'Dr Tunji Abayomi and His Jacket' By Adesina Ogunlana

THE LEARNED SQUIB

I witnessed a court room drama, not recently. It happened actually in the last century more specifically in 1992. It was a drama involving one judge, at least three lawyers and one medical doctor. Lest I forget, a military administrator was also involved, although in absentia, or do I say vicariously? The name of the judge is Abdul Rahman Alade Sahid. The name of the doctor is Bekololari Kuti and the military administrator bears Raji Rasaki. As for the lawyers, they are - Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana and Tunji Abayomi. It was the picture of the ‘milad’ that sparked off the drama. It was hung in a frame above the judge’s seat. Obviously, the judge did not notice or even see it.
But Chief Gani Fawehinmi, a.k.a Gani, saw it and objected to its presence. And you know how Gani objects - stridently, forcefully, insistently and passionately. This objection was that the picture of the Milad was an anomaly in the court and that it should be removed immediately.

When the honourable judge did not agree to the “immediately” clause in Gani’s demand, Gani just stormed out of the court. That was the end of the case for the day. Outside the courtroom, I saw Dr. Beko and Femi Falana, mercilessly teasing Doctor Tunji Abayomi who was the lawyer on the other side of the case and representing General Obasanjo. While Abayomi was busy complaining about the impropriety of Gani’s action of walking out on the trial judge, Beko (now late) and Falana kept advising him to; “better help the judge to remove the picture before the next adjourned date.”

Before Beko left with his fragile, seemingly frangible frame, he mischievously enquired from Doctor Abayomi whether his Doctorate Degree was not in Divinity!

Sadly, and ironically, some sixteen years down the line, two of the ‘gladiators’ Abayomi and Falana seemed to have changed positions, if not values, in certain areas of life.
At the afore-mentioned encounter between Abayomi and Beko and Falana, Falana was one of the gad-flies, irreverent one at that. I was also struck with the dirty, nay grimy aspect of his jacket.

On the other hand, Abayomi was better and more neatly dressed and his was the voice of wise moderation and who was appalled at the ungentlemanly and even unprofessional conduct of Gani on that day. Of course, Falana and Beko saw nothing wrong in Gani’s stance. But I doubt whether, a now more fetching and certainly more prosperous and respectable Falana would do any such thing as storming out of a court session, while addressing a judge!

Interestingly, I am not too sure, whether Dr. Tunji Abayomi, the gentleman of yore, the voice of tact and reason of old, would not in the present time walk out on a judge in court or even do worse.

I have a reason for my fears. We all must have heard, read or even worse, saw Doctor Abayomi’s recent demonstration of the science and art of ‘Bolekajaism’ before a parliamentary committee probing activities of certain clients of the Doctor of Laws, Tunji Abayomi.

At a point during the hearing, Doctor Abayomi got so cool under the collar that he yanked off his jacket like a common motor park tout, yelled most elegantly and with the utmost decency, that he was ready to go to jail for contempt! Ha! How are the mighty fallen! A lamb has turned into a leopard! Gold to dross. An Athenian became a Philistine. Alas, alas. For a doctor of divinity, sorry, doctor of law! Alas, for the legal profession!