Continued from yesterday

HE had come to visit my father and had just left the house when he turned back to see my father. Apparently, he had heard the dissenting opinion of Justice Kayode Esho and the thought it was the final decision of the Court. The judge appeared very frightened. My father inquired to know what was bothering him. He said that the Supreme Court had ordered that Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Shehu Shagari should proceed to the electoral college to determine the actual winner of the general elections. My father could not fathom what business a Judge had with the dispute between Awolowo and Alhaji Shagari. His then proceeded to explain to my father that, Awolowo had approached him to contest an election on the platform of the Action group in 1959. He had opted for the NCNC and had defeated Awolowo’s candidate. There after he quit partisan politics in 1962 and set up a very successful legal practice before being appointed a Judge of Western State in 1975. Despite the above explanation, my father could not still understand his friend’s anxiety. To my father, his colleague and friend was no longer a politician and had no business with politics or with Obafemi Awolowo. He was very surprised at my father’s attitude and concluded that having never participated in party politics, my father did not understand politics or political power. The gentleman then told my father that: “you underestimate Awolowo at your own peril”. Was sure that once Awolowo was sworn in as President of Nigeria, Awolowo would take him out of the Bench.

I could not believe what I heard. I could never understand the reasons for such bitterness in politics.

The return of Chief Akinjide to England

I met Akinjide vicariously at the University of Cambridge. His son, Yomi, was pursuing his first degree in law at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University while I was pursuing my doctorate program at Corpus Christi College. Yomi was a particularly focused undergraduate student. He was quite disciplined. I later learnt that he did not have a choice. Akinjide gave Yomi no breathing space. The story that filtered out was