrate: the first female lawyer in Nigeria – Mrs Stella Marke (1935) the first female Attorney General – Mrs. Victoria Onejeme (1965), the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria Chief [Mrs] Folake Solanke, OON, CON, SAN, first female Professor of Law, Prof. Jadesola Debo-Akande; the first female judge in Nigeria, Justice Modupe Omo Eboh [1976]; the first female Attorney General of Lagos State – Mrs Hairat Balogun, OON [1984]; first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria in Eastern Nigeria – Chief (Mrs.) Anayo Justina Offiah, SAN [2003]; the first female Justice of the Supreme Court and first female Chief Justice of Nigeria – Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, GCON [2005/2012].
“The first female President of the Nigerian Bar Association – Dame Priscilla Kuye [1991-1992]. As an association, we believe that by virtue of our privileged position as members of the legal profession in Nigeria, this is another area in which we must provide leadership to other professions and to the entire country.’’
