In most instances of occurrence of death, which is always devastating,the sympathiser mustn’t be seen to be crying more than the bereaved. This axiom has been captured satisfactorily in the Yoruba expression:oku eko,ijagudu amala. Afterall,what is left to mourn in the death of a nonagerian if not that death comes as a tragedy no matter the age. The Holy Bible is more generous about life expectancy for pegging longevity at three scores and a ten, that’s all for you if you are lucky. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported to have warned his adherents to begin to come to the reality of their extinction as soon as they hit the sexagonal circle. So,for a man to live till 93 is really a long life by whatever measure. It’s really a ripe age.
Particularly and essentially,this lifetime was meaningful and purposeful. I had a close encounter with the reserved but brilliant jurist on height of the tough struggle to fill the vacant stool of the revered Okere of Saki, currently occupied by the amiable,dogged,doughty, feisty and extremely bold Oba Olabisi where the eminent jurist was a contender. I was donning a dark suit,a insignia of law practice in Nigeria and Pa Justice Popoola recognized me instantly. In a jiffy,he went down the memory lane and told me,in the company of the prolific author and ethnographer,Akin Aderibigbe,that he was admitted into the English Inner Temple in the year 1961.
This means between 1961 and 2025 when the celebrated judge breathed his last,he bestrode the legal profession like a collosus for a whooping 64 years,let alone the time he spent before being called to the English Bar. At age 93,late Justice Popoola was 29 when he bagged the Barrister at Law degree. This is no mean achievement for someone who spent the major parts of his productive life at both the Bar and the Bench. Further still,a large percentage of world population died at 70 while yet only a fraction of homo sapiens make it to the octogenarian bracket, according to global demographic statistics. By all reckoning,Late Justice Stephen Laoye Popoola lived a really good, fulfilled and eventful life. Even after retiring from the Bench at 65, when most men would be waiting for death to come knocking,Pa Laoye still engaged in legal consultation and advice. Most of the legal steps volunteered by him were helpful and impeccable. This attest to his brilliant pontification at both the Bar and the Bench.
In the social circle, Justice Laoye Popoola ,quite like his brother,Prince Salawu Lobalowo Popoola,was a Prince who navigated life with aristocratic panache. A tiger does not proclaim its tigritude,he acts it. If you come across someone of royal blood, it’s not in the saying that you deduce their royalty. Omo Oba ki i jagun bi eru. Justice Popoola talks deeply with pride and royalty. His baritone voice,deep and rich resonates the talking arena. You would think a spirit is behind the voice. He was suave, brilliant and intimidating.
Communally,the late Judge was of immense benefits. His timely and timeous intervention in resolving the problem of identification in the famous Ado ruling House of Okere Dynasty didn’t go unnoticed. The reason why such eminent people with obvious royal blood and strategic communal positioning wore the tar of doubt in the Okere kingship was one of the royal mystiques which the eminent jurist and elder statesman assisted the Saki ruling lineage to resolve. Before his intervention, the issue proved a hard-nut to crack, somewhat like a jigsaw puzzle. Late Justice Popoola deserves accolade for making this part of the town’s history now committed to the dust bin of history.
In short, there’s so much to write and discuss in the highly extensive life of this great man of Saki extraction. Anyone who says Saki,Oke Ogun and indeed Nigeria has not lost one of her most experienced , dependable and brilliant legal minds , is living in a fool’s paradise. Justice Stephen Laoye Popoola died a fulfilled man but it’s not to say we are eager to bid him a departure to the other side of ethereal divide. Here’s wishing him a happy rest.