Avoid cold water and air-conditioners, Pa Oriade’s health tips as he goes home today

The final rites of passage for legal luminary and grassroots politician, Pa Oladoye Oriade will be concluded today.

He will be buried in his home at Ilamose, Ejigbo after a church service.

He was 90 years and 56 days old. He was born on April 12, 1930 and breathed his last on June 6, this year.

Until his death, Pa Oriade mixed freely with the residents and was very visible at public and private functions.

A former chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, he supported the All Progressives Congress and was patron of the The Mandate Movement till he gave up the ghost.

Pa Oriade caused a stir last year when he announced his support for the age old natural urine therapy as a means of detoxifying the body.

He also shared several health tips that he believed helped him to live till old age.
These include avoidance of cold water and airconditioners which he believed attack the bones of the body and lead to illness.

A brilliant lawyer, Pa Oriade recalled several legal battles with the late legal titan, Chief Frederick Alade Williams which he won.

There is a lot to learn from the life and times of the dogged jurist and generous giver as his biography below clearly shows:

Chief Ralph Amoo Oladoye Oriade was born in the ancient city of Abeokuta, Ogun State on April 12, 1930 to the Gatos Teniola Oriade Family. Growing up in Abeokuta, Chief Oriade, as he was fondly called, developed a keen sense for justice, fairness, altruism, and leadership. He left Abeokuta for Lagos at a young age, where he continued his education and worked briefly with Total Petroleum up till 1958 when he proceeded to England in furtherance of his ambition to study Law.
Chief Oriade met his wife, Chief (Mrs.) Beatrice Modupe Oriade (nee Adegoroye) of blessed memory, in London and they got married in 1962, a union that was blessed with three children. After acquiring a Bachelor of Laws degree at the prestigious University of London, Chief Oriade returned with his family to Nigeria to undergo training at the Nigeria Law School. Upon successful completion of the program, he was called to the Nigerian Bar in July 1969.

He devoted his entire working life to the practice of law with a passion that enthralled many observers. Chief Oriade remained active in the profession up till his last days. The law was his true first-love and the courtroom, his stage. A true Christian by heart and character, Chief Oriade engaged in his profession with unparalleled compassion, dedication, and unblemished ethical standards. An unrelenting defender of the oppressed, he was a dogged fighter for justice and fairness, qualities that endeared him to litigants, even on the opposite side of his cases. Never known to shy away from a good legal battle, Chief Oriade was noted for courage and an uncommon intellect in the court room, constantly testing the boundaries the law. Notable among the cases he argued at the Supreme Court are:

1. UBA Ltd. & ors. v. Nwora (1978) NSCC 519
2. Management Ent. Ltd. v. Otusanya (1987) NSCC (Pt. 1) 577
3. Bamishebi & ors. v. Faleye & ors (1987) NSCC (Pt.1) 475
4. Ishola Williams v. H. A. Hammonds Projects Ltd. (1988) NSCC (Pt.1) 342
5. Edet v. The State (1988) NSCC (Pt. 3) 175
6. NBN Ltd. v. Guthrie (Nig) Ltd. (1993) NSCC (Pt. 1) 401

A born philanthropist, Chief Oriade will dole out his last kobo to help the needy. Service to the community was a duty to him. He, at various times during his sojourn in England, served as Secretary and President of Egbe Omo Egba respectively. In recognition of his numerous contributions to his homeland, he was conferred with several traditional and religious chieftaincy titles among which are Laderin of Ilugun, Oke-ona; Balogun of Ilugun, Oke-ona; Osi of Oke-ona, Egba, and Osi Onigbagbo Ilugun conferred by his home church, St. Stephen’s Church, Ilugun, Abeokuta. He also served as the President of the Association of Egba Chiefs in Lagos and Lisabi Club for several years. The Chief was also noted for being an incurable optimist who only saw the good in all people and things. Never one to hold a grudge, one of his favorite quotes is that Psalm admonition “…forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. He will emphasize the latter part of the verse to drive home the point that he who seeks God’s forgiveness must first forgive all others.

Chief Oriade is survived by a wife, children, sister, brothers, cousins, nephews and nieces, and several grandchildren.