"Tribute to an Icon": Late Justice Anthony Nnaemezie Aniagolu, Former Justice of the Supre

Remembering Dad on his birthday, October 25, 2016.

(Republishing, " Tribute to an icon" by Donu Kogbara. Previously published by Vanguard Nigeria)

The late great Justice Anthony Nnaemezie Christopher Aniagolu, OFR, crammed so many impressive achievements into his curriculum vitae that one wonders how he was also able to do normal things like sleep, eat and enjoy family life. Born on October 35,1922 in Eke, Enugu State, the Honourable Justice lost his father at the tender age of two and suffered countless deprivations until his formidable cleverness and dogged commitment to hard work rescued him from poverty.

He took the entrance exam to Government College Umahia alongside 12,000 other youngsters, came top and won a scholarship. Other astounding academic successes followed and he wound up being sent to England, where he studied law at Cambridge and Bristol universities and became a member of the British Bar.

Legal profession

When he returned to Nigeria, he married Maria Chinyelu Igbo, a beautiful teacher, and gradually worked his way to the pinnacle of the legal profession, eventually becoming a highly esteemed Justice of the Supreme Court.

Aniagolu (a staunch Catholic and Papal Knight) was also, at various points in time, Chairman of the l988/9 Constituent Assembly, Pro-Chancellor of Enugu State University of Technology, Pro-Chancellor of Ife University, a Visiting Scholar to the International Jurists’ Programme at Capital University (Colombus Ohio, USA) and so on (the list of his numerous accomplishments cannot be squeezed onto one newspaper page).

It is hardly surprising that his death, a few weeks ago, attracted countless accolades from foreigners and Nigerians from all walks of life. His fellow VIPs and lawyers remembered him as a man of principle who possessed enviable talents. Ordinary folks remembered him as a role model they looked up to. But the accolades that interest me most are the extremely moving comments that my friends, Charles and Chichi Aniagolu, have made about their adored and much-missed Dad.

[Post 2011 note: All ten of of Justice Anlagolu's kids adored and loved their Dad and still miss him very much!]

Let me share some of their reminiscences with you:

From Charles, a BBC-trained journalist, TV producer, Arise Newscaster:

“I will always remember Dad as an unshakeably honest larger than life character who had this amazing capacity to inspire people and compel attention.

“His command of the English language was truly astonishing. By the age of nine, through listening to him, I knew the meaning of big words like ‘lugubrious’, ‘salubrious’, ‘autodidact’ and many more.

“Dad loved indulging in the art of positive argumentation, as much with us his children as with his friends and colleagues. And he almost always won these debates. I desperately wanted to be like him and any nod of appreciation from him of my feeble efforts to impress him sent me to the moon with joy. And I was very saddened whenever I failed to live up to his very demanding expectations.

“I was a bit of a tearaway when I was growing up and was often at the receiving end of his fury and extreme disdain for failings of any kind, whether it was bad grades at school or sneaking out at night to attend a party. He had a ferocious temper which, when unleashed, could be frightening. But though he was quick to anger, he was also very quick to forgive.

Brilliant storyteller

“My fondest memories of Dad are of a funny, outgoing man and brilliant storyteller. He could keep me laughing for hours. I never got as close to him as I wanted, but then most people never get the chance to figure out what makes a genius tick. But being his son, whom he battled hard to make a better person, gave me a front seat opportunity to get to know the perfectionist in him.

“Goodnight Dad! Thank you with all my heart for your love, your vision and your faith. Your sun may have set but you will never be forgotten”.

From Chichi, who has a PhD [previously worked for the European Union, now a country director for a Nike foundation]:

“Dad was always cracking jokes but was also a strict disciplinarian. There were no grey areas for him. There was good and there was evil, period!

“When my kid brother asked him to call someone up to ask for a favour on his behalf, my Dad’s response was: ‘If I ask this person for a favour and they show up in my court tomorrow, how will I be able to judge him fairly?’

“Dad believed in God without compromise. To him, a judge represented God on earth because God represents justice. And he felt that judges who would face stiff penalties from God if they compromised.

“He had a temper but never bore a grudge. And he loved my Mum so much. He spoiled her silly. He would not accept an invitation to a function if the invitation was not also addressed to his wife. And it wouldn’t matter who the invitation was from. He would send it back to be readdressed.

“Being an African man, he believed that men should be heads of households, but he also totally believed in women having the right to excel in any area, including leadership positions. So he always encouraged his male and female children equally and urged us all to be the best we could be. And when my sister, Loretta, decided to run for the governorship of Enugu State, he supported her fully.

“His only regret at the end of his life would have been the fact that he never got to see Nigeria becoming a great country. He so desperately wanted us to be a country to be reckoned with; and the state of the nation broke his heart”.

From Donu, admirer:

It is customary and polite to lavishly praise the dead. But, frankly, such praise is not always entirely deserved. Justice Aniagolu, however, really was special. And I did not gain this impression purely from hanging out with his offspring and meeting him a couple of times. I have talked to many people who knew him well and have concluded that he was a rare gem in a country in which justice is often for sale and too many citizens know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

May this particularly ethical legal luminary rest in perfect peace. Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/tribute-to-an-icon/