Garlands for Dele Adesina: 35 Years at the Bar and Book Launch
The cream of the Nigerian legal community gathered at the Muson Centre, Lagos, last Thursday, when former Nigerian Bar Association General Secretary, Pastor Dele Adesina, SAN celebrated 35 years at the Bar, 25 years of Dele Adesina LLP (Citygate Chambers), 10 years of call to the Inner Bar, and the launch of his book titled “New Developments in Law and Practice in Nigeria”. Welcoming guests to the august event, the celebrant, Dele Adesina, SAN, went down memory lane on how the law firm came to birth. Adesina, an ordained minister at the Living Faith Bible Church, told of how God had used kindhearted people to help him on his career path.
Called to the Bar in 1982, Adesina had brief stints in the Ondo State Ministry of Justice and in an insurance
company, before setting up Dele Adesina & Co, which later metamorphosed into Dele Adenisa LLP. He was Chairman NBA Ikeja Branch, General Secretary of the NBA and took Silk in 2008.
In her opening remarks, the Chairperson of the event, Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, said “I welcome the underlying concept of the well-formulated, title which focuses on the celebrant’s determination to help and encourage young lawyers to persevere, in order to succeed in the one and only learned profession. In my own personal experience of fifty-four years at the Bar, with 36 years as the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, with all due respect to the all other noble professions, the law is the best profession on earth”.
Chief Solanke, SAN, went on to address the sensitive issue of pupillage in the legal profession, saying that a two-year pupillage for all new wigs, has become absolutely imperative. She however, urged all seniors to ensure that young lawyers on pupillage in their chambers are paid adequately, since lawyers are not slaves. She said “in defence of lawyers in pupillage, I declare that lawyers are not slaves. Only slaves work for no pay or very poor pay, because a slave is the legal property of the slaver. A lawyer is certainly not the property of a learned senior, or any other person. When I was in pupillage, I was paid by those two fine gentlemen of the Bar. Thus, I implore all senior members who utilise the services of lawyers in pupillage, to pay them adequately. Lawyers are not like the African immigrants who are currently being sold into slavery in Libya in this 21st century”.
The main lecture of the day was delivered by Dr Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN, and in the lecture, he spoke to the old and young, on how to sustain livelihood through a successful legal career and practice. He said “Given the clash of cultures today within the profession - the ageing and dying puritans; the infected misdirected; the analogue old; the corrupted young and the reforming minds – we need change. This is not to call for change as an end in itself, for the mantra of that in 2015 has resulted in exposing the weakness of the profession and its inability to rise to the challenge of its calling.
“Our call as Lawyers, is one to a vocation of being faithful to justice; enhancing opportunity (being good commercial solicitors); defending interests (as valiant barristers); emancipating the poor; bringing liberty to the captives; binding the broken hearted (by seeking peace and amicable settlement); bringing good tidings to the afflicted (by winning fair and square) - in short being a living sacrifice.
“We are enjoined as priests in the temple of justice, to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from deceitful speech, yet from both the Bar and the Bench, is unworthy word by way of address and judgement”.
On hand to discuss Prof Konyin Ajayi’s erudite paper, were former NBA President, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Prof Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, Mr. Osaro Eghobamien SAN, former Ogun State Attorney-General, Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN and Mrs. Christine Sijuade. Dele Adesina’s book “New Developments in Law and Practice in Nigeria”, was publicly presented by Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, who is the Pro Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the University of Lagos.