By Kenway Davidson, FCA
I have known Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, for over five decades — from our earliest days as schoolboys in Aiyetoro Gbede to his rise as one of Nigeria’s most respected legal minds. Our friendship has endured from childhood to adulthood, and I can speak, without reservation, about his integrity, intellect, and character.
Shared Beginnings
Joash and I are childhood friends from the same hometown, Aiyetoro Gbede. We both attended LEA II Primary School, the smaller of the two LEA schools in the town, and we were classmates from our first day in 1973 until his promotion to secondary school in 1977.
Both of us came from homes of teachers who later became headmasters — men of discipline, diligence, and moral uprightness. Joash’s father, a respected educator, later joined the judiciary and served as a local judge, while his mother, like mine, remained a devoted teacher. These were families where education, honesty, and service to community were not just values, but a way of life.
A Child Prodigy in the Making
Even in those early years, Joash stood out for his brilliance and composure. He was that rare pupil whose curiosity and intellect commanded respect from teachers and classmates alike. It was no surprise that he was admitted into St. Barnabas Secondary School, Kabba, straight from Primary 5 in 1977 — a common practice then for exceptionally gifted pupils, especially those from families of educators.
I, on the other hand, was required by my father — himself a strict headmaster — to complete Primary 6 despite having passed the Common Entrance Examination. So while Joash began secondary school at age 10, I remained one year behind. That single year difference continued to reflect in our educational timelines thereafter.
Parallel Paths of Excellence
After completing his secondary education with distinction, Joash proceeded to the School of Basic Studies at the then Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin, in 1982. There, he undertook A-Level courses (GCE and IJMB) until 1984. Interestingly, I also attended the same institution, though a year after him, between 1983 and 1985.
By 1984, Joash had gained admission to the University of Jos to study Law, graduating in 1987 — remarkably, at the age of 20. I gained admission to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1985 to study Accounting, and graduated a year after him, in 1988.
His performance at the University of Jos was nothing short of outstanding. Joash not only graduated with top honours but also swept all the academic prizes in his Faculty — a feat that marked him as a scholar of extraordinary promise.
A Family of Distinction
Joash’s brilliance was not an isolated case. His younger sister, Mrs. Toyin Ayeni (née Amupitan), was also a remarkable scholar. Coincidentally, Toyin was my classmate both at Kwara Tech and later at ABU Zaria, where we both studied Accounting and graduated in 1988. She was only 19 at the time — the youngest in our graduating class — and later rose to become Director of Finance at the ICPC before her recent retirement.
A Lifetime of Integrity
From our shared childhood to adulthood, I have known Professor Joash Amupitan as a man of unimpeachable integrity, quiet brilliance, and deep moral conviction. His rise to prominence as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a respected academic is not the product of privilege or opportunism, but of diligence, merit, and a life shaped by discipline and faith.
For anyone to question his background or cast aspersions on his record is to misunderstand the consistency of character that has marked his entire life journey. Joash has always been a man ahead of his time — intellectually gifted, morally upright, and devoted to excellence.
The truth, as I have witnessed firsthand, is simple: Professor Joash Amupitan’s integrity was not built in adulthood. It was forged in the humble classrooms of Aiyetoro Gbede, nurtured by devoted parents, and proven through a lifetime of hard work and service.
The rest, as they say, is history.
*Kenway Davidson, FCA, is the Immediate Past Director of Audit, University of Ibadan
October 10, 2025
