• Legal expert, Ajayi, insists on autonomy, adequate funding for judiciary
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently said the judiciary is fast constituting a threat to democracy in many instances whereby the courts and not the ballot box determine elected officials. A legal expert, Chief Olugbenga Oluwaseun Ajayi (SAN), disagreed. And he told him so when he spoke with Daily Sun in Ibadan, Oyo State: “With due respect to the former Head of State, if there is any problem with our present democracy, he happens to be one of the architects of that misfortune.
“However, while I am not totally absolving the judiciary of the blame, I believe that we, as Nigerians, especially the political class, bear the bulk of the blame in the sense that if the game of politics is being played according to the rules, there will be less of interference by the judiciary in the determination of our elected political office holders.”
He strongly believed that the integrity and public perception of the legal profession would gain by insulating the judiciary from anything that would bring disrepute its members. He canvassed proper independence of the judiciary: “A situation whereby the judiciary still relies heavily on the executive for sustenance one way or the other does not augur well for our judiciary.
“The appointment into judicial offices ought to be based purely on merit and passion for the job. Truth be told, many of our present crop of judicial officers have no business being on the bench in terms of their knowledge of law, experience, temperament and even carriage. All these characteristics and many more should be looked at when appointing someone a judicial officer.
“Funding of the judiciary should be looked at. A situation whereby a judge’s take-home pay cannot take him home is a danger to the judiciary. Remember that judges too are human, and even by the nature of their job, their comfort and sustainability on and off the bench should be paramount.”
Ajayi had participated as counsel in some of the landmark and controversial election petition cases at different tribunals up to the Supreme Court.
Ajayi had participated as counsel in some of the landmark and controversial election petition cases at different tribunals up to the Supreme Court:
“Much as I am not saying that our judiciary consists of angels, I nevertheless hasten to add that judicial pronouncements at times are always open to different interpretations considering where each person is coming from.
“Remember that exclamation by Shylock when the purport of the judgment in that famous trial in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, was explained to him, that is when he quipped: ‘is that the law.’ To him and others in his position that pronouncement amounted to injustice, whereas that is the law as it ought to be.
“In the circumstance, what many people brand as injustice arising from corruption is not really the position. We all have a duty to save the judiciary from this predicament of swimming in the ocean of politics by playing well the game of politics.”
Ajayi was recently conferred with Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He has worked with the law firms of Afe Babalola and Co., and Lateef Fagbemi and Co. He currently heads Fagbemi Chamber, Ibadan. He was called to the Bar in 1998.
He was born on the day former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, visited his home state, Kwara, shortly after the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War:
“But the truth is that, as at the time the nickname Aare was ascribed to me, nobody except maybe my parents had any idea about the fact that my birth coincided with the visit of the then Head of State to Kwara State.
“Nevertheless, I want to believe that the hand of God is in the occurrence just as William Shakespeare once said that the heavens themselves blaze forth the birth of princes. In my own case, I take it that the coincidence is a pointer to the fact that I am destined for greatness and for that, I give glory to God.”
Ajayi was inspired to read Law by the charisma and dignified personality of a friend of his father, late Justice Adebisi Kolawole. He was of the Bauchi State High Court and fascinated the young Gbenga whenever he visited the Ajayis’ home:
“I observed that, there was something different about this man compared to other known friends of my father. Indeed, he only visited our house once in a year, during Christmas festivities. Despite the fact that he never came with his police orderly or official vehicle, there was still this aura surrounding him different from other visitors.
“This prompted me to begin to ask questions about him and I discovered that he was a judge. I further got to know that before becoming a judge, you first of all must be a lawyer. Thus, wanting to be like this man propelled me to study law. I thank God that today though I am not a judge at least I have attained the highest rank attainable by a practicing lawyer in Nigeria.”
Although he has been involved in students and professional union politics, Ajayi ruled out participating in partisan national politics for now.
He said though is not completely ruling out the possibility, he is quite okay playing Bar politics at present.
He ascribed his coming thus far to God Almighty. He paid tribute also to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN: “He (Fagbemi) belongs to the category of seniors whose juniors’ progression both professionally and otherwise meant much to them.
“I thank God that I was able to latch into the opportunities he gave me to climb through my professional career ladder, it is something that I can never take for granted. Working with him has indeed been a blessing.
“He is a thoroughbred professional who believes that as a lawyer, you have to put everything into your practice. Except it is patently obvious that there exists no way to tackle a brief, my principal will not abandon any brief that comes his way. You cannot be under his tutelage and not up your game, bearing in mind his style of advocacy.
“However, the most important thing I believe that I gained working with him is the way and manner he was able to instil in me that you -can do- it spirit. I started working directly under him very early as a young attorney.
“Even though I knew I was quite empty during those periods, nevertheless, when challenges came, my principal would not hesitate to send you out to face those challenges even though he could have elected to handle such by himself or send a more capable hand. Through this, I gained a lot of courage and confidence at the Bar.”