Taiwo Akinlami’s Blog
Taiwo AKINLAMI'S Blog
VITAL OBITER® I have watched Lere Olayinka, spokesperson to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for some time. And I understand something about carrying another person’s brief. I am an attorney. I receive instructions from clients and, within the boundaries of law and professional ethics, I carry them out. So I understand loyalty to an assignment. […] [Read More]
VITAL OBITERThe Diary of a Roving Counsel There is a particular kind of Nigerian sentence that deserves its own chapter in the grammar books. It goes something like this: “After a thorough review of our business, we have made the difficult decision…” You already know what follows. Someone, somewhere, is about to lose a livelihood. […] [Read More]
HOMILYFROMTHEPEW I began worshipping at The Fountain of Life Church on 18 February 1997. A few years later, a gentleman caught my attention. We called him Mr. Ben. Sometimes Brother Ben. And strangely, for more than twenty years, that was almost all the identifying information I had about him. I never knew his surname. I […] [Read More]
I was on my own, walking the streets of this internet, when I stumbled upon the programme of my professional brothers and sisters. NBA was having its Annual General Conference. Nothing unusual. The Bar gathers every year to examine itself, examine society and, hopefully, leave both a little better than it found them. And NBA […] [Read More]
The viral video of Mr Tony Elumelu correcting a young woman who addressed him as “Tony” has generated a lot of commentary. But I think we are missing the real issue. My concern is not whether Mr Elumelu prefers to be called “Mr Elumelu,” “T.O.E.” or “Chairman.” He is entitled to that preference. In fact, […] [Read More]
#HOMILYFROMTHEPEW It is no longer news that Professor Jason Arday is gone. It is no longer news that he endured what we now name social media lynching. It is no longer news that in the last nine days of his life, one hundred and eighty-eight articles were published on Jason Arday, and that before the […] [Read More]
VitalObiter: The Diary of a Roving Counsel “Gbajue Democracy” has lodged itself in my mind this morning as I survey the goings-on in Osun State ahead of the gubernatorial election slated for August 15, 2026. The coinage isn’t mine. It belongs to Professor Wole Soyinka, who with the greatest respect, though I think inappropriately, deployed […] [Read More]
HomilyFromthePew Yesterday, I listened to a number of conversations, private discussions, public presentations, and teachings. By the end of the day, one thought would not leave me: Who is thinking for you? It is a simple question, yet perhaps one of the most important questions of our generation. I say that as a man knocking […] [Read More]
A Vital Obiter on the profession that swore it had no gender They taught us in the Law School that ours is a genderless profession. Like the media, we were told. A calling that knows neither male nor female. The law sees only the lawyer, only the learned friend, only the mind. A fine sermon. […] [Read More]
VITAL OBITER® “The Nation Is Bleeding” and the Spirit of Niemöller Echoes: From My Lord Spiritual to My Lord Temporal Permit me to open with the appropriate ceremony, for this is a matter of high protocol. On a Tuesday in this our season of discontent, the twenty-eighth of July, in the year of our Lord […] [Read More]
