Recently updated on February 12th, 2023 at 12:31 pm
Bukola Fatimat Alada, a graduate of University of Ibadan has emerged the overall best graduating student in the March 2021 Bar Final Exams of the Nigerian Law School.
The Council of Legal Education, Bwari, Abuja released the 2021 Bar Final Results of the last set of the Nigerian Law School on the 6th of July 2021.
A total of 5,770 students sat for the exams and 20 students (0.07%) made first-class while 432 (7.49%) students made Second Class (Upper Division).
Furthermore, 2,172 (37.64%) students made Second Class (Lower Division) while 1,725 (29.90%) had pass.
35 (0.61%) students had conditional pass while 1,326 (22.98%) failed. 60 (1.04%) students were absent.
The Council approved the result and slated 27th, 28th July 2021 for call to Bar.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Ciroma stated:
“Total number of candidates who participated in the examination were 5, 770 and out of the number, 4, 350 candidates were successful with 20 recording first class.”
He said that the figures represented 75 percent success of the final examination with Bukola Fatimat Alada being the best.
Professor Ciroma assured that the institution shall continue to remain the gatekeepers of law profession, adding “as teachers, and administrators, we will continue to uphold the standard and integrity of the Bar”.
Summary of the result showed that 432 candidates made Second Class Upper, 2, 174 made Second Class Lower while 1, 724 others had pass.
NAN recalled that the school had on July 27th, 2021, graduated and Called to the Nigerian Bar, 884 candidates from its December 2020 batch in addition to four others from previous batch.
In his address, Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Chairman, Body of Benchers said:
“I urge you to conduct yourselves in the most responsible way expected of you as people in a noble profession.
As a lawyer, you are an officer of the court and accordingly, you are not to do any act or conduct in a manner that will obstruct or adversely affect the course of justice.
The practice of Law is not a right but a privilege.
It is a privilege that can be lost should you fail to live up the requisite professional standards imposed upon you by virtue of your entry into the community of lawyers.”
He warned that the Body of Benchers Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee was always determined to discipline any lawyer found wanting or breaching set rules of the profession.
Rhodes Vivour hinted that his committee had from January to July, disbarred six lawyers, suspended some following none adherence to the laid down rules.
An interview of Bukola Fatimat Alada with Eniola Oyemolade
Interviewer: You are a four-time best graduating student and a double-first class lawyer. How have you been able to be consistent?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: Basically, I have always held on to the same principles, I always strive for excellence. At every stage, my goal was to be the best I can be and in every course, to get the maximum attainable grade. I also understood that achieving my goal would more often than not, require a lot of work. I didn’t shy away from doing the work. My consistency is a product of ambition and diligence. Without ambition, it is more probable that I would have missed out on a first class or being the best graduating student. I’m also religious. So, I put in the work and pray God crowns my efforts.
Interviewer: What brought about this passion for law? Why did you decide to study it in the first place?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: I’ve been asked this question a number of times. So, I’ve had to think deeply about it. Yet, I cannot point the exact reason I decided to study law in the first place or the exact moment I made the decision. As early as in primary school when we wrote essays on “my future ambition”, I had always wanted to be a lawyer. Perhaps, having a paternal grandfather who was a lawyer and whose portrait in his black robe hung in our living room contributed to the decision. I also have an aunt and an elder sister who are lawyers. At different points, I considered other options such as Economics, but I always found myself back here.
Interviewer: Many say Law School is very difficult and draining, how true is this and how were you able to cope?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: I think the more accurate word here is draining and I think it is completely true. This isn’t to discourage anyone who is yet to go there or to exaggerate the task as to make my accomplishments more resounding. I found it draining and stressful, it generally is, but the pandemic made it worse. There is a lot to study, a lot to memorise, the curriculum is very wide. There are too many details than you can remember for the five exams to be taken in one week. The grading system is also unfavourable because you are graded by your least score. There is little room for mistakes. As much as I complained about the system, I also made peace with the fact that it was very unlikely to change while I was there. I couldn’t do anything about the system, and it was going to be just my name on the certificate. I tried to do as much as was within my control. I read stories of and talked to people who had performed excellently in previous years. I convinced myself I could perform as excellently as these people. I focused on the good stories and tried to follow what these people did. I surrounded myself with people who were positive like I was. I took breaks when I got tired but I soon resumed studying. I studied a lot more than I had ever done at the law school. It was my last lap, in a way. I wanted to be able to look back and know that I gave it my best.
Interviewer: What were the steps you took to ensure you finished with a first class?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: There were no steps I took to make me emerge the best graduating student specifically. I did not know I was going to emerge the best graduating student. I wanted a first class. I thought about getting prizes and also being the best graduating student. They were things I knew would feel good, but I did not know how to work for them specifically. Already, I did not know what exactly I needed to do to make a first class. Getting a prize is even relative to the performance of other students. So, I did not focus on it. But I really wanted a first class. It was difficult enough that no one could tell us specifically what the benchmark for an A in a course was. I needed an A in all five courses so I tried to get as high as possible in all courses. I also knew that if I got really high scores, then I had a good chance of getting a prize or being the best student. When I practiced past questions, the goal was to be able to answer all questions. When I got 18 out of 20 in MCQs, I wanted to know why I got two wrong. My personal benchmark for an A, in the absence of a known benchmark, was being able to answer all questions correctly. Looking back now, I believe this helped me emerge as the best student.
Interviewer: How would you describe your recent academic feat at the Law School?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: Exciting, validating and fulfilling; It’s exciting because of the wishes, the paparazzi, the gifts – monetary and otherwise, the opportunities, the people I’ve met and had conversations with since I was announced. It’s even more exciting when I see how excited my parents, family and friends are. It is validating because it is in one way a representation of my abilities, my intelligence. At first, it felt unreal. I’d think about the fact that over 5000 students across Nigeria, many of whom studied hard as well. Some even studied harder than I did, I know this certainly. But it was my name being announced, and it wasn’t by chance. It is fulfilling to know I worked hard and to see my efforts get rewarded.
Interviewer: What was your reading pattern like?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: At the law school, I was quite flexible with my study pattern. Although I formed notes, I did not form them from scratch. I edited study materials and made use of class slides, handbooks we were given and textbooks. The textbooks were my last point of recourse. I do not enjoy reading from multiple sources, so what I did was to skim and compile all the available materials into one note. I did this for every course so I had five notes. It was these notes I studied for exams.
Due to COVID-19, the bulk of our lectures were online. We were sent recorded videos, slides and class tasks. I read the slides diligently and added their content to my personal note, practiced the class tasks. Occasionally, I watched the recorded videos. I enjoyed the physical lectures better. I studied on weekdays, usually during the day. I attempted past questions, tasks on weekends. I also engaged in group discussions from time to time.
Interviewer: You received 16 awards. List them.
Bukola Fatimat Alada: Third Prize in Civil Litigation; First Prize in Criminal Litigation (2 awards); First Prize in Corporate Law Practice (2 awards); 2nd Prize in Professional Ethics and Skills; Best Overall Female Student of the Year; Best Female Student in Criminal Litigation; Best Female Student in Civil and Criminal Litigation; Best Overall Female Student; Best Student of the Year (1st Prize)(3 awards); Most Promising Graduating Student of the Year; Director-General’s Prize for 1st Class; Council of Legal Education Star Prize.
Interviewer: What exactly is your goal in this profession?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: My goal is to be the best legal practitioner I can be, recognised for excellence in my chosen niche. I am interested in commercial transactions; I want to be the go-to name in my area of specialisation. I want to solve complex legal issues in a creative manner. Broadly, and on a longer term, I want to contribute to development in Nigeria – infrastructure development, economic development.
Interviewer: What aspect of law fascinated you the most at Law School and why?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: Civil litigation and corporate law practice were the most fascinating. Before going to law school, I had interned at law firms and participated in moot competitions. I already had a good idea of the areas of law that interested me. These courses provided the foundational knowledge.
Interviewer: What interests you the most about the law profession?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: I am passionate about law now because it is the foundation of order in society, it is the means of putting structures in place and it is a major tool in solving problems on a macro level. We only enjoy and make sense of our daily activities because there are laws in place, written and unwritten. Navigating existing laws, proffering solutions to new issues, I generally find it interesting.
Interviewer: Lawyers are not paid enough in this country, in fact, most of them earn meagre amount. Why do you think this is so?
Bukola Fatimat Alada: It may not be accurate to say most lawyers in Nigeria earn meagre amount. But we can agree that many lawyers earn meagre amount. I think the reason is multi-faceted. There is the general economic problem across the country, especially in states with lower volumes of commercial activities. Lawyers are a part of the country so they are also affected by the economic downturn. There is also the fact that many Nigerians believe they can bypass the services of a legal practitioner. So, at the grassroots level, the market is slim. This is worsened by the sole proprietorship approach of many law firm owners, and the fact that the rules of professional conduct impose too many restrictions for 21st century legal practice. For young lawyers and more generally speaking, wealth in legal practice is concentrated at the top. In some cases, the partners or owner makes a lot of money but pay the young lawyers meagre sums. This may be explained by an age-long culture which expects a young lawyer to gain “experience and exposure” in the early years and monetary rewards later on. These reasons are not exhaustive.
