Attending court hearings in Port-Harcourt between the
21st and 23rd of March 2018, I had just
returned to Lagos, to the typical nerve-wracking 3-hour traffic
ride from the Airport back home. It was a Friday. Coupled with the
usual Lagos ‘go-slow’ (in the common tongue), there was
the additional havoc of a much-publicised society wedding, whose
enviable guest list included one-time richest man in the world,
Bill Gates, happening somewhere on the Island. I eventually made it
home at about 10p.m, exhausted, and just needing a good night’s
rest. I had barely retired to bed, when I was jarred awake by the
unwelcome sound of my phone ringing. It was a much-revered senior
colleague and friend on the line. ‘Folabi, have you
heard?’
That was an unexpected and foreboding salutation, especially for
a late-night telephone call. I had no clue and was not about to
indulge in any further mental exertion. The details soon hit me:
‘Chief Sofola is dead. He died a few hours back…’. I
retorted immediately, swinging into denial mode: ‘No, it can’t
be. I saw him on Tuesday. He even tried to reach me on Wednesday,
and I was going to return his call yesterday but got caught up…and
decided instead to go see him in the office on Monday
(26/March)’. As though my explanations would somehow remind
the caller that he had made a huge mistake, and that he was
probably speaking of someone else. As it turned out, that was not
to be the case.
Yes, I had gone to the purpose-built office, housing Ereke
Chambers, to give Oga some prepared notes, summing up
my comments on a newly filed litigation he wanted me to look at.
Even though prepared by some other law firm, Oga’s advice
had been sought on the prospects of the case, because of the
sensitivity of the subject matter. Oga had called me
and sent the documents over, with instructions on areas to look at,
and research upon. It was after all an area I had learnt a thing or
two understudying him in the past. That was just the other week. I
finally got around to it. Having not seen him in a while, I decided
to take the prepared notes down to him personally. As I walked into
the expansive building housing the chambers and other offices, I
met him in the parking lot, seated in the car – genial, unruffled
and graceful – as ever. His 84 years of age were still packed
strong. Pleasantries over, he explained that he had only just
arrived the office and was catching a breather before going
upstairs to his office (the 5th floor). I handed over
the documents, discussed same briefly and decided to return after
he must have had a look at them. He would call me later that same
day to discuss briefly, and when it became increasingly hard to
make conversation due to poor network signal (despite his son’s
intervention, using his line to call me), I promised to return to
see him either on my way to the airport the next day, or upon
return. Court engagements on Wednesday morning, made it impossible
to make it down to see him. I was barely on time for my scheduled
flight to Port Harcourt by the time I passed through Ikeja, and I
immediately decided to see him upon my return on Friday. And so,
fate conspired to rob me of one final meeting with
Oga.
The morning after I heard the news of Oga’s sudden
passing, I contacted his first son, also my former Oga and
Head of Chambers at Idowu Sofola & Co Ereke Chambers; in person
of Mr. Olusina Sofola SAN. He confirmed to me, via a text message,
the transition of Oga to the great beyond, and in line
with Muslim rites, the burial slated for 4p.m Saturday
24th March 2018. As I sit writing this, I now make my
plans to travel to Ikenne to pay my last respects. And I
remember…
It all started the weekend after my law school exams. After a
most exacting period swotting to pass, I just wanted to relax and
laze idly pending the release of the examination results. I would
then decide what next to do with my law degree. I mean, yes, I was
undecided about the practice of law, until that fortuitous meeting
with Chief Idowu Sofola SAN, as facilitated by my uncle, Otunba S.A
Rabiu (former Chairman, Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue).
Uncle had given me a letter to go see his ‘egbon, personal
lawyer’ for an internship, pending the release of Law School
results. Oga, or Chief, as he would soon be
affectionately referred to, asked me a few questions, before
referring me to see the Head of Chambers, Mr. Sina Sofola (later,
SAN), ‘for another round of questions and answers’ (as I
was to later derisively put it, in a feedback to Uncle). The
relevant detail here: I was employed, and thus began, almost
reluctantly, a career I eventually grew to love to bits and pieces.
I would be remiss if I fail to mention that my two Ogas
ensured that I earned a salary, even as an intern ‘awaiting
results’.
Results came, and Oga gladly handed me a letter to NYSC
asking that I be posted to the chambers for service year. That
pupillage, beginning February 2002, lasted till July 2005. During
that period, I had the opportunity to learn, and finally make up my
mind on a career as a litigator (some of my fond experiences along
the journey, shared here :http://www.perchstoneandgraeys.com/assets/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Story_story.pdf).
My period of pupillage with Oga, saw me travelling around
the country, representing the firm’s clients in matters spread
across locations as far-flung as Etinan, Akwa Ibom State; Kano;
Port Harcourt, Rivers State; to nearby Ibadan, Sagamu etc. I did
all of that, under the watchful eyes of Oga. And
Oga? I saw two sides- the lawyer and the family man.
In the field of law, Chief Idowu Sofola, MON,
SAN, was an icon and a colossus, looming larger than life.
A gentle, soft-spoken, and unassuming man you are likely to have
encountered, without knowing it. He worked assiduously and packed a
lot into a rich, fulfilled life, garnering professional
accomplishments, including, amongst many others, the preferment
with the Senior Advocate of Nigeria rank in 1989. Chief was also at
one time, the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, and the first
Nigerian, the first African, and indeed the first black man to
become the Secretary General of the International Bar
Association.
Away from the rank and file of titles and professional
accolades, I saw Oga up close and personal in his private
life. He easily exuded the virtues of integrity, humility and
leadership. A typical day in the office was not complete without
him issuing a letter of introduction or rendering some other form
of assistance to a job-seeker, or someone else in
need. He was a man of the people. He genuinely
loved his people, and his Ikenne ‘homestead’. Weekends never saw
Oga in Lagos. He was sociable, and equally made out time
to find a balance between work-life & socials.
I remember court appearances as a junior to Oga. Going
to the Court of Appeal, Lagos meant many things for me. We would
make it back to the office (then at 5th Floor, Elephant
Cement House, Alausa-Ikeja) but not without first stopping at the
Island Club for lunch, richly interspersed with colourful anecdotes
of the Lagos of old, law practice in the 60s, and 70s (Chief was a
court registrar before travelling abroad), and how grateful he was
for the pupillage and fatherly care his brother, the much-more
famous Kehinde Sofola SAN, gave to him.
And when it came to courtroom advocacy skills, he delivered his
blows almost without being seen. He didn’t wear a particularly
serious mien; soft-spoken and disguisedly empathetic to the man in
the box, he did not barrage and harass witnesses being
cross-examined. Yet, he effortlessly extracted all he wanted; and
that devastatingly played out time and again in his masterful
weaving of pleaded facts and evidence during trial proceedings. All
of this only became more evident, at the final address stage. He
made no fuss about his achievements or status anywhere. Quietly
advocating slightly above a whisper but getting loudest ovation
(for his results) in the long run. They just don’t make them that
good anymore.
Despite advancing in years, it was a delight to watch
Oga rise majestically to cross-examine for hours on end,
several witnesses called by the petitioner in the Jang v
Dariye election petition in 2003. In the wake of legal
skirmishes that followed the 2003 elections, I was a junior in the
team ably led by Chief Idowu Sofola SAN, to defend the election
petition brought against the election of Governor Joshua Dariye as
Governor of Plateau State. As was characteristic of most elections
petitions, our team was comprised of hardworking lawyers from
different law firms, who had all been briefed to conduct the
defence. The contestant to the seat, who had lost and brought the
elections petition, was Air Commodore Jonah Jang (rtd.).
Incidentally, he later went on to become the Executive Governor of
Plateau State, after Dariye’s term in office. The hearing of his
petition lasted for weeks. If there was ever a time I saw the
indispensability of forensic advocacy to applying the rules of
evidence, that was it.
There was a long line of witnesses for the petitioner. One after
the other, various provisions of the Evidence Act came to play in
destroying their credibility, puncturing their testimonies and
rendering inadmissible, various pieces of evidence sought to be
tendered. I recall very vividly a witness (for the petitioner) who
gave a ‘graphic illustration’ of looting in a polling booth which –
we were to discover- was many miles from where he exercised his
constitutional right to vote. He had seemed cocksure in confirming
that he actually voted at the polling booth under question. He
swore that he saw the returning officer stuff the box with already
marked voters’ cards! He however buckled under cross-examination
(by Oga), when he ‘innocently’ admitted that he
learnt of the alleged malpractices from an unnamed 3rd
party!
The petition hearing lasted for about 8 weeks, and the team, led
by Oga, with the equally formidable assistance rendered by
others such as Chief Robert Clarke SAN, and Mr. Joseph SAN, were
all lodged in the Plateau Hotel, which we retuned to daily, to
analyse the evidence led at the day’s hearing and make preparations
tirelessly though the night, for the days ahead. In between all
that, I would run to my room, and try to make it back regularly to
spend time with Oga in his own chalet. Most times, he
would be the one to look after me, and find out how I was faring.
And, of course, handing out generous sums as pocket money, while
ensuring that I was appropriately remunerated for my services
as a junior. The heaps of knowledge acquired in those 8
straight weeks was more than enough recompense, and I eternally
remain grateful to Oga.
In 2014, I was midway through editing a galley proof of his
biography (set to be released to mark his 80th birth
anniversary), when I realised there was a gap lurking in some
recollection. I went back to Oga to fill in the details.
He gave me a long, probing stare before launching into the details.
I had never seen him that overwhelmed with emotions, and thus could
understand his wanting to keep details out of the book. Looking
back though, all I can say is that his resolve to do so, much
against the grain and despite the positive reflection on his person
which the narrative could have availed him, was a study in
benevolence. Oga was generous in spirit, and kind in heart
to the very end. He would go on to endearingly write of me in the
same biography (‘My Life, My Work, My Passions’ by Chief Idowu
Sofola MON, SAN, published 2014): “Afolabi Kuti, LL.B
Hons (Ife) B.L, LL.M (UNILAG); an alumnus of Idowu Sofola & Co
of whom I am proud of at all times..’ I still
remember reading those simple words at the time. They never fail to
evoke in me, till this day, a sense of great emotion, and a feeling
of fortune that my path had been so blessed to cross that of this
great man all those many years ago.
While accepting Oga’s death as the inevitable destiny
of all mortals, I cannot help but note with a rueful smile that he
went as quietly and gracefully as he lived. At 83 plus,
Oga was still attending his law office. As a practitioner. He
did not buckle to old age. Raging against the dying of the light,
he made death seem so unimportant. And then quietly, true to his
genial nature, went gently into that good night.
May his soul find rest with his Maker.
- Folabi Kuti, Partner, Perchstone &
Graeys.
Attending court hearings in Port-Harcourt between the
21st and 23rd of March 2018, I had just
returned to Lagos, to the typical nerve-wracking 3-hour traffic
ride from the Airport back home. It was a Friday. Coupled with the
usual Lagos ‘go-slow’ (in the common tongue), there was
the additional havoc of a much-publicised society wedding, whose
enviable guest list included one-time richest man in the world,
Bill Gates, happening somewhere on the Island. I eventually made it
home at about 10p.m, exhausted, and just needing a good night’s
rest. I had barely retired to bed, when I was jarred awake by the
unwelcome sound of my phone ringing. It was a much-revered senior
colleague and friend on the line. ‘Folabi, have you
heard?’
That was an unexpected and foreboding salutation, especially for
a late-night telephone call. I had no clue and was not about to
indulge in any further mental exertion. The details soon hit me:
‘Chief Sofola is dead. He died a few hours back…’. I
retorted immediately, swinging into denial mode: ‘No, it can’t
be. I saw him on Tuesday. He even tried to reach me on Wednesday,
and I was going to return his call yesterday but got caught up…and
decided instead to go see him in the office on Monday
(26/March)’. As though my explanations would somehow remind
the caller that he had made a huge mistake, and that he was
probably speaking of someone else. As it turned out, that was not
to be the case.
Yes, I had gone to the purpose-built office, housing Ereke
Chambers, to give Oga some prepared notes, summing up
my comments on a newly filed litigation he wanted me to look at.
Even though prepared by some other law firm, Oga’s advice
had been sought on the prospects of the case, because of the
sensitivity of the subject matter. Oga had called me
and sent the documents over, with instructions on areas to look at,
and research upon. It was after all an area I had learnt a thing or
two understudying him in the past. That was just the other week. I
finally got around to it. Having not seen him in a while, I decided
to take the prepared notes down to him personally. As I walked into
the expansive building housing the chambers and other offices, I
met him in the parking lot, seated in the car – genial, unruffled
and graceful – as ever. His 84 years of age were still packed
strong. Pleasantries over, he explained that he had only just
arrived the office and was catching a breather before going
upstairs to his office (the 5th floor). I handed over
the documents, discussed same briefly and decided to return after
he must have had a look at them. He would call me later that same
day to discuss briefly, and when it became increasingly hard to
make conversation due to poor network signal (despite his son’s
intervention, using his line to call me), I promised to return to
see him either on my way to the airport the next day, or upon
return. Court engagements on Wednesday morning, made it impossible
to make it down to see him. I was barely on time for my scheduled
flight to Port Harcourt by the time I passed through Ikeja, and I
immediately decided to see him upon my return on Friday. And so,
fate conspired to rob me of one final meeting with
Oga.
The morning after I heard the news of Oga’s sudden
passing, I contacted his first son, also my former Oga and
Head of Chambers at Idowu Sofola & Co Ereke Chambers; in person
of Mr. Olusina Sofola SAN. He confirmed to me, via a text message,
the transition of Oga to the great beyond, and in line
with Muslim rites, the burial slated for 4p.m Saturday
24th March 2018. As I sit writing this, I now make my
plans to travel to Ikenne to pay my last respects. And I
remember…
It all started the weekend after my law school exams. After a
most exacting period swotting to pass, I just wanted to relax and
laze idly pending the release of the examination results. I would
then decide what next to do with my law degree. I mean, yes, I was
undecided about the practice of law, until that fortuitous meeting
with Chief Idowu Sofola SAN, as facilitated by my uncle, Otunba S.A
Rabiu (former Chairman, Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue).
Uncle had given me a letter to go see his ‘egbon, personal
lawyer’ for an internship, pending the release of Law School
results. Oga, or Chief, as he would soon be
affectionately referred to, asked me a few questions, before
referring me to see the Head of Chambers, Mr. Sina Sofola (later,
SAN), ‘for another round of questions and answers’ (as I
was to later derisively put it, in a feedback to Uncle). The
relevant detail here: I was employed, and thus began, almost
reluctantly, a career I eventually grew to love to bits and pieces.
I would be remiss if I fail to mention that my two Ogas
ensured that I earned a salary, even as an intern ‘awaiting
results’.
Results came, and Oga gladly handed me a letter to NYSC
asking that I be posted to the chambers for service year. That
pupillage, beginning February 2002, lasted till July 2005. During
that period, I had the opportunity to learn, and finally make up my
mind on a career as a litigator (some of my fond experiences along
the journey, shared here :http://www.perchstoneandgraeys.com/assets/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Story_story.pdf).
My period of pupillage with Oga, saw me travelling around
the country, representing the firm’s clients in matters spread
across locations as far-flung as Etinan, Akwa Ibom State; Kano;
Port Harcourt, Rivers State; to nearby Ibadan, Sagamu etc. I did
all of that, under the watchful eyes of Oga. And
Oga? I saw two sides- the lawyer and the family man.
In the field of law, Chief Idowu Sofola, MON,
SAN, was an icon and a colossus, looming larger than life.
A gentle, soft-spoken, and unassuming man you are likely to have
encountered, without knowing it. He worked assiduously and packed a
lot into a rich, fulfilled life, garnering professional
accomplishments, including, amongst many others, the preferment
with the Senior Advocate of Nigeria rank in 1989. Chief was also at
one time, the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, and the first
Nigerian, the first African, and indeed the first black man to
become the Secretary General of the International Bar
Association.
Away from the rank and file of titles and professional
accolades, I saw Oga up close and personal in his private
life. He easily exuded the virtues of integrity, humility and
leadership. A typical day in the office was not complete without
him issuing a letter of introduction or rendering some other form
of assistance to a job-seeker, or someone else in
need. He was a man of the people. He genuinely
loved his people, and his Ikenne ‘homestead’. Weekends never saw
Oga in Lagos. He was sociable, and equally made out time
to find a balance between work-life & socials.
I remember court appearances as a junior to Oga. Going
to the Court of Appeal, Lagos meant many things for me. We would
make it back to the office (then at 5th Floor, Elephant
Cement House, Alausa-Ikeja) but not without first stopping at the
Island Club for lunch, richly interspersed with colourful anecdotes
of the Lagos of old, law practice in the 60s, and 70s (Chief was a
court registrar before travelling abroad), and how grateful he was
for the pupillage and fatherly care his brother, the much-more
famous Kehinde Sofola SAN, gave to him.
And when it came to courtroom advocacy skills, he delivered his
blows almost without being seen. He didn’t wear a particularly
serious mien; soft-spoken and disguisedly empathetic to the man in
the box, he did not barrage and harass witnesses being
cross-examined. Yet, he effortlessly extracted all he wanted; and
that devastatingly played out time and again in his masterful
weaving of pleaded facts and evidence during trial proceedings. All
of this only became more evident, at the final address stage. He
made no fuss about his achievements or status anywhere. Quietly
advocating slightly above a whisper but getting loudest ovation
(for his results) in the long run. They just don’t make them that
good anymore.
Despite advancing in years, it was a delight to watch
Oga rise majestically to cross-examine for hours on end,
several witnesses called by the petitioner in the Jang v
Dariye election petition in 2003. In the wake of legal
skirmishes that followed the 2003 elections, I was a junior in the
team ably led by Chief Idowu Sofola SAN, to defend the election
petition brought against the election of Governor Joshua Dariye as
Governor of Plateau State. As was characteristic of most elections
petitions, our team was comprised of hardworking lawyers from
different law firms, who had all been briefed to conduct the
defence. The contestant to the seat, who had lost and brought the
elections petition, was Air Commodore Jonah Jang (rtd.).
Incidentally, he later went on to become the Executive Governor of
Plateau State, after Dariye’s term in office. The hearing of his
petition lasted for weeks. If there was ever a time I saw the
indispensability of forensic advocacy to applying the rules of
evidence, that was it.
There was a long line of witnesses for the petitioner. One after
the other, various provisions of the Evidence Act came to play in
destroying their credibility, puncturing their testimonies and
rendering inadmissible, various pieces of evidence sought to be
tendered. I recall very vividly a witness (for the petitioner) who
gave a ‘graphic illustration’ of looting in a polling booth which –
we were to discover- was many miles from where he exercised his
constitutional right to vote. He had seemed cocksure in confirming
that he actually voted at the polling booth under question. He
swore that he saw the returning officer stuff the box with already
marked voters’ cards! He however buckled under cross-examination
(by Oga), when he ‘innocently’ admitted that he
learnt of the alleged malpractices from an unnamed 3rd
party!
The petition hearing lasted for about 8 weeks, and the team, led
by Oga, with the equally formidable assistance rendered by
others such as Chief Robert Clarke SAN, and Mr. Joseph SAN, were
all lodged in the Plateau Hotel, which we retuned to daily, to
analyse the evidence led at the day’s hearing and make preparations
tirelessly though the night, for the days ahead. In between all
that, I would run to my room, and try to make it back regularly to
spend time with Oga in his own chalet. Most times, he
would be the one to look after me, and find out how I was faring.
And, of course, handing out generous sums as pocket money, while
ensuring that I was appropriately remunerated for my services
as a junior. The heaps of knowledge acquired in those 8
straight weeks was more than enough recompense, and I eternally
remain grateful to Oga.
In 2014, I was midway through editing a galley proof of his
biography (set to be released to mark his 80th birth
anniversary), when I realised there was a gap lurking in some
recollection. I went back to Oga to fill in the details.
He gave me a long, probing stare before launching into the details.
I had never seen him that overwhelmed with emotions, and thus could
understand his wanting to keep details out of the book. Looking
back though, all I can say is that his resolve to do so, much
against the grain and despite the positive reflection on his person
which the narrative could have availed him, was a study in
benevolence. Oga was generous in spirit, and kind in heart
to the very end. He would go on to endearingly write of me in the
same biography (‘My Life, My Work, My Passions’ by Chief Idowu
Sofola MON, SAN, published 2014): “Afolabi Kuti, LL.B
Hons (Ife) B.L, LL.M (UNILAG); an alumnus of Idowu Sofola & Co
of whom I am proud of at all times..’ I still
remember reading those simple words at the time. They never fail to
evoke in me, till this day, a sense of great emotion, and a feeling
of fortune that my path had been so blessed to cross that of this
great man all those many years ago.
While accepting Oga’s death as the inevitable destiny
of all mortals, I cannot help but note with a rueful smile that he
went as quietly and gracefully as he lived. At 83 plus,
Oga was still attending his law office. As a practitioner. He
did not buckle to old age. Raging against the dying of the light,
he made death seem so unimportant. And then quietly, true to his
genial nature, went gently into that good night.
May his soul find rest with his Maker.
- Folabi Kuti, Partner, Perchstone &
Graeys.