I heartily felicitate with Olusola Alexander Oke, SAN, on this auspicious celebration of his 70th Birthday Anniversary, not as one who has merely counted years, but as one whose years have counted and continue to count. In every material particular, I celebrate a man whose journey is a testament to the power of purpose and the triumph of grace; a quintessential legal virtuoso, a true brother in the deepest and noblest sense of the word, and a towering national figure.
No doubt, his meteoric rise within the legal profession was like the ancient Cedars of Lebanon, rooted in depth, yet flourishing in splendour. From founding a thriving Law Firm, to chiselling the contours of Jurisprudence with the precision of a master sculptor; from nurturing emerging generations with the patience of a seasoned sage to bearing with dignified humility the noble and revered rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, each phase of his odyssey bears eloquent testament to the fact that he does not merely traverse life’s expanse as a passive sojourner, but strides through it as the deliberate architect of his own manuscript. He is one who has tasted both the bitter herbs of deprivation and the sweet wine of perseverance, thereby developing an exquisite sensitivity to the pulse and plight of the people. To describe him as “accomplished” would be a grave understatement of his essence; for he belongs to that rare constellation of high-value minds; an uncommon phylum of great men whose intellect is adorned with determination, whose actions are tempered by intention, and whose influence is exercised with a deep sense of thoughtfulness.
As we celebrate this milestone with this beloved friend and cherished ally of ours, may I seize this opportunity to appreciate him for accepting the humble counsel I extended to him some years ago, to wit, that he should first seek the attainment of the highest honour in the legal profession rather than dissipate his prodigious energy solely on politics. I admonished him that, by the time he rose to the peak of his profession and calling, he would become a more respectable figure and persona whom politicians and electorates alike would not only defer to, but also revere, knowing full well that he had/has a second address. He nodded in utmost disbelief when I offered him this counsel and, despite the fact that he is taller than me, bowed in reverence. He quickly took to my advice and, in his usual industrious characteristic, set a date and goal for himself to take the Silk; and by the time he applied for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he requested that I write his reference, which I gladly obliged. It is also worth mentioning that the time I gave this unsolicited counsel would have been, or been considered by others as, a most inauspicious period, because it was at a point in his life when he vied for the Governorship Seat of Ondo State (a position which he was, and still eminently qualified for), and lost the election to _Dr. Olusegun Rahman Mimiko._ He challenged the result of the election, from the Governorship Election Tribunal, through the Court of Appeal, up to the Supreme Court, and he lost See: Chief Alex Olusola Oke & Anor v. Dr. Rahman Olusegun Mimiko & Ors, Petition No. EPT/ON/GOV/04/2012; Chief Alex Olusola Oke & Anor v. Dr. Rahman Olusegun Mimiko & Ors (2013) LCN/6369 (CA); & Oke Chief Alex Olusola Oke & Anor v. Dr. Rahman Olusegun Mimiko & Ors, (2014) 1 NWLR (Pt. 1388) 225]. I was Counsel to his adversary, Dr. Mimiko, and I did not spare him for a second, both in the rugged defence we put up in our pleadings as well as under rigorous personal cross-examination by me. Others in his position would have frowned or bristled at my advice, considering the time and circumstances, but this gentleman embraced it, and profoundly appreciated me. When he attained the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and up till now, he kept/keeps on appreciating my valuable counsel. What a gentleman of honour he is; a true Omọlúàbí indeed.
Happy 70th Birthday, Sola!
May your twilight glow with even greater radiance than your dawn, and may your legacy endure as an eternal anthem of grace, resilience, and divine purpose.
Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, OFR, SAN, LL.D, D.LITT, FCIArb., FNIALS
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