Why I Declined AGF Appointment – Mallam Yusuf Ali

Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who has won some landmark cases is
the Chief Executive Officer of GHALIB Chambers in Ilorin. The
successful lawyer with over three decades of experience obtained
his first degree from University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo
University. He was conferred with the highest status in the
Nigeria’s Legal profession, SAN, in 1997. He is a member of many
professional bodies including the International Bar Association,
American Bar Association, Commonwealth Lawyers Association; among
others. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators,
(FCIArb) (UK), Fellow Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
(Nigeria), Member Chartered Institute of Taxation Nigeria (CITN),
Fellow Society for Peace Studies and Practice (FSPSP), Fellow
Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society. (FNMGS). Anthonia
Duru was at his cozy chambers in Ilorin recently and he
shared his success story.

Coming into your office complex, there are lots of
plaques from awards and honours hung on your wall. I am sure you
must have lost count of them.

People out of their goodness who
thought we have been doing few things here and there and they
thought it is worth the while to recognise and encourage whatever
they see one doing that is good. I can’t give money to get an
award. I won’t, because I don’t have that kind of money and if I
have the money I will rather use it to better the lives of others
rather than buying an award.

Which do you treasure most?

What informed the name of your chambers,
Ghalid?

It is Arabic word which means
victory. When I was thinking of setting up a chamber in 1993, that
was when I thought about it. Before then, I was in partnership with
someone who we were working together and I was there for 11 years.
I threw it to my late wife and she recommended Ghalid. We started
out 1st of June, 1994.

Many of your colleagues would have chosen
commercial cities like Lagos to set up a law firm, why did you
choose Iloirn and how rosy was it when you started then?

God has been so good but nothing has
been rosy in my life. God at every point intervenes decisively in
my favour. I started school like every child; got enrolled in
Primary School thereafter in an Arabic school. I left primary in
1968, I proceeded to Modern School for three years after that, I
worked, then I entered secondary school.

I started out on my own in 1994. The
office I rented when I was to set up Ghalid chambers was a flat
of  three bedroom and the rent was N1,200
per annum and I was required to pay for two years. I didn’t have
the money so I went ahead to borrow the money. To the glory of God,
Our Building for Ghalid Chamber was fully ready for use and we
moved into it in September, 2001.

I was posted to Ilorin for my
one-year National Youth Service Corps and thereafter I decided to
stay here in Ilorin. I have built functional offices in Abuja and
Lagos but Ilorin is home for me. My attraction to Ilorin is almost
indescribable. Anywhere I go, I must come back home which is
Ilorin. I also believe that since Allah exists everywhere, he will
bless whatever you do anywhere you are.

You sound like a very religious man

I was born a Muslim and I will be
about six generation of Muslim in my family. I have no history of
any conversion to another religion in my family. I believe that
when you profess a faith, the least you can do is to be faithful to
that faith. People must know and identify you with that faith
because that is a hallmark of a honourable person.

I was born into Islam but I remain
in Islam by conviction because I am convinced that is the path for
me. I have been observing my five daily prayers unbroken since
1972. My conviction heighten when I got to Ife, I was admitted to
study history in 1978 though I wanted law. I wanted to change law
and it was almost impossible because the faculty where I was,
thought I was a bright student because in my 100 level I had As in
all the courses except one where I had B+.

They insisted they won’t release
their brilliant student to go to another faculty meanwhile law
faculty also wanted me. I took another JAMB form so I will start
over since I couldn’t cross. One day, while praying in Mosque, I
prayed almost carelessly to Allah that if he will allow me change
course smoothly, I will be more dedicated to him. When all hope had
been lost, on a Friday in 1979 after Jumat prayer, somebody called
my attention that he has seen the change of course and my name was
the first on the list.

I remembered my vow to Allah; before
then I had prayed but I don’t take part in any activities but I
became more committed and eventually I became the president of
Muslim Student Society of Nigeria in Ife. That was the turning
point of my getting more and more involved in religious
activities.

What was the attraction to law?

It is just God. Most of my teachers
in secondary school believed that I will study economics. God just
directed me to this profession. Not that I have a history of a
lawyer in my family, it was just God.
I never enter the courtroom until we were doing law school
attachment in Lagos in 1982.

Of what benefit has your
attainment of SAN been to your career advancement?

Becoming a SAN as a lawyer is a
positive professional changing attainment if God blesses it for
you. I became SAN over 20 years ago.

Can you share with us some of
your defining moments as a lawyer?

The first defining moment for me
professionally was in 1989 when I became notary public, that was
significant for me. In 1996 I was appointed as the sole judge of
election tribunal in Kwara State and I attended to 16 petitions in
30 days. The icing on the cake for me was in 1997 September when I
became a SAN.

Do you have low moments as a
lawyer?

Losing a case for me is not a low
moment as such but when you lost a case and you start hearing
things later that are quite unethical, those moments are quite
disturbing for me. I try to remain an upright person both privately
and professionally. Being an upright lawyer for me implies that as
a lawyer you observe all the rules of professional ethics, you do
not cut corners and you should not have or carry out any corruptive
intention in your matter and in other people’s matters.

You should also be incorruptible.
You also try to be a model not just for your juniors but your peers
and the larger society. I do tell clients whenever they want me to
handle a case for them that they are not paying me to win at all
cost but to try my best for them.

Have you ever had a time when a
client walks away because you told him or her the
truth?

No. It has never happened because I
will always say the truth. I won’t rubbish my integrity for someone
who has none. I tell clients that I will do my best professionally
and give all my best. I also tell them their case with me can never
be compromised because I know truth is very sacred. I also tell
them only God knows how their case will end but I will do my best.
When I lose a matter, I do self-introspection; I don’t look for
scapegoat and I don’t start making stories up. I ask my colleagues
how we faired and what we did that we ought not to have done. I
also do this when we win.

Do you socilaise outside your
career?

Yes I do. I honor invitations. I am
a sticker to time and I don’t compromise on that. Invite me to an
event, I know how long I will stay and I don’t exceed that time
even if you have not started. I don’t go late to events. When my
father died, a governor who is a friend was invited and I told him
we will start by 11am and by 12.30pm
we are done because I have earlier told the clerics. The governor
told me he is having an event for 11 and I advised him to come
earlier, spend few minutes with us and go.

He however came around 12.45 and by
then we were done. That’s my kind of person and many people around
me know me for this. My father was not just very strict, he was
very upright.  There were stories I heard
when he died that he was a special breed. When he fell ill for the
first time in 2015, he called everyone who kept one thing or the
other with him to come collect them so as at the time he died he
didn’t owe anybody anything.

You have won some landmark cases
which further launched you to limelight in Nigeria. How did you
feel when you won these cases?

I was part of the team that defended
Late Umaru Yar’Adua, I was the principal at former Governor
Fayemi’s election tribunal and I was Ladoja’s lawyer during his
illegal impeachment. Until Ladoja’s matter nobody has ever been
impeached and returned to office in Nigeria. After Ladoja’s case it
has become a good precedent in Nigeria. I feel good about such
things because I am making my modest contributions to the legal
profession.

Some of your colleagues are in
politics now, are you nursing any political
ambition?

I don’t have such plans. I had the
privilege of being invited recently to be the Attorney General of
the federation, I rejected it. I don’t want any political
appointment.

Why did you reject such a juicy
offer?

I don’t want to get involved in
anything in which I won’t make a difference. I am old enough to
know Nigeria and the way we go about our things. I have not seen
any Nigerian who will emerge as president and will totally abide by
all the tenets of the rule of law.

You just sounded as if there is
no hope for Nigeria.

No, this is just my observation. An
Attorney General is only a minister appointed by the virtue of his
or her qualification and experience. Any other person can be given
any portfolio. When I was invited to be Attorney General of the
federation, I told the person if I give you a legal opinion as
Attorney general, I don’t mind if due to superior argument you
don’t follow it but if you jettison it based on exigency or
politics, I will take it as a vote of no confidence in my ability
and I will just walk away.

Are any of your children taking
after you professionally?

Only one; my first daughter is a
chartered accountant, the second one is the lawyer, the third is a
medical doctor and the last has a PhD in engineering.

Will it be right to say you are a
fulfilled man?

I am still praying for fulfillment
in all areas of life because I am still a young man.

What are some of your guiding
principles?

I want to be faithful to my faith
and I want to do unto others what I want them do to me.

It is strange that a legal
luminary like you does not hold any chieftaincy
title

I don’t want to be called a chief, I
am okay. Many people call me Mallam. I don’t reject chieftaincy
offers, I just tell them I will like to remain who I am.

Your wife passed on over a decade
ago, what are some of the marks she made in your life before her
demise and do you intend to remarry soon?

She was a 100% supporter of
everything in my life and she was a fantastic woman. She had
everything a man will desire in a wife. As regards remarrying,
everything is in the hands of God and we are not closing our eyes.
We are taking our torchlight to search. I am not transposing her
qualities into anyother person, whoever comes in I will take the
person the way I found her.

What informs some of your
philanthropic gestures?

I believe it is necessary we give
back to the society. I get encouragement to do these things from
people around me but beyond all these, I believe it is not right
just accumulating money because you want to accumulate wealth. You
need to be able to impact on other people’s life one way or the
other.

What is your take on the grazing
law?

Anything that will make us
differentiate genuine people from those who are not is definitely a
welcome development.  All we need to do to
move this nation forward is to abolish the indigene and
settlers syndrome. Let Nigerians take their rights and obligations from
wherever they live.

Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who has won some landmark cases is
the Chief Executive Officer of GHALIB Chambers in Ilorin. The
successful lawyer with over three decades of experience obtained
his first degree from University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo
University. He was conferred with the highest status in the
Nigeria’s Legal profession, SAN, in 1997. He is a member of many
professional bodies including the International Bar Association,
American Bar Association, Commonwealth Lawyers Association; among
others. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators,
(FCIArb) (UK), Fellow Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
(Nigeria), Member Chartered Institute of Taxation Nigeria (CITN),
Fellow Society for Peace Studies and Practice (FSPSP), Fellow
Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society. (FNMGS). Anthonia
Duru was at his cozy chambers in Ilorin recently and he
shared his success story.

Coming into your office complex, there are lots of
plaques from awards and honours hung on your wall. I am sure you
must have lost count of them.

People out of their goodness who
thought we have been doing few things here and there and they
thought it is worth the while to recognise and encourage whatever
they see one doing that is good. I can’t give money to get an
award. I won’t, because I don’t have that kind of money and if I
have the money I will rather use it to better the lives of others
rather than buying an award.

Which do you treasure most?

What informed the name of your chambers,
Ghalid?

It is Arabic word which means
victory. When I was thinking of setting up a chamber in 1993, that
was when I thought about it. Before then, I was in partnership with
someone who we were working together and I was there for 11 years.
I threw it to my late wife and she recommended Ghalid. We started
out 1st of June, 1994.

Many of your colleagues would have chosen
commercial cities like Lagos to set up a law firm, why did you
choose Iloirn and how rosy was it when you started then?

God has been so good but nothing has
been rosy in my life. God at every point intervenes decisively in
my favour. I started school like every child; got enrolled in
Primary School thereafter in an Arabic school. I left primary in
1968, I proceeded to Modern School for three years after that, I
worked, then I entered secondary school.

I started out on my own in 1994. The
office I rented when I was to set up Ghalid chambers was a flat
of  three bedroom and the rent was N1,200
per annum and I was required to pay for two years. I didn’t have
the money so I went ahead to borrow the money. To the glory of God,
Our Building for Ghalid Chamber was fully ready for use and we
moved into it in September, 2001.

I was posted to Ilorin for my
one-year National Youth Service Corps and thereafter I decided to
stay here in Ilorin. I have built functional offices in Abuja and
Lagos but Ilorin is home for me. My attraction to Ilorin is almost
indescribable. Anywhere I go, I must come back home which is
Ilorin. I also believe that since Allah exists everywhere, he will
bless whatever you do anywhere you are.

You sound like a very religious man

I was born a Muslim and I will be
about six generation of Muslim in my family. I have no history of
any conversion to another religion in my family. I believe that
when you profess a faith, the least you can do is to be faithful to
that faith. People must know and identify you with that faith
because that is a hallmark of a honourable person.

I was born into Islam but I remain
in Islam by conviction because I am convinced that is the path for
me. I have been observing my five daily prayers unbroken since
1972. My conviction heighten when I got to Ife, I was admitted to
study history in 1978 though I wanted law. I wanted to change law
and it was almost impossible because the faculty where I was,
thought I was a bright student because in my 100 level I had As in
all the courses except one where I had B+.

They insisted they won’t release
their brilliant student to go to another faculty meanwhile law
faculty also wanted me. I took another JAMB form so I will start
over since I couldn’t cross. One day, while praying in Mosque, I
prayed almost carelessly to Allah that if he will allow me change
course smoothly, I will be more dedicated to him. When all hope had
been lost, on a Friday in 1979 after Jumat prayer, somebody called
my attention that he has seen the change of course and my name was
the first on the list.

I remembered my vow to Allah; before
then I had prayed but I don’t take part in any activities but I
became more committed and eventually I became the president of
Muslim Student Society of Nigeria in Ife. That was the turning
point of my getting more and more involved in religious
activities.

What was the attraction to law?

It is just God. Most of my teachers
in secondary school believed that I will study economics. God just
directed me to this profession. Not that I have a history of a
lawyer in my family, it was just God.
I never enter the courtroom until we were doing law school
attachment in Lagos in 1982.

Of what benefit has your
attainment of SAN been to your career advancement?

Becoming a SAN as a lawyer is a
positive professional changing attainment if God blesses it for
you. I became SAN over 20 years ago.

Can you share with us some of
your defining moments as a lawyer?

The first defining moment for me
professionally was in 1989 when I became notary public, that was
significant for me. In 1996 I was appointed as the sole judge of
election tribunal in Kwara State and I attended to 16 petitions in
30 days. The icing on the cake for me was in 1997 September when I
became a SAN.

Do you have low moments as a
lawyer?

Losing a case for me is not a low
moment as such but when you lost a case and you start hearing
things later that are quite unethical, those moments are quite
disturbing for me. I try to remain an upright person both privately
and professionally. Being an upright lawyer for me implies that as
a lawyer you observe all the rules of professional ethics, you do
not cut corners and you should not have or carry out any corruptive
intention in your matter and in other people’s matters.

You should also be incorruptible.
You also try to be a model not just for your juniors but your peers
and the larger society. I do tell clients whenever they want me to
handle a case for them that they are not paying me to win at all
cost but to try my best for them.

Have you ever had a time when a
client walks away because you told him or her the
truth?

No. It has never happened because I
will always say the truth. I won’t rubbish my integrity for someone
who has none. I tell clients that I will do my best professionally
and give all my best. I also tell them their case with me can never
be compromised because I know truth is very sacred. I also tell
them only God knows how their case will end but I will do my best.
When I lose a matter, I do self-introspection; I don’t look for
scapegoat and I don’t start making stories up. I ask my colleagues
how we faired and what we did that we ought not to have done. I
also do this when we win.

Do you socilaise outside your
career?

Yes I do. I honor invitations. I am
a sticker to time and I don’t compromise on that. Invite me to an
event, I know how long I will stay and I don’t exceed that time
even if you have not started. I don’t go late to events. When my
father died, a governor who is a friend was invited and I told him
we will start by 11am and by 12.30pm
we are done because I have earlier told the clerics. The governor
told me he is having an event for 11 and I advised him to come
earlier, spend few minutes with us and go.

He however came around 12.45 and by
then we were done. That’s my kind of person and many people around
me know me for this. My father was not just very strict, he was
very upright.  There were stories I heard
when he died that he was a special breed. When he fell ill for the
first time in 2015, he called everyone who kept one thing or the
other with him to come collect them so as at the time he died he
didn’t owe anybody anything.

You have won some landmark cases
which further launched you to limelight in Nigeria. How did you
feel when you won these cases?

I was part of the team that defended
Late Umaru Yar’Adua, I was the principal at former Governor
Fayemi’s election tribunal and I was Ladoja’s lawyer during his
illegal impeachment. Until Ladoja’s matter nobody has ever been
impeached and returned to office in Nigeria. After Ladoja’s case it
has become a good precedent in Nigeria. I feel good about such
things because I am making my modest contributions to the legal
profession.

Some of your colleagues are in
politics now, are you nursing any political
ambition?

I don’t have such plans. I had the
privilege of being invited recently to be the Attorney General of
the federation, I rejected it. I don’t want any political
appointment.

Why did you reject such a juicy
offer?

I don’t want to get involved in
anything in which I won’t make a difference. I am old enough to
know Nigeria and the way we go about our things. I have not seen
any Nigerian who will emerge as president and will totally abide by
all the tenets of the rule of law.

You just sounded as if there is
no hope for Nigeria.

No, this is just my observation. An
Attorney General is only a minister appointed by the virtue of his
or her qualification and experience. Any other person can be given
any portfolio. When I was invited to be Attorney General of the
federation, I told the person if I give you a legal opinion as
Attorney general, I don’t mind if due to superior argument you
don’t follow it but if you jettison it based on exigency or
politics, I will take it as a vote of no confidence in my ability
and I will just walk away.

Are any of your children taking
after you professionally?

Only one; my first daughter is a
chartered accountant, the second one is the lawyer, the third is a
medical doctor and the last has a PhD in engineering.

Will it be right to say you are a
fulfilled man?

I am still praying for fulfillment
in all areas of life because I am still a young man.

What are some of your guiding
principles?

I want to be faithful to my faith
and I want to do unto others what I want them do to me.

It is strange that a legal
luminary like you does not hold any chieftaincy
title

I don’t want to be called a chief, I
am okay. Many people call me Mallam. I don’t reject chieftaincy
offers, I just tell them I will like to remain who I am.

Your wife passed on over a decade
ago, what are some of the marks she made in your life before her
demise and do you intend to remarry soon?

She was a 100% supporter of
everything in my life and she was a fantastic woman. She had
everything a man will desire in a wife. As regards remarrying,
everything is in the hands of God and we are not closing our eyes.
We are taking our torchlight to search. I am not transposing her
qualities into anyother person, whoever comes in I will take the
person the way I found her.

What informs some of your
philanthropic gestures?

I believe it is necessary we give
back to the society. I get encouragement to do these things from
people around me but beyond all these, I believe it is not right
just accumulating money because you want to accumulate wealth. You
need to be able to impact on other people’s life one way or the
other.

What is your take on the grazing
law?

Anything that will make us
differentiate genuine people from those who are not is definitely a
welcome development.  All we need to do to
move this nation forward is to abolish the indigene and
settlers syndrome. Let Nigerians take their rights and obligations from
wherever they live.