There used to be this popular joke in Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital that the late Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Alarape Salman, SAN who exited the world quietly in his sleep on 7th January 2024 was already a SAN before he was formally conferred with the prestigious rank on the 25th February 1987 along with three others including Chief Are Afe Babalola (SAN). On a particular occasion in Ilorin when he appeared at a gathering, the ovation that rented the air was “SALMAN, SAN”. True to that joke, if you delete the three alphabets L , M and A in his name SALMAN, you are left with nothing but SAN, meaning the Senior Advocate of Nigeria. It was not for nothing that he was being called the Doyen of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria in Kwara State being first to be so conferred as a resident lawyer. The late Legal Luminary himself during his life time once told a newspaper reporter in an interview in 2017 that : “Alhaji A.G.F. Abdulrazak became a lawyer before me, but he based in Lagos. I am the 56th lawyer who became a SAN in the entire country but number one in Kwara. A former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ojibara, once worked with me here.”
Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Alarape Salman, SAN was born in Ilorin on the 9th November 1942 to an Imam father, popularly known as Salman Ake because he once resided in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The young Salman began his primary education in Ilorin at Al-Adabiyyah Muslim School which later came to be known as the Ansarul Islam Primary School. He later moved to Baptist Day Primary School, Minna but eventually completed his primary education at the Baboko Primary School, Ilorin. Thereafter he proceeded to the prestigious Barewa College, Zaria where he completed his secondary education in 1959. He was at the Ahmadu Bello University for his university education and graduated in 1967 and thereafter proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Lagos where he qualified as a lawyer in 1968 along with Alhaji (Dr.) Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, the incumbent Emir of Ilorin; Hon. Justice Issa Ayo Salami, a former President of the Court of Appeal and Hon. Justice Adegbite , a retired Judge in the Kwara State Judiciary. After his call to the Bar, he joined the Ministry of Justice in Sokoto and rose to the rank of the Deputy Solicitor General. He was in 1976 appointed the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Kwara State and worked in that capacity till 1978 when he voluntarily resigned from that office after a disagreement with George Inni, the then Military Governor of the State.
After his resignation, he went ahead to establish his private law firm, SAARA CHAMBERS and began active practice of law that took him to different parts of the country which eventually earned him the prestigious rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria. While in practice he at different time served as the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Kwara State. He also served as the Chairman of the African Petroleum (AP) as well as the as the 3rd Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association from 1985 to 1986. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the NBA between 1976 and 1986. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly between 1985 and 1989.He also served in the Kwara State Boundary Committee. He was recognised and awarded Honourary Doctorate Decree by an Irish University. On the beauty of the private practice of law, he said in an interview that:
“I was able to resign and stand on my own because I am a good lawyer. In fact, when I opened my office, the present Chief Registrar of Kwara State worked in my chambers. One of the retired Judges of High Court in the state, who was my classmate at ABU and a lawyer in Gusau when I was in Sokoto, also worked here. If you are good at what you are doing, you will enjoy working alone as a lawyer … I handled cases for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as some banks in the country… I face my profession with all my passion because I am not interested in politics. Up till now, the only thing I do in politics is to go and vote; I am not a card carrying member of any political party. As old as I am, I still go to court and handle cases for my clients.”
The late legal luminary was a believer and upholder of some of the traditions that seem to be dying in the legal profession as he always accorded great courtesy to any lawyers that came his way regardless of the age of such lawyer at the bar. As one of the law school students sent to his law firm in Ilorin in 2001 for the mandatory law school’s Chambers Attachment as we used to call it, I went to his Law firm with the letter from the law school and on arrival I met some of his clients at the reception waiting to see the Learned Silk. I introduced myself to his Secretary and my mission. The Secretary asked me to sit down to join the queue. As the clients were going in one after the other and me still sitting, the Learned Silk had the cause to come to the reception and the moment he sighted me, he came closer to me and asked whether I had come to see him. I answered in affirmative and introduced myself. He immediately asked the Secretary why she kept a lawyer waiting in the reception and allowing the clients to come in. He apologized to me and asked me to follow him into his office where we had a pleasant discussion after I handed over to him my letter from the law school. The experience during that Chambers attachment with him was a wonderful one and I had the cause to reflect this in the acknowledgements and preface to my book titled LAW PRACTICE KIT published years after as follows:
“I must place on record the initial advice and encouragement I received from Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Salman ( SAN), my big boss in the law profession as it was he that first imbibed in me the desire to want to read the judgments of courts…. Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Salman, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who was then our principal also encouraged us (the attaches or law school interns) to cultivate the habit of reading judgments particularly those of the appellate courts. One of the parting gifts he gave to us on completion of our law firm attachment with him were certified true copies of appellate courts’ judgments of some cases his law firm was involved in.”
From what are being witnessed in the legal profession this time around, the traditions of great fraternity and courtesy among lawyers are fading. There is dare need to sustain that great courtesy and mutual respect which the like of the late Learned Silk stood for during his life time. Only those that are not privileged to meet and interact with him when he was alive that would not be able to say one good thing or the other about him. According to Hon. Justice Umar Atu Kalgo, JSC in his valedictory speech when retiring from the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 14th May 2007: “I cannot forget Alhaji Aliyu A. Salman, SAN., as a colleague in the Ministry of Justice Sokoto for many years and good relationship that existed between us and our families”. His demise has been greeted with a lot of encomium as according the Emir of Ilorin , Alhaji (Dr.) Ibrahim Sulu Gambari : “ Alhaji Alarape Salman SAN gave his best to the Emirate in particular and humanity in General”.
In a tribute to the late Life Bencher, Chief Solomon A. Awomolo, SAN, Vice Chairman of Body of Benchers, has this to say : “One of the most friendly compassionate and caring seniors in Kwara State. He practiced law with dignity and comportment of a gentleman in several jurisdictions especially in Kaduna , Kwara and Kogi jurisdiction. He practiced law with the highest ethically standard and fear of God. His name was never associated with corruption, abuse of office or undue influence or abuse of the due process of law. One of his attributes that I tried to emulate was his patience, tolerance and candour in the face of insults, disrespect and provocation whether from the Bar or the Bench. He would smile as if nothing has happened. He was cosmopolitan in his views on public matters. He was not a religion fanatic. He embraced every religion and hated wickedness…. He was a mentor to several juniors including myself. Money meant little to his practice but justice, integrity and honour were his goals. He left indelible marks of integrity, discipline and moral standards worthy of emulation. He contributed his best to the legal profession. He will forever be remembered a great Icon of the noble and learned profession. May Allah comfort his only wife Hajia Salman, bless his children particularly my learned friend Salman Salman Esq. May Allah grant him Aljanah Fidaus ”
To the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr Adetokunbo Kayode , CON, SAN: “Alhaji Salman was a meticulous and through legal practitioner who enjoyed huge respect from young and old at the bar .He is such a lovable and kind gentleman. He would always advise and guide us. He usually had a word to give about comportment at the Bar .He would ask after your family and give words of encouragement…. Dr. Salman showed and had within him, grace, a quiet sense of contentment and deep personal satisfaction with his life .He was easy going and above all enjoyed a happy life .This is why we so much loved and respected him. Senior lawyers today must learn and emulate these simple yet edifying qualities.”
The demise of Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Alarape Salman from the world has again established another unavoidable fact about every human being, that no matter how great, knowledgeable, powerful, wealthy, influential or popular a man one day, you will hear “the man is dead”. Nothing pays than being good and kind to everyone that comes your way regardless of tribal or religious affiliation. According to a great philosopher: “Every human being shall become history”. But the question now is: do you want to be a positive or negative history? The answer to this is left to every individual to answer. Remember by your every act and deed, you are creating history for yourself which may be told when you are no longer on the surface of the earth. May the Almighty Allah accept and bless the soul of Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Alarape Salman (SAN) and put him among His righteous servant in the Al-Janah –Firdaos!
NOTE: Anyone is at liberty to disagree with my above submissions as I will surely appreciate a balanced, fair and objective rebuttal.
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12th January 2024
