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