Aare Afe Babalola
INTRODUCTION
It gives me great pleasure to be in this Victoria Parks & Gardens in Igbajo, Osun State today to double as the Keynote Speaker and Special Guest of Honour at this momentous occasion of celebration of excellence and rare attainment by one of the shinning stars of Igbajo, Prof. Damilola Sunday Olawuyi, SAN, our Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, ARISP, who joined the Elite Club of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), on Monday, December 14, 2020. Before going into my presentation, I especially congratulate the Owa of Igbajoland, Oba Olufemi Adeniyi Fashade, Akeran IV, and all the eminent sons and daughters of Igbajoland for this attainment by our son, Prof. Damilola Sunday, Olawuyi, SAN. I am proud of you all. Special mention must be made of my childhood friend, Chief Olajide Oyewole, a respected member of the Nigerian Bar, a loving, generous, kind person and lover of quality education who I have known for over 60 years now. Chief Oyewole’s brilliance as a Solicitor has never been in doubt. It was therefore not a surprise that the Nigerian Law School recognized his brilliance in Solicitorship and as far back as the 1960’s he was invited by the Nigerian Law School to teach that aspect of Law that relates to Solicitor’s work. My friend, I salute you. Of course, I cannot forget the Asiwaju of Igbajo, our own Chief Solomon Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN and his amiable wife, Chief (Mrs.) Funmilayo Awomolo, SAN, great Alumni of our Chambers, Emmanuel Chambers. I am always thrilled about this family. Thrilled because Mrs. Awomolo’s First Degree was in Chemistry, but I encouraged her to veer into Law. I am happy she listened to me. Today, she is a proud member of the Nigerian Inner Bar as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. I stand to be corrected, I am not aware of any other family in Nigeria today where both husband and wife are Senior Advocates of Nigeria. I congratulate and celebrate the Awomolos.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jsdlp.v11i2.8
Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, the Founder and Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti.