THE NATION TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2014
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LAW & SOCIETY
UI honours ex-NBA chief Olanipekun
T
HE University of Ibadan (UI) has con ferred an honourary Doctor of Law (LL.D) on a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Chief Oluwole Oladapo Olanipekun (SAN). It is in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession and to education in Nigeria. He was until April, last year, the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council of UI. Olanipekun was born on November18, 1951 at Ikere-Ekiti. He attended Amoye Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti, Ilesha Grammar School, Ilesha, University of Lagos (UNILAG), the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in July, 1976. This erudite lawyer started his career as a Lecturer at Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin in 1976. Olanipekun was a junior counsel in the Chambers of Oniyangi & Co, Ilorin between 1977 and 1979 where he acquired the skills that enabled him to bestride the legal profession like a colossus. In 1980, he became the Principal Partner of Messrs Wole Olanipekun & Co, Ilorin, with offices in Lagos and Abuja. As a result of his harwork, he was conferred with the prestigious rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1991. He has been a Notary Public since 1987. He was NBA president between 2002 and 2004; member, International Bar Association (IBA), Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU), Nigerian Bar Association Disciplinary Committee, West African Bar Associa-
By John Austin Unachukwu
tion (WABA) and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He was the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State between 1992 and 1993, a member of Council of Legal Education, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, General Council of the Bar, Governing Council, University of Ado-Akiti, National Judicial Council among others. He is today a Life member of the National Executive Committee of the NBA as well as a Life Bencher. He was honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Faculty of Law, Unilag in 1992 and the Merit Alumnus Award of both Amoye Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti and Ilesha Grammar School, Ilesha in 1999. He was recognised as a leader in achievement in Ondo State in 1994, honoured with Merit Award Certificate as an illustrious son of Ikere in 1996 and conferred with Aare Bamofin of Owo in 1995, among others. A philanthropist, Olanipekun has positively impacted on many people in different and diverse areas of life, including education, religion, industry and employment. In 1996, he set up the Wole Olanipekun Scholarship Scheme for awarding scholarships to brilliant but indigent students and since then, the scheme has produced many talented beneficiaries, some of whom are now doctors, lawyers, engineers, pharmacists, accountants, educationists etc. In February 2009, he built, equipped and
donated a modern IT building to Amoye Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti. Also in March 2012, God provided for him the means to donate a modern Vicarage to St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Ikere. In July 2011, he planted an Endowment Fund for junior lawyers, particularly in the Lagos and Ilorin branches of the NBA. Seven junior lawyers from the NBA Ilorin branch, were beneficiaries of cars given to them by the branch from the proceeds of the Endowment Fund, while over 100 young lawyers from the Lagos branch were beneficiaries of lap-tops and flash drives distributed to them from the proceeds of the endowment. He single-handedly built and donated to the Faculty of Law of the University of Ibadan a 420-seater fully-equipped and furnished Auditorium,which was inaugurated by the Minister of Education in November, 2012. He is a patron to the Law Students’ Society in UNILAG, UNILORIN, U.I, UNAD, OAU, Ife and Igbinedion University. He has presented over 200 papers on diverse topics within and outside Nigeria. He has contributed several chapters to legal books, publications, journals etc. His clients include corporate bodies, national and international institutions, individuals, politicians, banks, companies, industries, corporations, ministries etc. This legal icon was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) by President Goodluck Jonathan on September 17,
•Olanipekun 2012 in recognition of his invaluable contributions to the growth and development of the legal system and justice. He was also bestowed with the fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) for his contributions to the advancement of the legal profession on December 10, last year. A stickler for excellence, Chief Wole Olanipeku is a role model and father figure to numerous members of the younger generation.
Thirty years after they left the Faculty of Law, University of Ife, IIe-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), the 1984 class met in Lagos for a reunion dinner, reports JOSEPH JIBUEZE.
When OAU’s old law students meet M
OST of them are in their late 50s, but when the 1984 law graduates of the Uni versity of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife met in Lagos at the weekend, the scene was like a group of undergraduates having a good time. It was a happy occasion; they met at the Radisson Blu in Victoria Island to mark the 30th anniversary of their graduation with a reunion dinner. The array of exotic cars, flowing traditional attires (agbada) by the men and gorgeous wrappers (with headgears to match) by the women bore witness to the status many of them have attained. Among them are judges, business owners, professors, managers of big law firms and directors in banks and other companies. It was an informal occasion as the members recalled their days in schools, and were called by the nicknames they were known. There was dancing and exchange of banters. The Coordinator, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), said being alive 30 years after graduation was worth celebrating. He remembered departed colleagues, which he said is a reminder that “life is a game of cards that deals us many hands”. “It is most gratifying that after 30 years of work, we can afford the luxury of dinner in a world class hotel, especially in such trying times when insurgency and terrorism have declared total war on formal education in the Northeast. “These happenings are sober penalty for long years of neglect by the political leadership of the region with the complicity of the central government and the rest of us. Having unleashed the demon of insurgency, we are further impairing our ability to deliver education as we use our scare resources to prosecute an avoidable civil war,” he said.
He recalled the days when meals in school cost 50 kobo and students had ice cream on Sundays, saying: “Getting education is no longer what it used to be and the standards have simply declined.” He urged alumni to do their bit to enhance the quality of education in the faculty and sustain the legacy they received and handed over. The Dean, Faculty of Law, OAU, Prof Olu Adediran, urged the old students to help with reequipping the faculty’s furniture. “We’re still using the 1984 long, collapsible seats,” he said. Besides, he said they could provide support by financing prizes for outstanding students, establishing fellowships which will be named after them, and donating professorial chairs. National Programme Manager, DfiD/British Council J4A Project, Dr Bob Arnot, who gave the dinner speech entitled: Driving in Nigeria, drew a correlation between the mode of driving in the country and corruption. He said it is common to see people drive on pavements, grasses, speed on slow lanes, text while driving (apart of from receiving calls), avoid queues at junctions and create multiples lanes, overtake without signaling, park in churches and mosques without consideration for others and allow children to stand in vehicles. The lawlessness exhibited by most drivers, he said, is part of the impunity in the system where people commit crimes and get away with them, just as they get away with corruption. “Nobody is held to account. The crazy driver is never held to account,” adding that due not inadequate records, law enforcement agents cannot even trace a person to his home. According to him, there is also a lack of social contract between the public and government, which he said leads to a disjointed relationship between leaders and the citizens. The solution, he added, requires “a massive change in social consciousness.”
•From left: Prof Owasanoye, his wife Funso and Dr Arnot
•From left: Prof Funso Fabunmi, Prof Magaret Okorodudu-Fubara and Prof Ayo Atsenuwa
•Prof. Adediran
LEGAL DIARY Group begins prison campaign with dinner Prison Fellowship Nigeria (PFN) holds Green Ribbon Campaign launch dinner under the chairmanship of Chief Ganiyu Koledoye Date: November 20, 2014 Venue: Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Mobalaji Bank Anthony way, Ikeja Lagos. Time: 6.00pm Dinner conversation: “Crime prevention via structured rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-convicts •The role of corporate organisation” Guest speaker: Dr. Paul Ananaba (SAN)
•From left:Anthonia Ubaka, Elizabeth Ayodele and Justice Tokunbo Majekodunmi of the Ogun State High Court