Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, are among dignitaries scheduled to converge on Ado-Ekiti next Monday to celebrate the 60th Call to Bar anniversary of a legal luminary, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.
Other dignitaries billed to attend the event, include the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto State, Bishop Matthew Kukah, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, among others.
Afe Babalola, who is the founder of the Afe Babalola University and Vanguard Columnist, was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales on July 9, 1963.
The event, which will feature a public lecture and book launch, is to celebrate his 60 years as a lawyer.
A statement by the Chairman, Organizing Committee, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, disclosed thar the ceremony being put together by Aare Babalola’s mentees, admirers and beneficiaries, will hold at the Alfa Belgore Hall, Afe Babalola University, ABUAD, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
Ogunwumiju, SAN, stated that Bishop Kukah will deliver the anniversary lecture, titled “The future of constitutional democracy in Nigeria: Imperative of a new constitutional order,” with ex-President Obasanjo acting as the Chairman of the occasion.
He said the event will equally feature testimonials and goodwill messages from friends, admirers and associates of Aare Afe Babalola, as well as a book launch.
The organisers further revealed that money realized from the book launch would be channeled towards the construction of the ABUAD museum, “while the day’s activities will be rounded off with a celebration dinner with King Sunny Ade on the band stand by 7.00 p.m. at the same venue.”
The statement, read in part: “The upbeat event will be witnessed by the crème-de-la-crème of the society, made up of members of the Bar and the Bench, legal academics, the royalty, the clergy, delegates from the University of London, delegates from King’s College London, and captains of industries as well as members of the diplomatic community.
“An advocate par excellence, Aare Afe Babalola has made outstanding contributions to Nigerian law and J
Jurisprudence, through his excellent advocacy in court and by authoring several law books.
“He was, at some point the President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of Nigeria. He has been invited by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on several occasions as amicus curiae.
“He has also trained over 1,000 lawyers, produced 25 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (the largest by any law firm in the country), including several Attorneys-General at the Federal and State Levels as well as judges up to the appellate courts.
“Aare Afe Babalola is a committed educationist and a two-term Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council of the University of Lagos, UNILAG where he won the Best Pro-Chancellor Award twice, one-time Chairman of the Committee of Pro Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Aare Afe Babalola founded Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State (ABUAD), recently ranked by the highly respected Times Higher Education Impact Rankings as the Number 1 University out of the 221 universities in Nigeria and Number 321 globally.
“In recognition of Aare Afe Babalola’s immense contributions to making the world a better place, he has been conferred with over 50 titles and Awards across the globe, including Honourary Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Letters from 10 universities, including the University of London, University of Lagos, University of Ibadan and the elite Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, the Zik Prize in Leadership, Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Award, the AU-ECOSOCC Leadership Award, as well as many traditional titles, humanity has unequivocally and loudly demonstrated that Aare Afe Babalola is a rare gem with all-time and all-round relevance to the world around him.
“The legend also holds the prestigious National Honours as the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) and Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).”