As a lawyer, he is a consummate professional. As a philanthropist, he constantly seeks to pull people up, especially vulnerable persons. As an intellectual, he is more profound and thorough than some university professors I know. As a person, he is a rounded figure-a loving husband, an outstanding father and grandfather, a loyal and trustworthy friend, and a compassionate humanist imbued with the omoluabi ethos. Moreover, he is God-fearing and righteous. And he truly fills the bill of his names: Oluwole (There’s God’s presence in this house); Oladapo (Additional wealth is in the mix); and Olanipekun (There is no ceiling to wealth/riches).
It is not surprising, therefore, that encomiums have been pouring in for Chief Oluwole Oladapo Olanipekun, SAN, OFR, FCIArb, Hon. LLD, since November 18, 2021, when he turned 70. His “greeting card” is larger than Nigeria. Signatories came from everywhere across the globe. Here in Nigeria, they came from Aso Rock, the National Assembly, Judges’ chambers, the Bench, Universities, Corporations, Associations, Churches, Mosques, and Ikere-Ekiti, his hometown. The congratulatory messages are more than birthday felicitations. They are translatable into four broad cheers.
The first cheer is for Olanipekun’s professional accomplishments, which, in some respects, invoke the professional profile of Chief Frederick Rotimi Alade (FRA) Williams, QC, SAN-a larger than life legal luminary, who was the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria. True, Olanipekun cannot fill the courtroom with his presence like FRA Williams; but they both share several notable features. They are both Senior Advocates. They both served as Attorney General (then Minister of Justice in Williams’case). They were involved in several important and memorable cases. Olanipekun for one has represented Presidents, Governors, Legislators, Corporations, and common folks. Above all, FRA Williams and Olanipekun were elected and served meritoriously as President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the former in 1959 and the latter in 2002.
In recognition of these professional accomplishments, Olanipekun was elected as Vice President, Pan African Lawyers Union; appointed as Life Bencher; and served as Member, Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee. He was also appointed as a Member of the Council of Legal Education and the Council of International Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies as well as the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Moreover, on several occasions, in recognition of his legal expertise, he has served as an impartial adviser (Amicus Curiae) to The Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Second, Olanipekun is cheered for his philanthropy. True, he was well rewarded for his legal services, but he shared the reward in several ways through the Wole Olanipekun Foundation, which he set up for that purpose. Over the years, several intervention programmes have been channelled through the Foundation, including provision of access to justice, quality healthcare, education, and business. He has empowered youths and provided financial support to the aged. Today, scholarships disbursed by the Wole Olanipekun Foundation have produced experts in various professions.
Human capital development stands out in Olanipekun’s philanthropic activities. In addition to scholarships, he has freely served, and donated to, various universities. He donated his allowances and a 400-seater Auditorium to the University of Ibadan, when he served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council. At the Ajayi Crowther University in Oyo, where he is also Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Olanipekun is building structures and tarring roads. Moreover, he donated N12 million to the seed funds for converting the College of Education in his hometown into the Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology. He is now the Chancellor of the University.
Olanipekun provides a shining example for other Pro-Chancellors to emulate, not necessarily in terms of donations but in terms of peace and effective management under their watch. His stellar performances in three different universities are a proverbial reprimand of a former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (see UNILAG: The joy of victory and the agony of defeat, The Nation, November 18, 2020).
Olanipekun has repeatedly argued that the escalation of criminal activities in Nigeria today results from youth neglect and frozen employment opportunities. He learned this firsthand in his hometown, where bandits have wreaked havoc on communities, while cult rivalries have resulted in fatalities. To stem this tide, he launched an empowerment programme that provides entrepreneurial training and seed money for selected youths.
Like another God-fearing philanthropist I know, namely, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, OON, Olanipekun never forgot to glorify God for the blessings on his life. While Ade-Ojo contributed immensely to his hometown Anglican Church in Ilara-Mokin, Olanipekun recently capped his religious philanthropy with the donation of a 1,600-seater edifice to St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Ikere-Ekiti.
The third cheer is for Olanipekun’s intellectualism. I have read some of his legal briefs; watched him in court; and attended his public lectures. What always struck me was the intellectual depth of his writing and argumentation. This was particularly evident in the third Founder’s Day Lecture he gave at the University of Medical Sciences in Ondo on December 6, 2018. The lecture’s central argument is that impeccable ethical standards, which undergird the training of lawyers and medical doctors, are also required for the optimisation of their professional services. By the same token, high ethical standards are required of leaders to facilitate national development. The tapestry of the argument, the global scope of the data used, and the superb rendition of the lecture prompted instant applause and my column the following week (see Ethics, law, and medicine in national development, The Punch, December 11, 2018).
The fourth cheer is for Olanipekun’s humanism. The American Humanist Association defines humanism as a progressive philosophy of life that affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good. This is the underlying philosophy guiding Olanipekun’s behaviour and professional life. It was also the leitmotif of the 2018 lecture mentioned above. The combination of this philosophy with his faith in God has resulted in Olanipekun’s professional, philanthropic, and domestic successes. It is no wonder then that he towered above many others in his profession and successfully raised an outstanding family of four reputable lawyers, two of whom are already Senior Advocates. This is not a feat that comes by chance.
Olanipekun once surprised me with his humanism. In collaboration with a common friend, Olanipekun compensated me for the services I rendered to another person for which he (Olanipekun) knew that I was not adequately compensated.
Ride on, Wole. May your shadow never grow less.
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