'OZEKHOME VS ARIBISALA REVISTED' By Adesina Ogunlana

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Some people called it, the “Rumble In The Temple”, some others dubbed it “Loud in Lagos”, while others named it “Katakata In The Bar”.
With utmost respect I refer to the bolekaja or was it roforofo fight, between two law sheikhs, Anthony Ajibola Aribisala a.k.a “Imado” and Mike Ozekhome a.k.a. “Baby SAN” in Honourable Justice Kazeem Alogba’s court at the Lagos High Court a few weeks ago.
In the celebrated mess, certain very printable epithets and phrases, like “Gorilla” “Mad man” “Baby SAN” “Shut up” “Mad-man” “big buffon” and “frustrated idiot” were flung by the fighters with quite an impressive rapidity and touching accuracy at each other.
According to some reports, it was a show of shame. Well that may be true but as far as I am concerned, it was a reality show.
A reality of the perilous and ignoble rot of our existence as a people. Let’s look at some certain similarities between the combatants. At least they share eight.

1. They are both male Nigerians.
2. They are barristers by profession
3. They are ‘senior barristers’ by virtue of their silkhood
4. They are “old men” being well over 50 years of age.
5. They are both (presumably) parents
6. They are employers of labour
7. They are both well off.
8. Both, at least going by their first names, are Christians.

If this classification is right, then the ugly incident before Justice Alogba shows that in our dear country, all supposed indices or indicators of decency are merely ornamental. It is a country where gold, as a matter of routine, rusts for the simple reason that the gold for most times is actually ‘panda’ (glossy dross).
Secondly the incident shows that anybody can get away with the most odious of behavior and the basest of crimes, especially if the malefactor is, as we say, a “big man.”
In fact the reality is that, the bigger fish you are in our fouled up waters, the more irresponsible you are, as nobody seems to care. You simply become too big for reprimand and it is absurd to even think of sanctions and completely unthinkable to apply sanctions.
In saner climes, the honourable presiding judge would not take flight as Alogba J did in the wake of the madness in the inner bar. (Of course there won’t be any such inner bar barbarism in such places).
Rather he would liberally lay the stick on the broadsides of the errant silks, by way of immediate contempt proceedings. At the end of the day, the affected silks would be lucky if they get even cotton to robe with.
All that is unthinkable in our "obodo Nigeria." Both the Bench and the Bar, who have the authority of disciplinary intervention in such ugly fracas befitting motor park touts and street miscreants normally keep an indiscreet and irresponsible silence. The best reaction they care to give are mere preachments.
Of course the story will differ were the “fumblers in the Temple” small fries. The judge will not hesitate to slam them in the gallows and when out, they may find themselves answering to the Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers for “conduct unbecoming.”
As matters stand now, we should all look forward to a return match between the IMADO and BABY SAN. You know, you don’t finish such business at a go. There must be an encore. So please be on the look out. Already the Squib in furtherance of legal education in Nigeria has commissioned home-video producers to put on cine the historic confrontation, indeed conflagration between the gladiator silks, Ozekhome and Aribisala in the court room of his lordship Alogba.
Once produced, the film to be entitled BABYSAN vs IMADO will be required teaching material at the Nigerian Law School in the Legal Practice Ethics course. That way we can all rest assured that the legal profession will continue to produce more Mike Tysons and guttersnipers to the glory of the legal profession in Nigeria. That’s progress, I guess.