Olu Onagoruwa: An Uncommon Legal Luminary and Scholar
To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born and a time to die… (Ecclesiastes 3: 1 and 2)
We find comfort in these instructive words of the Holy Book as we join family, friends, associates, the Odogbolu community, the Yoruba nation and indeed the Nigerian state to mourn the passing of a national icon, our brother and friend, Dr. Gabriel Olusoga Onagoruwa, SAN, OFR.
Referred to in the homestead as Brother Soga, our brother and friend, lived a remarkable life of service to his nation and humanity. An embodiment of brilliance, wisdom, erudition, nobility and dignity, Onagoruwa was a revolutionary, giant and leading light of the legal profession, who not only served as AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, but more importantly used the instrument of the law and constitutionality as the pedestal community leader of repute. A proud son of Odogbolu, he identified with his people and was an active voice for the Yoruba nation, even amidst his patriotic and nationalist predispositions.
More importantly, Onagoruwa was a loving husband and dutiful father. He was a loving family man to the core. He nurtured a noble, honest and hardworking family, and the union between him and his late wife, Mrs. Titi Onagoruwa, was exemplary. But he also had his fair share of life’s tribulations: With the tragic loss of his first son, Toyin, his health challenges and the subsequent death of his wife, in that succession, Onagoruwa lived the later part of his life in relative quiet and solitude – perhaps, a faithful reminder of the Divinity of God Almighty.
What is however certain is that tragedy would never diminish Onagoruwa’s phenomenal life of outstanding achievements. A Fulbright scholar, brilliant mind and a methodical thinker, he capped his academic exploits with a Ph.D in Law, served as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice for Nigeria, was an erudite teacher of law with over 250 articles in journals and the media, and was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), amongst other numerous accomplishments.
His death has once again depleted the fading elites of Nigeria’s golden generation, a generation of genuine patriots, nation builders, exemplary men and women of integrity, principle and outstanding courage in leadership. But we take solace in the knowledge that he left a commendable legacy for his children and the entire Onagoruwa family of Odogbolu.
We pray that the precious and noble soul of Dr. Gabriel Olusoga Onagoruwa rests in perfect peace even as we commiserate with his loving children on their irreparable loss.