It was a galaxy of some of Nigeria’s most accomplished personalities that gathered at the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday, October 17, 2025 for the 55th Anniversary Awards and Recognition Dinner of the University of Lagos Alumni Association. Foremost litigation lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, SAN, was among those who bagged the most prestigious awards of the evening, in recognition of his towering achievements in legal, educational and philanthropic spheres.
NEWSWIRE Law Events Magazine’s correspondent reports that the event, held under the Chairmanship of the Chief Medical Officer of Eko Hospital, Ikeja, The Olorogun Dr. Sonny Kuku, OFR; was graced by dignitaries from government, business, academia and the professions, among them Dr. Olatunji Alausa (who represented the Special Guest of Honour at the occasion, HE Sen. Kashim Shettima, GCON, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria); Mrs. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, the Secretary to the Government of Lagos State, who represented the host Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Head of the Federal Civil Service, Mrs. Didi Esther Watson-Jack; the Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, OON; and Chief Rasak Okoya, Chairman of Eleganza Group, to name but a few.
It was a night to reward excellence and commitment, to look back at the proud trajectory of the UNILAG Alumni Association in its over half-century of existence, and to lay the groundwork for an even more impactful future. This much was the thrust of the opening address by the Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Kuku, and the address of welcome by the President (Worldwide) of the Alumni Association, Engr. Ifeoluwa Oyedele. The Worldwide President began by tracing the evolution of the Association and recounting its highlights over the years – beginning from its inception in 1969, four years after UNILAG graduated its first 41 students. The creation of the Association, he said, was borne out of the need to embrace the various generations of the University, and to proffer ideas as well as embark on actions capable of impacting positively on the affairs of their alma mater.
Since then, he added, the Association has come under the leadership of 15 Presidents, during whose respective tenures it has launched a number of infrastructural projects, among them the following:
– The three-storey Erastus Akingbola postgraduate hall;
– The ultramodern Research Laboratory donated by Dr. DK Olukoya of the Mountain Of Fire And Miracles (MFM) Church;
– The Alumni Shopping Complex;
– the Alumni Garden;
– the Alumni Jubilee House; and
– A Book-Eye 5V2 industrial scanner (donated by Engr. Oyedele himself).
The Association, Oyedele asserted, has also sponsored indigent students; instituted prizes for the institution’s best graduating students; created branches across Nigeria and the diaspora; and offered financial support for the institution whenever needed.
Turning his attention to the reason for the Awards and Recognition Dinner, Engr. Oyedele said it was an occasion to show appreciation to those whose investment in human development over the years had been nothing short of immense. He singled out the venerable pair of Chief Kessington Adebukola Adebutu, CON, the Odole of the Source, and Chief Tunde Fanimokun. Both men, he said, had done much to boost the school’s endowment fund, in addition to donating monumental structures to the school.
Speaking of the Association’s future projections, Engr. Oyedele disclosed that its goal was to position itself at such a vantage point that in the event that the FG decides to someday grant full autonomy to FG-owned institutions like Unilag and divest its interest from them, the Alumni Association would have the financial capacity to take over the running of the school. In the immediate term, however, he also disclosed that the Association had secured a piece of land from the University to erect an 1800-bed student hostel within the school campus, to commence before the end of 2025.
One of the main highlights of the evening, according to NEWSWIRE’s correspondent, was the conferment of three categories of awards (namely the Alumni Lifetime Achievement Awards (in the public and private sectors, respectively); the Alumni Lifetime Platinum Awards, and the Distinguished Alumni Awards) on 14 outstanding individuals.
Chief Olanipekun was honoured with the Alumni Lifetime Award in the Private Sector, as his citation highlighted a life dedicated to the highest standards of excellence based on intellectual rigour, physical discipline and moral probity. A respected elder statesman, consummate intellectual, renowned national interventionist, advocate extraordinaire, quintessential wordsmith, prolific writer, and seasoned orator, the foray of Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, SAN, LL.D, D.LITT, FIMC, FCIArb., FNIALS, into the world of legal practice has berthed his top-tier law firm, Wole Olanipekun & Co., which today stands as a legal hub of no mean intellectual intellectual stature.
Chief Olanipekun’s legal practice cuts across diverse areas of law, including but not limited to, Land Law, Chieftaincy, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Labour Law, Maritime, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, Admiralty, Banking, Insurance, Election Matters, Aviation, Telecommunications, Oil & Gas, Taxation and Intellectual Property etc.
A 1975 graduate of the University of Lagos and the Nigerian Law School (Lagos Campus, from which he graduated and was subsequently called to the Bar in 1976), Chief Olanipekun is also a proud alumnus of Ilesa Grammar School, and
Amoye Grammar School, Ikere, Ekiti State. The luminary, whose odyssey in the realm of the law was inspired by the examples of legendary Senior Advocates such as Chief Rotimi Williams, Kehinde Sofola, Afe Babalola, and Richard Akinjide, amongst others, was himself conferred with the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1991 (making him the youngest advocate to receive the Silk up to that time). Highly regarded across and beyond the shores of Nigeria for his legal forensic prowess, Chief Olanipekun, who served as the Attorney General of the Old Ondo State for two years, is the patron of several law faculties and colleges of law in the country, including University of Lagos (his alma mater), the University of Ibadan, the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), the Lagos State University (LASU), the University of Ilorin, the University of Abuja, the Ambrose Alli University (formerly Edo State University, Ekpoma), the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, and Caleb University, among others.
Over the years, Chief Olanipekun, has held steadfastly to the creed that “a lawyer must be painstaking, God-fearing, sure-footed, steadfast, hardworking, honest, persevering and creative. He must be a doctor and a psychologist; and indeed the melting pot of all professions. Above all, he must be close to God and always ask for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.” This is the creed that has not only guided his legal practice, work culture and business model, it also defined his highly-impactful tenure as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) from 2002 to 2004.
He is a distinguished Fellow of the following professional bodies: the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb.); the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (FICMC); the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (FNIALS); and the College of Education, Ikere (FCEI), among others.
In 2014, he was conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa (LL.D), by the University of Ibadan, as well as the Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.), by the Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, in 2021. Not to be left out, the Federal University Oye, Ekiti State awarded him with Doctor of Constitutional Law (Honoris Causa) degree in 2023.
Among his other honours from the ivory tower include the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.
In 1999; the Merit Alumnus Award, respectively, of Amoye Grammar School, Ikere, and Ilesa Grammar School, Ilesa. Hisn ame features prominently on the Honours List of the Most Outstanding Alumni of Ilesa Grammar School, among other great and eminent Nigerians who have passed through the portals of the Institution. In 2008, this legal titan was yet again honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Lagos. In 2024, he was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame of Amoye Grammar School Old Students’ Association, and only recently, Immanuel College Academy of Theology and Christian Education honoured him as a Distinguished Fellow of the highly venerated episcopal Institution in June, 2024.
Beyond the Ivory tower, Chief Olanipekun was honoured alongside six other icons by the Government of Ondo State as a Leader in Achievement. His home state, Ekiti, also honoured him with its distinguished ANCOPPS Medallion Award.
On September 17, 2012, then-President Goodluck Jonathan conferred the legal icon with the national honour of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in recognition of his vast contributions to national development. Five years later, October 11, 2022 to be precise, then-President Muhammadu Buhari, bestowed the learned silk with yet another national honour – this time that of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). On July 19, 2024, he was honoured by the Nigeria Global List in London, the United Kingdom, as one of the ’50 Most Influential Nigerians’ globally, on account of the substantial contributions he has made to Nigeria’s development and influence on the international stage.
On June 15, 2024, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, announced the appointment of Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Lagos. His subsequent inauguration has been applauded across the length and breadth of the country, considering his exemplary leadership traits, as well as his selfless contributions to other Universities where he had served, or is still serving in similar or other capacities. He has since assumed office as the Pro-Chancellor of the most cosmopolitan University in Nigeria – his alma mater, Unilag.
Other titans who were honoured on the Anniversary Night along with the former NBA helmsman included the following:
– Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, GCON, Chief Justice of Nigeria (Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award in the Public Sector);
– The Olorogun Dr. Sonny Folorunsho Kuku, OFR ( Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award in the Private Sector); and
– Dr. John Momoh, Chairman, Channels Media Group (Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award in the Private Sector).
Others, who received the Alumni Lifetime Platinum Awards, were:
– Chief Kessington Adebukola Adebutu, CFR;
– Chief Tunde Fanimokun, Life Director at the Folawiyo Group; and
– Sen. (Dr.) Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, CON
Seven distinguished personalities were presented with the Distinguished Alumni Awards, namely:
– Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, OON, mni Head of the Civil Service of the Federation
– Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, Ph.D, Inspector-General of Police, Nigeria Police Force;
– HE, Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, PhD, OON, former Governor of Gombe State;
– Chief Bayo Ojo, CON, SAN, former Attorney-General of the Federation;
– Mr. Kola Adesina, MFR, GMD, Sahara Power Group;
– HRM (Prof.) Epiphany Azinge, OON, SAN, the Asagba of Asaba; and
– Chief (Mrs.) Folashade Okoya, MON, MD, Eleganza Fashion Products Ltd.
Other highlights of the occasion included the official launch of the Unilag Alumni Association app, a brief Address by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, a vote of thanks on behalf of the awardees by Chief Olanipekun, SAN, and the cutting of the 55th Anniversary cake, as a memorable evening drew to a close.
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