“Chief Solanke a legal titan, luminary, champion of the noble profession…simply Chief Solanke is the “First Lady of Firsts””
As the name Chief Folake Solanke Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is automatically associated with the noble profession, it remains a surprise to many that Chief Solanke’s first forte in the professional world was in the “other” noble profession, Teaching. Chief Solanke attended at Methodist’s Girls’ High School (MGHS) (1945-1949) where she obtained unprecedented results namely, a Grade I in the Senior Cambridge School Certificate examination. In January 1951, Chief Solanke set sail for England in pursuit of a degree in Education.
Chief Solanke successfully graduated with a B.A. degree and diploma in Education from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in England in 1955. She launched her career by teaching Latin (Deo Volente) and Mathematics as a resident teacher in two fee paying public schools in England. She married Professor Emeritus Toriola F. Solanke, a fervent supporter of all of Chief Solanke’s professional and personal endeavors, in 1956 in London. Chief Solanke also taught the same subjects at Yejide Girl’s Grammar School, Ibadan, Nigeria from 1958-1960.
Thereafter, Chief Solanke decided to make a professional pivot and commenced reading law at Gray’s Inn, London and was called to the English Bar in May 1963 “in absentia” having completed the three-year course in twenty-two months. Subsequently, she was enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the same month and year and has practiced law ever since, garnering a reputation for excellence, oration, diligence, and glamour at the Bar.
To gain professional experience, Chief Solanke worked with her brother law-in-law – Mr. M.A. Odesanya- who later became a Lagos State High Court Judge. She was also a learned junior in the law chambers of Chief F.R.A Williams from 1963 to 1966 in Ibadan. Armed by unapparelled experience and undeterred by the limiting gender constructs of the day, Chief Solanke founded her own independent law chambers, “Alabukun Law-Chambers” in Ibadan in 1966.
Chief Solanke has held many significant posts locally, nationally, and internationally, some of which include: her appointment as the first female State Commissioner in the Cabinet of the Western State of Nigeria and the first female Chairman of the Western Nigeria Government Broadcasting Corporation WNTV/WNBS Ibadan (1972-1974) simultaneously. In 1981, Chief Solanke became the first woman to be conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Due to this appointment, she has affectionally been given the title of “First Lady SAN”. Chief Solanke rounded out her collection of firsts following her election as the first non-Caucasian Zonta International President for the 1994/1996 biennium hosted in Hong Kong in 1992.
Chief Solanke remains actively involved in the legal profession and has authored over 100 papers and publications and has received innumerable citations and awards including: Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye – a doctorate degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) (“honoris causa”) (2007) and The International Bar Association Distinguished International Woman Lawyer Award (2012).
Chief Solanke has delivered countless speeches, lectures, and papers on diverse legal topics. Though she retains her beloved title of “Lady SAN”, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria deemed it fit to upgrade her title twice, first to “Mother of the Bar” and ultimately to “Matriarch of the Bar”. Chief Solanke has been a mentor to up and coming lawyers of both sexes and routinely advocates for the well-being of junior lawyers in the profession. In March 2021, Chief Solanke celebrated 40 years as a Senior Advocate.
Chief Solanke is blessed with three children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.