\u2022The\nInspiring Story Of Chief Mrs. FOLAKE SOLANKE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within\nthe legal profession her name is big. She is one of the accomplished lawyers in\nthe profession. She has been practicing Law since 1963. But Chief (Dr) Mrs. Folake Solanke is quite\nmodest about her accomplishments in life and career. She is humble to a fault.\nThough she is hugely successful, she is a very modest woman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nturned 87 last Friday 29th March 2019, but she does not look it at all. She\nstill looks refreshingly young. She is fit and agile. She is also smart too.\nShe does not need reading glasses to read. Her skin is fresh and tender. And\nshe has remained her prim and proper self. She is English in her way of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\nis understandable. She studied abroad for years, especially in her formative\nyears. She is an epitome of what you can describe as a lady. Call her a lady of\nsubstance and you won\u2019t be wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nstory of Chief Folake Solanke is the story of an amazing woman who had over the\ndecades become an icon for the younger generation to emulate and copy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Lawyers\nsee her as an incon of cerebral dexterity and uncompromising honesty in the\nlegal profession. And her chamber is noted for decency”, remarked the Hon.\nJustice E.O Fakayode, a former Chief Judge of the High Court of Oyo State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nis also known as the lady of many firsts, among which are: 1st Lady State\nCommissioner in the old Western State. (1972); 1st Lady Chairman of the Board\nof WNTV and WNBS (1971); 1st Lady Senior Advocate of Nigeria (1981); 1st\nGovernor, Zonta International District, Africa (1982) and 1st Governor, Zonta\nInternational District, Africa (1982) and 1st non caucasian to be elected\nInter. Presdient of ZONTA International (1992).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And\nher very many firsts has earned many appellations and aliases. Some call her\nQueen Of The Bar. Others call her lady SAN, Lady Silk and many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nschooled in London. She studied Law and she was one of the earliest female lawyers.\nShe was also the 1st female SAN in Nigeria. She was given that honour in 1981.\nShe has been practising law for decades. She is famously called Lady SAN.\nThough from Ikorodu, she has lived all her life in Ibadan. Though, she never\nwent into Politics, she has served in public service. She was once a\nCommissioner in Western Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nspeaks Queens English. Her delivery is superb. Don\u2019t forget she is old school.\nShe is good at what she does. In her legal career, she has handled so many\nlandmark cases. And she is actively in service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nis the daughter of late Chief J.S. Odulate, the founder of Alabukun Powder. Her\nelder sister is Chief (Mrs.) Stella Odesanya (MFR) who turned 96 a few months\nback. She is a very disciplined woman, blessed with impeccable manners. She is\nprim and proper. She lives a regimented life. She has a specific time she\nsleeps. She has a specific time she wakes up. She eats healthily. She does not\ntake nonsense. She does not suffer fools gladly. She is always fair in her\ndealings with people. She is a widow. Her husband Prof. Solanke died a few\nyears ago. She is content with life. She is content with her modest successes.\nShe is decent. She has continued to live in the same house she and her husband\nhas lived in for decades. Its an old house in an exclusive part of Ibadan. Its\nin a GRA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nwill always tell you that what shaped her is the kind of principled upbringing,\nshe had as a kid growing up. Her impressive story is contained in her\nautobiography which she has updated over the years. The story of her late dad\nand his remarkable life of inventions occupy a large chunk of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nits 15th March 1981 edition of Daily Times gave her the title Lady SAN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nappellation was 1st used to refer to her in the caption under a photograph\ntaken by Cornelius Oyemade the ace society photographer. Since then, 1st Lady\nSAN has become her 2nd name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nis a lady of many 1st she was the first female SAN. She is an accomplished\nlady, She was the list Lady to attain the rank of SAN. She was also the first\nfemale ever, to occupy a cabinet position as a state Commissioner in the old\nWestern State of Nigeria in 1972 in the cabinet of Brig Gen. Oluwole Rotimi\n(rtd). She left in 1974. She was also the 1st woman to lead ZONTA\nInternational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe course of her Law practice, she has handled hundreds of cases both Civil\n& Criminal at all levels of court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nschooled in Abeokuta and Methodist Girls High School Lagos. Her university\neducation was in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many\ndo not know that her 1st career was Teaching. She taught at Yejide Girls\nGrammar School, Ibadan. She taught Latin & Mathematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nwas a junior in Late Chief FRA Williams, QC Law office in Ibadan from 1963 to\n64. She was the 1st Junior to work in Chiefs office. She left Rotimi Williams\nChambers at the end of 1965 to set up her own Law Chamber, she established her\nAlabukun Law Chambers in May 1966 in Ibadan. As at that time there was no law\noffice being solely run by a female Lawyer in Ibadan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nstarted practicing law in 1963. On 15th March 1981, she was elevated to the\nrank of SAN. She was the only woman. The rank of SAN is the apex for a\npracticing Lawyer. She was the first woman to wear silk and sit in the Inner\nBar of the Supreme Court. She remained the only female SAN for more than\n8years. In 1989 another female lawyer Chief (Mrs) P.C. Ajayi-Obe was compered\nwith the prestigious rank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All\nher seniors have had good things to say about her. Hon. Justice Kayode Eso\ncommended her diction, style and command of English in his book. The Mystery\nGunman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nJustice Thompson also in his book Reminiscences at the Bar also commended her\nwhen he wrote, “she possesses the genius and pulchritude of\nCleopatra.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mrs.\nSolanke admitted in her autobiography that one of the things that has helped\nher legal career is her application of the discipline of Mathematics to the\ndiscipline of Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over\nthe years she says she has continued to enjoy advocacy. \u201cI love advocacy and\nthe cuts and thrust of the courtroom adversarial contest, \u201c she wrote in her\nautobiography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Late radical Lagos Lawyer. Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) described her as a Brain and a Beauty at the Bar. We almost forgot to tell you that she became the 1st Yeyemofin of Ife in 1981.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022The Inspiring Story Of Chief Mrs. FOLAKE SOLANKE Within the legal profession her name is big. She is one of the accomplished lawyers in the profession. She has been practicing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":12915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[16897],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":169965,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/how-chief-mrs-folake-solanke-celebrated-her-90th\/","url_meta":{"origin":115640,"position":0},"title":"How Chief (Mrs.) FOLAKE SOLANKE Celebrated Her 90th","author":"Jamiu Abubakar","date":"April 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Tuesday 29th March, 2022 was a very special day of celebration for family, associates and most especially, members of the legal profession, as one of their own, and an icon, Chief (Mrs.) Folake Solanke clocked 90. They had a glamorous celebration to mark her landmark age and they gave thanks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":169860,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/first-female-san-chief-mrs-folake-solanke-celebrates-90th-birthday-in-ibadan\/","url_meta":{"origin":115640,"position":1},"title":"First Female SAN, Chief Mrs. FOLAKE SOLANKE Celebrates 90th Birthday In IBADAN","author":"Jamiu Abubakar","date":"March 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Tuesday 29th, March, 2022 was a day of celebration for family, associates and most especially, members of the legal profession, as one of their own, Chief Mrs. Folake Solanke clocked 90 and had a glamorous celebration to mark her landmark age.\u00a0\u00a0 Call her the Matriarch of the legal profession\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0c483aa1-c3e0-47a0-8945-2767e990c28b.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0c483aa1-c3e0-47a0-8945-2767e990c28b.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0c483aa1-c3e0-47a0-8945-2767e990c28b.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0c483aa1-c3e0-47a0-8945-2767e990c28b.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0c483aa1-c3e0-47a0-8945-2767e990c28b.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":170122,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/celebrating-1st-female-san-chief-mrs-folake-solanke-90\/","url_meta":{"origin":115640,"position":2},"title":"Celebrating 1st Female SAN, Chief (Mrs) FOLAKE SOLANKE @ 90","author":"City People","date":"April 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Within the legal profession, her name is big. She is one of the most accomplished lawyers in the profession. She has been practicing Law since 1963.\u00a0 But Chief (Dr) Mrs Folake Solanke is quite modest about her accomplishments in life and career. She is humble to a fault. Though she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Celebrating-1st-Female-SAN-Chief-Mrs-FOLAKE-SOLANKE-@-90.jpg?fit=849%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":160601,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/1st-lady-sanchief-mrs-folake-solanke-loses-elder-sistermrs-stella-odesanya\/","url_meta":{"origin":115640,"position":3},"title":"1st Lady SAN,Chief Mrs Folake Solanke Loses Elder Sister,Mrs Stella Odesanya","author":"Reporter","date":"August 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the sad news of the passing away to greater glory of an accomplished woman,Mrs Stella Olubukunola Odesanya who is the sister of 1st Lady SAN,Chief Mrs Folake Solanke.The last time Citypeople met with herwas at the gathering of \u2018Who is Who\u2019 in Lagos, Saturday, December 22, 2019 as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/odulate1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/odulate1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/odulate1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115572,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/nigerias-first-lady-san-is-87\/","url_meta":{"origin":115640,"position":4},"title":"Nigeria\u2019s FIRST LADY SAN IS 87","author":"Lekan Alabi","date":"March 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, Friday, 29th March, 2019, Nigeria's first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), Chief Folake Solanke, is 87 years old. I wish her a happy birthday and many happy seasons of sound health, joy, honour and contentment, amen Chief Solanke's firsts in life achievements included her being the: *First female Commissioner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Folake Solanke","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12914,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/buhari-sends-congratulatory-message-first-female-san-85th-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":115640,"position":5},"title":"Buhari Sends Congratulatory Message To First Female SAN On Her 85th Birthday","author":"Damilare Salami","date":"April 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated eminent lawyer and the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Folake Solanke, on her 85th birthday. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on Monday in Abuja, Buhari joined all members of the Bar and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Folake Solanke","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Folake-Solanke.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115640"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115642,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115640\/revisions\/115642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}