By Fai Cassian Ndi,
 |
| Barrister Sama Francis Asanga: Incumbent Bar President |
North
West lawyers have endorsed Barrister Sama Francis Atanga
reelection bid for the upcoming elections into the Cameroon Bar. The
endorsement exercise that took place at the Conference Hall of Dreamland
Restaurant was attended by both the young and old generation of lawyers of the
North West Region. Talking to journalists at the end of the meeting, Barrister
Sama Francis disclosed that “we are partners in adversity and partners in law.
We have agreed to go to Yaounde
as one and we are seeing things from one direction”. Harping on his
achievements at the helm of the Bar Council, Barrister Sama said that during
his first mandate, “as I promised, I worked hard to restore dignity and honour
in the Bar”. He continued that during his first term, the Bar also bought a
plot for the construction of a secretariat. “We are working towards putting in
place a befitting secretariat with over 100 rooms”, he added. According to
Barrister Sama Francis, one of his successes is that he is lobbying government
for the creation of a school of law in Cameroon where young legal minds
will be trained as legal practitioners. He also emphasized that he succeeded in
organizing Bar Exams for young advocates which had been dormant for seven years
and that the number of pupil advocates who were admitted increased
tremendously.
He also revealed that an
elderly advocate has summoned a meeting of all lawyers practicing the Common
Law in Bamenda next January 24, where they will iron out some of their
differences. The Eye is aware that the meeting as stated will be aimed at
reconciling Anglophone lawyers ahead of the Yaounde
elective General Assembly given that a group of advocates based in the North West had earlier
endorsed some candidates under the umbrella of “New Generation”. This, The Eye
gathered would mean that Common Law lawyers would share votes. According to a
hint former “battoniers” in the likes of Barrister Akere Muna, Ben Muna, Amazi,
Ntumfor Nico Halle, others are expected to be present. It should be recalled
that ahead of August 14, 2012 Bamenda elective General Assembly, Barrister
Ntumfor Nico Halle carried out a similar exercise. At the end, Common Law
lawyers emerged victorious with Sama Francis catapulted to the helm of the Bar.
What If Barrister Sama’s One Good Term Deserves Another?
Being a “battonier” in
today’s global environment requires intellectual proficiency and leadership
skills that recognizes miscellany, respects values and differences. Barrister
Sama Francis Asanga to start with is incumbent President of the Bar and a
successful lawyer based in Bamenda in the North West Region. Coupled with the
fact that he is a man of humble background who has had a jump-start as a
pragmatic lawyer, he wields and enjoys a lot of support from both the old and
the young generation of lawyers. A significant view psychoanalysis of his
crushing victory into the Bar Council last August 14, 2012 is however
indicative of his hidden potentials. If there is any area in Cameroon where
leadership qualities can be assessed, it is how the Bar Council Association has
evolved within a very short time and with Barrister Sama Francis as President.
After his brilliant election to the helm of the Bar Council, Barrister
Sama demonstrated that meaningful reforms could mean a lot in the
evolution of group dynamics. That is why he has already established himself as
the most productive Bar Council President. His colleagues universally hail his
docket management and leadership skills.
Barrister Sama is on
record to have demystified Bar exams which years ago was hitherto considered
reserved only for a few. He used his advocacy skills not only to dismantle the
barriers constructed round the admission of pupil advocates but has more
importantly simplified the procedures. Indicators are rife at that within the
past few years, Bar council results were released on record time. Yet, it is
these qualities which incalculably complement his multifarious roles as a
pragmatic leader and reformist. This is so because he is a bulk of talent,
intelligent and a man who lives in every other person’s problem. Hard work and
efficiency have continued to be the qualities that define his actions as
President of the Bar. Whenever you meet him for the first time, you are taken
by his mastery of issues. Take it as arrogance and you are right for this
is positive superciliousness because he masters issues. Notwithstanding, he has
the drive and dedication that defies any facile explanations. Born and brought
up in a close knit family in the fear of the God. In later life Barrister Sama
could not escape to be a workaholic or become a good leader par excellence
reasons he gets public admiration for doing great things. From that standpoint,
Barrister Sama portrays himself as a role model in the legal profession and a
silent achiever. When he was elected as President of the Bar Council, analysts
described him as “highly skilled and approachable and has good legal and people
skills”, a “formidable advocate” they said.
Barrister Sama Francs
took over office at a very crucial moment. It was when the Bar had ignited the
primary symptoms of an eminent collapse. More specifically, he was confronted
with significant challenges resulting from the poor previous years
administrative culture stepped in patronage, incompetence and the lack of
willpower that had chopped the association. Instead of wasting time
complaining, Barrister Sama rolled up his sleeves and went to work putting
order and confidence in place. Because he came into office with a track record
of a longtime successful advocate, he had proven to be a stronger Batonnier
than many. And he has been much more active and proactive than his immediate
predecessor in that office. This is so because it is Barrister Sama who has finally
returned the Bar council to a position of power. To throw away such seniority
would be suicidal for the Bar Council as many have started scrambling for the
post and creating small caucuses nationwide. However, many advocates must have
realized that choosing not to cast a vote for Barrister Sama means effectively
voting against his/herself. Just because someone thinks that he/she too can
head the Bar doesn’t mean that he should be denied another term of office given
that he is sharp, capable and ready to serve. “He has done a good job and
granting him another term would be advantageous to the legal profession”,
another lawyer remarks.
The Sure Bet
As January 31, 2015
draws nears, popular opinion holds that Barrister Sama Francis is a sure bet
for the position of Bar Council President. No candidate has as inspiring record
of achievements as he has. Like any other responsive leader, Barrister Sama
started his mandate on a good footing. When he was elected, he immediately
embarked on the Bar Council Secretariat construction project as well as
intensified lobbying for the creation of a Law School
to train young Cameroonians. With these projects in the offing, there is every
reason for him to bounce back for continuity. Endued with a national reputation
for his legal work, Barrister Sama is the lead advocate of the Sama Law firm
that has been in legal practice since 1982. The Sama Law Chambers equally offer
internship to University Students who wish to take law as a career. For this
reason a Legal and Career Assistant is there to orientate students. The areas
of operation by the Sama Law Firm include amongst others, International
Trading, banking, Investment and Finance, Commercial
Litigation, Arbitration, Alternate Disputes Resolution, General Public Notary,
OHADA Legislation, Criminal Law, Corporate Law, Corporate Restructuring,
International Joint Ventures, Project Finance, Real Estate Development, Product
Liability Law and Media Law. Barrister Sama Francis Asanga has
been involved in many of the most important cases and provides legal services
in Cameroon
and the rest of the world through an established professional
network with other Law Firms worldwide and within the country. With
next elections approaching, lawyers will be deciding who will run the Cameroon
Bar. It is virtually important to put the right people in positions who will do
the right job they are elected to do. One thing is clear: they all need to get
along and respect each other. Yet the lone candidate that strikes most is
Barrister Sama Francis Asanga.
Heavyweight
Despite claims by a Bamenda based
caucus that Barrister Sama’s candidature is a bad taste, majority of advocates
have said that his candidature as incumbent was the best for the Bar Council.
The same school of thought holds that he has shown that he is a good leader
that is focused on the future of the Bar. “We are going to work very hard to
support him to realise his second term bid, another lawyer told us at weekend.
“We see a lot of hope in Barrister Sama’s attitude to work; he is very calm
person, very difficult to provoke; that is the hallmark of leadership; even
when eggs and tomatoes are being pelted on you, you remain focused along the
line of your conviction to get to a logical end. Barrister Sama is that kind of
leader” says another advocate. He is well known for his dedication to the
well-being of the profession as well as his clients, his will to win, his legal
knowledge, creativity and attention to detail makes him the most pragmatic for
the top position of Bar Council President. Besides, Barrister Sama is that kind
of person who finds solutions to difficult problems. He will take time to
understand everything issue and will tailor his service around the needs. He
would always take a fair and flexible approach. Where a case can be resolved
through negotiations, so as not to incur costs, Barrister Sama Francis can be
relied upon for his strong negotiation skills and for achieving good results.
But where a fight is necessary, he is renowned for his authority performance in
court.
Abraham Lincoln wrote
the following notes in 1850 when preparing a speech to aspiring lawyers. He
wrote that “there is a vague popular belief that lawyers are necessarily
dishonest…the impression is common, almost universal. Let no young man choosing
the law for a calling for a moment yield to the popular belief---resolve to be
honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest
lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer”. Lincoln appears to have practiced what he
preached. Amazingly, he earned his nickname, “Honest Abe,” despite working in
two professions commonly accused of ignoring the truth: law and politics. Even
as a young man, Lincoln’s honest character was evident. Lincoln’s reputation for honesty followed him
into politics. When Stephen Douglas heard he would be running against Lincoln for a seat in the US Senate, he acknowledged Lincoln as a formidable
foe. “I shall have my hands full. He is the strong man of his party—full of
wit, facts, dates—and the best stump speaker, with his droll ways and dry
jokes, in the West. He is as honest as he is shrewd, and if I beat him my
victory will be hardly won.” Lincoln’s
reputation for absolute honesty gave him an edge as a leader. People might
disagree with him, but they couldn’t question his integrity. His character was
indisputable. In leadership, there’s an ever-present temptation to bend the
truth, to enter moral gray zones, and to allow pragmatic concerns to overrule
ethical considerations. Closer to Lincoln’s
absolute reputation in Cameroon
is Barrister Sama Francis. His leadership qualities are never and would never
be doubted. Even with the increasing numbers of pretenders gunning for
elections into the Bar, it is easy to decipher truth from falsehood. If you’ve
ever led people, you must have come across followers who would rather act the
part than do their part. Those people are pretenders, and while they can
sometimes masquerade as players, there are ways to tell the two apart. It’s
important to find all the pretenders within a grouping because otherwise, they
will steal momentum and damage visions given that in many cases, they look the
part, talk the part, and claims the part, but fall short of fulfilling the
part. They would create caucuses at election and the next day, they all
disappear like clouds.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
