Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu SAN, my principal and my mentor’s death came to me as a rude shock. It was as if a part of me was gone. Our path crossed during my Law School Chambers Attachment when I was posted together with about ten other students to Olujinmi & Akeredolu. During that period, Chief Akin Olujinmi SAN was on a national assignment as the Attorney General of the Federation. Aketi it was, who was managing the office.
I met Dr. Doyin Odebowale (High Priest) in his office and being my lecturer at the University of Ibadan and a close ally, he narrated my ordeal in the hands of the University of Ibadan authorities as a student union leader to Aketi and Aketi there and then took interest in me.
Throughout our stay in the office, he watched me closely, and I engaged him freely on issues during our meetings every evening. It was in the course of one of the meetings that Aketi told me that whenever I’m through, I should join the firm.
After my call to the bar, I resumed the following Monday to the office. Without asking for my result or call to bar certificate, Aketi handed over to me a Court of Appeal file. He had this confidence in me during my Law School attachment that there is no brief ‘Ibro’ cannot handle. By the special grace of God, I was able to deliver on the assignment, and that opened a lot of opportunities thereafter.
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As a young lawyer, I had the privilege of appearing with Aketi on a number of cases. What fascinated me about Aketi is his sense of dressing. You cannot but admire Aketi in his legal attire. Aketi taught me how to dress well and the best manner of approach in the court. Aketi also taught me courage in the face of adversity. Aketi was meticulous in the handling of his cases. His advocacy was top-notch, particularly his cross-examination skills. I cannot forget in a hurry how he dismantled prosecution witnesses in the case of State v Tokyo – a murder case where Tokyo was discharged and acquitted. It is also worthy of note to remember Aketi’s courageous intervention in court during the illegal impeachment of Chief Ladoja.
When Aketi was running for the Presidency of the Bar, he assembled a campaign team comprising eminent lawyers in Ibadan and its environs. Despite my young age at the bar, Aketi included me. During that period, we visited virtually every state of the federation by road. Aketi will sit in the front and ensure we were all taken care of. A lover of the Bar, he eventually emerged as president unopposed, the first time in the history of the bar. I was his personal assistant throughout the period of his NBA presidency. Aketi during that period will not fly first class despite the fact that NBA has provisions for it. Aketi will share his room with his bossom friend Chief Wole Aina, who is now late. They will sleep on the same bed despite the fact that as NBA President, he was entitled to more than one suite. It was a ritual during his era as the NBA President to prepare for the state of the nation address.
Aketi became the megaphone for the oppressed so much that during that time, people hardly remembered the existence of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). Aketi finished his term gloriously in 2010 and handed over to Joseph Bodunrin Daudu SAN. We thereafter moved our office to the Law Hub from Azeez Aina, a rented apartment.
Aketi’s involvement in Osun and Ondo election petition tribunals to reclaim the mandate stolen from Rauf Aregbesola and Abdrahman Mimiko cannot be forgotten in a hurry. Osun was virtually militarized during that period, it was a strong will for opposition to thrive during that time, but Aketi will damn any consequence and state in unmistaken terms the wrongness of the decision of the court.
Aketi taught me to be courageous and fearless and keep to my word. He insisted your word must be your bond. No wonder, when Rauf Aregbesola whom I worked with as SSA pitched his tent with another person in the Ondo Governorship election, I didn’t find it difficult to abandon him and support my mentor who ensured that I become who I am today in the legal profession.
Oga Aketi, I know that your wish is to see me emerge as the chair of Ibadan Bar, you have stated that openly during our Law Week when I was the Vice-Chair, I will plunge myself to that aspiration and ensure that the bar regains her voice exactly the way you did during your NBA presidency. I will also continue to espouse other virtues that you hold dear to your heart.
It is painful to bid you farewell, but as mortals, we shall all bid the world farewell one day. With a trembling hand, a soaked eye, I bid my oga fare well. Odigbere, o darinako! May you find peace with your maker!
Ibrahim Lawal Esq is Head of Chamber, Olujinmi & Akeredolu
