ADEKOYA: Golden girl of Nigerian Bar
Acclaimed as perhaps Nigeria’s leading arbitrator, Funke – as she is fondly called – has traversed the nation’s legal landscape with the poise, panache and persistence of a true Amazon. There is no gainsaying that Funke’s ‘marriage’ to law was made in heaven, having worshipped at the temple of justice for an unbroken 40 years since her call to the Nigerian Bar in 1975.
Born into the family of Chief Magistrate and Mrs. G. O. Sholu, Funke received her Bachelor of Laws degree in 1974 from the University of Ife. Indeed, it was at Ife that her brilliance shone. Not only did she top her fiercely competitive class, having graduated with a Second Class Honours (Upper Division), Funke was also a Faculty Scholar and triple prize-winner in her graduation year.
If there were any doubts that Funke is a first-class brain, this was
eclipsed by her performance at the Harvard Law School, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA where she graduated in 1977 with a Master of Laws
degree in flying colours. Not done, she again headed to the United
Kingdom for the tortuous Solicitors’ programme. Unsurprisingly, she
again excelled and was in 2004 admitted as a Solicitor of England and
Wales. She has maintained a practising licence in the United Kingdom
ever since, enabling her to stay current with legal developments and
issues in that highly influential jurisdiction.Appointed Notary Public in 1986, the highly cerebral and vigorous litigator ascended the pinnacle of her legal career when she was adjudged in 2001 as only the fifth woman to be elevated to the exclusive rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
If there is any area where virtually all analysts are agreed, it is that Funke’s stellar stewardship to the Nigerian Bar has gone largely unsung and unrequited. Not one to blow her trumpet, she has at every turn diligently and selflessly given of her time, energy and resources towards the service of the Nigerian Bar. Formerly 1st Vice President of the NBA, the respected lawyer has been recruited by virtually every NBA President to date for one assignment or the other. Expectedly, and notwithstanding her excruciating schedule leading one of Nigeria’s foremost law firms, the respected lawyer has always obliged the Bar. She is currently the Chair of NBA’s Branch Capacity Building Committee.
Not one to shy from tackling issues and pointing the way forward, Funke is convinced that the time has come for many NBA’s branches to rise to the onerous duty of shaping the fate of their union. According to her, the NBA is designed as an association where the national body should be implementing programmes and suggestions initiated at the branch level through resolutions at branch general meetings. “It is the branches that should drive NBA activities,” she insists. She is Co-Counsel for NBA in the AGF/CBN Case (SCUML Case).
As then 1st Vice Chair in-charge of the NBA Human Rights Committee, she immediately conscripted her counterparts at the branch level into her programme to decongest the prisons. Accordingly, the astute lawyer charged 1st Vice Chairmen in the branches to key into the programme, engage in prison visits and file reports to her for onward transmission to NBA NEC at its meetings.
Funke commenced her legal career in Kaduna in 1975 with the firm of Abdullahi Ibrahim & Co. Having completed her Master of Laws programme, she returned to the firm in 1977 until 1980 when she got married to her heartthrob. She then moved to Lagos to set up the firm’s office as Head of Chambers. Ten years later, she was made a Partner. In 1990, after 13 years of endearing loyalty and service to the law firm of Abdullahi Ibrahim & Co, the affable and self-effacing mother of two boys established O. Adekoya and Company, a dispute resolution practice.
In July 2004, in pursuit of her vision to raise the standards of legal services in Nigeria, Funke merged her practice with three other law firms to form AELEX. Not only was she the pioneer Managing Partner for an initial term of two years, Funke also doubled as Head of Dispute Resolution Department. In recognition of her uncommon managerial and interpersonal skills, the Board of Partners unanimously extended her tenure by a further term of two years. The firm has been rated the “Nigerian Law Firm of the Year” by Who’s Who Legal in 2009 and 2011.
Even among her peers, Funke is reputed as having a best-in-class experience in commercial litigation and corporate dispute resolution. She represents clients before courts and tribunals, and provides legal opinions on complex legal issues. She also appears as expert witness in courts in England, the United States and Turkey.
Funke participated in the Consultative Assembly on the Reform of Company Law in Nigeria. She was a member of the Editorial Committee which produced the Companies and Allied Matters Act in 1990, and took part in drafting the pioneering High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2004. She is an Officer of the IBA’s Bar Issues Commission and a member of its Policy Committee. She is also a Life Member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and a Trustee of Child Life Line, a nongovernmental foundation that rehabilitates street children. Funke is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, having attained its Chartered Arbitrator status in 2006. She was appointed Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK (Nigeria branch) in December 2010. She is a member of the Legal Committee of the National Council on Privatisation.
Within the International Bar Association (IBA), Funke belongs to the Legal Practice Division, the Public and Professional Interest Division and is also an advisory board member of the IBA’s African Regional Forum as well as an officer of its Bar Issues Commission. Funke is a Life Member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers.
She has been an active member of the NBA both at the branch and national levels, having served in various roles since 1979 at a time she was only four years at the Bar. She was drafted into the National Executive Committee as the First Assistant National Secretary. Between 1979 and 1980, she assisted then General Secretary, Chief Idowu Sofola (SAN) with secretarial duties. She then served as Secretary of NBA Lagos Branch between 1984 and 1986. Since then she has been a member of the NBA NEC.
Funke served as National Treasurer between 1990 and 1991 and then won a hotly contested election for a second term. Since 1998 when the NBA was revived as a national association, Funke has been called upon to serve gratis in every succeeding administration without exception. She has variously been member of many committees and chair of even many others, including being the current Chair of NBA Branch Capacity Building Committee under the Wali Presidency.
The most endearing aspect is Funke’s clarity of thought and purpose in her quest to lead the NBA. The only female among the five aspirants vying for the Presidency of the NBA, Funke has marshaled out a 3-point Agenda which seeks to address the ills plaguing the Bar Association, focusing on Human Resource Development, Organisational Development, as well as Institutional and Legal Framework Development.
In tackling the Human Resource gap, she plans to confront those who encroach on the work of lawyers in order to reclaim our workspace, upgrade our skills training process, promote the use of lawyers by and within the community, establish a mentoring scheme, develop and circulate training manuals and “Best Practice Notes” on professional and ethical issues, and deliver Continuing Legal Education through video CDs and online training methods/webinars.
On Organizational Development, the renowned litigator will secure an increase in branch subvention from practicing fees from 10% to 20% of practicing fees – payable by 1st June of each year, and ensure that financial advisers are appointed to invest any surplus financial resources.
She will also engage in Institutional and Legal Framework Development by restructuring the Legal Advocacy Group (LAG) into a Liaison Unit to serve as an effective liaison between the National Assembly and the Association, and seek speedy passage of Bills that impact our profession as well as broaden participatory democracy in our Association by empowering the Branches and members through information flow and adequate consultation.
Consistent with her inclusive approach to leadership and membership, her regime will re-admit observers to NEC and vigorously engage members through various print and electronic platforms. She will review downwards the Annual General Conference (AGC) fees.
Described by many as ‘Madam Integrity,’ Funke is a stickler for excellence. She has been described recently as a caring wife, a doting mother and grandmother, a quintessential arbitrator, a consummate litigator, a passionate Bar activist, and a jurist of the finest refinement.
Funke is indeed an idea whose time has come.
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