Law School: “I passed the Bar exams without knowing the way to the library”- Alade Oluwatoyin (Legal Poet)

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Growing up in a Lagos slum was tough, but Alade Oluwatoyin never forgot the advice of his blind history teacher: ‘Never make yourself an object of pity.’ The 2018 Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) alumnus tells ROBERT EGBE of TheNation how he got out of the ghetto and through Law School.

My name is Alade Toheeb  Oluwatoyin. I’m from Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State. I am the third child and last boy; I have three lovely siblings (my younger sister is the only girl). My father is a businessman, and my mother is a trader. I was born and raised in one of the ghetto areas of Orile, Sari-Iganmu in Lagos State. Apart from Law, I do other things: acting, poetry, spoken word, anchoring, mimicry and funnily enough, contortion. These lines of passion together with law inspired my nickname “Legal Poet”.

Alade Oluwatoyin the Legal Poet
Alade Oluwatoyin the “Legal Poet

Earning applause for expressing opinion

I attended First City Foundation International Nursery and Primary School, Orile, Sari-Iganmu Lagos; Government Junior College, Surulere, Lagos and Iba Housing Estate Senior Secondary School, Ojo, Lagos, following a relocation from our previous area to another that I found more serene. I was an introvert as a child, events and memories largely built-up in my heart, perhaps this made me a creative person by default.

I was the head boy in my primary school and senior secondary school, and the latter became my turning point in life, as I tried new things. I can’t forget an August occasion that earned me a standing ovation following an opinion (adjudged to have been far better than what was expected of a secondary school chap) I gave in the presence of the then special adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Eko Project, Ms. Ronke Azeez, held at Lagos State University.

ABU alumni

I attended Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State and graduated in 2018. I proceeded to Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus (Victoria Island), graduated in 2019 and got called to the Nigerian Bar on November 28, 2019.

First lawyer in the family

None of my family members is a lawyer, in fact my parents are not graduates, but they have always been great enthusiasts of education and they vowed all their offspring would be graduates; to God be the glory, my younger sister is the only one in university as we speak. Though my dad was a great fan of artisanship, he believed education and artisanship are means to an end and that end is what should be pivotal to man. Today he is more of a fan of education.

Law was last on my list

Becoming a lawyer was the last on my list; my childhood dream was to be a medical doctor, but as I grew older I found love in many things and I wasn’t really in good terms with mathematics. So, I joined the art department in senior secondary school, only to discover I was made for that department. My primary inspirations have always been my parents and my siblings.

Alade Oluwatoyin Esq with his parents at the Nigerian law school
Alade Oluwatoyin Esq with his parents

For instance, I got the knack for acting and arts generally from my eldest brother, who is a trained stage-actor and dancer and I have spent more time with my immediate elder brother, who is a pharmacist more than any other person in my entire life; we engage in many intellectual discussions that I find helpful and inspiring. My younger sister, who I fondly call “my second mum”, gives me moral support now and then.

I remember vividly, just before I gained admission into ABU, I was on the verge of taking up an admission in History and International Studies that came out earlier from University of Ilorin, but my siblings strongly advised me to take the risk of waiting for ABU. I wonder the tune that would have been played to that music if Law didn’t surface that year. I must also recognise the efforts of my history teacher in senior secondary school, Mr. Armstrong Ikechukwu, of blessed memory. He was a blind man that gave light to the sighted.

I learnt a great deal from him; from braille writing which aid blind people to read and write, the world of special people and how they perceive life, to great historical facts and relics. He recognised his students by our voices. He encouraged healthy competitions among students (Fadipe Olamide, a seasoned journalist, was my chief competitor in History then). He was a legend the world never knew.

He spurred my love for oratory, he groomed me for many debates and competitions I had in secondary school, and essentially he was one of those that advised me to read law, even in place of history and international studies. His great quote lives on in my heart: “Never make yourself an object of pity”. Finally, if I hadn’t studied Law, then Psychology, Mass Communication or Performing Arts (since I dropped my dream of becoming a doctor before senior secondary school).

Law School was hellish

In all honesty, Law School was a bit hellish. At first, I didn’t even know how I would sail through. So, I decided I would pick up one of my major strengths- listening. I listened humbly to my lecturers because Law School naturally plants humility in a person even for the proud. I would also reiterate the law school aphorism- “Law School is not for brilliant students but for smart students”. I would also declare memory, solid orientation and constant practice as key factors that could be of immense help too.

I can bet many people that had First Class had the perfect orientation before coming to Law School and they prepared for it. How I passed the Bar exams was a bit funny and it could sound a bit crazy – I passed the Bar exams without knowing the way to the library, or maybe I should say I knew the way there, but I can’t tell what the library looks like.

This is no attempt to downplay the role of a library in the academic space, but I only visit libraries for researches, I don’t make them my places of reading, even during my days in Zaria, I only went to libraries when I had moot and mock appearances, assignments or researchers; books, shelves and faces in the library only create pictures of poems and other arts in my heart; anywhere I call my room is my best place for reading.

Besides, Law School doesn’t demand one to go outside the scope of what one is being taught, hence the best thing is to take more of the hints of the lecturers. When we resumed newly, Hauwa Saleh (another art enthusiast and lawyer) and I had time to attend some creative events and open mics, but when it got to a point, I had to face the reality that I was in Lagos campus, so I faced it squarely.

Awkward Law School moment

My most awkward moment at the Law School was when I got into the trap of “committee of friends” (a phrase coined for latecomers to Property Law Practice classes, only those that passed through Lagos campus can relate). I was asked questions by one of the best lecturers in Lagos campus then, Mr Sylvester Udemezue and it was quite hapless for me that day that some answers I supplied had already been mentioned before I came in, while others were not satisfactory for him.

He then asked me a question I barely read as I started answering the question, he asked: “Oga, what are you doing?”, I said, “I’m trying to lay a foundation”, he said, “Okay, build! But don’t forget we don’t lay foundations in Law School, we only build structures”. It was a baptism of fire for me, but his hints that day were tremendously helpful.

What I would change about Law School

I would make Law School grades to be classless; it should just be “pass” and “fail”. Some people that had First Class got it, not because of their passion for law, not because of their knowledge of the law, not because of their brilliance, but because of their memory and the orientation they had, but the society in turn places much expectation on them and if they don’t deliver up to standard their First Class becomes questionable, while we have some exceptional students that didn’t have such ace above their peers.

Today, many lawyers, if not most that constitute the Magnum opus of the profession, didn’t have a First Class. Then the remuneration of young lawyers should be looked into. It also looks like they are too many lawyers today; perhaps individuals should be screened realistically before admitting them to read law from universities?

Mentors

I look up to Gani Fawehinmi and Edward Marshall Hall. I have many mentors, from my parents and siblings, to many uncles and aunties and my senior colleagues, friends and mates.

Judge, Professor or SAN?

I would love to be a SAN; it’s a landmark feat in the legal profession. A professor could be another one for me, because of my penchant to impact, but a judge is a no-no.

The future

I have plans of pursing a masters’ degree in International Law and Jurisprudence, if the opportunity presents itself. And, somehow, I want to synergize my desires for the arts and law, because I doubt I can do away with any of them. Finally, if I have the opportunity, I would tell the world environment has little to do with achieving dreams, determination and good parentage can earn a child an unimaginable success. I will forever be grateful to my parents for making me what I am today, they nurtured us in the slum but they gave us a parentage of paradise; they are my real success story.

Source: thenationonlineng.net


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Chila Andrew Aondofa

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