#DearAspiranttotheBar, “I Probably Should Have Easily Accepted My Posting.”

Name: Cynthia Adaugo Mbajunwa

Campus: Yola Campus (First Class), Director General’s Prize for First Class Students; First Class, Law School Class of 1990 Friends’ Association Award for the Best Graduating Student from Yola campus.

University: University of Nigeria, Second Class Honours, Upper Division.

About: I graduated in the top 3% of my undergraduate class. I can be reached at Cynthiambajunwa@yahoo.com.

Source: Cynthia Adaugo MBAJUNWA

Sincerely, I’d do nothing different if I was resuming law school this year. God surrounded me with the right crowd both in mentorship and friendship. I remember being extremely sad- I cried for about 2 hours straight after seeing my posting and I barely slept that night.

Source: Cynthia Adaugo MBAJUNWA

Thankfully, I had a mentor who understands the Word of God above feelings. God used him to give me hope and direction for law school. He gave me an anchor scripture that kept me focused and determined. We conquered the fear of law school long before I arrived there. Yola made it easier- I kept saying that I probably wouldn’t have coped on any other campus. I met the best set of people from day one and it was ease all through. Mostly.

I probably should have easily accepted my posting. I spent most of the 1st term living in fear. I didn’t want to leave the campus at all. So right now, my only regret is having a list of places I didn’t visit in Yola.

Prior to law school, my academic mentor told me that the law school journey is first won in the mind. He was very right. For the next nine months, you will have the bar finals hanging over your head like a pendulum. You can choose to either view the bar finals from victory or from fear. I’d advise anyone to let go of the fear. It is just an exam. Trust and enjoy the process of law school.

I know people say “do what works for you” a lot. But it really cannot be overemphasized. Personally, I knew forming notes was an exercise in futility. And I stuck to my pattern of not forming notes even before I arrived in Law School. I used to randomly skim through this website for testimonies of people who did not form notes in law but made a 1st class. I needed to know it was not impossible and tried to steady my mind ahead of time. I had their testimonies bookmarked on my phone for easy access. This is because in law school, it’s easy for you to lose focus on your path and try to do what everyone else is doing- form notes, pull all nighters, read for extended periods of time without breaks etc.

It’s easy to get intimidated; realizing you may not be the best in the room, and that even if you are, almost everyone else is working towards the same goal. Don’t make the mistake of counting yourself off as mere statistics. Don’t sell yourself short. Do what works for you but do it in the best way. Surround yourself with people on the same path- I had the best roommates in law school. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from anyone. Don’t be afraid to offer help to anyone. Use every opportunity to learn. Stand firm on your path and keep declaring God’s Word over your life. My goal was a First Class from day one. I knew that a 2.1 wouldn’t just cut it. So when people declared for 2.1 at least- I was declaring and praying for a 1st class at least. Because I wanted a 1st class and a prize. And God honoured His Word.

 

#DEARASPIRANTTOTHEBAR, THANK YOU!

Congratulations in advance from all of us at EkaeteHunter and the MCQ APP!!!

SOURCE: ALABI REJOICE

SOURCE: CHIEMEZIEM IJIOMAH

SOURCE: AYODELE KADIRI

SOURCE: SIMI SOMUYIWA

source: Ogazi Kelvin

SOURCE: TOMILEHIN BABAFEMI

SOURCE: ESTHER JOHNSON-CHU FIRST DAY OF LECTURES AT LAW SCHOOL… A THOUSAND FEARS AND A MILLION HOPES…. THE BEAUTY OF THIS PICTURE IS THAT WE ALL MADE IT

SOURCE: FALADE FAITH

SOURCE: TEMITOPE GIWA

SOURCE: MADUBUOBU PROMISE ADAOBI

SOURCE: GEOFFREY ADONU

SOURCE: SAHEED ABIOLA

SOURCE: HANNAH ONIFADE

SOURCE: NNAMDI NWODO

SOURCE: JESSICA ATATIGHO

SOURCE: OYEDOTUN AYOKUNNU

SOURCE: UCHE NGONADI

SOURCE: ONAKOYA OLUDARE

I and the MCQ App team would like to express our profound gratitude to all the lawyers who contributed their testimonies to inspire the aspirants. Thank you all so much – Abiola Saheed, Adonu Geoffrey, Akwiwu Chizotam, Adam Muhammed, Alabi Rejoice, Atatigho Jessica, Babafemi Tomilehin, Falade Faith, Giwa Temitope, Igbinosun Betha, Ijiomah Chiemeziem, Ivongbe Precious, Johnson-Chu Esther, Kadiri Ayodele, Madubuobu Promise, Ngonadi Uchechi, Nwodo Nnamdi, Odunsi Olusola, Ogazi Kelvin, Ogbu Collins, Oladapo Oluwatoyin, Onakoya Oludare, Onifade Hannah, Oyedotun Ayokunnu, Oyenikan Oyeleke, and Somuyiwa Mosimiloluwa. We appreciate your tolerance of our incessant reminders and inquiries. Thank you for believing in and being a part of this project. Thank you so much once again, and we wish you greater heights!!!

#DEARASPIRANTTOTHEBAR, ‘THE RED SCROLL IS FOR EVERYBODY.’

#MyBarFinalsTestimony is brought to you by the MCQ APP in conjunction with Ekaete Hunter. 

Name: Geoffrey Chiwetalu Adonu

Campus: Lagos Campus (First Class), Director General’s Prize for First Class Students; Hon. Justice Mohammed Bello G.C.O.N Prize for the 2^nd Over-All Best Student; Mallam Yusuf Alli, S.A.N Prize for the Best Male Student; and the Nigerian Bar Association Prize for the Best Male Student

University: Babcock University (First Class )

About: Geoffrey Chiwetalu Adonu, graduated with a First Class from the Nigerian Law School and was the Second Over-All Best graduating Student of the 2015/2016 Academic Session. He won several prizes at the Call to Ceremony held on 30^th Novermber, 2016. He also graduated with a First Class from Babcock University Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State.

Dubbed Mr. Genuis by the Dean of Law at Babcock University, Emeritus Professor I.O Agbede, Geoffrey is considered a hardworking and humble lad by his peers. He represented the faculty in many competitions including the 2^nd Eyitayo Jegede Moot/Debate Competition held at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State, where the Faculty was placed second.

Geoffrey is passionate about helping young people realize their dreams and make positive impact in the society. He can be contacted through adonu.geoffrey@gmail.com or on LinkedIn

SOURCE: GEOFFREY ADONU

Choosing a Career in Law

As a young boy, I was not particular about what I wanted to become but I know I admired the prestige that the few Doctors and Lawyers had in the village. However, my motivation to study law came after my mum told me of how my father wanted to be a lawyer but death could not allow him. My father had died after concluding plans to enroll for the law programme at the University of Nigeria. That discussion ignited my interest in Law. I became determined to realize that dream that my Dad was not able to achieve. Finally, when it was time to write JAMB, I naturally filled in Law and here I am today. I know my Dad will be happy and proud wherever he is now.

What was the greatest challenge you faced?

The greatest challenge I faced was paying my way through school. Yes, I had lost my Dad and to the dismay of everybody around me, I decided to go to Babcock University to study law notwithstanding the cost. For some of my relatives and those that were close to me in my Village, it was the most unwise decision anybody could ever make. Thus, they stood by the side waiting for the day I would return to the village as a failure. But I thank God for my mum and her junior brother that believed in my dreams. I was determined to finish my studies at Babcock. I had to beg and do all kinds of menial jobs to raise my school fees. In fact, as student in Babcock, I was a Student-Worker in the Cafeteria, where I served my fellow students food, washed plates and mobbed the floor, just to raise my school fees.

I also worked in construction sites on campus and in the University farm, just to get some money for my fees and upkeep. It came to a point when my fellow students and even my lecturers had to contribute money every semester to keep me in school. Coming to Law School was almost impossible. I was about waiting for next set to go to law school when a firm I had interned with agreed to pay my law school fees. At the law school, feeding was almost impossible, if not for the good friends that God quickly mobilized for me. Despite all these travails, I was determined to traverse. I was determined to rise above my challenges and to the glory of God it paid off. It was a big surprise when I checked my result and saw that I had attained the Red Scroll and even more surprising when I learnt I had finished as the Second Over-All Best graduating Student and the Best Male. I could never had imagined any of these.

Before coming to the Nigerian Law School, what was your opinion about the school?

Prior to this time, I thought of the Nigerian Law School as a place where everybody is a saddist and irrespective of how hard you work, you will be marked down deliberately by the examiners. This came argely from the pictures painted about the Law School and its staff after the abysmal performance of the 2014 set. However, I must say I have a different opinion now, which is positive and optimistic.

From what you know now about the NLS, what would you have told yourself by this time last year?

I would have told myself “go there and enjoy yourself, have fun learning the law”. To be honest I had fun on a daily basis in the Law School, from the Class room, to group meetings, in the study room and the hostel, I had fun all the way. Yes, the environment is tense and serious because of the work load. But I was my normal self and created fun from engaging in the activities at the Law School. I did not allow the pressure to change me, rather I brought the pressure under my control.

What attributes do you think can help a student attain excellent performance in the Bar Exams?

There are no specific attributes that guarantee success at the Bar Part II Exams. However, I will state that with the following attributes, you will not get it wrong. These include determination, commitment, conviction, consistency, humility, patience and prayer. These attributes I have observed in every red scroll holder I have interacted with. Determination, commitment, conviction, consistency, humility and patience all count towards the effort and hard work you must put in while prayer attracts the grace needed to take you to the top. Thus, neither side of the divide is more important than the other. They are two sides of a coin. Faith without work is the passport to failure and vice versa.

SOURCE; GEOFFREY CHIWETALU ADONU

From what you know now, what do you think you would have done better?

#DEARASPIRANTTOTHEBAR, ‘I GAVE UP THE DESIRE TO MAKE A FIRST CLASS.’

Name: Falade Faith Olayinka

Campus: Lagos Campus (First Class), Director General’s Prize for First Class Students; Third Best Overall Student of the Year Prize; and Sir Darnley Alexander’s Prize for the Best Student in Property Law Practice

University: Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (Second Class Upper Division)

About: Faith Olayinka Falade hails from Afo in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State. She was born to the family of Mr and Mrs Justus Falade, a chartered accountant. She had her secondary education at St. Louis Girls Secondary School, Akure, Ondo State. She was to later attend the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko for her Bachelor of Laws Degree in 2010, where she graduated in 2015 with a Second Class Upper Division with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.34. She thus graduated as the third overall best student in the 2014/2015 academic session.

Faith thereafter proceeded to the Nigerian Law School for the one year mandatory professional training in November 2015 where she bagged a First Class Honours. By this, she became the Second student and the first female graduate of the Adekunle Ajasin University Faculty of Law to graduate with a First Class at the Nigerian Law School. At the formal Call to Bar Ceremony held on 30 November 2016, she was awarded the third best overall student of the year prize and the best student in property law practice prize.

Faith was involved in social and political functions at different levels while in School. She was elected the Faculty of Law Caucus Leader at the Level of the Student Representative Council of the Students’ Union Government in the 2014/2015 session and was appointed the Chamber Head Kayode Esho Chamber 2014/2015, a public Chamber in the Faculty of Law. She is currently a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Junior Chamber International. She can be reached at falade.faith.ff@gmail.com.

SOURCE: FALADE FAITH

Before I resumed at the law school, I encouraged myself that I wanted to make a first class, my belief was that  those who made it in the past had no two heads, however on attending the lectures for the first  two weeks, that faith started shaking , fear set in and I was losing believe in myself because of the treats from class, the examples, the way questions were asked and I didn’t know the answers or inside me I had an answer but the way the lecturer answered it just seemed too difficult with the authorities and the expected mode of answering. So at the early stage I gave up the desire to make a first class.

I also resumed law school with the mindset that one must form notes in order to succeed at the law school, I had heard several times the statement, ‘if you want to pass law school well, you must form your notes’ which personally I was never used to. I remember going to eat at the cafeteria one day where I met a senior and we got talking, he mentioned forming notes to me, to which I was quick to respond that it was not my thing, but he advised and insisted I did in order to make a good grade. As a result of the advice I started forming notes for about four weeks, the first snap test came and I discovered I knew almost nothing. I had wasted my time forming notes and I was not reading. From that day I stopped forming notes and I had to stick to my method of reading textbooks, but at the later part of law school I formed the habit of reading my laws directly, which turned out to be the best method for me and I wished I had started earlier.

After my desire to make a first class dropped, two incidents awakened my desire.  First, a lecturer (Mrs James of property law practice, Lagos campus) started calling numbers to answer a particular question centred on drafting a complete deed which seemed difficult at that time because it was just the third class on property,  It got to my number and I didn’t know how it happened but I answered it. I never knew I had it inside me. That day the  lecturer took notice of me and encouraged me and right there and then I encouraged myself too, told myself that maybe the things I thought were too difficult to learn were not so difficult after all if I put in more effort and was consistent with my reading over time.

SOURCE: FALADE FAITH

 The other experience was the snap test. The results were not the best, but I knew they could be better and that law school was not as difficult as we were made to believe, looking at the sorts of questions asked, particularly that I was not prepared for them, prior to the time my readings were just free style, I was writing more than reading, and the little reading I did was just to have a grasp of the topic before class, and I never picked after class to revise.

#DEARASPIRANTTOTHEBAR, ‘I WORKED PARTICULARLY HARD AT STANDING OUT.’

#MyBarFinalsTestimony Extra is also brought to you by the MCQ APP in conjunction with Ekaete Hunter. 

Name: Chizotam Nkechinyere Akwiwu

Campus: Lagos Campus (Second Class Upper Division), Chief Ernest Shonekan’s Prize for the Third Overall Best Student in Property Law Practice.

University: University of Lagos (Second Class Upper )

About: Chizotam is a contributing writer for Lawyard.ng (where I had previously written briefly about my law school experience and tips) and can be reached via chizotamakwiwu@yahoo.com

Reading through the other posts in this series I have noticed a recurring factor- The God Factor. It might seem cliché but it is not, at least not for me. Looking back now I can confidently say that God saw me through Law School. Yes I worked very hard also BUT so did almost everyone else and some people probably worked even harder than I did and may not have had the result they wanted.

 I was particularly shocked when I found out about the award in Property Law Practice. It was ironic because on the day of the exam I forgot my folder of my practiced drafts at home. I had already reached the school gate at about 1pm and it was too late to go back to get them. Luckily for me I had gone over all the drafts the night before but still I was pretty destabilised.

Back to the God factor, at the beginning of law school and throughout and most especially after exams my key prayer was for “Favour”. I probably prayed for that more after the exams because I had made quite a number of mistakes in my Corporate Law Practise. I especially remember how I (in a hurry) did not properly read a sub-question and ended up answering completely off point! This was one of the compulsory questions and so I was very worried about this.