{EDUCATION ZONE} ~ I WAITED EIGHT YEARS BEFORE I SECURED UNIVERSITY ADMISSION –ADEWUMI, UNIJOS FIRST-CLASS GRADUATE
What have you been doing since you graduated ?
I went to the law school for the compulsory one year programme , and since I finished the programme in 2017, I have been working in a law firm .
Do you recall what attracted you to law back then ?
While I was young , I wanted to be a lot of things. I thought of being a medical doctor, then an accountant and then a footballer, to which I dedicated some time and efforts , thinking I would follow through in that direction. At some point, I also nursed the ambition of being a lawyer , but I dropped it. So , coming back to it, I must say , was divine . A lot of people , including my parents, always said that there would be no better course of study for me other than law , perhaps due to what they saw . Eventually, I decided to settle for law before I was done with high school , and ever since then , there has been no looking back . I also love the activism that is associated with the profession . I have always hated injustice especially as perpetrated by security and other state agencies, so I felt that being a part of this profession would afford me the opportunity to be able to effectively fight injustice in whatever form. I have started this in my own little way, even before I became a lawyer .
Since you started working , is there anything you would have loved to see in Nigeria’ s legal system that is missing at the moment ?
Yes, we need speedy dispensation of justice . Although Lagos State is doing well in this aspect , every other state has to follow suit so we could have it across the federation. That would restore people’ s confidence in the judicial sector, and according to the popular saying , ‘ justice delayed is justice denied. ’ The executive, especially governors , must adequately fund the judiciary. Another issue of concern is compliance with court judgments , especially by the government , which needs to be improved upon .
Having learnt a lot about law , what excites you most about it ?
The critical thinking it exposes one to is something I like so much. No matter what aspect of law you function in ; litigation, corporate law , soliciting or whatever , critical thinking and adequate preparation are always necessary to be successful and respected.
How easy or challenging was it to graduate with a first class ?
It wasn ’ t easy at all , considering the fact that the Faculty of Law, University of Jos , had not produced a first class for the past 26 years before I did. It’ s easy to imagine how difficult it would have been . Our lecturers were not generous with marks and I guess that was why it took this long to produce a first class . And in general , UNIJOS does not produce a lot of first - class graduates . For instance, at its combined convocation in 2013, there were only nine first - class graduates . So , it took a lot of persistence, hard work and prayers to have made it.
Was making first class a plan you had at the outset or it was just hard work that paid off ?
I didn ’ t really have such a plan, so I think hard work simply paid off , although, a lot of people , including members of my family, had always expressed the belief that I could make a first class . On one occasion, one of my lecturers, who doubled as our level coordinator, called me after a class and said that if I stepped up my game, I stood a very good chance of making first class, by his assessment. I guess that was one of the events that awoke my consciousness to the fact that I really could make it. Already , my first year CGPA almost hit the first class grade , but I didn ’ t make first class until my final year result was released
Were there other things you would ascribe your success to , apart from hard work ?
I guess I read like every other student did and I believe some even read more than I did, so I wouldn’ t know the things I did differently. Of course , I had to go to classes even when I didn ’ t want to ; read when I didn ’ t feel like and stayed awake a number of times even when I felt like sleeping . I couldn’ t go on some outings because I needed to study or take care of some other more important things like my assignments, research and other academic duties . I couldn’ t watch the movies I would have loved to . I also love to listen to music and the radio to keep me updated, but I had to switch them off a lot of times in order to study . I also wasn ’ t in a hurry to head home anytime we had break . These were some of the things I had to let go of to achieve success . However, I believe it was nothing more than God ’ s grace . I sincerely don’ t think it would have been possible without God . To excel , I guess there are certain things one must get used to , like being disciplined and not losing focus ; I kept my goal in view which was my driving force . I wouldn’ t know if all these were different from what others did, but those were the things that helped .
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