In the last two decades, blogs have almost completely taken over the World Wide Web. Most Internet users turn to blogs for information and articles on just about anything, as there are specialized blogs in just about every field. This explosive revolution has spread to all regions of the world, from Addis Ababa to Zurich.
Browsing the internet for legal blogs from Africa, it is interesting to note that the ones coming from Nigeria are quite non-existent. Compared to countries like Egypt, South Africa and Kenya, the indication is disappointing. The paradox lies in the fact that, as of June 2009, Nigeria had the second largest number of online users, after Egypt (internetworldstats.com). With over 40,000 qualified legal professionals, it becomes a bit perplexing why there is such a dearth of legal blogs coming out of Nigeria. A number of factors are responsible for this.
The rapid development of Internet technology is an important factor. Although Nigerians spend a lot of time on the Internet, many have not evolved beyond the use of emails, chat rooms and a handful of websites, although with the popularity of Facebook, many have migrated to social networks. However, blogs remain shrouded in darkness.
It goes without saying that there are many lawyers in Nigeria who are aware of the Internet and some have even delved into the world of web development but are still unaware of how blogging works. Because they have no idea how a blog works or where the benefits of blogging lie, they have developed little interest in the blogosphere as a whole. This laissez-faire attitude has further contributed to the near absence of legal blogs in Nigeria.
However, when all is said and done, there are some legal blogs, although not enough to adequately represent the legal profession in Nigeria, but as the Nigerian Bar Association has gone digital, it may not be long before Let your members do the same.