Justice Oguntade @ 80: The Reason Buhari Appoints Old Men

By Chuks Ekpeneru

Justice George Oguntade belongs to a small club of those that have earned the respect of President Muhammedu Buhari.

It is no surprise that even at the age of 77 when he should be resting in retirement that the president tapped him for appointment to head the country’s most active diplomatic outpost in London.

Justice Oguntande did not win Buhari’s trust easily. The retired Nigerian jurist served in the Supreme Court of Nigeria from May 19, 2004 to May 10, 2010.

He is memorably remembered for giving a dissenting judgment in Buhari’s appeal to the Supreme Court following the 2007 election.

To mark his 80th birthday, on March 10, 2020, President Buhari sent a heart-warming message to the High Commissioner still eulogizing the jurist saying he conducted himself with “virtue, honesty, and conviction to do the right thing.’’

According to the President, “What a sterling character! A man with the courage of his convictions, a jurist of the Puritan kind, and a great patriot. Justice Oguntade, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, is a man who made a name and a reputation in his chosen career of legal practice.

“No wonder, he rose to the very peak, retiring as a Justice of the Supreme Court.

“To be an outstanding jurist, you must be ready to be different, even if it means standing alone. I will never forget my legal challenge of the presidential election of 2007.

“It was such a disorderly, chaotic and badly manipulated poll, that the man declared winner, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, himself admitted the process was highly flawed.

“However, the Supreme Court, in its judgment, upheld the election, except for a minority position maintained by three justices, led by Justice Oguntade.

“He nullified the poll for not complying with the Electoral Act. It was a split of four against three. You don’t have too many like this great jurist anymore.

“He was not afraid to stand alone when it came to upholding the truth. For that display of virtue, honesty, and conviction to do the right thing, Justice Oguntade earned my respect.

In his tribute, former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu described Oguntade as “Fearless and courageous, thorough and resolute, his judgments were always reference points for other judges and lawyers.

“One remarkable thing about Justice Oguntade is the fact of his courage to differ and disagree with his colleagues in the dispensation of justice if occasions called for.

The eminent jurist was born in Epe, Lagos State where he completed his basic formal education. He graduated from Holborn College of Law in 1964 after studying Law before he proceeded to the Nigerian Law School in 1965 and was eventually called to the Nigerian Bar on January 15, 1966.

Oguntade got the national award of Commander of the Federal Republic in 2010.

The memory of exemplary conduct in public service is what has kept Oguntade even at the age of 80 going that he in a population of millions he was the first choice to the country’s busiest diplomatic mission.

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