The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, FCIArb, has called on women in the legal profession to embrace mentorship, challenge limiting perceptions and actively support the emergence of the next generation of female leaders.
The NBA President made the call during a fireside chat titled “Women in Leadership: Influence, Impact and Legacy,” at the South-South Zonal Conference of the National Association of Women Judges of Nigeria (NAWJN), held in Port Harcourt on Friday, October 30, 2026.
The conference was themed “Mentorship and Legacy Building: Fostering a Culture of Mentorship of the Next Generation of Women Leaders in Law.”
Speaking at the session, Badejo-Okunsanya reflected on her professional journey, including the challenges of building a legal career while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
She encouraged women practitioners to overcome subliminal and subconscious biases that may cause them to underestimate their abilities and limit their professional aspirations.
She also emphasised the importance of honest conversations about the institutional, social and professional barriers that continue to affect women’s advancement into leadership positions.
Addressing the importance of mentorship, the NBA President urged established women in the profession to deliberately support and nurture younger colleagues, noting that mentorship provides an important bridge between generations of women lawyers and leaders.
She further outlined the direction of the NBA Women Forum under her leadership, explaining that the Forum would focus over the next two years on developing women leaders at branch and national levels.
The proposed approach will include mentorship sessions and practical platforms through which participants can apply the knowledge and experience acquired.
She observed that increasing women’s representation in leadership positions creates opportunities for other women to advance and contribute meaningfully to the profession.
In her closing remarks, she challenged participants to recognise their potential, rise to leadership opportunities and break barriers standing in the way of their professional advancement.
The session provided an opportunity for legal practitioners, jurists and women leaders to exchange experiences on leadership, professional development and the importance of building sustainable mentorship structures within the legal profession.
Why this matters: The NBA President’s intervention places mentorship and women’s representation at the centre of professional development within the Nigerian Bar. The proposed focus on leadership development at branch and national levels could also strengthen the pipeline of women aspiring to leadership positions across the Association.
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