According to renowned author Chimamanda Adichie, the Nigerian Bar Association takes great delight in using the adjectives “troublesome” and “creative” (NBA).
Adichie gave the opening remarks on Monday at the 62nd NBA Annual General Conference, which had the theme “Bold Transition” and was hosted in the Eko Atlantic City in Lagos.
She distinguished between the words disruptive and troublesome.
Both terms can represent positive emotions, but Adichie claims that they are frequently used to denote negative ones.
“Traditionally, the word disruptive has frequently been used in a negative way; we have school teachers who scolded kids for being disruptive in class,” stated Adichie.
“Traditional synonyms for the word disruptive include difficult, disorderly, upsetting, or trouble-making; but, in today’s context, particularly in relation to technology and access to information, the word disruptive has taken on a more positive sense.
“Troublesome and innovative may seem opposed to one another, but I will argue that they’ve 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.”
