I wonder how Prof Nwabueze must have felt when the Supreme Court with brazen audacity turned the Judiciary and Justice upside down and threw the sanctity of the Apex Court to the dustbin over some filthy lucre. I hope, I just hope that was not part of the things that killed him.
By Dan Okonkwo
Being Prof Ben Nwabueze’s lawyer
It was in 2008 while I was working for BankPhB as one of their External Solicitors that I was called one day by a staff in their legal department. He told me that Prof Ben Nwabueze needed a lawyer to assist him in the office. Then I had just finished making payment for a new office somewhere in Oregun. I was preparing to furnish same when this offer was made. The guy asked if I was interested. But warned me sternly that “Prof no dey pay o.”
I was barely four years post-call then. I weighed my options. 1. I needed a name to ride on in the profession since I was the son of a nobody and besides Grace nothing can launch you into lime light in the profession. I believe in Grace as a Christian but I also needed more. 2. He was offering free office. I was to have access to his conference room and library. I could also do my own briefs unhindered since Prof had not got that much traffic. 3. Hey, this was Prof Ben Nwabueze SAN we were talking about. I’ve only met him through his books on Constitutional law and land law. He was an Iroko and the father of fathers of Law. So an opportunity to work for him was worth giving up my new office. So I accepted the offer.
The day came and I went to his office in Adekunle Yaba. We met and talked. He offered to pay me N25,000.00 monthly salary. I thought about it. What could N25,000.00 do for me? I was making almost that much weekly from BankPhB briefs and times 4 or 5 almost monthly. If I accept the money I’ll be tied down in the office and lose my clients. I had several other clients that were paying well besides BankPhB. So I turned down the offer and told him I was ok working for him. That all I needed was access to key facilities in the office. He beamed with smile and waved me in. He introduced me to Mr. Damian his Secretary and Typist for over 30 years then. He pointed an office as mine.
Now the office looked a bit old-fashioned. The furniture and rugs and cabinets appeared to have seen better days. We had an office boy that came daily to sweep and dust the whole office. The library was full of old literatures most of which were his works, articles he wrote for organisations under Labour law (he had been an expert in Labour law too), his many exposure to international institutions and innumerable awards bestowed on him, books on military rule and his time as the Federal Minister for Education as well as Chairman of Boards of many companies.
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The life, loves and adventures of Obiefuna Benjamin Nwabueze
As I settled into my office I began to keep myself busy reading the inexhaustible number of books in the library. I would resume work and start reading and read till evening. I marveled at his intellectual depth and cerebral wizardry. I began to covet, at some point his vast brain. At the point he was still churning out books in series. Mr. Damian was always busy punching words in the manual typewriter in his office. Prof wrote in longhand of course. A closer look at his handwriting would reveal immediately that age and ill health was taking a toll on him. Notwithstanding he was still writing. It was as if writing was the life support that kept him alive. As if he derived his sustenance by writing. During my time with him he wrote a series on “How Obasanjo Subverted The Rule Of Law In Nigeria, The Judiciary As The Third Estate Of The Realm” among many others. All were typed by Mr. Damian and his manual typewriter.
The first case file Prof handed over to me was a dispute between him and Globe Motors Ltd over unpaid professional fee. He instructed me to sue Globe Motors and recover the sum of N1,500,000.00 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) being balance on professional fee for legal services he rendered many years ago. I filed and served and the lawyer to Globe Motors showed up at the office days later. He pleaded to see Prof. Unfortunately Prof wasn’t in. Then he was scarcely ever in the office. But the lawyer and his client eventually reached a truce with Prof and paid the money. Parties entered for Consent Judgment.
Another case I did for him was still on recovery of professional fees. This time against Templars Law Firm. It happened that they needed an Expert Opinion on a particular issue of Law. So they consulted Prof and handed over documents to him which he took home to peruse. Days after Prof got a call from them that they were sorry but they were taking him off the case. They went on to inform Prof that another equally senior Constitutional law lawyer had been briefed. Then thanked him profusely for his time. The next day Prof called me from the airplane. I think he was leaving for London for medical treatment. In his clear words “I want you to proceed against them (Templars) on principle. The day I took the documents home to peruse was the day my professional fees began to count. The industry invested in perusal of their documents was professional services which must be paid for. The legal time spent reading their documents was professional services which they must pay for.”
Now they were supposed to pay Prof some £28,000 as professional fees. After I filed and served they called Prof directly for settlement and paid him $25,000.00. I said in my mind “$25,000.00 for doing nothing.” Well that’s why he’s Prof Ben Nwabueze SAN. The first academic SAN in Nigeria. He was the father of many legal minds and corporate gurus. He has mentored mentors. Anyways he paid me N70,000.00 from the money.
I remember when, after I had exhausted all the three cases I inherited from him I found myself idle most of the time. Especially within the time my personal briefs went on “vacation.” So I decided to revamp the office and build traffic. I discussed with Mr. Damian that I wanted to write banks and apply for retainer since all the banks know Prof. It won’t be a difficult thing enlisting the Law firm. So I approached then Mike Otuh of Zenith Bank Legal, the legendary Mike Otuh. After explaining to him he told me that Prof didn’t need to apply for enlistment. He gave me his number and said I should tell Prof to call him. That that’s all he needed. Once Prof confirmed he was the one who sent me I should come back for briefs. When I got to the office I told Prof everything. He shook his head sideways and told me in unmistakable terms that he was not interested in seeing his name out there looking for briefs. Told me to bury the idea. I felt bad, sad, mad all at once. I thought to myself how could I be a lawyer to Prof Nwabueze yet always staying idle and underutilised. I had to mutilate all the applications I had prepared.
A day came when Prof called me and the office assistant (I think he was his relation too). We came into his office and he brought out some documents and showed us and requested us to sign. It was his Will. I wondered why he had to use us as witnesses to his Will. But then anybody can witness a Will under the Law. All the same I felt privileged to be a witness to the Will of Prof Ben Nwabueze.
I may not have made money or met any of Prof’s important dignitaries but I sure benefitted a lot off his goodwill. Each time I appeared before any Court for a matter and introduced myself as coming from Prof Ben Nwabueze’s Chambers the Judge or Magistrate would stop a while and engage me in a short conversation about him, his welfare etc. Other lawyers would also pass some commentaries and look at me somewhat like a celebrity lawyer. I felt special. This also made practice somewhat easier as his name opened doors for me in many places.
Leaving B.O. Nwabueze Chambers
Having spent some years with Prof and disposed all his cases with nothing more to engage my time with in the office coupled with his constant absence I decided to move. I needed a place to put my youthful energy to work. There was this NGO that was always in the news then. The office was in Apapa. I applied for employment. When I met the Executive Director, a kind-hearted and altruistic fine gentleman he began to ask me about Prof. He had seen from my CV that he was my current employer. I noticed the excitement in his voice when he was asking me about Prof. Like he was meeting Prof himself. He felt so privileged meeting me and wanted to know all there was to know about Prof. He liked me immediately and told me that though he had no office space for me but he would create an office space exclusively for me. He later carved out a brand new office downstairs. A tastefully-finished and well-furnished office with modern equipment, new tiles, air conditioner and all. He asked me to resume work and work at my convenience. To say that I enjoyed my time there would be an understatement. I had the time of my life as they all treated me with great respect and admiration. Besides, rights activism had always been the fulcrum of my practice as a lawyer.
Yesterday when I saw the post that Prof Ben Nwabueze has died I was in shock. But all the same I’m comforted by the fact that he lived a fulfilled life. Space will not permit me to write everything I know about this colossus of a man. The last time he appeared publicly was when he participated in the match for good governance some years ago. I was worried about his health but all the same I knew he was passionate about good governance in Nigeria. He once lamented to me about the rot at the Supreme Court. That their Lordships then had no regards for Justice and equity. That was in the course of telling me about a case he did with Chief FRA Williams (he told me they colloborated a lot on many cases. Prof would research and prepare pleadings while Chief Williams would argue in Court) before the Supreme Court wherein he had a submission to make but their Lordships had lost the copy of the process he filed. Being that he didn’t want to take a date (since Supreme Court dates are longer) so he handed them his own copy. When they asked him where he would read from he told them he prepared the submission himself, so he would make it off-hand. This was a bundle of documents of about hundreds of pages. Their Lordships watched and listened in utter amazement as Prof reeled out word for word everything written on the process he submitted. Such is the man the world, not just Nigeria and Africa has just lost.
Sadly Prof retired from active practice without any son or daughter to sustain his legacy in the profession. After he closed the office at ALAGA house Adekunle he retired to his home somewhere in Ajao Estate. Meanwhile the ALAGA office lasted long because the owner could not bring himself to evict Prof after evicting every tenant on the property. It’s a 7 floor or so building on Herbert Macaulay Yaba. Having Prof as your tenant is like having a god under your roof. But then one wonders how come he didn’t have a property of his own for his office. It’s important to note here that Prof lived for his passion which was law literature and teaching. Such legends had lesser cravings for material acquisitions. They lived a modest life. For instance throughout the time I was with him he had only a blue Hyundai salon. A small car. He dressed in slim-fitted shirt and trouser with a slim tie. But he was always sure to have his face well-powdered. You won’t miss the English training in him upon meeting him. He was modest in all ramifications. It’s not surprising therefore that he had little to nothing to his name despite his many intellectual achievements all over the world. He was satisfied with his private homes in Lagos and Enugu and his home town in Anambra. Such were men who lived life purely on principle and purpose. They are a departure from what we have these days. Lawyers amassing stupendous ill-gotten wealth from all what nots. Lawyers licking the rotten asses of politicians over few millions of Naira at the detriment and utter disregard for morality, nobility and integrity. Lawyers behaving like crude uncivilised beasts on the lose. It’s as if the legal profession is now a dumping ground for charlatans and touts who no longer have regards for what the profession stands for. I wonder how Prof must have felt when the Supreme Court with brazen audacity turned the Judiciary and Justice upside down and threw the sanctity of the Apex Court to the dustbin over some filthy lucre. I hope, I just hope that was not part of the things that killed him.
If I have not learnt anything from my little time with Prof as his lawyer I learnt to live life on principle. I learnt not to be desperate for filthy lucre. I learnt that modesty, decency and integrity are the tripod upon which a truly successful practice is built. Man was not created to sell his soul for material wealth. A purposeful life is a life lived to impact others. That was the life Professor Ben Nwabueze SAN lived. He has run the race and finished well. The name he left behind will continue to shine for generations. Sadly, not many of his ilk are still around.
As he transitions to glory I pray that the Lord will rest his intellectual soul and grant him eternal rest. In Jesus Name. Amen.
I am hoping that the Federal government of Nigeria and the Nigerian Bar Association would immortalise him as one of the Pillars upon which the legal profession in Nigeria and other parts of Africa like the Gambia stands. I am certain that Prof Soludo would erect a monument in honour of the memory of one of Anambra’s illustrious sons.
- Dan Okonkwo Esq, former Head of Chambers B.O.Nwabueze & Co. (Chambers of Prof Ben Nwabueze SAN.), wrote in from Lagos