This is a tribute that I never imagine that I would write even in 30 years from now, but it just came untimely, suddenly and too soon. My heart is very heavy and I am truly lost in thought about how to approach the writing and presentation of this unripe tribute, but it is a must write one for me if I must honour the memory of Mr. Soji Opabunmi, my very first Senior in Ibadan Bar.
God has His preditermined plans for all mortals ( be it humans, animals, birds, fishes , plants and indeed all things that Allah (SWT) has created. Nothing, and I emphasise absolutely nothing, can happen or refuse or fail and or neglected to happen except as predetermined and ordained by the will of Allah. The lame excuse of it happened by accident or design or by errors of omission or commission is an heresy.for the unbelievers.
When Allah says “Be, and it shall be” whether positively or negatively or even neutrally.
My path crossed with that of Mr. Soji Opabunmi (hereinafter called SOJ) when I joined the prestigious and renowned firm of Solicitors, Dele Akinmusuti & Co., in Ibadan in March 1995. After the law firm of S.P
A. Ajibade & Co, Dele Akinmusuti & Co. was the next record law firm of Solicitors in Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria.
I had searched unsuccessfully for law firm placements in almost all the major and modern law firms in Lagos . It was during those searches for greener pastures for that I luckily ran into Alhaji Ahmed Raji( now a reputable Senior Advocate of Nigeria) in January of 1995 at Kusamotu, Olojo & Shinkafi at the 9th floor of Unity House, and he indeed tried to get me engaged in Aluko & Oyebode (through Mr. Babatunde Fagbohunlu (also now a SAN) and many other law firms including Ofili & Ajumogobia .
All the efforts did not yield positive result because none of them was ordained for me by Allah.
In actual fact, Mrs. Rita Ajumogobia (nee Ofili) now an embattled Judge of the Federal High Court offered me employment in Ofili & Ajumogobia but I never resumed there since I didn’t accept the employment.
A relation of mine from Idi-Aro had in January 1995 told me that his friend who is a legal practitioner asked him to bring me to him so that he can introduce me to his boss for employment as his replacement/ successor because he would soon leave the law firm by the end of January 1995. He told me that his friend’s name is Soji, but he didn’t tell me the name of the law firm, but just said that the “samba” (chambers) is on Ring Road. I dismissed his recommendation with a wave of hands as my eyes were set targeted on top notch firm in Lagos.
When I came for a week break from my ardent employment pursuit in Lagos, I went to see Mr. Femi Fapohunda who is our family friend at the United Bank for Africa, Amunigun, Ibadan just to get some pocket money from him ahead of my return to Lagos the following week. Mr. Fapohunda was then the Branch Manager of the the Bank. After spending over 2 hours with him , I asked him to let me take my leave to enable him concentrate on his job, but he would have none of such. Later, he saw me off to where I will get Danfo bus from Amunigun to Idi-Arere. It was while we were waiting for the Danfo bus at the bus stop that he asked for the law firm where I was working after the National Service. I told him that I am still searching for job in Lagos as I didn’t like the Ibadan legal practice. Mr. Fapohunda will have none of that and therefore took me back to the Banking Hall where he called on phone his bosom friend, Mr. Dele Akinmusuti and literally ordered him to employ me immediately.
Please pardon my boring digression and seemingly off the track from SOJ’s tribute that I set about to write. If I don’t lay this foundation and background facts very well for you, as my readers you will not appreciate intensely the robust relationships between my humble self, SOJ , the Akinmusutis and all other alumni of Dele Akinmusuti & Co., both in Ibadan and Lagos offices.
The fellow Alumni of Dele Akinmusuti & Co. including but not limited to Alhaji Lam Pedro, now a SAN, Keji Saliu (of blessed memory), Adesina Ogunlana Esq.(Squib), Folarin Olanitori and Kola Lekan-Ojo. It was such a cultic like relationship.
My digression will also enable you to understand that Allah’s predetermined plans before we came into this sinful world which Yoruba called – Ayanmo or Kadara( borrowed from Arabic language).
When I was asked to resume work by Mr. Dele Akinmusuti without any interview but after I was asked to write a formal application, I was introduced to all the members of Staff including those of other sister companies owned (Citee Oil and Gas Limited, Shepherd Investment Limited and Superkleen Limited ) all owned by Mr. Akinmusuti and his amiable wife, Mrs. Sola Akinmusuti . I was handed over to a tall and lanky man who was impeccably dressed by the name Soji Opabunmi Esq. He was a very formal person and he appeared on that day and all other days thereafter as being too formal for liking. He has different colours of Bic Biros for various uses . You can find any colour of Bic biros with him, but certainly not a blue biro. He doesn’t and never use a blue biro at all, and if you gave him one or he inadvertently chose one, he will drop it immediately without using it at all. He was addicted to a Black colour Bic biro as if there was a covenant between him and black biro.
His handwriting are very bold, neat, legible and clear. SOJ was a very methodical and a very organised person as well as an excellent record keeper.
Whenever, he was sent on any official assignment, he will retire all the funds released to him to the last kobo.
At any rate, nobody will pass through Dele Akinmusuti & Co without being organised, thorough and methodical because our Principal is a very finicky person. His law office management is second to none as the law firm operates as a top notch corporate entity.
SOJ was on his way out of the law firm when I joined , indeed he was only assisting the firm pending the time another lawyer would be employed. He was relieved when I came because he had been told that until his successor is engaged , he would be operating his new office from the firm.
Sequentially, he took me through all the rules and regulations of the firms which included but not limited to punctuality, corporate dressing except on Saturdays, accountability, probity, camaraderie among all staff including the secretarial staff, readiness to travel to all over the South-West states of Nigeria to perfect legal documentations for various banks who are clients of the firm and ability to work with little or no supervision at all . He admonished me to abide strictly by all the rules and regulations without exception.
SOJ later gave me hand-over notes of all the files and jobs he was entrusted with before I joined the firm. His notes were very detailed, expressive and copious as it contained not only the background facts of every brief or job, their status as at that time but also report on all outstanding matters on every item. I found the note very useful and a veritable launchpad for me to hit the ground running.
It was the in the second week of my resumption at work that I later got to know it was the same SOJ that my kinsman had earlier wanted to take me to for employment that I came to really meet at the law firm and also that Dele Akinmusuti & Co which my relation had offered to take me to through SOJ that I later returned to after my earlier rejection of same just because I never the plans of God for me. I bless God always for the grace and opportunity that He gave me to work at Dele Akinmusuti & Co. and also for all the people that Allah made our paths to cross. SOJ was a prominent figure of those great and fantastic persons because we still have excellent and very robust relationship till date.
Few months after my resumption date on the first Monday of April, 1995, SOJ got married to his pretty , lovely and delectable soulmate, Sister Remi and all of us at the firm were all there to celebrate and rejoice with the new couple.
Lest I forget, SOJ had not fully embraced Jesus Christ when I was introduced to him in April 1995 and thereafter in accordance with the bar tradition, he took me to various bar joints , religiously, to have dinner after the close of work at 6pm everyday working day and also to enjoy criminally cold beer. His favourite beer then was “lanko” which is small stout while my choice was then a Gulder brand. I lived on SOJ every evening until a day in the mid May when as usual he came to the firm and after the close of work , he said ” OJ , please be going to your house immediately. What he said did not make any meaning to me until when I asked him where we shall be heading to that day to have our usual dinner and savour our respective cold beers. He held my hand and gently said , OJ, no more beer henceforth. I inquired if he was sick or had any serious ailment. He responded to my question which response hit me like a thunderbolt that, ” OJ, I have met Jesus Christ and I am now a Born again and a new creature. He quoted some bible verses , something like- old things have have passed away and all things have become anew etc.
I was so very furious that I did not know when I asked him that- What has Jesus Christ got to do with doing away with beer drinking? All my appeals to him not to halt our our evening enjoyments fell on his deaf ears. I hastily concluded that his very young marriage at that time and his wife must have been responsible for that or that may be his marriage had eaten deep into his income that he wanted me as parasite off his back. I thought to myself, why is this fellow drunkard of mine now using Jesus as an excuse?
He stuck to his vow not to drink alcohol any longer while I also decided to keep him at arm’s length. After all, the faithful and the sinner cannot co-exist.
SOJ would have none of my acts of avoiding him as he kept coming to preach to me and giving me numerous Christian tracts but he was not successful in “winning my soul” for his new friend, Jesus Christ and he didn’t succeed till he breathed his last. On my own volition, I also gave up drinking alcohol several years after, but based on medical advice.
SOJ’s newly adopted Christian life created a gulf in our relationship but we still related as brothers and fellow alumni of Dele Akinmusuti & Co till his transition some days ago.
It was through him that I know Sisters Funmi Adesigbin and Peju Kolawole because they are very trusted friends and confidants of SOJ. Later SOJ and Boye Sobanjo became siamese twins and I do not know till date any other male friend of SOJ apart from Oga Boye.
It therefore did not come to me as a surprise at all when Mr. Sobanjo called me on phone about 4 weeks ago that SOJ was critically ill. We strategised on how to be actively involved in getting him the best medical care, and we had plans to inform Mr. Akinmusuti but all our efforts were frustrated by members of his extended family who did everything to frustrate our plans to have any access to him or see him. Same way they also prevented and denied his wife, Sister Remi too any form of access to him. Mrs. Peju Kolawole and Boye Sobanjo were there for SOJ in his very hard-fought battle to escape death and continue to live, but the stance of members his extended family was not helpful at all.
SOJ was dove-like personality, a great man of peace , a quintessential personality and humility personified . He was so meek and gentle that he could not hurt a fly. That was why I am pained , heartbroken and sad that that those family members just allowed SOJ to die in that manner. To me, his death was an avoidable one if only we were allowed and granted access to him and had allowed him to have the best of medical treatment. His ailment for which they resorted to spiritual treatment for was not a spiritual one but just and pure medical disease which is very treatable and curable.
In saner climes, appropriate legal actions would have been initiated against those family members by now to be brought to justice.
SOJ was always at peace with his Creator and his best heavenly friend, Jesus Christ. He was very pious, religious, ascetic and godly that I later nicknamed him, “My Pastor” and he will always responded to that taunt by saying, ” OJ, please give your life to Jesus Christ as tomorrow might be too late for you because Jesus Christ will soon come again” .
Honestly, I never knew that Jesus was really going to come for SOJ last week and recalled his anointed friend home, even sooner than expected.
However, I take solace in the fact that SOJ really knew God and truly served God. To him every other thing in life was secondary to his devotion and addiction to the service and worship of His God which was very primary and of paramount importance to him.
A dove-like person, indeed he was a dove who came in form of human. My prayer is that the good Lord should accept SOJ’s homecoming, to forgive his shortcomings, to grant him eternal rest and uphold his soulmate and heartthrob, Sister Remi and grant her the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.
The host of heavens has truly recalled this dove home.
Adieu my Senior, my brother, my Senior friend, my Pastor and a fellow alumnus of Dele Akinmusuti &Co.
SOJ, have the deserved rest in peace till we part no more.
Dated this 10th October, 2022
Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo Esq.,
Asiwaju of Ita-Ege & Idi-Aro,
Ward 5,
Ibadan South-East Local Government Area of Oyo State
