The Executive Director of the El-Mavericky Centre for Educational Research and Development, Sulayman Nafiu, has congratulated Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya [SAN] on her election as President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), describing her emergence as an important moment for the legal profession and a source of inspiration to younger Nigerians.

In a congratulatory message, Nafiu said Badejo-Okunsanya’s election should encourage young people to aspire to leadership and professional excellence, stressing that her victory was “a motivation to the younger generation to dare to win.”

Nafiu, who is also a 400-level Law student at the University of Abuja, urged the new NBA leadership to make the development of young lawyers and law students a central priority of the administration. He specifically called for a nationwide mentorship framework linking experienced members of the Bar with students across Nigerian faculties of law.

He said the initiative should go beyond occasional lectures and ceremonial engagements by providing sustained guidance in advocacy, legal research, professional ethics, career development, technology and the transition from university into legal practice.

“The Bar is at a defining moment where things must be done in a different way to have all-inclusive success,” Nafiu said.

He argued that the NBA could draw useful lessons from professional bodies in Britain, particularly the Law Society of England and Wales and the Bar Council of England and Wales, which have developed programmes around mentoring, social mobility, work experience, diversity and professional development.

Nafiu said a Nigerian model could provide law students and young practitioners with structured access to mentors, internships, professional training and international opportunities, while reducing the extent to which career progression depends on personal connections or social background.

He also urged the NBA to strengthen its relationship with Nigerian universities by establishing formal partnerships with faculties of law and creating regular opportunities for judges, senior advocates, academics and practitioners to engage students. He proposed greater investment in advocacy training, moot court competitions, legal technology and artificial intelligence to prepare young lawyers for the changing demands of modern legal practice.

According to him, the Association should also consider initiatives that promote access to the profession, including scholarships, professional-development support and structured internships for talented students and young lawyers from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Nafiu also called for stronger participation of women and young practitioners in the leadership and policy structures of the Bar. He said Badejo-Okunsanya’s emergence presented an opportunity to build a more inclusive profession in which competence, rather than background or access to established networks, determines professional advancement.

He also urged the NBA to strengthen its role in national policy and law reform by developing research-driven interventions on issues including judicial administration, legal education, criminal justice, constitutional development, human rights and access to justice.