Today,
every year, thousands of new lawyers graduate from the various laws schools in
Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Yenagoa, Enugu and in Yola. More than 70,000 of these
members of the learned profession have been produced by Nigerian law schools
but have you ever wondered who the first Nigerian lawyer was? The first Naija
lawyer to wear that wig? Today, the focus is on Nigeria's very first indigenous
lawyer, HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER SAPARA-WILLIAMS.
His
words: “The legal practitioner lives for the direction of his people and the
advancement of the cause of his country.” These memorable words adorned the
chambers of one of Nigeria's fiercest lawyers, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN.
Although
he was born on the 14th of July, 1855 in Sierra Leone, Sapara-Williams had his
roots in Ijeshaland (he was of the Ilesha subgroup of the Yorubas, found mainly
in Osun and some parts of Oyo State, he fondly referred to his native hometown
as Ijesha wa meaning 'our Ijesha'). He was the elder sibling of Dr. Oguntola
Odunbaku Sapara, a well-known medical doctor.
His
parents were Alexander Charles Williams (Orisha Saparoda or Sapara Senior), a
liberated slave and Nancy Johnson from Egbaland. They had three kids, one girl
and two boys: Clementina Mary Anne (later married Honourable Charles Foresythe,
once the Colonial Treasurer of the old Lagos government but she later died in
labour in 1877 and the disaster so touched her brother, Oguntola, who decided
to study medicine with special emphasis on midwifery), James and our dear
lawyer, Christopher, the elder son.
In 1871, he attended CMS Grammar School and later, the Wesley College, Sheffield, United Kingdom. Sapara-Williams was a law student at the Inner Temple, London, United Kingdom and after graduation, he was back in Nigeria where he started his practice on the 13th of January, 1888 in Lagos State (then the Lagos Colony). Have you noticed that today, the reverse is the case? Nigerians actually study here and leave the country to go and work abroad.
LOVE, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
He was married to Danko Sapara-Williams (see pictures).
LEGAL PRACTICE
On the 17th of November, 1879, he stamped his name in the annals of history as the first Nigerian lawyer when he was called to the English Bar. As an advocate, Sapara-Williams clearly distinguished himself and his knowledge of the customary law was indeed breath-taking, even if the law was not in writing. On the 30th of January, 1888, he joined as a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and on the 30th of August 1888, (124 years ago), he enrolled at the Supreme Court, Lagos as the first Nigerian barrister. It will also interest you to know that from 1900 to 1915, he was the Chairman of the NBA, which remains till date, one of Nigeria's most influential bodies.
It must however be noted that even though Sapara Williams was a pioneer in the field, there were some other contemporaries who also practiced law with him. But owing to the very low number of lawyers as at that time, people with no legal training but were a bit literate and had a passing knowledge of the English Law were regularly chosen to work as attorneys. Sapara-Williams handled popular cases such as Cole vs Cole and the Attorney-General of Southern Nigeria vs John Holt and Company. These were some of the most celebrated cases of the time and he also practised law in Accra, Ghana.
POLITICAL CAREER
As hinted earlier, Sapara-Williams also dabbled into politics and left his mark. He was the one who proposed that the 'the present boundary between the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria be readjusted by bringing the southern portion into Southern Nigeria, so that the entire tribes of the Yoruba-speaking people should be under one and the same administration.' Although Lord Lugard, the Governor-General did not support this move, his input to the final conclusion was more than slight.
He was also instrumental to the decolonization of the country. In 1905, he was in the United Kingdom where he made various proposals to the Colonial Office to make the necessary changes in their policies. Among others, he called for the construction of a training college for teachers in Lagos. And later, he also questioned the Seditious Offences Ordinances of 1909, which muzzled the press and clamped down on critics of the colonial authorities.
He stated that: 'Freedom of the Press is the great Palladium of British liberty ... Sedition is a thing incompatible with the character of the Yoruba people, and has no place in their constitution ... Hyper-sensitive officials may come tomorrow who will see sedition in every criticism and crime in every mass meeting'. Although the British still went ahead with the ordinance, making it a law, his voice was already heard.
His political and nationalist struggles did not end there. He allied with Herbert Macaulay to start the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society in Lagos on the 30th of August, 1910. This gave Macaulay a stronghold in attacking the British imperialists.
DEATH
Death came knocking on the 15th of March, 1915. But according to another Nigerian legal luminary, Pa Tunji Gomez, Sapara-Williams was buried at the Ajele Stadium (which was then used as a burial ground, other people buried there include Bishop Ajayi Crowther), something happened long after his burial. There was a case against the military governor of the state over Ajele Stadium and the government decided to exhume the bodies of those buried there to make way for other constructions and no one was willing to challenge the khaki boys until Pa Gomez took up the challenge with the late lawyer's daughter, Madam Sapara, who was around 70 years at the time and feared for Gomez's life. They were successful in getting an injunction restraining the Lagos State government from exhuming the bodies.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND LEGACY
During the reign of Owa (King and Paramount Ruler) Tayero of Ijeshaland, he was warmly received by the people of Osu, a village located about fifteen kilometres to the south of Ilesha. From there, he was taken with much fanfare to the family compound at Anaye Street, Ilesha. It was there he was conferred the title of the Lodifi of Ilesha by the Owa. Upon becoming a lawyer, Sapara Williams did not become solely engaged in his legal practice. He also took active parts in the political events dominating as at that time under the British colonial rule as can be seen above. When there was the Amalgamation of 1914, Sapara Williams was one of the members of the Legislative Council. Others included seven British officials (one of whom was the Governor chairing the council), two Nigerians (Sapara Williams was one) and two British serving in non-official capacity. Overall, he was a Member of the Legislative Council from October 1901 until he died in 1915. A brilliant lawyer, jurist, advocate, legislator, politician and a powerful orator, he utilized law as a force for positive social change.
NB: I must chip in that more legal giants would later emerge from Sapara-Williams' Ilesha area. These included other people like Justices Kayode Eso, Olayinka Ayoola, Funmi Adekeye (all of the Supreme Courts and others like Pa Bandele Aiku, Felix Fagbohungbe, Aluko Olokun and of course, the legendary Cicero himself, the late Chief James Ajibola Idowu Ige (Bola Ige).
