The Richest Lawyer in Nigeria Revealed - Bar. Tochukwu Eziukwu
And by greatest, he meant allowing his expertise shine through works and services he delivers to clients, better than any other lawyer. And so he created so much value for his clients through his services, and this translated into wealth; and he became the richest lawyer in the country.
By now I'm sure you are already itching for me to mention a name, but sorry, you may have to wait a bit longer for that to happen.
Let me just clear the air straight away- I don't freaking know who the richest lawyer in Nigeria is; no thanks to a senior colleague I threw the question at the other day, and the outburst that followed it.
He went berserk on me and my question that I almost thought I had insulted him. But I'm certain I never insulted him, and that I would never do such. So what in the world was wrong with my question of-"Who is the richest lawyer in Nigeria?”
This senior lawyer was of the opinion that I was allowing the wrong questions to preoccupy my mind. For him, I wasn't asking the right questions. He immediately categorized me as one of the new crop of lawyers whose obsession and motivation stems only from what they can gain from the profession and not what they can give. That accusation was pretty hard for me to take, but I managed to maintain my cool.
But was he right or wrong with his assertion? Maybe he was right, but that would only be to the extent that there are actually lawyers whose only motivation in the profession is money; but he was obviously wrong to have categorized me under such a group simply because of the question I asked.
Well, I didn't argue with him over this; I rather listened carefully to his point of view, and then went home to think over the whole episode.
Lying down on my bed last night and ruminating over his words, I realized how wrong he was with his outburst; for when I asked the question of who the richest lawyer in Nigeria is, I was only thinking of wealth in terms of it being a product of value creation.
For if wealth is made when value is created, it then means that the highest value creator invariably becomes the richest. So when I asked him who the richest lawyer in Nigeria is, I was simply asking him if he knows the lawyer who is the highest value creator.
I don't think it will hurt if every now and then we remind ourselves that wealth doesn't fall from heaven, but that it rather falls from people's pockets. Does that mean we should become pickpockets in other to gain wealth? Of course not, for that would be unlawful.
So what lawful way should we go about picking pockets as lawyers?
Creating value for people is the only lawful way to pick pockets; for only then will people deep their hands into their pockets and reward us for a job well done.
We are in the business of value creation as lawyers, and that's how we make money. The more value you create, the more money you will make. The more people you create value for, the more money you will also make.
And that's why we should always be seeking out ways to improve ourselves in our various fields, for by so doing; we would be building up ourselves to be more valuable to clients and more magnetic to the money in their pockets.
I know some of us live in those parts of the world where wealth doesn't seem to be a product of value creation, because we are largely surrounded by people who have amassed great wealth through sophisticated 'pick-pocketing'. But it still doesn’t change the fact that such a method of getting wealth is an aberration, and further proves that such people are nothing but thieves.
But we are not thieves, but value creators. We are not thieves, but lawyers. And the lawyer who creates the highest value for people, is the lawyer who becomes the richest; whether in Nigeria or anywhere else.
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