Being able to endure Law school and pass Bar final exams is a victory in itself —Abiru, best graduating Law School student

A total of 147 young lawyers graduated with First Class degree at the Law School last month, and Mayowa Mubashir Abiru emerged the very best of the best. A graduate of Law from the Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, he shares his experiences and thoughts with LAOLU HAROLDS

Why did you decide to be a lawyer? Is it a family tradition, a childhood fantasy or peer group thing?

I’m not too sure there was a specific point when I actually sat down and decided I was going to be a lawyer. I think what happened was that as I grew up, I paid close attention to my skills and my strengths and tried to determine where I would best fit in professionally. From a very young age, I was an avid reader, I spoke eloquently, I loved to argue and make my points logically. I excelled in subjects that were tailored to arts students. I think that was how I actually found myself on the path to becoming a lawyer. I wouldn’t say there’s a strict family tradition of lawyers – neither of my parents is a lawyer. However, there are a few lawyers in the Abiru family, including my grandfather, the late Hon. Justice Mubashir Abiru (after whom I was named); and my uncle, Hon. Justice Habeeb Adewale Abiru of the Court of Appeal.

 

Who is your inspiration or model in this profession?

There are a lot of erudite personalities in the legal profession that serve as role models to young lawyers such as myself. However, for me I would say that Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN and Hon. Justice Habeeb Abiru are high on the list of my role models in the legal profession. These are men who have led exemplary lives and have been marked in history, both for their excellence and also for their character. I aspire to one day rise to the pinnacle of my chosen profession and to be amongst those who will serve in my generation and contribute towards building a better Nigeria. I believe strongly that the value of a lifetime is measured by the positive impact one is able to make on the world and the legacy one can leave behind for future generations.

 

Are there influences from your family background that might have affected your choice of career or your performance so far?

For my choice of career, I’d say “No”, because I don’t think my family background affected my choice of career in any way. However, as for my performance, I’d definitely say “Yes”, because my family background definitely influences my performance and I’ll explain why. I come from a noble and proud family, the Abiru family of Lagos State. It is a well-known family that has produced a lot of excellent individuals who have gone on to become forces to be reckoned with in society. As a result, the family name carries with it a duty, to try to excel in whatever you do, to honor the name which I am fortunate to carry. As a result, I would say that the excellence recorded by numerous members of my family serves as motivation for all the younger Abirus, to strive to attain and even surpass the legacy we inherited.

You studied Law from a Christian faith-based institution. Do you foresee challenges Criminal Law practice might bring your way, and where do you hope to stand?

I studied Law in a Seventh-Day Adventist institution, yes – but that had little to do with the course content. Law is a professional discipline that ought to be practised by professionals, and a professional is what I consider myself to be. I shall always aim to do my job, to the best of my abilities and in line with the ethics of the profession, regardless of the challenges that legal practice might bring my way. I hope to always stand on the side of what is right, both in law, conscience and before God.

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The Law School produced a total of 147 first class graduates this time, and you emerged the very best of them all. How easy was that?

It was not easy at all. Let’s forget first class for a moment; any and every person who has ever attended the Nigerian Law School will certainly tell you that there is nothing easy about the programme. Regardless of the grade that one attains in Law School, being able to endure the programme and pass the Bar final exams is a victory in itself and for that, I salute every single person who was brave enough to undergo the programme – and importantly, for my colleagues who were unable to make it at the first attempt, I salute you even more. Your struggles will bear fruit soon, so please persevere, as we look forward to celebrating you all very soon.

Back to your question, it was not easy at all. Law school is by far the most challenging institution I have ever been in. I studied and worked harder than I had ever done in my entire life – and that was all in a bid to make a first class grade. I did not even initially anticipate that I would emerge the best overall student.

 

What peculiar new challenges did the Law School bring that you didn’t envisage?

I will begin with the academic programme itself – the long hours of lectures, the sea of information, the numerous drafts and the precision expected of aspirants to the bar. I mean, I had envisaged that it would be challenging, but the reality surpassed my wildest imagination. There is also the amount of maturity required to excel in the Law School; the academic demands were extremely high; it tends to take out a lot of your time (especially group meetings, tasks and presentations). To be able to juggle all of that and still find enough time for your personal studies requires a high level of discipline, time management and commitment.

I should also speak briefly on the health challenges I faced in Law School. I fell ill numerous times over the course of the programme as a result of my initial inability to adjust to the new demands I was met with at the Nigerian Law School. I actually took ill a few weeks to my final exams and was only able to fully return to school a few days before the examinations began.

 

Give us a peek into the kind of grooming, etiquette and other forms of training the Law School takes its students through, and how you think it has affected you.

As a Law student who studied in a very disciplined Law Faculty in my undergraduate days, I would say that I had already imbibed a high level of grooming and etiquette right from my first year in university. For five years as an undergraduate, I went to class daily in: a white shirt, black trousers and a black tie. That was the “uniform”; so, it was very easy for me to transition into the same grooming standards required of the Nigerian Law School. We are taught the values of a lawyer, in a course called ‘Professional Ethics and Skills’, values which include – integrity, diligence, discipline and respect for the profession. These are some of the core values that ought to be found in any young lawyer, and the Law School constantly drummed this into our heads. The ‘Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners’ quickly became our study-necessity in Law School, as ethical issues would often be tested in every question that was thrown at us. Punctuality, discipline, neatness, integrity, decorum – these are some of the values that the Nigerian Law School attempts to instill in all its students.

 

Generally speaking, to succeed or do well as a Law student, what quality should one possess or what should one prepare for?

In the most general form of speaking I can contrive, I would say that one quality that I think would aid any Law student is self-discipline. Self-discipline is the ability to do what needs to be done, even when it is not easy to do so. Self-discipline is what will make you pick up your books to read that principle for the eleventh time, even though you already read it ten times and it just won’t stick. Self-discipline is what will keep you focused on your goals when distractions loom from every possible angle.

There are a host of qualities that one requires to excel as a Law student, but I strongly believe that self-discipline is an important quality, and with self-discipline, one is equipped to give their best towards attaining a desired goal.

As regards preparation, I don’t want to scare anyone away from studying Law (hahaha), but for any prospective Law student out there, be prepared to do a lot of reading, the occasional cramming, to put in long hours, to write faster than you currently think is humanly possible, and to never stop learning!