Nigeria, July 19 -- The history of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has travelled a path that parallels the political evolution of the country. It began in 1900, the same year in which the government of Queen Victoria assumed formal authority over the country after revoking the Royal Charter of Taubman Goldie's Royal Niger Company.

For the next 59 years, leadership of the NBA was a lifetime preferment. Christopher Sapara Williams became Nigeria's first lawyer in 1888. Some 12 years later, he emerged as the first chairman of the national bar. Sapara Williams served in that role until his untimely death in 1915. His successor was acclaimed colonial collaborator, Sir Kitoye Ajasa. Like Sapara Williams, Sir Ajasa served until his death in ...