“I thank Uche Nwadialo for her cooperation and willingness to serve at all times and at whatever task. Many times she did much more than the work of Assistant Secretary for which she was elected. I thank you again and wish you well for the future. I could not have hoped for a better assistant” – Stephen Onimisi Obajaja Esq (2017)
I penned these words in the Secretary’s Report placed before the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch three years ago at a time there was no contemplation that Uchenna Nwadiolo (Uche) will ever run for National Office and it still rings true today for she went on to distinguish herself in service as Social Secretary of the Branch in the years that followed.
When Uche first ran for and was elected Assistant Secretary, it became immediately clear to me as soon as she was elected that her election was a stroke of good fortune for me in particular and the Branch in general.
I must be honest here! Hitherto, I had only seen this beautiful and vivacious damsel assisting in one way or another at Branch meetings and other events of the Branch but when she was to run for office, she sought my support and even at that early stage I could hear the passion in her voice and demonstrably discern that she was prepared, ready and understands the duties of the office she sought.
Uche threw all she had into the work and from the first EXCO meeting she attended, she took initiative and was recording minutes of the meeting even though she could see I was already doing so. It was not even her remit to do likewise and I did not ask her to do so. After the meeting, she called me aside to compare notes and lo and behold she did as good a job of recording the minutes as I did myself.
As they say, the rest is history; from that day on she recorded the minutes of the EXCO meetings thereby freeing me to contribute in other more edifying ways at the EXCO meetings. That exactly is the kind of Assistant Secretary, Uche was and I have no doubt she will carry that into National Office.
Uche as Assistant Secretary of the “premier bar” went beyond the call of duty. She took responsibility for Committee work and was always brewing with ideas that work and an uncommon commitment which helps others succeed and she helped me succeed as Secretary of the Lagos Branch. Whoever is elected General Secretary of the NBA in the forthcoming polls will have an assistant in Uche who will put the success of the General Secretary and that of the Secretariat beyond and above any personal sense of self.
Whilst she went about her job as Assistant Secretary, it immediately became obvious that Uche was cut out for bigger and better things. She worked with the Social Secretary with the same vigour with which she discharged the statutory duties of Assistant Secretary to ensure that all our social events between 2015-17 were a classic. If you ever wondered why and how she emerged Social Secretary in 2017-19, then wonder no more! This is it.
Uche has served the bar in other capacities in Lagos and beyond where she similarly acquitted herself well in those roles and I know many reading this who worked with her in those assignments can also glowingly testify to the qualities which recommend her for the office of Assistant Secretary of the NBA.
From my experience when I was Secretary and she was Assistant Secretary of the “premier bar” respectively, Uche did the job for which she was elected. She went beyond that. She did the job that had to be done without been asked. She did the job that was necessary for the success of anything she was a part of at the EXCO, Committee and Branch level.
I am therefore persuaded that Uche will bring these redoubtable qualities to the table of the next General Secretary of the bar in particular and the NBA Secretariat in general. The next NBA EXCO will have the right Assistant Secretary if the bar chooses Uchenna Esther Nwadialo.
Stephen Onimisi Obajaja Esq.
Secretary, NBA Lagos Branch (2015 – 2017).
