TRIBUTE

OLUWAROTIMI OLADIPUPO EDU: WE PART TO MEET AGAIN

“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart”. Mahatma Gandhi.

1. Oluwarotimi Oladipupo Edu, as the above quotation goes, our relationship transcended beyond partnership, it goes beyond family relationship and it stands alone hence the above quotation is apt to say ‘wherever you are, you will always be in our hearts’ for how you took care of us, our family members and our friends.
2. Our parts crossed during our Masters’ Degree Class at the University of Lagos and we remained together until you took your last. From the years when we first met at the University of Lagos till your last day on planet earth on Friday, the 15th of May, 2026 (8 days shy of your 69th birthday) my partner and I, Stephen Obajaja called you Mr. Rotimi Edu or Mr. Edu for short. You were older than us age-wise but you didn’t allow the age difference to make a difference in the way you related with us as your Partners.
3. The news of your passing got to us at about 6.57am on Saturday the 15th of May, 2026 when a mutual friend of ours and a client sent me a WhatsApp message which read, ‘sad development. Rotimi Edu is dead’. I thought I wasn’t awake but was dreaming until I interrogated the mutual friend and I exclaimed; ‘Oh my God; Accept my condolences, was he back from BIBA’ or he died in the UK? and the response was “He didn’t go’. I was shocked with the news of your death but after a while I came to the realization as stated in Job 14: 1 ‘man that is born of a woman is of a few days, and full of trouble….’ And it is time to go and rest in the bosom of the Lord.
4. From the day we met you at the University of Lagos to the days we decided to practice together and the day the partnership was formalized by registering our firm as Fountain Court Partners; to your availability in our days as rookie lawyers; to the days when I got married to my hearthrob Olamojiba Lema on the 14th day of February, 2009; to the day my first child (Omowonuola Lema now 16 plus years of age) was named on the 3rd of February, 2010; to when the NBA Lagos honoured me by electing me as their Secretary in 2014; to when my dear mother celebrated her 80th birthday on the 4th of April, 2026; you were always available with your personality and your resources.
5. As Job lamented, you ‘had your fair share of troubles in this world’ but you had carried on with stoic equanimity. For instance, I never knew you had no children of your own between when we met in 2004 and 2007, as whenever we visited your house at Ogudu, Ori Oke, we always meet children in your place which we later realized were your sister’s children (Mr. Bankole and Mrs. Bankole’s children). It was later in 2007 when you and Stephen Obajaja had gone for a meeting in Mowe over some land matters that you disclosed to him that you had no child of yours and that you were hoping on God to answer your prayers.
6. We joined our faith with yours and waited on the Lord, praying for his intervention and true to his words and promise he answered your prayers in June, 2010. I asked Taiwo Edu, your son about his preparation for his 16th birthday the last time I was in your place, being the 1st day of May, 2026 and he answered that he will be in School for his final examination. God didn’t just answer your prayers and ours too. He blessed you with a twin and to make it complete, he gave you a male, Taiwo and a female, Kehinde. As providence would also have it, I had the uncommon opportunity to see your wife in her third trimester sometime in April or May, 2010 when I came to take instruction for a case you were handling in Enugu. You couldn’t travel owing to a mild illness and you had to be hospitalized at St. Nicholas Hospital. As soon as I was about entering the elevator, I met you and your wife and we exchanged pleasantries. I later accompanied you to your hospital ward upstairs for the briefing I came for and there and then you mentioned to me that God had done it. I responded that ‘God will help madam to carry the pregnancy to full term and deliver safely’ which God did.
7. Again, whilst waiting for the arrival of your children you had travelled to the United Kingdom and you had a medical emergency which left you in coma for close to 7 days as mentioned to me when you returned to Nigeria and repeated same during the thanksgiving service at First Baptist Church, Surulere, Lagos State.
8. In the Insurance Industry in Nigeria, you were a leader and you served as one of the Executive members of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) under Mrs. Laide Osijo as President. You rose through the ranks to become the President of NCRIB and turned around the fortunes of the Institution. I am also aware that you were part of the team put together by the then President of NCRIB, Mrs. Laide Osijo to develop the former Secretariat into a four-storey building from the bungalow it was. The entire leadership in the insurance industry has something pleasant to say about you. I read some of their pleasant words in a publication by Business Day Newspapers.
9. Your house was like a Mecca of sorts in your lifetime. The way it was when you were living in Ogudu was the same way it was when you moved to Lekki. The tradition of hosting your friends on a yearly basis was continued when you moved to Lekki. Every 29th day of December was a day to remember in your house at Ogudu and I used to boast to my friends that your parties are rare parties. No one comes to your parties, no matter the time he or she got there and will be told ‘food is finished’. ‘Ka ma ri’ meaning it never happened. You continued in Lekki, and later moved the parties to the 3rd of January every year and I remember vividly I attended the 2025 edition on the 3rd of January, 2025 with my children, to wit, Wonu, Fishe and Aanu. I even checked the gallery of my phone to confirm the date the photographs were taken along with my children to authenticate the date. This was part of the reason you have a place in your house where you hosted your trusted friends, men and women inclusive without necessarily disturbing the neighbourhood or your Street.
10. Your were a Christian of the Baptist Faith and this reflected in the way and manner you related with fellow men and women. In one of your birthdays; either during your 50th or 60th birthday, you donated two plots of land to the Church at Ogudu, Ori Oke for development into a Church building.
11. You set up Quicklink Insurance Brokers Limited after you had your insurance stint with Mulumba Insurance Limited and Industrial and General Insurance IGI Plc, where the late Remi Olowude was your boss and mentor. You always remembered the late insurance mogul as your teacher and boss. I recall that our parts and yours crossed a few months after the establishment of Quicklink Insurance Brokers Limited which commenced its operations at Block D, Flat 21, Eko Court, Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos State. With the grace of God, your commitment, confidence, smartness, streetwiseness and unyielding dedication the team grew and earned you a household name in the Insurance Industry in Nigeria.
12. I remember vividly that in the year 2007 or thereabout the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) commissioned the duo of yourself and Chief Yemi Soladoye, being the Chief Executives of Quicklink Insurance Brokers Limited and Riskguard Africa Nigeria Limited respectively to work on the Market Development and Restructure Initiative (MDRI) which responsibilities you perfectly undertook and resulted in increased premium income in the Insurance Industry as can be evidenced today in Nigeria. Your efforts along with others deepened the insurance market in Nigeria.
13. At Fountain Court Partners, the firm of Solicitors established by the trio of Edu, Lema and Obajaja, you allowed my humble self to manage it, even when you were the only one who housed the firm for the first 10 years of its existence. You were generous to a fault Sir, and you related a story to me in time past that your friends who came to you to ask for financial support taunt you that you were not having any responsibility to take care of. Thank God, the Almighty God remembered you for good and gave you a double portion blessing that made up for the years of delay. You never knew me or my partner, yet you opened your arms wide open for us and you became the pillar in which the vehicle for our practice stood.
14. You were in Ilutitun, Ondo State, my hometown in February, 2009 when I celebrated my marriage; you released your choice vehicle with a chauffer to Stephen Obajaja to be taken to Igarra, Edo State in 2010 when he married his wife. Fountain Court Partners will miss you sir, I will miss you and I am sure Stephen misses you already. You provided a Nissan Primera Car to the firm when many of our colleagues were ‘legedenzing’ in Lagos in 2006. You followed it up with a Kia Rio (purchased by Quicklink Limited) for me to use as my official vehicle. You gave your all to the firm and our stay in Lagos couldn’t have been so easy at the beginning without your assistance and the orchestration of our meeting supervised by the Almighty God.
15. You were a leader again in the famous Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, a cosmopolitan Club in Lagos. You became the President of the Club and your presidency and your relationship with the Club afforded me and my partner the status of friends of the Club. I personally took advantage of this to approach the Management of the Club during your tenure and after your tenure to host campaign meetings of NBA Lagos Branch and NBA National at their Halls. Some of your Executives and Presidents after you still accord us the privileges of being your friend. Thank you for your kindness.
16. Many of your friends are our friends today because of your warm disposition towards me and my partner, Stephen Obajaja. Once, we mentioned to them that we are your partners, they accorded us the same respects and privileges only you could get from them. DIG Taiwo Lakanu (Rtd), Mr. Adewunmi Adisa, Mr. Kolade Olutekunbi, Mr. Bonojo (aka Boney), Mr. Ladi Oki, Mr. Gbolahan Oki (formerly of LABSCA and now a celebrated Chief as Ogboni Iduntafa of Lagos) to mention just a few.
17. In the NBA, many of our colleagues knew we had a Partner who gave us everything we needed in the firm. You gave us the support we needed even in our individual aspirations at the Bar. When I contested as Secretary in 2014 your pillar of support made the difference. Again, when Stephen Obajaja indicated interest to succeed me as Secretary, you supported him with all he needed. Even when I contested in 2019 and 2023 respectfully as Chairman of the Premier Bar you gave me your support. Our friends latched on these privileges to make use of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club at discounted price or sometime free of any charges.
18. I want to commend your wife, Mrs. Olayemi Edu (aka ‘Mummy Y’). You were a dutiful wife to your dear husband; a committed woman of God; a mother indeed and a strong ally. Thank you for all the support you gave to your husband in his lifetime and thank you for being strong and holding forth for Mr. Rotimi Edu even now to take care of the family, the businesses, the investments and above all the children he left behind. As a strong Christian of the Baptist faith, I believe you know that your husband is with his maker considering the work of God he did while on the face of the earth. He fed the widow; took care of the fatherless and even those whose father yet lived but couldn’t help them. This is the whole essence of living and we know he succeeded as much as he did in this endeavour because you supported him. May God rest his faithful and generous soul.
19. To Quiklink Insurance Brokers Limited, its Directors, Company Secretary and Staff, please take heart and accept my heartfelt condolences on the demise of the Executive Vice Chairman ‘EVC’ of the company. He was our sure banker any time we needed him. There is no assistance we asked of him that he refused. He always lent his supporting hands. Thank you Sir. Your legacy lives on.
20. To my Partner and Associates at Fountain Court Partners, we had wonderful times together and I cherish the fact that there was never a time I explained the affairs of the firm to Mr. Edu that he will not accept the position even when he had any misgiving before I intervened. Thank you for the trust. The ‘Preacher’ in the Holy Bible says ‘there is time for everything’ and in particular in Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, Verse 2 says ‘a time to be born and a time to die…..’.
21. Our Partner, Rotimi Edu was born and like every mortal he has died. We take solace in the time we spent together and in the many contributions he made to our lives as Partners and younger brothers. Rest well our Principal Partner. You not only contributed to our lives, but also contributed to the lives of our wives and children. We sorely miss you but we know you need to go and rest Sir. The NBA, Branch lost three of its members (who are very well known to me) between the months of May and June, 2026 as was published on the Branch’s whatsapp platforms. Rotimi Edu who died at the age of 69 years; Chief Adewale Adeniji who died at the age of 62 years and Mrs. Marian Jones who died at the age of 59. In all of these, we at Fountain Court Partners thank the Almighty God for 69 years (less 7 days) you spent on this side of eternity.

Adieu Sir Rotimi, Adieu Mr. Edu, Adieu Mr. Rotimi Edu, Adieu Baba Edu, Adieu Baba Rote, Adieu Sir Rote. May the Lord bring you to his place of eternal rest.

For: FOUNTAIN COURT PARTNERS

Adebola Olarotimi Lema Esq.
Managing Partner
Fountain Court Partners

(C) CITY LAWYER Magazine. All rights reserved. To join our Channel, click here. Click here to join our WhatsApp chatroom. Contact us at citylawyermag@gmail.com or 081-3838-0083.