To some, he is a chip of the old block. To many, he is the last man of the old judicial order. To another group, he is the link between the present computer-driven judiciary and the analogue, but effective and dependable judicial past. Still in the eye of others, he is the symbol of the shinning glorious judicial past.

These observers are only describing one man in no different ways. And that man is Justice Mustapha Akanbi, former President, Court of Appeal, Nigeria and pioneer chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Miscellaneous Offences Commission (ICPC).

The elder statesman turned 80 years last month. By that, he has joined the octogenarian class, which confirms the assertion that he is an apostle of the old glorious judicial tradition. At that time, you didn't hear stories of corruption, which today is a common thing. During that era, the tradition of excellence was maintained by Justices such as Chukwudifu Oputa, Kayode Eso and Mohammed Bello.

Interestingly, Justice Akanbi stumbled into the profession. It was never his interest or desire to study Law. According to him, he disliked professions such as Law and Medicine.

Not even sustained pressure from his father would make him fall for Law.  He recalled that his father was fascinated by the exploits of notable lawyers of his time when he listened to them in court.  Somehow, Akanbi who had even started working in the then Northern Region's Civil Service, by Providence, decided to give law a trial when certain elders prevailed on him.

He said that Pa Olajide, an Abeokuta-born staffer of the then Northern Region's Civil Service and another elderly Lagos-based person, the late D. L. George, who later became the Baale of Abule-Ijesha in Lagos, were instrumental to his later decision.

He recalled: "I stumbled into Law. I didn't want to read Law because I had a very conservative view of Law.  As a Muslim, I didn't think it was worthwhile reading Law.  I also did not want to read Medicine, because I don't like to slaughter anything, even fowl.  I had wanted to read any of the Social Sciences after which I could go into the university to lecture.  But my father wanted me to read Law because, he stayed in Lagos, during the time of the late Rotimi Williams' father, who was a lawyer and the father of the late Fani-Kayode, who was also a lawyer.

"He used to go to court to listen to cases.  He said whenever they came to court, one white-man would come, knock the door and they would all stand up and bow.  So he wanted me to read Law, yet, for many years, I resisted the pressure.

"I joined the Northern (Civil) Service as an Assistant Executive Officer in Administration.  Later, I went for a course. I did very well by coming on top of the class. Then, one elderly man, Pa Olajide from Abeokuta, who was working in the Northern Service took notice of my brilliant performance and immediately, advised me to go and read Law.

"Worried by the advice Pa. Olajide gave me, I went to one elderly man, Pa D. L. George who later became the Baale of Abule – Ijesha in Lagos, for further advice. Pa George got furious and demanded to know why I failed to heed the earlier advice from Pa Olajide. After this encounter with Pa George, I rested my case, no more appeal and I applied to read Law and it has turned out to be a blessing for me".

Using the then Northern Region's Scholarship Award, young Mustapha enrolled at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Gibson Weldon College of Law, London and completed in 1962.  He was called to the English Bar at the Middle Temple, London on July 9, 1963.  He did a post-final course at the Council of Legal Education, United Kingdom in 1963.

When he returned to Nigeria after the completion of his Law programme, Mustapha returned to the Northern Civil Service as a Pupil State Counsel in the Ministry of Justice on January 13, 1964.  He rose through the ranks, and in 1968, he became a Senior State Counsel.

At the creation of states, he was posted to the then Benue-Plateau State as a Senior State Counsel.  He pulled out of the civil service in 1969 to establish his own private law firm, Akanbi Ibrahim & Co in Kano, with branches in Kaduna and Ilorin.

The eminent jurist's journey to the Bench started in 1974, when he was appointed a judge of the Federal Revenue Court (now Federal High Court).  He was the pioneer Resident Judge of the court in the then Eastern State, with his seat in Port Harcourt, while sessions were held in Calabar and Enugu.

Three years after his entrance into the Bench, precisely in 1977, his brilliant performance was rewarded with his elevation to the Court of Appeal and posted to the Enugu Judicial Division of the Court.  This elevation is remarkable and must have truly been as a result of his exceptional brilliant performance as it came during the generally feared no-nonsense Murtala/Obasanjo military administration, which did not spare even the judiciary in the great purge that came with it. In 1983, he ascended the Court of Appeal's hierarchical ladder as he was appointed the Presiding Justice of the Jos Judicial Division. In September 1992, he got to the apex position of the Court of Appeal when he became its president.

The highly-revered jurist, after providing leadership for the appellate court for nine years, in 1999, voluntarily retired from the position and from being a judge, even before attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70.

But if Justice Akanbi thought he was withdrawing into his shell to live a private life, he was wrong as this decision was punctuated almost immediately, following his appointment in September 2000, as the pioneer chairman of the newly-established ICPC. His tenure in ICPC ended in 2005 and he did everything to block his re-appointment. Known and generally respected for his un-bendable character, Akanbi had been appointed chairman of several national judicial commissions, among which were: Enquiry into embezzlement of funds at the National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria, Onne, Port Harcourt in 1999; investigation of remote and immediate causes of students' crisis in Nigerian universities and tertiary institutions, in 1986; enquiry into the collapsed hostel building at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1977 among others.

Probably, the greatest testimony to the life and career of this energetic but conservative jurist is the in-exhaustible and endless list of national and international honours as well as awards he has in his kitty.  As at last month, the awards numbered about 57. Apart from the awards, he is a member of several professional organisations. They include: Commander of Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), former governor, National Judicial Institute, past chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Kano branch, former member, Advisory Judicial Committee, former member, National Judicial Council, former Council member, University of Lagos, grand patron, Faculty of Law, National Open University, Award of Excellence, Court of Appeal, Jos Division. Others are: Award of Excellence, Nigeria Muslim Merit Award, 2007, All-Nigerian Judges Conference Award, West Africa Nobles Forum Award, Merit Award, National Association of Muslim Law Students' Association, Kwara State Government Award for Outstanding Performance Against Corruption, Doctor of Law, Lead City University, Ibadan, Doctor of Leters Alhikmah University, Ilorin among others.

Justice Akanbi was born on September 11, 1932 in Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana) to a great Muslim father, Pa Muhammed Bello Akanbi Oniyo and a devout Muslim mother, Nanah Aishat Akanbi Oniyo, both of blessed memory.

He had his elementary and secondary education in Ghana.  Between 1939 and 1949, he attended African College (Primary) and Accra Royal Senior Primary School, Accra, before proceeding to Odorgonno Secondary School, Accra, (1950 - 1953) where he obtained the Senior Cambridge Certificate.  He attended the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, from 1960 to 1961.

Agile and fresh-looking, Justice Akanbi is deeply concerned about the plight of the less-privileged, especially children and women, just as he is concerned about justice for all and education for the indigents.

In his determination to ensure that there is succour to this category of people, he set up the Mustapha Akanbi Foundation.

In addition to the above, he founded the Nana Aishat Academy as well as the Nana Aishat Arabic Nursery & Primary School in the memory of his late mother.

He also built a mosque in Ilorin to immortalize his father and to show appreciation to the Almighty Allah for His kindness to him.

Justice Akanbi is happily married. He has four children, all of them are lawyers, one is already a Chief Magistrate, while the other was Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin. The remaining two are into private practice.

Akanbi, an indigene of Ilorin loves Amala and Ewedu  (a typical Yoruba traditional food).

He wishes to be remembered "as a man, who did his best in the service of God and humanity".