Aminat Lawal, a First Class Law graduate from the University of Ibadan, recently had her convocation ceremony at the institution. She speaks on how she attained the feat and her plans as a legal practitioner. Newscoven.ng brings excerpts:.
Why did you decide to study Law?
I always know that I am going to study Law and there was no other option for me. Even when I got into the University of Ibadan (UI), because I was not 16 years old, I could not get admitted. I had to defer my admission. I could have easily got admission to another school for another course that is not Law, maybe in a private institution. But I knew that I had always wanted to study Law. I am an advocate and I always like to fight for people’s rights. So, I knew that I was going to study Law; I didn’t have any option.
When did you begin to see yourself as an advocate?
I think I have always been an outspoken person. My siblings usually joke saying ‘Sowore, be careful. just make sure that you don’t get arrested’ and stuffs like that. I remember one time that my brother was texting me, saying ‘be careful, don’t go and get arrested’. I think that if I see some things happening or something I don’t believe in, I will always speak against it. Even whenever I am having conversations with either my dad or my mom, I will always say that ‘this or that cannot be like this. You have to know your right’. I think I have always just been an outspoken person. If something happens, and I am not okay with it, I will definitely speak out.
In essence, Law has been a life ambition for you…
Yes, I think so but I don’t think my ambition is seeing myself standing in the courtroom for the rest of my life. I think there are different aspects of Law. I believe in just the knowledge of Law because I believe that Law should be the pathway to where I want to go to which is like being a gender or women rights advocate and stuffs like that and I think a degree in Law is a good background for that.
What informed your choice of University of Ibadan?
My dad went to the University of Ibadan. But even then, when I was picking UI, he had no idea of it. I was part of the first set of students where you can only pick one university for the university of your choice for admission. My choice had always been between UI and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State. I remember telling my counsellor that I will just pick UI. Even my dad did not know until when I picked my JAMB Form and he saw UI as my choice of institution. It was funny because everybody was then scared because in my secondary school, we all heard that UI is not easy to get into; that you cannot cut corners. But I just felt that I can get through it and I did.
You said you were able to make First Class in Law when you least expected. How do you mean?
I had my first year and my CGPA came out and I was on First Class. I was extremely shocked. I thought if I could put in this effort (because I didn’t think I put in the maximum effort) to make a First Class at the 100 Level, definitely I can graduate with a First Class. I just needed that push and it was just being around people that were pushing me; my friends and I saying, ‘we have to do this’.
In my final year, I was so scared that my grade will drop because you never know what can happen; maybe you may have a course that you may carry over. But I just knew that I can do it and that I will definitely be a First Class graduate of the Faculty of Law, UI. After my 200 Level, at some point, I knew that I can do it. It is just about calculating my grade and ensuring that I reach the level.
I know that UI is hard and a lot of people said it too. I know that UI has some of the most studious students in the world. We don’t party. Everybody in UI aims for a First Class; so, if you don’t get a First Class, you drop to Second Class Upper (2:1). In my class, we have over 80 Second Class students. We don’t really have Second Lower (2:2) students because everybody is aiming for a First Class. So, if you are around a group of people that are all aiming for the same thing, you cannot slack. You just have to tighten your belt and make sure you do it.
And my parents did everything they could for me. I did not want to disappoint them. I did not want to disappoint myself. This First Class is something that I am going to be proud of for the rest of my life and so I really needed to do it.
And getting a First Class from UI is a kind of double honour for you?
It is a double honour, indeed. There is nobody that I told that I graduated with a First Class that will not ask, ‘how did you do it?’ UI is the best school in the world, in my opinion. I have met with people that are in my class and I am like “how did you think like this?” It makes you to increase your thoughts.
If you come to UI, you will believe that you can do anything. My friends and I were just talking about our Master’s Degrees and we were saying we are going to Columbia; we are going to Stanford. We believe that you can go to any of the best universities in the world. That is how UI brings you up and that is what you will think.
You said you don’t party or stuffs like that in UI. Is that limited to the Faculty of Law or it is a general rule?
I don’t mean that we don’t party but I think that UI is a school where when it is time for examinations, you can feel it in the air. My sister went to the University of Lagos and I visited her. When it was time for their examinations, I knew how it looked like during the normal time. In UI, you can feel it in the air.
Yeah, people may go out days or weeks in the early part of the semester. But when it is time for examinations, every single person is in the Kenneth Dike Library (KDL); every single person is reading. You will see people reading and everybody knows that. In UI, you cannot cut corners, at least in my Faculty. You cannot pay anybody; your grade is your grade; what you get is what you deserve.
I have lecturers that don’t even know my Matriculation Number. They just read my script and what you see there is your score. I am not saying that we don’t party or that we don’t have fun. But when it is two weeks to examinations, if you enter UI, you will know that it is two weeks to the examinations.
How many are you in your set and how many made First Class?
In my set, I am very proud to say that 18 people made First Class and we were 161 students. Why I am proud to say that is because when we were in 100 Level, 30 students made First Class and I remember clearly somebody in our Faculty saying “you people cannot keep up with this. It is not possible”. But in my set, we broke barriers. In courses where people don’t get As, we made As; in Family Law and other courses that people thought are extremely hard.
In fact, I saw a 300-Level student few days back. He was complaining about Equity and Trust and I was like ‘it is in your mind. You can do this thing. I personally got A in Equity and Trust and they said it cannot be done and many people in my set did’. So, in my set, I think we broke the barrier for the Faculty of Law. I cannot say for certain that we have the highest numbers of First Class in a long time but we have 18 First Class and I am very proud of that.
Did you feel any form of intimidation during your course of study, even as you were aiming for a First Class?
I don’t think it is intimidation. I am not easily intimidated. I know what I can do; I know my capabilities. If my capabilities do not align, I move to another form. I may not be strong in some courses, but the courses I am strong in will fight for me. So, definitely, in class, maybe people are answering questions, I am not the type of person that answers questions in the class. I need a while to go and internalise.
And maybe I could have felt intimidated when you see people standing up saying things but I am not. I will just go back because I know that I will know it; I have no choice. I don’t read into the night; maybe going into KDL seeing people reading into the night could have made feel intimidated, but I know what works for me. I read in my bed; I don’t even go to a chair or table to read. So maybe some people will think ‘oh, this girl is not serious’.
I remember when our first grades came out and a lot of people were surprised that I was on a First Class because I don’t talk in class and they don’t see me in the library. I know my capabilities; I know that I am smart. Maybe I doubted that in my 100-Level but I know that I can understand these things and I can get these things. So, I don’t feel intimidated.
You spoke glowingly about UI, but people are generally losing hope in the public university system and they are embracing private universities. Can you compare and contrast the two?
I didn’t go to a private university, so I may not be able to compare the two. Yes, I understand people losing faith in public universities. I am 23 years old; I graduated from the secondary school at 14. If I had gone to a private school, I probably would have finished my university education at 19. But now I don’t think that it is a time lost. For me personally, and with all the strike, right now I tell people that if you can afford to go to a private school, then go ahead. But I was already in the University of Ibadan; I was already doing it. There is nothing I could do. I just have to pull it through.
Maybe right now, I cannot say I will want to go to a public university. I mean look at the just ended eight-month strike. I spent one year at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. But for me right now, it all worth it. I graduated with a First Class; even if it took me seven years in school, I know that I graduated with a First Class from UI and nobody can take that away from me.
You said you don’t go to the library to study or read through the night. Can you then describe yourself as a brilliant student?
I think I can. I have realised that it is easier for me to assimilate things than maybe it is for some people. I think comfort for me, when I am reading, is key, even if I am reading in my bed or I lay down. Yes, I may have some form of panic attack; I am a very anxious student. If you see me before examinations, I would almost passed out. My friends were always laughing at me; ‘oh, I cannot remember this thing. I am always in my head’. But I think I know things that I am good at; I have found ways to read that worked for me.
I am not a person that writes a lot in an examination and collect extra sheets. It is a running joke that Law students collect extra sheets and that they wrote a lot during examinations. But I never collected an extra sheet a day in my life. I just jot down things I have to assimilate; I shortened them down on a small piece of paper. If you see me like two weeks to the examination, you will just see me reading like two pages of paper where I have shortened what I read and which I can expand when writing the examination.
Yes, I can describe myself as a brilliant student but there are a lot of brilliant students in UI. So you just have to meet up; you have to try to match up; you have to make sure that you come fully prepared because UI will only take the best.
What do you mean when you say all Nigerians should study Law?
Definitely, I believe that all Nigerians should study Law because a lot of Nigerians don’t know their rights and that is why we have a lot of issues. Let me give you an example: A friend of mine bought a pair of shoes from somebody, but she said it was not her size and the shoes were still in perfect condition because she has never worn them. But the seller, a woman, said she doesn’t take refund. I said: “First, you didn’t specifically state that. And under the Consumer Protection Act, you cannot just say that a shoe that was not damaged cannot be returned. It is okay if the shoe was damaged and you say you are not collecting it back. But it is not damaged and it is not her size, so you should collect it back. My friend was even willing to pay the cost of sending it back to you.” The woman immediately accepted the shoe, saying she doesn’t want trouble.
I believe that, that is what is happening to a lot of Nigerians. For example, you enter a Bolt Ride and the driver is telling you “oh, you have to pay N2,500” but the price on the App is saying N900. There is a reason for the price on the App but everybody is just trying to outsmart everybody in Nigeria. So, I think just one year of studying Law, yo know your rights will be okay.
Go to the police station, you will discover that there are lots of people who are detained there just because they don’t know their rights. Everybody deserves bail, unless it is a capital offence and they say there is no bail for you. You will just see people; they will be begging policemen. What exactly was the offence? I always ask, ‘what did you do?’ Many people don’t even know their offences and they rot away in police cells just because they don’t know their rights. Their families will be begging. But it is not a begging thing. Get your lawyer. Get somebody to advocate for you.
That is why I believe that studying Law for, at least, one year will go a long way, especially in Land Rights. Land issues in this country are just ridiculous. People are buying land with Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O). If someone has a better title to the land, even if you have paid the full money, the land belongs to that person. 90 per cent of Nigerians don’t even have C-of- O. They don’t even know what it entails; they will just say, ‘I bought a piece of land somewhere’, but land issues are just getting worse in Nigeria. So, even if it is just one month, everybody should study Law to, at least, know their rights.
How would you describe yourself?
I will say I am confident, ambitious and I am always inspired.
What inspires you?
Virtually everything. If I read a story of somebody doing some amazing things, I will always think that, that could be me as well; if I just work hard, I can always do it. So, even seeing you here talking about your career as a journalist inspires me because I always believe that everybody can do everything they put their mind to. In essence, I get inspirations from everywhere.
