A Continental Shift? What Nigeria’s New Bar President Signals for Women’s Leadership Across Africa
- African Women in Law
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
By Osai Ojigho*
On Sunday, 19 July 2026, the Nigerian Bar Association concluded its 2026 general elections, resulting in Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, becoming its 33rd President. This election was significant in many respects, largely because Mrs Badejo-Okusanya SAN became the first woman candidate to win the presidential contest and the second woman to be President of the Nigerian Bar Association, 34 years after Dame Priscilla Kuye (1991-92).
This moment invites us to examine not simply who won an election, but what it tells us about leadership in Africa’s legal profession and about women’s leadership on the continent.
The Leadership Paradox: Equal at Entry. Unequal at the Top
Across Africa, the story of women in law is increasingly one of numerical progress without power parity. Women now enter law schools across Africa in numbers that, in many countries, approach and in some cases match those of men. In Kenya, for example, enrolment at key law faculties and at the Kenya School of Law has reached near parity or even a clear female majority, with women comprising around half or more of students at institutions such as the University of Nairobi, Strathmore and Moi University (International Development Law Organization, IDLO, 2020).
An increasing number of women are also admitted to the Bar. In Nigeria, a 10-year study shows that women consistently dominate the top of their class at graduation, with 7 women and 3 men awarded best graduating student between 2015 and 2024 (Mohammed, A., (2025) A Decade at the Bar: Female Dominance, Public University Excellence, Significant Regional Disparities and The Data for Nigerian Law Schools).
The IAWL studies on women in law and leadership in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Senegal showcase the challenges women face in the profession as lawyers, judges and academics. The first comprehensive study, African Women in Law: A Comparative Overview (Dawuni, 2026) highlights important developments across the continent with women entering and navigating the legal profession. Yet leadership of the bar and law societies, the very institutions governing the profession, remains disproportionately male. Representation in the profession has therefore improved faster than representation in leadership.
The Long Road to Leadership
If women are topping their class and commended for being loyal and competent colleagues, it seems anathema that they should not be considered for Bar association leadership. The truth is that merit alone has never been enough, or to borrow the words of a leadership guru, John C. Maxwell, talent is never enough. Women who strive for leadership face structural barriers, unconscious bias and traditional cultural environments that stifle ambition and question their authority.
The Old Boys’ Club is a reality. They have been in the profession the longest, with women admitted to the bar only many years later. There is something about the unspoken rule that networking, sharing tips and opportunities are common within such tight circles. To break into the circle or get noticed, most women would require a sponsor and often a male sponsor to get support for their campaign.
Many women also face the double burden challenge of care responsibilities and balancing a career. This becomes more constraining for women in their early careers, when childbearing and domestic responsibilities are at their peak. Some women take a career break and struggle to return. Others find that only when those caring days are over can they take on additional leadership responsibilities.
In many contexts, women in the law are referred to as ‘gentlemen in skirts’, which I am sure our non-lawyer friends will find amusing, but not so much Scottish colleagues who value their kilts. But this shows how the profession is so male-centred that it refuses to ‘see’ another gender except through its own descriptive lens.
A lot can be said about the financial cost of successfully running an election campaign. You must be prepared and define early on the viability of such a venture. Recently, at the International Association of Judges and IBA “Women in Law: Overcoming Gender-Based Barriers and Advancing Access to Justice” event on the sidelines of the 62nd Human Rights Council in Geneva on 25 June 2026, Sandrine Giroud shared the challenge of being the 2nd woman elected to head the Geneva Bar Association in its over 130-year history. She explained that it came at a huge financial cost because she had to combine the duties of the role while running her practice. She alluded to the fact that, for many women, it is not attractive because of the time and money involved.
One must address the lingering perception and unconscious image of what a Bar President “looks like”. If you walk the corridors or halls of Bar associations, you would be forgiven for thinking that only men fit the criteria because their portraits adorn the walls.
Linked to cultural expectations around family life or a lack thereof, offers an unusual scrutiny of women’s suitability for high office based on personal status and discriminatory practices regarding women’s roles in society. This array of challenges and barriers shows that if only individual excellence were sufficient, women’s progression to leadership would be secured. That is not the case. It is about opportunity.
A Continental Trend Is Emerging
Until recently, only a handful of countries had women presidents of Bar Associations or Law Societies.
As the IAWL (2025) Gender Scorecard Women in Law & Leadership – Bar Association & Law Society Presidents shows, four are currently in post, having been in office since 2023: Florence Loan Epse Messan of Côte d’Ivoire, Neneh Cham of The Gambia, Efua Ghartey of Ghana, and Faith Mony Odhiambo of Kenya. Nigeria now joins this growing list with Mrs Badejo-Okusanya SAN’s election.
It is very promising that each win solidifies the emerging leadership norm that challenges gender stereotypes. It offers a ray of hope, reflected in growing confidence in women’s resilience and capacity. There are also learnings as these women stand on the shoulders of those who came before them. In São Tomé and Príncipe, before Celia Posser, there was Celiza de Deus Lima. Similarly, Mrs Badejo-Okusanya SAN is walking the path first opened by Dame Priscilla Kuye. Across Africa, we are seeing more possibilities, moving from breaking the glass ceiling to a more acceptable norm; we have now seen women lead in 26 countries.
This election in Nigeria matters a great deal because it has wider representational value beyond the country. Nigeria has one of Africa’s largest legal professions. For these elections, over 82,172 lawyers were eligible to vote (Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, 2026). The Nigerian bar leadership, through its membership, is quite influential in regional and international forums. Therefore, who leads the Nigerian Bar sends a strong signal not only across Africa but globally.
From Milestones to Momentum
Institutions function best when leadership reflects the breadth of available talent. A profession that excludes women from leadership loses ideas, experience and legitimacy from half of its constituency.
Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya SAN’s election is undoubtedly a milestone. However, history will judge it not by the headlines it generated, but by whether it becomes part of a broader transformation in which women’s leadership is no longer exceptional but expected.
It is time for the legal profession to ensure that bar associations and law societies cultivate diverse leadership. What story will we tell in ten years about the trajectory of women’s leadership in Africa?
*Osai Ojigho is a lawyer, human rights expert and gender equality advocate. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2000. She currently leads Christian Aid’s policy, advocacy and influencing work globally. The opinions expressed here reflect the author’s personal views.
