Nigerian Bar Association | Orowhuo W. A Okocha, Esq: Little Known Fact Amongst My Professional Colleagues. 

Little known fact amongst my professional colleagues… I play, and have played basketball for more than 20 years, and have been an ardent follower of professional sports for longer.

The beauty of team sports is in the shared joys and pain that come with winning and losing, respectively. That joy is shared amongst team officials, players, and fans and supporters. So too is the pain.

When the whistle is blown, and the game starts, the focus of all is the win. Every player has their own role to play. While the team might have its star player, he can’t do it all without his teammates performing their own duties. The whole team must listen to and take guidance from their captain and coaching staff, and with the support of their fans in the stadium and watching from their TVs. It is the collective effort of all players on the team, including the substitutes that might be brought on, that determines the success of the game.

In a league season, you win some games, and you lose some. After every win, the officials and players usually confirm what the winning formula was, and do what needs to be done in order to keep their winning streak alive and, after every loss, take stock, review their efforts, and do what needs to be done to win their next game. Sometimes, there might be the need to substitute players in the lineup, sometimes it might be asking the star player to rise to his usual level and deliver, and sometimes, it might be requiring one of the other role players to step up and perform his role differently! Ultimately, the next win is what is important…

It might not be a perfect analogy, but in the scenario that I have just painted, the league is the Legal Profession in Nigeria. The team is the Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch, made up of the Advisory Committee as the Coaching Staff, the Executive Committee as the players on the court, under the captaincy of the Branch Chairman, the wider Branch as the rest of the squad on the bench, and the Society at large as the Fans, whether in the stadium, or watching on TV.

By seeking election as Secretary of the Port Harcourt Branch, I have, in returning to the metaphor, been qualified to play the game since 2008, and I am seeking substitution onto the court, to play in a specific role which I have studied and watched and learned what is required of me, in a bid to ensure that our team wins the game, and possibly the entire league, and that the winning feeling is shared by all!

With your support, this is possible.

Vote Oros! Vote Orowhuo W. A. Okocha, Esq. for Secretary, NBA Port Harcourt Branch!!