UI Don Charges Alumni On Student Mentorship •Law Class Of 2001 Alumni Association Presents 10 Law Pavilions, 20 WhatsApp Access, Books To Faculty Of Law
Professor Simisola Akintola, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, has charged the alumni of the faculty to give law students a sense of hope by mentoring and interacting with them.
She made the charge when she received in her office members of the University of Ibadan Law Class Of 2001 Alumni Association who came to make some presentations to the faculty, on Tuesday.
She said members of the alumni association can take up the mentorship of the students, either by absorbing them in their law chambers for internship or by taking it upon themselves to teach the students in some of the courses in the faculty.
By so doing, Professor Akintola said, the students would understand that there is still a hope for a better and brighter future, the prevailing precarious situation of the country notwithstanding.
The alumni association, led by its president, Mr Opeyemi Orioye, presented 10 Law Pavilion Licences, valued at N800,000, 20 WhatsApp Access (worth N200, 000) and two copies of a book, “Laws On Oil and Gas Exploration And Production In Nigeria: A Text In Honour of Austin Avuru”, to the Faculty of Law.
The presentation was part of the contributions of the Law Class of 2001 to the academic growth of Law students of the faculty, and which they pledged to make an annual event.
Other members of the association present included the secretary, Mrs Olusayo Adeleye; Mrs Bola Lufadeju, Mr Kayode Ajayi, Dr Marcus Araromi (who also doubled as a lecturer in Department of Public Law in the faculty) and Mrs Benedicta Akpanuko who is also a staff of the faculty at the Post-Graduate College.
Making the presentation, Mr Orioye said the lockdown, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, led to deep reflections, culminating in members coming together with the intention of helping each other and giving back to their alma mater.
“In fact, we didn’t really think about it; it just came out of the blues that ‘guys, did you know that it is going to be 20 years that graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan?’ I think majority of us we stunned that so it is really 20 years.
“We now had to be counting back to realise that truly it is 20 years and then we felt it is worthy of celebration. Yes, there are people who have left school 50 or 60 years and they are still kicking.
“But 20 years is like a million years to us and it was also an opportunity for us to do one of the things that we had intended to do right from the time the association was incorporated namely, to give back to the faculty that brought us together.
“And we have talked about different ways to do it and we are thinking that giving back to the faculty must be an ongoing thing, but we have to start from somewhere.
“Of course, when you want to start, you will be looking at all angles, from the low-hanging fruits. It is looking like the low-hanging fruit is going to be a very delicious one and that is what we are now giving back to the faculty.
“As we have informed before, we are here to provide 10 user software subscriptions for the Law Pavilion. Initially, we just wanted to do a subscription which would be renewable every year. But further negotiations showed that we could actually get more from it.
“Rather than having something that we have to be paying fully for every year, we were given an option of a one-off installation such that whether or not we do any new subscription at any time, whatever we have now would be there permanently. It is called lifetime package.
“We also felt that we should be able to give some mobile WhatsApp Access to the Faculty. Because of our finances at this time, we decided to do 20 units. The Faculty would provide 20 WhatsApp numbers that would be able to access the Law Pavilion service for the next one year.
“It is the prerogative of the faculty to decide who and who would have this access, but we believe that the best option would be considered.
“So, it is our honour and to the glory of the almighty God to present to our faculty, the Faculty of Law in the University of Ibadan, the Law Pavilion subscription,” he said.
In her response, Professor Akintola said she is always proud to see her former students doing well, noting “I got a call saying that you want to come to make some presentations to the Faculty of Law.
“I am always happy to see that there is an all-round wellness about our alumni. We are very proud of you; seeing the outstanding ones, we are prouder.
“I have not heard that anyone has been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). I have not received a paper telling me to verify whether the certificate of this person is from the University of Ibadan or not. When such arises, it means there is a doubt.
“So, to me, that is part of an all-round wellness of our former students; that means they are good ambassadors of here; good ambassadors of their origins; good ambassadors of their homes; and good ambassadors of their families which is part of the all-round well-being.
“This is something I think we should be very proud of. We have produced quite a few sets in this short life of the Faculty of Law of the University.
“Of these numbers, we have not heard criminal cases about them. It is not just about your set; but in every other sets, we have not been embarrassed. On our part too as teachers, I don’t think we have embarrassed the faculty and the University of Ibadan.
“There are a few stories going around the internet about the qualifications of some teachers. I shudder; I don’t judge anyone, but it has not been the portion of anyone here.
“So, to a large extent, you have not embarrassed us; you have not let us down. We too will not let you down. We are very proud of you; we are very happy to have you.
“Even in this time as it is: even in Nigeria of today, as we have seen it, you can still look back and give back to a generation you didn’t know and be like Jesus Christ who died, even for people that are yet unborn. We are grateful.
“Finally, you have come in such a way that shows humility and greatness. It is not with too much shout. We appreciate that. And what you have done is not small; it actually meets a need.
“So, what is uppermost in my heart, I appreciate the licences, I appreciate the money and I appreciate the books. A number of people have given us books, even those that are not alumni of this faculty and I appreciate it,” she said.
The Dean of the Faculty of Law however implored members of the Law Class of 2001 Alumni Association to do more by taking it upon themselves to be mentors to law students in the faculty.
“I can see the eyes of students pop when they stumbled on one of you and I say ‘this person is an alumnus’. You can see light up in their faces that there is hope. This is because the way Nigeria is now, they have lost hope.
“The only hope they have is going to Canada. For those who have not fell on the fringes of 4-1-9, yahoo and internet fraud, the only hope they have is going abroad. So, if they see someone, they can say ‘oh, he is coming in a nice car and he didn’t do internet fraud, that means it is possible for me too’.
“So you can give more by imparting them; encouraging them and telling them it is not a lost hope and that all is not totally lost. Let them know that if you can make it, they too can make it. There are some other children too who needs mentoring like that,” she said.
Professor Akintola further asked the members of the alumni to find time, out of their busy schedules, to be paying the regular visit to the faculty, hopefully after COVID-19 dies down.
“Interaction with our students is necessary; it is important. And for those who have practices that can absorb them, not only to give them a table to come and do research, but also to mentor them. If you can only have time for one, please do. It is not in the numbers. You impact one, you are impacting 15, at the minimum.
“And if three weeks is all you have time for, please be our guest. We are not going to force you to take them on for six weeks and leave them to the prey of younger associates in the chambers that will be sending them to buy rice and all that.
“We want their lives to be impacted. We want them to see how a law office is ran here in Nigeria, not what they see on the television that gives them an euphoric view about life. We want them to see the reality of it.
“Want them to see the law office of someone who has just started but has potentials. We want them to see the law office of the middle up; we want them to see the law offices of the top three so that they can see the structure and know that there is always hope and that there is always a build up.
“So, if you have time, even if it is only a week, tell us. We would put the machinery in place to ensure that the parents know that this particular student has been accepted for internship for a week, or two.
“We don’t want the females to lose focus because when they get lost in a law chamber, things can happen. So, in our bid to say we want internship, we don’t want to open them up to clients that will come.
“That is why we are looking for those who have the time. And if you have the time to absorb and mentor them for the period, we would be glad and we would prefer that. Even if it is just to teach, we are doing online teaching.
“There are so many courses and there are some that you know you had issues with when you were here. If you think you can make it easier, let us know. 40 or 45 minutes presentation or whatever.
“It makes them happy; it makes them glad. They can show off too. So, please there are so many areas but we are very happy. We appreciate you. We welcome you,” she added.
Others members of the Faculty of Law at hand to receive the old students were various Heads of Departments (HoDs), including Professor John Oluwole Akintayo, Jurisprudence and International Law; Dr Sunday Akinlolu Fagbemi, Public Law; and Dr Funke Ekundayo, Private and Property Law.
Others were Dr Edward Eguavoen, Head Librarian, Faculty of Law; Dr Bukola Ochei, Sub-Dean, Post-Graduate School; Dr Kunle Aina, HoD, Commercial and Industrial Law; and Dr Folakemi Ajagunna, Sub-Dean, Undergraduate.
They all expressed their appreciation to members the University of Ibadan Law Class Of 2001 Alumni Association for deeming it fit to give back to the faculty, 20 years after their graduation.
