NBA MOURNS THE PASSING OF ADESINA OGUNLANA
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The sad news of one of the most tenacious members of the legal profession’s passing on Wednesday cast a somber shadow over Nigeria’s legal community and public sphere.
Known by his common Yoruba term for “scare them” or “frighten the oppressors,” Adesina Ogunlana, sometimes referred to as Serubawon, has set out on his farewell journey. This time, the destination is not the courtroom to defend silent, downtrodden, and defenseless folk, nor the demonstration grounds to oppose the government’s anti-people policies, but rather the world beyond, the other side of mortality.
In a similar way to bowing in the courtroom before judges as he argued on behalf of his clients, Ogunlana bowed to death just days after friends and colleagues celebrated his 60th birthday with a lecture late in July.
Known for his pro-people stance on national issues, the radical and outspoken Ogunlana prominently featured in many defining protests in Nigeria. From Occupy Nigeria in January 2012 to the 2020 #EndSARS rallies and the most recent #EndBadGovernance nationwide rallies. He was also the lawyer of #EndSARS petitioners at a panel set up to probe the incident at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos.
Ogunlana, who expertly fused activism with his legal practice, was a force in the civic space whose vacant seat would be hard to fill.
Lagos State Chapter, Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar association however mourns his demise through a statement signed by Akorede Habeeb Lawal, the National Publicity Secretary on Wednesday.
The Statement reads, “It is with great sadness that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) received the news today of the passage of one of the illustrious members of the NBA, Adesina Ogunlana, Esq.”
Mr. Ogunlana was a former chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the NBA. His term as the Chairman of the NBA Ikeja Branch between 2016 and 2018 witnessed a renaissance of some sort within the Bar, as he actively led the protest against the increase in the Land Use Charge introduced by the Lagos State Government in 2018.
In this time, when citizens of this country look up to conscientious members of the legal profession for direction, the passage of Adesina Ogunlana is a monumental loss, as he was an activist in the exact sense of the word.
Not one to shy away from standing firmly on the side of the people, Mr. Ogunlana actively participated in the Nationwide Hunger Protest in Lagos last week. Through his life works as an advocate in the courtroom and publisher of Squib Magazine, Mr. Ogunlana, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, was renowned for his active commitment to the rule of law, effective administration of justice, and protection of human rights.
The NBA and indeed the legal profession will miss Adesina Ogunlana, but more so will Nigeria. To his immediate family, friends, and members of the NBA Ikeja Branch, the NBA offers its deepest condolences.
“Be assured that you are not alone in your grief; we grieve with you but take solace in the man that Adesina Ogunlana was. May Almighty God comfort us all.”
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