- Started serving as school prefect at both Primary and Secondary Schools because of her brilliance;
- Graduated from the University and during her NYSC, rapporteured at NBA NEC activities at early stage of call to bar;
- Registered as member, NBA Lagos Branch, and in few years time: served as:
a. Asst Secretary 2000 – 2002.
b. Publicity Secretary 2007 – 2009.
c. Social Secretary 2009 – 2011. - Involved in internal workings at IBA Conferences and Seminar Planning;
- Elected and served as National Treasurer-
2012 – 2014,
where she introduced the NBA Bar code and customized teller for payment of bar practicing fees. This has improved and increased tremendously the revenue base of the branches; - Served under these National Presidents as member, NEC:
i. Oluwa Rotimi Akeredolu – SAN – 2008 – 2010.
ii. Okey Wali – SAN – 2012 – 2014.
iii. Augustine Alegeh – SAN – 2014 – 2016, and
iv. Abubakar B. Mahmud – SAN – 2016 – 2018.
More on born to serve:
Member, NBA National Secretariat House fund Raising Committee.
Member, NBA Finance Committee – 2012 – 2014.
Member, NBA Technical Committee on Conference Planning – 2014 – 2015.
Her Experiences are Unquantifiable.
Natural Qualities:
A. Humility Personified: from her State of birth (Akwa Ibom) to her State of marriage (Anambra) through States of University Education (Lagos) and NYSC (Ogun), till date, she has been serving in various capacities and never found wanting.
B. Precocious and Unpresumptuous: She is advanced in knowledge and never over confident or impertinently bold.
C. Prolific: She is abundantly fruitful in all her administrative and legal endeavors.
D. Passionate: About the rights of man, particularly, the Child and Women Rights, she is passionate for them culminating in her Humanitarian work through the fountain of life for the needy. Completely heartitude for humanity, you may correctly presume “she has been casting her bread upon the waters and after these years will find it again”.
E. Maternalistic: She is a Sister, Aunty and Mother to the core. Her display of maternalism towards the young lawyers and the needy would shock you. “A generous man will prosper; he\she who refreshes others will herself be refreshed”. Prov. 11.
F. Diligence and Hard Work: Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings …”. Moreover Benjamin Franklin states “that which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in and the best of me is diligence”, no doubt, the best of Joyce is diligence and she is been standing before great men of the legal profession.
G. Accountability: Elected and served as National Treasurer and in due time, at the NBA AGM, she gave a Kobo to Kobo account of the Association’s expenditure with applause.
AWARDS: For her contributions and commitment to NBA, Joyce has received these honors;
NBA Self Service Award 2014.
NBA Award of Recognition by Section on Public Interest and Development Law 2019.
NBA Service Award by Lagos Branch, 2019.
NBA Excellence Award by Owo Branch, 2019.
Appointed as a Patroness of NBA Owo Branch, 2019.
Learned Silks, Distinguished Colleagues, in Igboland, there is an adage which asks – how many lions would a man kill before he is adorned with the prestigious title of OGBUAGU? How many lions do we want Joyce to kill before we recognize, even without “popularity contest” her proven ability to serve NBA in any capacity? From her experiences, qualities and awards, we can but say “Res Ipso Loquitur”.
According to Marcus Auretius Antoninus on the art of leadership “show those things which are wholly in thy power to show; sincerity, dignity, laboriousness, self denial, contentment, frugality, frankness, simplicity, seriousness, magnanimity. Seest thou not how many they are in which with no excuse of natural incapacity thou voluntarily fallest short”. And Theodore Roosevelt added “the first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he should be able and willing to pull his weight”. Yet, the great Johann Wolfgang Von Goetne posts “Behavior is a Mirror in which everyone displays his Image”.
Dear Colleagues, Great people are ordinary people with extra ordinary amount of determination, “for many are talented but only those who nurture their talents come to the limelight”.
This is my Summation of Joyce Oduah, our next Secretary General to be. I veered into Bar Politics and got elected as the Publicity Secretary, NBA Umuahia Branch in 2012 from the walls of academism, Faculty of Law, Abia State University, Uturu. From the Eastern Bar Forum, our support was fully for the election of Joyce Oduah same year. Upon arrival at Abuja, Joyce Oduah humbly approached our branch and at the end of the election, she Won.
What was actually intriguing and enthralling was that by the end of 2014, Oduah stood confidently and honestly and discharged herself creditably by rendering Kobo to Kobo, Naira to Naira account of her stewardship to the NBA AGM. She did it with humble tallness on the podium.
Thereafter, I withdrew from NBA politics to complete my Ph.D (Doctor of Philosophy) in Laws. With its completion and with three books in the kitty and over 40 Journal Articles in National and International realm, I have redirected my interest once more to NBA politics. And low and behold, at the Eastern Bar meeting held at Owerri before Covid—19 lockdown, I saw this young lady, sincere, diligent, simple minded, good citizen that is able and willing to pull her weight as mirror, displaying her Image in a God Fearing mannerism.
As a capacious driven service delivery Aspirant, I present her on this platform for our collective support and adoption as our candidate. Today, Joyce is asking us to give her a base of support to move the NBA to a greater height and like Archimed Archimedes; she will move the world nay NBA, to the height of her dream.
Meanwhile, I join all supporters of Friends of Joyce Oduah to congratulate her for scaling through the first screening hurdle.
Our God Shall vindicate her on her services to humanity.
AHAMEFULA STEVEN AMARAMIRO, Ph.D, JP.
B.A (Ed.) LL.B, LL.M, M.A, B.L, Ph.D.
NBA, Umuahia Branch.
