NBA presidential election not a do-or-die affair – AB Mahmud

One of the leading aspirants contesting the 2016 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, Abubakar Mahmud (SAN), has declared that emerging as NBA president is not a life and death matter. Speaking during an exclusive interview with Daily Trust in his Abuja office, Mahmud said one of the first things that he did when he […]

One of the leading aspirants contesting the 2016 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, Abubakar Mahmud (SAN), has declared that emerging as NBA president is not a life and death matter.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Daily Trust in his Abuja office, Mahmud said one of the first things that he did when he decided to contest the election “was actually to visit my brother, J.K. Gadzama in his office.”
“I have made it clear that election, whether at professional bodies or at national or state party politics, is not a do-or-die affair”, Mahmud said.
The legal profession, he said, is about integrity, high values and high professional standards.
Asked whether his “uncompromising integrity stand” would not be a disadvantage, he said “Is it a disadvantage to my push for the Bar’s presidency? Well, I sincerely hope not. I don’t think it should be a disadvantage. It should in fact be an advantage and this is what we are trying to do, to rebuild that image, that high regard that ordinary people and citizens hold the legal profession and I hope that we can work to restore that glory of the legal profession together with our colleagues.
“It’s not good if people see the legal profession negatively; if we are seen as undermining the rule of law; if we are seen undermining ethical standards or cutting corners in what we do.
“This is something every lawyer should aspire to and we will continue to endeavor to uphold these standards because, otherwise, we would be undermining the same institution, the same values we are supposed to uphold. So, I don’t see it as a disadvantage,” Mahmud said.