What began as complaints among African delegates over lunch at the International Bar Association Annual Conference in Copenhagen has now developed into a spirited call for culinary inclusion at global legal gatherings.
Dr. MOU, SAN, has revealed that he personally took up the issue of meal choices for African delegates with an official of the International Bar Association during the Copenhagen conference.
According to him, several African participants expressed disappointment that the conference lunch offerings did not sufficiently reflect African food preferences, with even familiar staples such as rice dishes appearing absent from the menu.
Rather than leave the matter at informal complaints among colleagues, the Senior Advocate decided to take the conversation directly to the organisers.
He said he made a passionate case for African culinary preferences to receive greater consideration when meals are planned for future IBA conferences.
And his minimum request was refreshingly straightforward: give African delegates some rice—and do not forget the pepper.
From Copenhagen to Singapore
Dr. MOU, SAN, said the IBA official who received his suggestion responded courteously and assured him that the proposal would be pushed forward, particularly as preparations begin for the Association’s next annual conference in Singapore.
That response has given the conversation a more serious dimension.
For Dr. MOU, the issue is not simply about satisfying hunger during a busy conference programme.
Food, he argued, represents culture, identity and belonging.
International conferences routinely bring together thousands of professionals from different regions, legal systems and cultural traditions. The IBA itself places considerable emphasis on diversity, inclusion and international exchange within the legal profession.
The Nigerian Senior Advocate believes that the same philosophy can reasonably extend to hospitality arrangements.
African delegates, he suggested, should not travel thousands of kilometres to participate in one of the world’s largest gatherings of lawyers only to find that the diversity celebrated in conference sessions disappears when lunch is served.
Could Pounded Yam Reach the IBA Table?
Dr. MOU’s campaign has also injected humour into what is ultimately an inclusion conversation.
Looking towards future IBA conferences, he imagined a menu on which pounded yam, semovita, vegetable soup and egusi could eventually sit alongside meals from other parts of the world.
It may sound ambitious, but his position is that collective advocacy can achieve surprising results.
For African lawyers accustomed to rice, soups, swallows and generously spiced meals, the proposal could make long conference days more comfortable while giving international colleagues an opportunity to experience African cuisine.
And there is another argument behind it: global conferences are not merely professional marketplaces.
They are also spaces of cultural exchange.
Delegates experience countries, languages, customs and traditions through the people they meet—and food can be one of the simplest ways of extending that experience.
Diversity Beyond Conference Panels
The discussion comes at an interesting moment for African participation within the IBA.
At the 2026 Copenhagen conference, Nigerian lawyers and delegates featured prominently in discussions ranging from artificial intelligence and professional regulation to taxation, mentorship, democracy and the future of legal practice.
African delegates have also used the conference to raise broader concerns about representation and the need for African perspectives to receive greater visibility within international legal conversations.
Against that background, Dr. MOU’s food campaign may appear humorous, but its underlying argument fits comfortably within the wider question of inclusion.
Diversity, he maintains, should not exist only in conference brochures, speaker lists and panel discussions.
It can also be reflected in smaller details that make delegates from different parts of the world feel recognised.
“Let African Conferees Unite”
Dr. MOU, SAN, is therefore encouraging African delegates to speak with one voice ahead of future IBA conferences.
His proposition is simple: if lawyers can advocate professionally for major legal and institutional reforms, surely they can also advocate for a more internationally representative lunch menu.
And if that advocacy succeeds, an African delegate arriving at a future IBA lunch table may no longer need to wonder where the familiar food is.
There may instead be rice on one side, pounded yam somewhere nearby and—if the campaign truly gathers momentum—a steaming pot of vegetable or egusi soup completing the picture.
For now, Copenhagen may have started the conversation.
Singapore could provide the first taste of the result.
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