“Why we established Igbo lawyers association in South Africa.” Ugo Johnson Anyiam.
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High profile Akalite and a South African based legal luminary, Chief Ugo Johnson Anyiam has thrown more insight on why the Igbo lawyers resident in South Africa created an umbrella organization known as Igbo Lawyers Association of South Africa, ILASA. Speaking over the weekend with the South African correspondents of Umuaka Times, Chief Anyiam who is the principal attorney, Anyiam Attorneys Incorporated, Johannesburg disclosed that the need to maintain the Igbo philosophy of “onye aghala nwanne ya was one of the ideas that led to the creation of the group.
Chief Anyiam who is the president of the organization also hinted in his inaugural speech during the inauguration of the organization held on October 26 in South Africa that the need to fully participate in the task of nation building back home in Nigeria made it imperative for Igbo lawyers resident in South Africa to come together.
Another area the youthful attorney touched was the creation of pro bono project for Igbo men and women living in South Africa and Southern African countries. Chief Anyiam lamented that access to justice has always been a big task to many Igbo people living in and outside Nigeria, especially in Africa, as a result of poor financial backgrounds. “ILASA will seriously look into this area and make sure that our brothers will have unlimited access to justice whenever the need arises, especially in South Africa.”
The attorney used the opportunity to call on Nigerians living in South Africa to stay out of trouble and obey the laws of the host country.
On 26 October 2024, Igbo lawyers in South African officially inaugurated the body known as Igbo Lawyers Association of South Africa. The event also included a gala night which was held at the banquet hall of Johannesburg Country Club, Sandton.
