In this interview with GBENGA ADENIJI, 89-year-old retired lawyer, Mr. Adedapo Adeniran, talks about his experience as an advocate on criminal matters
Can you give a short profile of yourself?
I am Adedapo Adeniran born on March 23, 1924. I attended Baptist Academy, Lagos in 1929 up till Standard Six. The school was then on Broad Street. I later went to King’s College, Lagos in 1938. I got promotion there to form two and left in 1942. My father, Samuel Adeniran, who was from Ogbomoso, was a civil servant while my mother, Mrs. Lydia Adeniran (nee Oduba) was a housewife. My parents had two children. My elder sister, who is now late,was the only one who passed junior Cambridge in Methodist Girls in 1935.
After you left King’s College, what did you do?
I worked as a clerk in the then Medical Headquarters, Lagos. I earned £4 monthly. It was not that the money was much but my desire was to use the place as a springboard to attain my other academic dreams. I still wanted to study well as a young man and I was not even bothered about the money. I did my work well. There was additional money for the living allowances making £6 monthly.
What were you doing with the salary?
I was saving what I could to further my education. I had an eye on England to study so I tried to be frugal. It was easy for me to save some part of the money because I was still living with my father then. My mother died in 1936. She was a disciplinarian and took ill briefly before she died. Her death was so painful to me. Before that time, some friends and I were studying law by correspondence. I actually wanted to study medicine but there was no money so I opted for law. That was the only option available to study law then. The money I saved was not enough to pursue medicine which was offered me by the University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. I passed junior Cambridge in King’s College with exemptions for London matriculation, Cambridge and Oxford expulsions. This entitled me to enter Oxford, Cambridge or London University.
When did you finish the law programme?
I eventually went to England and attended the Inns of Court School of Law. It was a happy moment for me because what I had desired was coming to reality. The law I studied by correspondence when I was in Nigeria helped me a lot. After my final examination, I emerged the only Nigerian who earned a Second Class in real property. It was the most difficult subject. The only person who got a first class was a lady.
After graduation, what did you do?
I returned to Nigeria after graduation to start practising law that I studied through hard work. My father was very happy to see me back home and with good grades. I started practising immediately. I worked with briefly with Justice Dahunsi Coker. I then established my own place where I started attending to clients in 1956. I can say I am very good on criminal matters. I defended those who committed murder. I cannot remember any murder case that I didn’t get the suspect freed. I also do not know any case of burglary that I did not get the suspect freed.
How did you do that?
I don’t know. I think I have some skills in that area. I recall a criminal case which appeared all against us. I just tendered some propositions and the jury shook. At the end of the day, the suspect was freed. There was no criminal case I didn’t win.
Can you remember your most remarkable court case?
It was a case involving a Belgian who was a captain. The man was arrested in a country (I can’t remember the country) and was being taken to where he would be tried. But he gave his handlers some problems on the plane. So, they landed in Nigeria to be tried here. A prison warder who I didn’t even know came to my office and told me about him. He told me to defend him because, according to him, he had told the man about me. I did not hesitate to defend him. I did all I could and he was freed. He was later ordered to be taken to a no-man’s-land. I followed him and the then Belgian ambassador to Nigeria to the Republic of Benin. It was from there that he returned to his country. A no-man’s-land in that context is a point between Nigerian and another country.
Where you married before you left Nigeria?
No, I was not married before I left Nigeria. In fact, my focus was on my education and how to earn a degree in law. Marriage was not on mind then. But when I was abroad, there was an Indian lady, Kamala Devi, in my class who liked me. She told me one day that she would have loved to marry me but for her custom. I didn’t understand what she meant by the Indian custom and didn’t ask her since I didn’t propose to her. She later told me that there was a lady in London University who was staying in the same hostel with her. She told me that I would like the lady. She later invited her and wanted the two of us to go out together. The lady, Florence Martins, was a medical student.
Did you propose to her when you met?
I didn’t but the way things turned out, I knew I was going to marry her one day. She is likeable woman till today. Besides, she was studying a good course. She is also a first cousin to one of my best friends, the late Dr. Oluyinka Olumide. After meeting her, it was not long I left for Nigeria.
How did you keep in touch?
We kept in touch through correspondence. We wrote to each other often. It was fun writing to her and receiving her replies.
What were the main things you wrote in the letters?
There were many things we discussed as lovers. But I made sure that I encouraged her in each of the letters I wrote. I also emphasised that I looked forward to getting married to her. She often replied that she was looking forward to our wedding too. We eventually got married on June 15, 1963. We have two children; a boy and a girl. The first is into business while the second is a pharmacist.
Why didn’t you encourage any of them to study law like you?
I believe that a child should be allowed to follow what he or she has aptitude for. One should not force them to study any course that is beyond their capacity. There is no point forcing a child to study a course that does not in any way interest him or her.
How did you train them?
I talked to them whenever they did anything wrong. Our children are well-behaved and this is one thing that gladdens our hearts always. I neither used the whip nor the cane on any of them. There was no need for such anyway.
What is your form of relaxation?
I like sitting in my office reading law books. Most times when I am in my office, I read many books that I have used for one court case or the other. I am not someone who likes parties or social events. So, reading is the best way I like to relax.
Do you have any special drink?
I like taking soft drinks. But whenever I take it, it is always in moderation. I do not take anything that is alcoholic. I just do not like it.
What is your best food?
I enjoy eating rice and pounded yam. I like any well-prepared food.
Do you do any sport?
I don’t do any sport. When I was younger, I used to ride bicycles in my compound. I also played football when I was in King’s College. I was in the school’s first 11. We used to play Government College in Ibadan.
What is the secret of your long life?
I do not know really because no human being can give him or herself long life. I only try to live reasonably well.
What advice do you have for practising and aspiring lawyers?
It is very important for those who wish to study law to have a good background. It is crucial because the sound footing is what they will build on when they get to school. There is no way they can come out excellent if they do not get a firm foundation. Besides, I also want them to study hard. Law is a very prestigious profession and those interested in it should give it their utmost best. That is the only way they can make anything meaningful out of it. For practising lawyers, I advise them to be truthful in their dealing with their clients. They should not be greedy and refrain from tampering with the property of clients in the course of assisting them. I have seen such before.
What is your view about the Nigerian judiciary?
What I know is that the standard now is not as good as the one we met. There were some fine lawyers such as Adeyemo Alakija and Alexander Taylor.
What is your book, Nigeria: The Case for Peaceful and Friendly Dissolution, all about?
The six-chapter book recommends that is it crucial for Nigerians to reflect deeply and objectively into the history of the country and its politics to decide on a rational basis on what sort of future we want for ourselves, whether to remain as one entity or engage in dismemberment of the country. It is instructive to say that a geographical entity that doesn’t know or understand its history will be in perpetual darkness.
It was first published in 1999 and has six editions. The latest edition was published in 2012. The fourth edition published in 2009 is a revised edition.
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