Fashola in Court: A Lesson He Taught in 2007, and Lived in 2025

The image of former Lagos Governor and former Federal Minister, Babatunde Fashola, as seen recently, not on a podium or in a political convoy, but at the bar of a Court, decked in his lawyer’s robe, defending a client was striking.

Many think this is “humbling.” But because of my personal experience of his person, I call it the ultimate mark of a man secure in his essence.

This shouldn’t surprise people like us. What we saw of Mr Fashola, isn’t a fallback plan; it’s a lifelong principle lived in full view.

Let me share this personal encounter with him.

In 2007, a few months after his inauguration, a young man who had just left banking got a powerful politician to write to the new Governor, seeking to be appointed as a Personal Assistant or at least get a portfolio under his administratio.

Fashola, having reviewed the man’s CV, and put a call across and agreed to a meeting at the home of that influential politician.

Before the influential politician, Governor Fashola did the unexpected. He acknowledged the man’s strong CV, but refused the request.

His reason was pure principle.

He asked a piercing question: “What will become of you after I leave office?” I see that you are now a finance expert going by your current status. But what would become of you later?

The man had no satisfactory answer. Fashola’s counsel was clear: Do not abandon a promising professional career for the fleeting glow of political appointment.

Go, get more certifications, become a formidable expert in your field. Build something that outlasts any political tenure.

Eighteen years later, that governor has answered his own question.

After two terms as Governor and eight years as a powerful Federal Minister, he has not been seen lobbying for relevance or hopping between political meetings. Instead, he has simply returned to his kingdom; the courtroom that he belongs.

His relevance was never tied to a title; it was rooted in a skill.

In a climate where life after office often means a desperate cling to the periphery of power, Mr Fashola models a different path:

He made us understand that truly, to a larger extent, public service is temporary, but mastery of one’s craft is a permanent sovereignty.

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He hasn’t just advised it. He has lived it. He has a life after politics because he never allowed politics to become his entire life.

That is the quiet, powerful lesson from a man who, in 2007, told a man to build his career, and in 2025, showed us exactly what that looks like.

Thank you, sir, Mr Fash. We are in deed blessed with your exemplary lifestyle.

By Akinropo Akinola. December 11, 2025.

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