Protocols.
His Excellency, Abba Kabir Yusuf, Executive Governor, Kano State.
The Emir of Kano, HRM Dr. Aminu Ado Bayero, CFR.
President, Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu C. Maikyau, SAN, OON.
Chief Judge of Kano State, Hon. Justice Dije Abdu Aboki.
Chairman, NBA-SBL, Dr. Adeoye Adefulu.
Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice, Kano State, Lawan Musa Abdullahi.
Esteemed Colleagues and Seniors.
Members of the Press.
Members of the Academia.
Ladies and Gentle Men.
I am truly delighted that you honoured our invitation for this maiden Conference of the NBA-SBL Northern Zonal Committee in spite of your extremely busy schedules. On behalf of the NBA-SBL Governing Council and the Conference Planning Committee, I thank you most sincerely. As you are aware, the NBA-SBL is one of the specialist sections of the NBA, set up primarily to enhance the professional development of Nigerian commercial lawyers and raise the level of business law practice in Nigeria.
Through its 25 subject matter committees, the Section organises conferences, seminars, trainings and formal and informal interactions for its members and stakeholders. Indeed, the NBA-SBL’s annual conferences continue to serve as the convergent point and professional event for policy formulators, regulators, corporate bodies, emerging market investors, legal practitioners, members of the Bench and business persons.
Today’s event is unique in several ways considering the fact that it’s a fulfilment of the deep-seated desires of the leadership of the NBA-SBL over the years who have been trying to organise a conference of this nature within the northern region of the country with a view to bringing together legal practitioners to rub minds and brainstorm on critical issues affecting the profession and practice in this part of the country as well as engage in social networking opportunities.
This conference is a testament of the leveraging opportunities which the NBA-SBL has offered and still continues to do so for commercial lawyers in Nigeria and Africa in general.
The theme for this Conference is “Strategic Legal Mastery: Arbitration, Corporate Governance, and Intellectual Property law Landscapes”.
This theme speaks for itself considering the urgent need for lawyers to fortify their legal background and further enhance and deepen their capacities and engagements in arbitration, corporate governance and intellectual property law as well as explore and utilize global best practices in their respective law careers.
The conference promises to be of high standard, as we have put together a distinguished faculty of knowledgeable and accomplished speakers and resource persons drawn from within our profession for the various sessions. who are very eager to share their experiences and success stories.
The Conference would be rounded up with a dinner to aid social networking opportunities and bonding and it is our earnest expectation that at the end of the conference participants from the Northern Zone will become more aware of the opportunities and possibilities in commercial law practice that abound around them, and they would be better positioned and tooled to take optimum advantage of these opportunities or at least be spurred to acquire more knowledge and expertise in these areas.
In the course of our preparations for this event, we embarked on courtesy visits to a couple of key stakeholders and relevant (top) government functionaries, leaders within Kano State including the Emir of Kano, HRM Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, CFR and we were warmly received by the emir and the entire emirates of Kano State, the Chief Judge of Kano State Hon. Justice Dije Abdu Aboki and a host of others. We are very grateful for all of the warm wishes as well as the feedback on the positive impacts of the NBA-SBL on commercial lawyers in Nigeria.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, we have quite a lot to unpack in less than 7 hours. I would therefore, like to express my sincere gratitude to all our panelist, speakers, moderators, comperes and coordinators without whose effort and contribution we would not be having this Conference.
Lastly, before I step down from this podium, I must express my sincere appreciation to the NBA-SBL Governing Council under the leadership of Dr. Adeoye Adefulu for the trust and confidence reposed in me. I had the entire Conference Planning Committee supporting me every step of the way.
Thanks to the outstanding commitment and support of every member, it has been an immeasurably and rewarding experience for me and I believe for every one of them.
Our sponsors deserve a full-hearted appreciation, as do our special guests and everyone gathered here today, in person and by representation from across the globe.
On behalf of the entire NBA-SBL Northern Zonal Conference Planning Committee team, I thank you all and I wish you an inspiring and a successful Conference.
I welcome you all to this conference and hope that you find the interactions worthwhile.
Thank you.
•Dr. Fatima Kere-Ahmed.
Council Member/Zonal Officer (North)
Chairman, NBA-SBL Northern Zonal Conference Planning Committee.
