'Ojo(ro)ism' By Adesina Ogunlana

Vol 7 No 15 29th January 2007

THE LEARNED SQUIB


Taslim Olawale Elias, Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams, Chukwudifu Oputa, Bola Ajibola, Ademola Adetokunbo, Richard Akinjide, Adebayo Ojo.

Take a look again at all the afore-mentioned names and now answer this simple question; who of them is the greatest jurist and jurisprude? The question is so amazingly elementary that it is no wonder that none of you got it.

Let’s cut short the agony. The greatest of them all is the incumbent Atannije-General of the Federation, Chief Adebayo Ojo (Akala is not part of his name) a senior advocate of Nigeria per-excellence. Frankly Chief Bayo Ojo is miles ahead of all these other people and indeed his achievements dwarf theirs to the proportion of the sun to a candle flame.

I mean all what I have just said. Every word of it. Chief Bayo Ojo is the greatest, not only of the people I listed with him but all of Nigerian lawyers and arguably in the world. While it is true that the Eliases, Oputas, Adetokunbo Ademolas in their time were great on the bench and the Rotimi Williamses and Richard Akinjides were simply awesome in the bar, they only showed brilliance along beaten paths. But Chief Bayo Ojo is a path finder and pace setter. He has expanded the frontiers of jurisprudence and can only be dwarfed by Montesque of the Separation of Power fame.

Before the abracadabraisation of Chief Bayo Ojo from the chiefdom of the NBA presidency to the princedom of the Attanije-general’s office, what every lawyer, political scientist, sociologist, social crusader, indeed everybody knew was that there were only three superior courts of record in Nigeria.

These in order of hierarchical ascension are High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Thus when a party lost out at the High Court, he went on appeal (if he so desired) to the court of appeal. From there he went on to the Supreme Court. And that (Supreme Court) was, in the pre-Chief Bayo Ojo era, the last bus stop.

But Chief Bayo Ojo who I have now promoted from the post of Atannije-general to that of Attanigenius-general has shown plainly the hierarchy of Nigerian courts does not end at the Supreme Court but in the office of the nation’s Attorney-General and in effect the presidency and that the same office can hear appeals from any of the three superior courts of record.

That is why I am greatly saddened when some otherwise learned fellows refer to Chief Bayo Ojo as the nation’s new Court of Appeal or even in a more ludicrous manner talk of a certain “Court of Appeal, Bayo Ojo DIVISION.” What a diminution of the true worth and greatness of nigeria’s one and only whiz-jurist. Of course Chief Bayo Ojo whom we have correctly identified as greater than the Supreme Court must necessarily be greater than the Court of Appeal, so why should anyone classify him as a mere Court of Appeal Division.

It was Montesque who laid down the political principle of separation of powers of government splitting government powers of legislation, execution and adjudication otherwise fused in monarchies and tyrannies, into three equal, separate and distinct parts.

Under this principle, the executive is not the legislator or the adjudicator. The adjudicator either is not in the business of legislating or executing policies but its decision must be obeyed by all. Before the arrival of the Attanigenius-general, all over the world, political actors have only two options: obey or disobey. The most you could accuse spurners of court orders then was “executive recklessness” or contempt of court.

But the advent of Chief Bayo Ojo saw a truly sobering and insightful improvement, readjustment or beautiful expansion of the principle of separation of power. The Chief Bayo Ojo restatement of Montesque goes thus:

“For the achievement of peace and the effective dousing of tension in overheated polities, the Executive arm of government via the office of her Attorney-General shall have the powers and authority to VET, ASSESS, INTERPRETE AND DICTATE WHEN, HOW AND WHERE THE JUDGEMENT OF COURTS no matter how superior can be executed. This interpretation and dictation remains binding, on all persons and authorities in the polity notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law or even the constitution.
This court is a special one to be known as the STABILITY COURT and its jurisdiction can only be self invoked and the court shall be known as EXCO-JUDICIAL ARM which is the fourth arm of government.”

I know that a genius is hardly recognized in his life-time. Chief Bayo Ojo is one such genius. HIS restatement of Montesque and firm application of the stability theory contributed immensely to the peace in Nigeria today, especially in Anambra, Oyo, Ekiti and Plateau States.

To immortalize this great jurist and political genius of our time I advise the Ilorin Branch (Chief Bayo Ojo’s local branch) of the NBA to borrow a leaf from the Tiger branch which honours the legendary Gani Fawehinmi with the annual FAWEHINMIISM lectures, a recognition and perpetuation of the values and principles of Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

The Ilorin branch can dub Chief Bayo Ojo’s atannigenius-general political thoughts and contribution OJO(RO)ISM and it will be so apt and fitting.
I beg to so move.