By Steve Omolale– Before 7am on October 15, 2015, he had arrived the premises of the then NICON Noga Hilton Hotel (now Transcorp Hilton), Abuja, where we members of his media team scheduled an interview appearance for him on his preferred Channels Television breakfast show. This was after he had delivered a paper on Public-Private Partnership (PPP), one of his areas of specialisation as a businessman, at the then ongoing Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) seminar moderated by a former Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Phillips Oduoza.
We had agreed to meet at 7am for the live interview. But instead of the media team, comprising my humble self, Dipo Kehinde, Remi Ladigbolu and Ayo Olaosun, waiting for him at the lounge of the hotel, myself and Kehinde who arrived first were shocked to see him already waiting for us! We were uncomfortable with this. While approaching him, we thought he would reprimand us for coming late, no thanks to the early morning Abuja traffic. Rather, billionaire businessman, erudite lawyer, philanthropist and our employer then, Dr. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin (SAN), fondly called BOB by his friends, colleagues, workers and admirers, gently said, “you guys are just coming”! We apologised profusely.
Shortly after and even as we were still feeling guilty for coming late, he requested we move to the restaurant of the hotel where he also asked us to join him at his table for breakfast, which he paid for. Our other two colleagues, Ladigbolu and Adeosun, and other members of the larger team, including Dr. Bayo Adaralegbe, later joined us, following which we all moved to the Outside Broadcasting (OB) studio of Channels Television at the premises of the hotel for the interview.
Besides his always gentle mien, the overall welfare of his many workers is paramount to Babalakin. This he personally demonstrated to me and Olaosun when the managements of two of his companies, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) and Resort International Limited, where we worked respectfully, procured brand new official cars for some senior managers. At meetings with him while the documentation of the cars was being done, he was personally monitoring the situation by asking us always, “have they given you two your cars?” He did not stop asking until we eventually got the cars.
Of course, and as part of workers’ welfare and in consonance with the law of the land, no management jokes with monthly pension deductions and remittances in any of his firms under the Resort Group. This is the reason some of us who are qualified for it collect our monthly pension till date.
On another occasion after winning one of the court cases instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Federal High Court, Lagos, we all moved to our head office on Victoria Island to write the story in a celebratory mood. The joy on his and everybody’s face was palpable. With Olaosun, I jokingly approached him and said, “we (the media team) need to ‘wash’ this court victory Sir”. We were pleasantly surprised when he just opened his bag and dolled out a huge sum of money to us to celebrate the victory.
Above are a few clear demonstrations of who Babalakin, an Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), who turns 65 today, is: gentle, considerate, compassionate, stoic, unswerving, unwaivering, highly disciplined and very firm. These and more are the reasons he has largely succeeded in all the sectors of the economy, be it law, aviation, construction, real estate, hospitality and others, where he has been operating for decades.
Many who know him very well can attest to the fact that he is a survivalist who, like an army general, has fought several battles in the journey of life and has triumphed over all of them because he believes the innermost strength of a man manifests when he faces the vicissitudes of life. Navigating the turbulent ocean that life is, is a herculean task, which can drown many, while others can survive by cheer will and determination.
Time and time again, the scion of the renowned and legendary jurist and retired Justice of the Supreme Court, the late Justice Bolarinwa Oyegoke Babalakin and his wife, the late Alhaja Ramatu Ibironke Babalakin, an astute hospital proprietress, has proved that he is a jack of all trades and master of all.
Babalakin is a man who is steady in principles, focused in purpose, relentlessly driven, masterfully intelligent, terrifically sagacious and deliberate in pursuit of the truth.
No wonder, he was able to rebuild the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Ikeja, Lagos, the first successful PPP project in Nigeria, through his BASL, which has sustained the terminal to the admiration of lovers of good things in the past 18 years, despite the fact that the available multi-million dollar world-class facilities it has for regional flight operations have continued to rot away due to high level political intrigues designed to frustrate the West Coast operations.
And as a lover of due process and the rule of law, his fledging law firm, Babalakin and Co., parades some of the best SANs and other bright brains in the legal profession who have successfully handled many high-profile and difficult cases.
Beyond the legal profession and business, Babalakin has played roles that have shaped the education sector of the country in recent times. He was the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Councils of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), his alma mater, and the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) where he contributed immensely to the growth of both institutions while at the helm.
The Federal Government also put the responsibility of re-negotiating the 2009 Agreements it entered with unions in federal universities on his shoulder as the Chairman of the committee set up for this purpose. Besides being the Chairman of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities, he was also the Chairman of the Implementation Monitoring Committee of the Agreements between the Federal Government and the various unions in the universities.
A devout Muslim, the impactful effects of Babalakin’s philanthropic gestures have been felt by many individuals, including this writer, organisations and communities across the land. Through the Ramatu Ibironke Babalakin Foundation, which he founded in memory of his late mother, he has touched and changed the lives of many in Osun, his home state, Lagos, Ondo, Kwara and Kaduna states, among others. For instance, more than 200 students and many more abroad have benefitted from his scholarship scheme.
Babalakin, who has received many awards and commendations across the various sectors where he operates, was born on July 1, 1965, in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he also had his early education at Sacred Heart Private School, Government College and The Polytechnic, Ibadan. In 1978, he proceeded in his education to the prestigious UNILAG where he graduated from the Faculty of Law in 1981. After his call to the Nigerian Bar in 1982, he embarked on an academic adventure at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, where he earned his Master of Law (LL.M) degree in 1983 and completed his Ph.D in 1986 on the eve of his 26th birthday. His wife, Omogbolahan, also a lawyer, has been a pillar of support in his many endeavours.
As you celebrate your birthday today, all I can wish you is Almighty Allah’s continued blessings and protection. May you celebrate many more of it in good health and sound mind in the land of the living.
Erinjogunola Baba o, happy birthday, Sir.
