On Saturday, March 1, 2025, it was the turn of Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, SAN, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take his place among the pantheon of distinguished Guest Speakers that have graced the Annual Public Lecture commemorating the birthday of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, who turned 83 on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Olanipekun joined 11 previous speakers who have taken to that exalted podium to share their wealth of knowledge, wisdom and insights – dating from 2015, when Nigeria’s former Vice-President, Prof. (Pastor) Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, SAN, delivered the inaugural edition. Distinguished speakers who have followed him since then include Prof. (Pastor) Oyewale Tomori (2016); Pastor Femi Atoyebi (2017); Prof. (Pastor) Akinjide Osuntokun (2018); Prof. (Pastor) Michael Omolewa (2019) and Dr. Christopher Kolade (2020). Others are Pastor Agu Irukwu (2021); Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah & Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina (2022); Prof. Kayode Adebowale (2023) and Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili (2024).
Mrs. V. ABOSEDE Wickliffe,Registrar, UNILAG; Chief Wole Olanipekun, CFR, SAN; Pst. (Mrs) Foluke Adeboye; Bode Olanipekun, SAN and Prof.Folasade T. Ogunsola, OON, FAS (Vice- Chancellor, UNILAG)
NEWSWIRE Law Events magazine correspondent at the Youth Centre in Redemption City, Ogun State, where the Annual Lecture took place, reports that the event was graced by the wife of the celebrant, Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye – fondly referred to as Mummy G.O, who represented the celebrant, Daddy G. O. at the occasion. Also at the event was a high-powered delegation from the University of Lagos, led by its Vice-Chancellor and other senior officials. Leaders of the Redeemed Christian Church of God also made their present felt.
The 11th Annual Lecture, which was put together by a group known as The Triumphant Elders Consultative Forum, began on a sombre note, as the assembled guests rose to observe a minute’s silence in memory of the Convener of the gathering, Elder Tunji Onileaja, who passed away a few days ago. Elder Onileaja was to have delivered the Welcome Address at this event. With his demise, that task (as well as the delivery of the Opening Remarks) fell to the Chairman of the occasion, and National Overseer of the RCCG (Nigeria), Pastor Sunday Edward Akande.
Mr. Bello Ali Kumo, Council Member, UNILAG;
Prof. Olusegun Mark Obafemi Idowu, Council Member, UNILAG; Mr. Isaac O. Folorunsho, Council Member, UNILAG; Prof. Adewale A. Oke, Provost, College of Medicine, CMUL; Prof. Bolanle Oboh, DVC Academics & Research; Chief Wole Olanipekun, ℂℝ, SAN, Pro-Chancellor & Chairman Governing Council, UNILAG; Pastor (Mrs) Foluke Adeboye; Prof. Folasade T. Ogunsola, OON, FAS, Vice-Chancellor, UNILAG; Mrs. V. Abosede Wickliffe, University Registrar, UNILAG; Prof. Yetunde A. Zaid, University Librarian; Professor Mathew Ilori (Director, Academic Planning and Senate Representative in Council).
The respective profiles of the celebrant, Pst. Adeboye and the Guest Lecturer, Chief Olanipekun, SAN were read by Pastors Akindele and Olaitan, respectively.
The theme of this year’s Annual Lecture was ‘JUSTICE & EQUITY: SOLUTION TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN NIGERIA’. In his opening salvo, Chief Olanipekun recalled his first series of encounters with Daddy G. O. – when he (the learned silk) was the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the old Ondo State, and again as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Board of the University of Ibadan, and how he had been captivated by both Daddy G.O.’s erudition as he expounded on Biblical teaching, his simplicity of carriage and rhetorical ability, as well as his love for nature and wildlife (even to the point of coming to the University’s aid when the UI zoo got flooded), among other memorable encounters.
The importance of justice and equity, the former NBA president said, is corroborated by two lines in the second stanza of the Nigerian national anthem, and four lines of the third stanza, thus:
‘Our flag shall be a symbol / That truth and justice reign …’
and,
O God of all creation / Grant this our one request
Help us to build a nation / Where no man is oppressed …’ Describing truth and justice as the two fundamental concepts around which any society revolves, Chief Olanipekun cited time-honoured documents such as the Constitution of the United States of America and the Declaration of Independence. He, however, averred that, like the proverbial elephant that was explored by the six blind men of Hindustan, justice and equity mean different things to different people. In fact, he added, one’s man’s justice might be seen by another as a monumental injustice. As an example, he said, the laws enacted by Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and targeted at the Jewish population were made in the name of justice for the German people. But, from the perspective of the Jewish population, they were grossly unjust – because they led, in time, to the gruesome horrors of the Holocaust and World War 2. Also citing the Old Testament provision of ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,’ (which he described as *’retributive justice* ‘), the learned silk identified two other kinds of justice as including ‘restorative justice’* and *’utilitarian justice’.
True justice, he said, is done when it is seen (especially by a neutral party) to have been done – and it must be seen to have been done not just to the appellant (in a case of murder, for instance); justice to the murdered victim; and justice to the society in general, whose social norms and values have been desecrated in the commission of said crime.
Unfortunately, the learned silk lamented, society is littered with examples of laws being observed in the breach in the Nigerian context, with a negative impact on the quest for justice and equity in our society, and a diminution of their roles as the cornerstones and ultimate safeguards of human rights, dignity and moral order. Citing numerous cases, Chief Olanipekun agreed with the sentiment expressed by the Enlightenment philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes, namely, that “Man was born free, but everywhere he is in chains.’
The institution of justice, although primarily concerned with humans, the guest lecturer said, is inextricably linked with the Divine – whom the Scriptures call ‘The Judge of All’, and whose justice the Bible says, is ‘ like a mountain high soaring above…’
The universal desirability of justice, he noted, can be seen in the titles of those whose mandate is to dispense it, e.g. Honorable Justices who preside over Courts of Justice. It is also seen in the names of a number of political parties and popular movements around the world, from Argentina to Azerbaijan, from Myanmar to Denmark, from Egypt to Ghana to India. He went on to cite landmark cases within Nigeria, historic events around the world, and the timeless insights of various philosophers and thinkers across the ages to paint a wholistic picture of what justice and equity truly mean.
Chief Olanipekun took pains to distinguish between equity and equality – as these two terms are often, and erroneously, used interchangeably.
Turning to Nigeria’s problems, the learned Chief lamented that over the years, successive governments have treated these problems – which range from poverty to currency instability, to institutional corruption, to insecurity, to insurgency, to infrastructural decay, to moral decadence, to ethno-religious bigotry, among others – with kid gloves. In spite of Nigeria’s abundant natural and human endowments, the lack of social justice has marred her progress, leading to conflicts due to the intense competition for dwindling national resources. To resolve the country’s multiplicity of challenges, Chief Olanipekun called for an independent judiciary, staffed with Judges who are competent, learned and of high integrity. He quoted the Hon. Justice Samson Uwaifo as saying that *’A corrupt Judge is more harmful to society than a man who runs amok with a dagger in a crowded street. ‘ Four things, he added, quoting Socrates, belong to a Judge: ‘ to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly, and to decide impartially.’* Chief Olanipekun also called for the provision of adequate facilities and personnel for the judiciary, as well as the prompt disposal of cases, and a rejig of the Nigerian Constitution to reflect contemporary realities and current needs of the people.
Dwelling at length on the last requirement for a functional society i.e. a federal, people-oriented Constitution, the former NBA helmsman frowned at the designation of the current extant document as ‘ federal ‘ and the sentiment expressed in its preamble: ‘We, the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria …’ He cited examples of the respective Constitutions of a number of other nations across the globe to make the point that the Nigerian Constitution is in need of a fundamental overhaul – both in its spirit and its intent.
Chief Olanipekun noted a number of instances where the Constitution has been used in the past to subvert – rather than advance – the cause of justice. In particular, the learned silk highlighted the actions of the regimes of the retired military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (some of them contained in his recently-launched autobiography, ‘Journey Into Service’), as well as the excesses of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, as examples of such subversions.
In the final analysis, the Senior Advocate said, the most urgent imperative – if Nigeria is to attain her full potential in terms of stability and prosperity – is the restructuring of the polity and its institutions. Among the numerous Nigerians who have made this call, Chief Olanipekun noted, is no less than the celebrant on this occasion, Pastor E. A. Adeboye, whom he quoted as saying: ‘Restructuring must be done as soon as possible … Now, we don’t want to break up. God forbid … Why don’t we have a Nigerian type of democracy (with) … a President and a Prime Minister?’ He also quoted the venerable clergyman as calling for a ‘United States of Nigeria’ – namely, a loose confederation of states patterned after the USA. This rearrangement and realignment, he maintained, would ensure the sanctity of the ballot box and other beneficial features of a free, functional and dynamic democracy.
NEWSWIRE magazine’s correspondent reports that Chief Wole Olanipekun’s illuminating discourse was followed by two reviews of his lecture and the topic in question – by the pair of Hon. Justice Eni Esan (Retired), and Pastor Leye Oyemade, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police.
A question-and-answer session followed thereafter, in which three members of the audience expressed concern on issues such as the perceived lack of political will on the part of institutions and leaders to do the difficult but necessary task of sanctioning wrongs and incentivizing merit in the quest for justice and equity; and the need for reparations (in the wake of Babangida’s confessions about the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. For example, they said, there has been no talk of reparations for those – including Chief Moshood Abiola, the winner of that election, his wife, Kudirat, as well as other pro-democracy activists – who died or were injured, or jailed, or otherwise suffered, in its aftermath).
Our correspondent also reports that the event featured an insightful benediction by Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye, wife of the celebrant, in which she enjoined the assembled guests to internalize the pursuit of justice and equity in their lives as individuals, families, workplaces and communities, and to invoke Solomonic wisdom upon leaders in all spheres of life.
The event came to a close with closing remarks by Pastor S. E. Akande, and a closing prayer led by Pastor J. O. Olayemi.
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