It was double celebration on Wednesday as Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN) was sworn in as the first Chairman of the newly inaugurated Ibadan Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
The landmark event coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the highly urbane, brilliant albeit humble Senior Advocate’s wedding to Fatima, his delectable engineer-wife.
While the unassuming and self-effacing Kwara-born couple would have loved to let the day slip by quietly, the coincidence of Fagbemi’s inauguration makes the occasion an inevitable twin-celebration, especially for their numerous friends, well-wishers and colleagues including Chief Folake Solanke, first female Senior Advocate, Chief Akin Delano (SAN), Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), judges, lawyer’s and Attorneys General from different parts of the country, who turned out in their numbers at the popular Jogor Events Centre, Ibadan, venue of the epoch-making ceremony.
The launch of the Ibadan chapter, the third to spring out from the Nigerian branch of the reputed international professional body, under Fagbemi’s leadership, is another feather to the eminent lawyer’s cap of many firsts.
The Ijagbo Prince’s record as the youngest lawyer to be decorated with the highest honour in the legal profession and within the minimum set period of 10 years, is yet to be beaten.
A life member of the Body of Benchers and Chairman, Governing Council of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos Fagbemi is also a Fellow of the institute.
The new helmsman emphasized training in arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution as a major pivot of the vision and mission of his new executive in the effort to advance the institute’s status and activities in this part of the country, which is home to the greats and historically known for pace-setting.