I wanted to be a movie star growing up – Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu,
speaks with KORE OGIDAN about her legal career,
childhood and other issues

You are a beautiful woman who has made a name for
herself as a lawyer. What do you think about this generation of
young ladies some of who would rather make money with their bodies
than their brains?

I find it to be a very unfortunate development. I think complete
beauty, using these words advisedly, is a combination of beauty on
the outside and on the inside. Beauty on the inside includes
intelligence, a good brain. It’s sad that young ladies today, not
all, but many, would rather use their bodies to make money. Like
everything in life, the body will go south someday; it will
degenerate. So, when they are older and this happens, what will
they feed on? On the other hand, the brain, with experience, age
and good maintenance, improves. One becomes more intelligent with
the experiences one gets. Intelligence is also got through
development. On the inside, although your body may not be as
beautiful as it used to be because of age, your brain becomes more
beautiful. You would have seen so much in life; so, your
temperament would have softened and become more mature. This gives
you more intelligence and beauty on the inside. My advice to young
ladies is that they are better off using their brains than their
bodies.

How would the parents of ladies in your generation
have reacted to the trend of ‘slay queens’ if it happened during
your youth?

Most parents would have fainted. When we grew up, the only way
to make it in life was solely through hard work. That was the
principle on which we were brought up. Hard work was to roll up
your sleeves and get the job done, not sashaying your body or
‘slaying’, as they call it these days. I remember when I was
younger, I wanted to be a movie star and I really could act having
performed in numerous school plays. Those were in the days of
actresses such as Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren and Doris Day. I
couldn’t even tell my dad I wanted to take the passion as an actual
profession. He came to my plays and was proud when he saw my
brilliant performances but that was as far as it went. If I had my
youth again today, I could follow that dream but even bringing it
up at home as a conversation back then would have meant I had no
future ambitions. That’s how I’d have been perceived. Since I
didn’t pursue my acting career, I found my stage in the courtroom.
So, I’m able to present my case as passionately and as dramatically
as the strictures of my profession will allow. It’s a
compromise.

Speaking of hard work, what’s your take on the
defence of cyber crime as it is now rampant in the
country?

It is a very unfortunate degradation of our values and I don’t
know how things got to this level. In our time, you couldn’t even
go home with something that wasn’t yours. For anyone to defend the
immoral, improper and criminal making of money, it makes me shudder
and worry deeply for the future of this country. It is damaging our
image abroad and ruining our reputation.

How would you describe your temperament, and did it
mature as you grew older?

My temperament has improved with age and experience – some good,
some bitter. I used to say that I had a bad temper but with the
benefit of spiritual maturity now, my mantra is, as said in the
Bible, ‘Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to wrath,
because the wrath of man brings not the righteousness of God’. I’ve
learnt that having a quick or bad temper is not complimentary and
is not good for one. It is better for us to try and understand the
reason for someone’s annoying action toward us and process it with
some maturity. I’ve walked away from things in anger and said
irrevocable things that with the benefit of hindsight and maturity,
I realised I shouldn’t really have said. Even if you apologise for
the hurtful things you said in the heat of anger, they can’t be
unsaid. Most times, if you speak out of anger, you’ll regret
it.

What was your childhood like?

My childhood was good. My father was reasonably affluent. From
my primary school days, I travelled for summer abroad. Before that,
we would go to Tarkwa Bay for the weekend, still when I was in
primary school. My father had a motorboat and we’d cruise in it. My
father was a businessman who dealt in chemicals but I lost my
mother when I was very young. My father remarried when I was seven
years old. My father usually entertained his business partners and
expatriates who he’d host in our house. They’d come over and have
dinner and we’d talk with them and mingle. If we crossed the line,
my father would thoroughly spank us. He was strict in the sense of
principles of right and wrong. In terms of exposure, he wasn’t
strict. He spent money to get us the best education. When we had
activities in school that cost money but was beneficial to our
development and exposure, he spared no expense. We went on all the
school holidays and field trips. My father paid for ballet lessons
for me and I did elocution for which I am very grateful. He paid
for horse riding, ski trips and many more. He believed that
education shouldn’t be restricted to the classroom. Great exposure
makes one a better person. I thank God for that childhood and
upbringing. I did miss my mum but there are some things in life you
cannot change.

I was a playful child and still am playful when I am with people
I can trust. I don’t think life should be too hard. My job is very
hard and because of the seriousness of the job, I need to relieve
tension.

Why did you choose to study Law?

I realised that even as a young lady, I was always on the side
of the oppressed. I naturally gravitated towards oppressed people
and wanted to proffer help, fight their battles and win. Also, if I
witnessed a case of police oppression on the street, I would come
to the defence of the oppressed and this was even when I was young.
I also found myself arguing against ideas that I thought absurd,
regardless of who propounded it. Law seemed like a natural course
in which to train to improve my ability to pursue a logical
argument.

When I first studied French Language, I had a professor whom I
was a good student to and he wanted to encourage me to take up a
career in translation. That would have meant a life of travelling
and earning a great paycheck because at the time, French
translators were paid dollars per hour. That seemed very attractive
but I knew I wanted to have a family and a home because I missed
enjoying my mother. So, I gave up on that and didn’t toe that line.
Instead, I went to study Law because it was more of a stabilising
factor that would keep me on the ground.

When I got into the law class, it wasn’t difficult at all. I
immediately began to see the reality of law in practice and the
benefit of getting legal training.

For someone who loves the family unit, how do you
perceive people who don’t have the same beliefs?

I am an incurably romantic and if I had my way, I’d want
everyone to get married if they found the right person. If you find
your friend, marriage is a wonderful thing and it is wonderful if
you are able to put the other person first. I recommend marriage
any day, provided you find the right person and you are able to
sacrifice.

Marriage is like two people getting into a boat and sailing on
the merry sea of life. Two of you are stuck in the boat but if you
are focused on only yourself without considering the other person,
you will run into problems soon enough. But if you are concerned
about the comfort of the other person and they are about you too,
you will have a wonderful sail. I think one of the reasons
marriages break these days is because they don’t start out as
friends and there is a lot of selfishness.

What did it feel like not having a mother in your
life, especially while growing up?

You never really miss what you’ve never had but when I look at
my children, I realise there was a big miss. It is nice to have
someone praying for you even when you’ve been nasty to them. Only a
mother can love you that much, even when you are being a nuisance.
She had sisters and I saw pictures of her so I know what she looked
like but I never created my own images of what she would have been
like because I lost her really early and I am a realist.

What difference is being a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria than being a regular lawyer?

Being a SAN has upped the ante and increased the burden. A while
ago, I could file a document in court even if there would be a
typographical error somewhere. Now, I’d rather pay the penalty for
late filing but the typo will be corrected. I am now more concerned
with the quality of my processes because I recognise that I will
sign the process and it can go anywhere in the world and carry my
name on it. I need to justify the rank of senior advocate. It has
put a lot more burden on me in terms of the quality of work I turn
out and even my personal appearance. The things I could wear before
have had to be revised to ensure they are appropriate for my
position. If I could go to the market in trendy flip-flops before,
I would probably now wear proper slippers.

Really, my experience as a SAN has been great. When I see
lawyers who aren’t well dressed, considering my position as a
protector and custodian of the profession, I wouldn’t turn a blind
eye to them. I would speak to them and caution them to pick up
their slack moving forward.

Have you ever had a stinging loss in a
case?

I have lost cases but the one that really stung happened when I
wasn’t yet a senior advocate. I lost the case not because of
incompetence. We were defending a financial institution and we
lost. The firm then sent the record of the case to three other
senior advocates who said we did a good job but the judgement was
perverse. Because I wasn’t a senior advocate, they took the matter
off me and gave it to a senior advocate for appeal. I found that
painful.

Being one who is strong with her faith and beliefs,
do you think there’s a spiritual factor that helps with your
cases?

I pray about my cases all the time. I pray for favour in the
eyes of everyone I would have cause to meet regarding my job. I
pray all the time and for everything. If someone else is praying
about the same things, that’s not a problem because the will of God
will always prevail. You may lose in the High Court because God
wants to prove something, or deepen your experience. He who laughs
last, laughs best.

There is a saying that ‘lawyers are liars’. What has
been your experience with that?

From the first day I started practising, I’ve tried to ensure
that my word is my bond. I don’t subscribe to that saying. However,
there are lawyers whose words you can’t hold to the sun and that’s
quite unfortunate. You can win cases without telling lies. Cases
should be won without telling lies. A criminal matter may be murder
and if your client confesses the guilt to you, as a lawyer, ethics
of the profession doesn’t dictate that you represent to the court
that he is innocent. You should mitigate the circumstances that
made them commit the murder.

What are the responsibilities of a senior
advocate?

You are the custodian of the profession and have a duty to
protect the profession. You are a leader of the bar and an elder in
the profession. This means that you are a trailblazer and a beacon.
Your conduct should be the model for younger lawyers who want to
stay in the profession. You must dress right, speak right and
behave correctly.

You were the first female Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice in Ogun State. What did that feel like
going into a terrain that had hitherto been the exclusive preserve
of men?

It came totally out of the blue as it wasn’t something I had
planned for. For the first month, I lived in shock but finding
myself there was a great honour because Ogun State is the home of
many legal titans in Nigeria. I needed to uphold the integrity and
not drop the ball. Other than that, I took on the job and got on
with it. It was very challenging and stretching. Throughout my
legal experience and life as a lawyer, I found that it was like God
had prepared me for that position because I could do everything
that came to my table. It was amazing.

What are the hindrances to a successful
implementation of the rule of law in Nigeria?

First is lack of sincerity. I find that to be the greatest
hindrance to the effective rule of law. A leader comes in and
doesn’t want to be accountable. He is aware of the rules of
accountability but he doesn’t want to be bound by them. His mental
make-up is finishing his own tenure and letting the next person be
spoken to about accountability. That is the bane of this
nation.

What do you have to say about inmates who have been
locked up for long periods awaiting trial?

It is an unfortunate reality in our system and I think the
police are to be blamed for that. Chief judges do court visits
about twice a year, and on those visits, they release inmates who
are awaiting trial. That helps and we need to see more like that.
Ideally, it should be the government or the ministry of justice
doing it, going in to determine if there are people in detention
who shouldn’t be there. That wouldn’t even be necessary if the
police were alive to their duties. I’d rather not go into it
because it upsets me.

Have you considered running for elective
office?

I heard that to run for governor without a godfather, you must
have N2bn. I don’t have the mental make-up to run for politics in
Nigeria. If I had remained in England, I may have run for an office
because I like to serve. Even if I had the N2bn to invest, I doubt
I’d be willing to. If someone funds you, you have to dance to his
or her tune and there would be a clash of interests at some point.
I’ll rather just stay away.

For how long will you like to continue your law
career?

I will continue practising for as long as I can go to court.
When I can’t go to court anymore, I’ll continue practising for as
long as I can still write a legal opinion. I don’t even do anything
on the side because law is a jealous wife. If you are going to
practise it, you must be dedicated. The only thing it allows on the
side is one’s family.

What are your hobbies?

I love to swim. I enjoyed playing tennis till my knees got the
better of me. I love to cook and I can cook almost anything I like
to eat. I don’t like pasta because I ate it for three months while
in Italy, and I still haven’t recovered from it. On some Saturdays,
I go for weddings, funerals, birthdays and other events but I don’t
stay there for too long.

How would you describe your fashion
sense?

I have been described as conservatively classic.

Culled from Punch

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