LIFE IN NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL, LAGOS CAMPUS || 20 QUESTIONS WITH IFEOLUWATOMI ADENUGA..

January 01, 2020




  Ø  Hello, Please Introduce yourself to the readers
               My name is Ifeoluwatomi Adenuga. I am from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun state. I was born and brought up in Lagos


  Ø  What university did you attend?

I attended Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), formerly referred to as Ogun State university (OSU)

  Ø  How did you feel when you found out you were posted to Lagos Campus?

Initially I had wanted Abuja, but there was a delay in my posting, at this point, I wasn’t excited about traveling the distance knowing that wherever I was posted to, I’d have to quickly rush down there. So, in my heart, I had prayed that I be posted to Lagos since I reside in Lagos, and it would be easy getting to the campus and catching up. When the posting came out, I was elated that I got posted to Lagos.


  Ø  Was it easy locating your campus?

Of course! This is Lagos. Nowhere is difficult to locate.


  Ø  How was your first week on campus, did you experience any difficulties?

First week? I got my posting on a Sunday, and I remember vividly that I hadn’t packed my luggage until I got posted. The First time I visited the Lagos law school campus was the following Wednesday. I got to the class late so I had to take a back seat. The class went on till around 4 o’clock. This was the first culture shock I had because at the university level, the limit to the length of classes per course was hours, and here I was, facing a system that at the time seemed brut. I got home that day with a headache and decided I wasn’t going for Lectures for the rest of the week. I arrived the campus hostel, the next Sunday. The First few lecture weeks were exhausting and demanding, but this was just a period where my body and mind had to adapt to the new system. Although the hostel and independent living wasn’t new to me, but the length of lectures was on another level and it took a while to adjust.



  Ø  What is the most preferred means of transportation? What is the transport fare from the airport?

Well, transportation isn’t an issue at the Lagos Campus. In Lagos generally, with an Uber or Taxify, you can navigate your way around. I don’t know the estimate for the distance from the airport to the campus as I didn’t need it.

  Ø  How was your registration process?
Well, it was a stressful process. Although in order to save myself from much stress I waited till a lot of people had done theirs. So, I ended up registering in January.


  Ø  How were the hostels like in your campus? Were there different sizes of hostels? How many people in a room?

Before I say anything, in the word of the Deputy Director General of Lagos campus “.... complaining about the conditions in the law school hostel is like a person carrying an elephant but is bothered about ants.”  In Lagos, there are 2 categories of accommodation; the Regular and the Executive. In the Regular hostels, there are at most 6 persons in a room, with 2 rooms sharing a single toilet and bathroom. Electricity supply is very constant. The water problem however remains the biggest challenge facing the aspirants at the Lagos campus.
The Executive hostels also has 2 categories; 2 in a room which costs 450k per person or 1 person in a single room which costs a million Naira.


  Ø  Did you bond with your roommates easily?
To be honest, I had the most amazing set of roommates. From different backgrounds and culture, but we all became brothers. From experience, people from different backgrounds with different ideologies and perspective are bound to have conflicts, but my roommates were accommodating and a very open set of people. So, yeah! Boding was easy


  Ø  Were contrabands allowed in the hostel? If yes, what kind of contrabands?
Define contraband? We were warned not to bring in certain things into the law school hostel, such as Iron, electric kettles, alcohol, electric cookers etc. However, there wasn’t really any active measure taken by the authorities to prevent these elements from being on their premises, soooo.... from time to time you may see them around, but don’t get caught.

  Ø  How were the lectures and lecturers in your campus? What time did lectures begin and end?
Law school is the same everywhere and the topics are uniform, the approach to teaching is however very different. In Lagos campus, I saw it as a system where the lectures were actually investing in the students. It was very hectic and didn’t give much time for personal studies but, the teacher really made sure that they did their best, to the extent that if they feel that one student hasn’t understood a topic, they’d go over it again and keep revisiting those knuckle headed topics. Because they’re investing so much in the students, there is no closing period in Lagos. So, we stay in class until the topic is over flogged (that is generally not for all lecturers sha as some are not too good at passing knowledge). The lecturers were very approachable even though they tried to build a godlike charisma around their image.


  Ø  In class, were people assigned individual seats or you can seat wherever you like? What is the repercussion of not seating on your assigned seat?

In Lagos, we were assigned permanent seats based on what group you fall in. The idea behind this, I believe, is so people don’t have to start struggling for seating space. With my experience, there really isn’t any repercussion for not sitting in your assigned seat though lecturers call registration numbers randomly and if they figure out you’re not within your group, they will threaten you query
😉


  Ø  How was your reading pattern? Did you have any time to read after lectures each day?

Well, would I call this a pattern? because it wasn’t consistent. I usually woke up around 5 in the morning to read the topic for the day and at 9 in the night read the topic treated in class. Time to read was a challenge, reason being that the schedule at Lagos was not cast in stones. Firstly, classes could end at any time, they may as well end by 6 in the evening. After that, there is a supposedly compulsory group meeting to handle tasks ahead of the class for the next day. I won’t say these group meetings were compulsory, but 96 people in a certain group were given queries by law school for not attending a group meeting during my time, so you might as well connect the dots. After the group meetings we had to hustle for food which would be bought (by now you know cooking isn’t allowed) and it was time taking. Soooooo, Lagos wasn’t the best for “time to read”.




  Ø  Let’s talk about the dress code, what was the dress code like in your campus? Were there any strict rule on dressing to class?

The guys didn’t have much issues in as much as your suits, trousers and socks were dark sober colors. And the tie is black. While for ladies, there’s a lot of moderation. Skirts should be above knee length, no flashy jewelry, moderate make-up, 100% white cotton, and ultimately, decency. However, for the purposes of the law dinner, suits are black with no design for both male and female, no attachment or Wigs etc


  Ø  How was the food like in your campus? Were there varieties of food vendors on campus? Was food affordable or expensive?

it’s Lagos, there is always variety and whether expensive or affordable depends on your taste.


  Ø  How was your social life while in NLS? Were they any fun hang out spots?
I feel like this question shouldn’t be for a Lagos Campus aspirant. Lagos is the Vegas of Nigeria, there are loads of places to visit, chill, and hangout to ease the stress of the law school (please remember why you’re in law school, because it’s easy to forget in Lagos, and Law school comes at you fast).


  Ø  Tell us about your externship? Did you enjoy your court and law office placement?

To be honest, this is the time for you to learn and digest everything that has been taught during the lecture weeks. Frankly, a lot of things will be abstract until the externship period, it is the duty of every student to observe and understand those things, and also read in preparation for the exams. THERE IS NO BETTER TIME TO READ LIKE NEVER BEFORE THAN DURING THE EXTERNSHIP.

   
  Ø  How were your exams?

I had a friend who as a way of encouragement would say “the Nigerian law school is not looking for thieves, it is looking for armed robbers” and this is the truth. The exams are not set for you to fail. However, whether they will be easy or hard depends of your investment in preparation. The most difficult part of law school is not the exams, it’s the preparation for the exams.

  Ø  What advice can you give to new NLS Students?

You’re not a child, you’ve been through various educational systems, this is no different. Preparation for the exams start from your first day on campus. Eat well, read well, rest well, play well, and pray well. Not to be too spiritual, but you need your God for the exams because it’s takes mental strength to pull through well. Make friends because life doesn’t start after law school, it started the day you were born and law school is part of life. Move along with good friends, people that’ll encourage you because trust me, you will need encouragement. Stay away from Unnecessary pressure, a lot of people spend their time in the library doing nothing, do not feel intimidated by people answering questions in class, or being in the library all day, or academic argument, you don’t need those.
Kill fear and doubt. People fail more because of these two, than because of lack of preparation.

  Ø  Can the readers contact you for further information? If yes, how can they do it?

Readers can contact me on:
Email: Ifeoluwatomi.adenuga@gmail.com
Twitter: @_ifeoluwatomi


Thank you







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