A London-based Nigerian lawyer, Oba Nsugbe, has challenged lawyers in the country to shelve their sectional and partisan interests and help Ghana to avoid the pitfalls of oil discovery. He said lawyers were best placed to protect the nations nascent oil industry by not only playing a key role in the formulation of the legal framework for the production of oil, but also scrutinising all oil deals and agreements to ensure the national interest is adequately protected. Mr Nsugbe, who is the Head of Pump Court Chambers, based in the Temple in London, was delivering a lecture organized by law firm, Oxford & Beaumont as part of activities marking their 5th anniversary. Citing Nigeria, Angola and Gabon as countries which saw oil promise dissipate, leaving their people more impoverished and the political elite more corrupt, the international lawyer said Ghana stood at the precipice of becoming an example of how to properly manage oil resources on a continent notorious for its mismanagement of the black gold. Grounding his argument, the Oxford & Beaumont Advisory Board member said unlike the other countries, Ghana discovered oil at a time of deepening democracy and political accountability. There is also a vibrant civil society and probably most importantly, there are clear examples of how not to do things if the country wants to avoid the pitfalls of the others, he noted. He expects Ghana to walk safely away from the cliff. Reputed as having considerable experience in fighting the corrupt practices in the oil sector, Mr Nsugbe, however warned that despite all the foregoing, critical challenges remained, cautioning against complacency. “I can assure I have been wrong many times,” he joked.