From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan
Former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), Chiefs Lekan Alabi and Sharafadeen Alli, have extolled the virtues of the late Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN).
They visited the Idi-Ishin home of the deceased yesterday.
Akintola recalled how Akinjide helped in resolving many legal issues, particularly in Oyo Stat. According to him, lawyers would meet at Akinjide’s home to seek his approach in resolving knotty legal issues.
He said: “Former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and even Chief Wole Olanipekun used to lead us to Pa Akinjide’s residence in Ibadan. Even when there were issues among judges of Oyo State in the past, we resolved those issues in his Ibadan house, under his control. We received tutelage from him; his house in Ibadan used to be our Mecca.
“He was the only Nigerian that I know who occupied the presidency of the NBA and declined a ministerial appointment. He was first offered the position of Attorney-General by Governor Oluwole Rotimi, but he declined.
“He considered his position in NBA as very sacrosanct and very important to the wellbeing of lawyers, and at the same time very instrumental to the development of rule of law in the country.
Read Also: Arbitrators salute legal icon Akinjide
“Akinjide was a role model for us and one of our leaders. Those of us who were trained as lawyers in Ibadan are very lucky with our leaders. He would call us to take up responsibility. In courts, I appeared with Chief Akinjide and I also appeared against him. He was a colossus.
“It was a befitting exit for him. Of course, like every human being, he had his faults. Like I said to Jumoke, they have no reason to be sorrowful, but to celebrate their father. Millions of Nigerians would love to have Akinjide as their father.”
Ladoja described Akinjide’s death as a great loss to Ibadan and Nigeria at large.
A condolence message by his media aide, Lanre Latinwo, said the legal profession has lost one of its best hands. Ladoja urged the family to take in the fact that the deceased served the country well and contributed his quota to its development.
The Ekefa Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Lekan Alabi, said the deceased was not only a senior lawyer of repute, but a culture icon as well as his senior in journalism.
He said: “In the healthy days of politics (1979-1983), when everybody thought the longer your cap, the bigger you were in Shagari’s government, what they called Shagari cap, Chief Akinjide never put on Shagari cap.
“It was his gobi, the Yoruba Ibadan person cap that he wore. As he was a legal luminary, so was he a culture icon. We will miss him because he was very suave. If you have visited his home in England, you would know that he was a black Lord. He had taste, a very high taste.”
Chief Alabi was accompanied by the Ekefa Balogun of Ibadanland, Chief Sharafadeen Alli and the president of Ajorosun Club, Mogaji Ismail Bioku.
Senator Kola Balogun (Oyo South) noted that Chief Akinjide did Ibadan, Oyo State and the country proud as a senior lawyer of international repute.
A condolence message by his media adviser, Rotimi Johnson, said: “Chief Akinjide has done us proud in Nigeria and Oyo State. As a two-time minister, as a lawyer of the famous 12 two thirds postulation, and as father of great men and women, among whom we have a former Minister of FCT, Chief Jumoke, Chief Akinjide was a living encyclopaedia of Nigerian politics and constitution and we shall greatly miss him.”
Leave a Reply