I was super excited to welcome Professor Emilia Onyema, a Professor in International Commercial Law at SOAS, University of London. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, qualified to practice law in Nigeria, and as a Solicitor in England & Wales.

Professor Onyema is a member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC) and the Lagos Court of Arbitration, the Advisory Committee of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA). She presides over the Advisory Committee of the Libya Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. She is also a member of various professional associations, including the Nigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association. She convenes the “SOAS Arbitration in Africa” conference series and publishes the Arbitration in Africa Survey and the African Promise's co-author; she has published various books and articles on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), particularly on Arbitration. 

Professor Onyema was awarded the Mentor of the Year 2020 by the African Arbitration Association (AfAA); She has mentored so many people over the years and still mentoring, including my humble self, and one of the main reasons I am researching in ADR- Multi-Door Courthouse in Nigeria.

In this episode, we discussed the following questions:

a) What is ADR?

b) How did you start or commence your journey as an ADR Practitioner/ Academia?

c) Throughout your journey as an ADR Practitioner/Academia, have you had any cause to doubt the effectiveness of ADR, to be precise, Arbitration?

d) What is the Career Progression in Arbitration?

e) What is your advice to someone that wants to pursue a career in Arbitration?

f) What is your advice for potential users of ADR?

  I dedicate this episode to my mum-Mildred Obiageli Egbunike (Nee Bosah), who passed away on Saturday 6th March 2021. My angel, you looked forward to listening to this session with Prof, but the good Lord took you to be with Him and watch over us.

Love you forever till we meet to part no more! Rest in the Lord.

 I was delighted to welcome Mr Edward Luke II, a Barrister -at -law, England and Wales, a Barrister and Solicitor of Sierra Leone and an Attorney of law, Botswana. The Managing Partner of Luke and Associates law firm and one of Botswana’s leading lawyers with a wealth of local and international experience. He has engaged in several high-profile cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal Botswana, including Botswana’s most sensational murder trial; appeared in the Court of Appeal with Sir Desmond de Silva Q.C. 

Mr Luke is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in the United Kingdom, Kenya and Zambia. He is also a fellow of the Singapore and Botswana Institute of Arbitrators. He is an author and has spoken at several international conferences on International Arbitration. 

In this episode, we explored ADR as it stands in Botswana today.

Questions have been asked on 'Whether Family Mediation falls into the general mediation or forms a different class of Mediation'? To answer the above-mentioned question, I invited Mr Joseph Omorere, a Masters degree holder in Dispute Resolution from Kingston University London. He is passionate about ADR and a qualified solicitor of England and Wales. Mr Omorere has practised for over nineteen (19) years in Immigration, Crime, Civil Litigation and Employment Law.

I was excited to welcome Mrs Caroline Nene Etuk, the former Director of the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC), the first court-connected Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre in Africa. She obtained a Masters Degree in Law from Kings College, University of London.  Mrs Etuk was involved in legal practice until 2006 when she joined the Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG) as Centre Manager of the LMDC. Additionally, Mrs Etuk was accredited as an international mediator by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in 2008.

She is currently the Director of the Enugu State Multi-Door Courthouse (ESMDC) from inception (July 2018) to date. As the ESMDC Director, she develops all its operational procedures, templates and training.  Mrs Etuk has attended various courses and conferences in the United Kingdom, and the USA. She has also authored and presented papers at both national and international ADR conferences. 

In this episode, we critically examined the following questions:

a) To what extent has the ESMDC enhanced access to justice for Enugu State Citizens?

b)  In your view, have lawyers in Enugu State accepted ADR?   

c)  How do Lawyers bill their Mediation Clients?

d)  What is your Advice for Potential Users and People who want to pursue a career in  ADR?

e) What is the Career Progression for a typical Mediator?

We concluded by touching on how the ESMDC has helped enhance access to justice for the citizens and how lawyers can still make a meaningful living by billing their clients- following a well-outlined structure of billing clients by the ESMDC. 

Feedback and Recommendation of Expert Views on ADR (EVA).

In this episode of EVA, I raised the following questions: 

a) How did you start your Journey as an ADR Practitioner to be precise Mediator?  

b) Can anyone be a mediator?  

c) Do mediators require a formal education?

d) Do mediators need to be knowledgeable in Psychology? 

e) How do you plan your sessions?

d)  What is the meaning of Pre-Mediation Session and Caucusing? 

f) How do you get difficult parties to open up during the mediation session? 

g) What models of mediation do you use? 

h)Which is simpler- mediation or litigation?

i) What is your advice for people who want to start a career in Mediation or ADR?

I had the opportunity to discuss these questions with Mrs Efunronke Omolara Koku, a notary public of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who learnt the ropes of the legal profession from her late father Josiah Akinola, a profound legal icon. She incorporated Ronke Somefun & Company Legal Practitioners and later built a career in Alternative Dispute Resolution. 

She is a qualified International Accredited Mediator from the Dispute Resolution Centre, Bond University, Australia, an International and Cross-Cultural Negotiator, ESSEC Business School, an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom (Nigeria branch), and a member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators. Some of the organisations she had provided mediation training are the staff of Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Additionally, she organises training courses in workplace mediation, family mediation, peer mediation, and youth development programs. 

Her passion for empowering the youths in any way possible led her to establish 'The Doors Empowerment and Initiative', an NGO whose aims/objectives include, and not limited to, preparing the Youths for the future through motivational Talks, and skilful careers, among other projects. She believes that if the transition of a child to adulthood is not well managed, a great tendency that such child will fall prey to negative peer pressure, the effect of which will be devastating on the society. Some public schools and tertiary institutions in Lagos state have benefited from this initiative.

Her book, “Stand out or Blend in … an insight into peer pressure helps the thinking and behavioural pattern of youths on how to resist peer pressure. She believes mediation skills are 21st-century weapons to handle present-day behavioural attitudes. Through her encouraging words and book, many persons are better equipped today. 

Finally, her love for sports led her to start a Sports career. She is currently a Sports and Society Facilitator and an Accredited Sports Marketer.

I was excited to welcome Mr Kelly Agbonze, a Legal Practitioner who was called to the Nigerian Bar more than 12 years ago. He has handled many cases in Arbitration and Litigation. In this EVA episode, we threw more light on the following questions - a) What is dispute resolution? b) Why, Adjudication? c) What are the differences between Adjudication and Arbitration? This last question stems from the arguments in some reviewed literature where some scholars have highlighted the resemblance and differences between them.

I was delighted to welcome Mrs Adeyinka Aroyewun, the director and a member of the governing council at the LMDC.  An International Mediator of the Center for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) the United Kingdom, a Member of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) UK.  She has mediated over seventy (70) disputes and has gained experience in a comprehensive range of disputes such as commercial disputes; financial / banking,  property, employment and family disputes. In this episode of EVA, we critically discussed the following questions:

a) What prompted the birth of the LMDC in the Nigerian Judicial Landscape?

b) What are the advantages of using the LMDC and its impact so far?

c) With the recent challenges faced at the LMDC, what is the resultant effect of these challenges or occurrence?

We concluded by touching on these challenges caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic and END SARS peaceful protest hijacked by hoodlums, which led to the burning down of LMDC. Despite these challenges, the LMDC has continued to render services remotely to their users.

 I was thrilled to welcome Mrs Nnezi Miriam Ivenso, a lawyer with 13 (thirteen) years, post -qualification experience in active legal practise including Litigation, ADR and Corporate Commercial Practice. She holds a master's degree in Law Financial Services from the University of London, a certified Mediator, enlisted as a Neutral with the Enugu State Multi-Door Courthouse (ESMDC) as well as an Associate Member of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators, (CIArb), United Kingdom.  In this episode of Expert Views on ADR (EVA), the following questions were posed and dealt with - what is mediation and what are the criteria for finding or hiring the right mediator? 

 We concluded by touching on the essential elements and features of mediation while at the same time indicating the importance of finding the right mediator.

I was thrilled to welcome Mr Johnson Amaechi, a practising lawyer in Nigeria and a graduate of the renowned Obafemi Awolowo University. We extensively discussed the following questions:

 'What is the concept or philosophy behind the Customary Arbitration'? 

This question predicates the 5th Episode of Expert Views on ADR (EVA) where Mr IK Onuoma and I highlighted that they are two forms of Arbitration in Nigeria, the first is the customary arbitration; the second one is the modern-day arbitration. The discussion leads to the second question 'What is the current development of Arbitration in Nigeria'?