They are comparing apples and oranges. If NMA invites me to their conference to address medical doctors, it would likely be on an issue of law, like medical malpractice or other matters.
It is understandable that law is not their field but medicine. NMA cannot invite a resident doctor to address their conference even if he was a former president of Nigeria and then start twisting it that he was to speak on health policy like our people are doing.
If the former president is there as a newly inducted doctor, he must take his place in the pecking order or rank. A resident doctor, even if he has gone to space and returned, has nothing to teach a consultant. It is never done.
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Even in the military medical corps, you could have a situation where a doctor who is below a consultant might be promoted in military rank above his consultant colleagues. When that happens, such doctors, for example, who are not yet consultants but maybe Brigadier Generals, but working under consultants who are colonels, would drive to work and remove their uniforms from the car park to wear their medical gear. They do that to avoid mistakenly running into a consultant in uniform, and the consultant would have to salute them.
You must respect seniority in any system, or you destroy that system.
It is shameful that we allow politicians to either marry lawyers or become lawyers, and what we have is this anyhowness in the profession.
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If I should go to court with my wife, she would announce appearance before me because though we were called on the same day, she was enrolled before me by 24 hours. I did my enrollment the next day after our call, while she did hers the same day because she was called in the first call session.That is tradition, and we respect it.
It’s funny! People get called and then open a big chamber with no pupilage or experience, and even SANs are going to pay them courtesy visits and do photo ops instead of telling them to go and undertake pupilage first to learn. Then they come to AGC and they are given front seats and made panellists on the excuse that you want inclusion for young lawyers and new wigs
If you truly want inclusion for new wigs, why did you give only Chidoka, Deji and Dino speaking slots? What about the intelligent chap that won 18 prizes and made a double 1st class? What about the best graduating female student? Can she not speak?
Why only popular politicians or activists?
Maduka Onwukeme Esq., is principal partner at ELIX LLP, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
The point is clear: no matter past achievements, in the NBA like in medicine, hierarchy and experience must be respected—young lawyers still have to learn the ropes.