Renowned author, Chimamanda Adichie on Monday said that the words – troublesome and innovative – have their pride of place in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Adichie delivered the keynote address at the 62nd edition of the NBA Annual General Conference holding at the Eko Atlantic City in Lagos state.
The conference had the theme: “Bold Transition”.
Adichie made a distinction between the words – troublesome and disruptive.
According to her, both words are often used to describe negative emotions whereas they can also describe positivity.
“Traditionally, the word disruptive has often been used in a negative sense; we have school teachers who reprimanded students for being disruptive in class.
“Traditional synonyms for the word disruptive could mean troublesome, disorderly, unsettling or trouble making; but today, the word disruptive has taken a more positive connotation especially concerning technology and access to information.
“Troublesome and innovative may seem opposed to one another but I will argue that they have their pride of place in the Nigerian Bar Association.
“Many people who have abused their powers in Nigeria will describe the NBA as troublesome: to me, this is worthy of praise,” she said.
According to Adichie, it is common to refer to people who are pace setters, rights activists or social critics as troublesome owing to their stand or viewpoints on issues.
She said that troublesome could then be viewed as positive.
She urged pace setters not to relent in spite of challenges.
On the theme of the 2022 NBA AGC, she commended the planning committee.
She said that the theme touched on vital areas of existence.
On the ongoing NBA football tournament Adichie said that she noted that there was a disparity in the prize for winners in the male and female categories.
The NBA had pegged the prize for the winner in the male category at N500,000 and the female, N200,000
Adichie said that the disparity did not reflect the theme of the conference: “Bold Transition.”
Thus, after her speech, dignitaries at the event took turns to make voluntary donations for the female category.
The prize for the female category consequently rose from N200,000 to N3.2 million.
The event had in attendance past presidents of the NBA, senior advocates of Nigeria, and some presidential candidates for the 2022 NBA elections, among others.
