Chapter 38
My Sojourn
At The University
A Taste Of The Law
As mentioned earlier, my initial experience in the terrace of the “Learned Gentlemen's” profession started with my admission as a pioneering student of the Evening Law Diploma course of the Lagos State University (LASU) in the 1990/91 academic session. The course was to last two years but unfortunately, it took over 3 years for me to have a “smell”, not yet a taste of the pudding that I had longed for all my life!
My Joy
I was joyful, even for that stage or level of the profession although I would have been more fulfilled if I had got a direct entry to read for the degree. At this juncture, I must thank Engineer Adeoye Yilu for all he did to secure my admission.
My Frustrations
Although the course was very interesting but I was handicapped and frustrated in two ways: first, I always arrived at lectures mid-way, a failing I could do nothing about. This was because the traffic situation made it impossible for me to get to LASU at 5pm when lectures began. As a result, I got to lectures late at between 15 and 30 minutes every day.
Secondly, the school calendar was uncertain due to unending crises and shutdowns, which characterized the Nigerian academic experience. One only knew one's admission date, but not graduation day! LASU was particularly notorious for its multi-dimensional problems. One day, the crisis would be the students calling for the head of the Vice-Chancellor; next day, it would be the entire university staff going on an inexplicable strike. Otherwise it would be the students engaged in a senseless self-immolation by butchering themselves over disagreements in their various memberships of certain cults that seek to regulate student-academic staff relationship. Once, I saw a casket unaccountably placed right in the premises of the chapel in the campus. Even when lectures were going on, there could be eruptions! So what one always searched for or ascertained was an escape route in such eventualities. Compounding these experiences was the epileptic electric power supply, which guaranteed more malfeasance in darkness than mere inactivity. In this chaotic situation, the University got shut down many times for general safety. These were the harsh conditions under which an already tired but ambitious worker-student like me had to study after each day's hard work. So it was not particularly surprising that at the end of the diploma programme, I had a reference in one subject.
I Meet Mr. Fagbohun
The reference, which I recorded in Commercial Law, fortuitously brought me into a face-to-face meeting with one of our lecturers, Mr. Lanre Fagbohun. He later turned out to be, in my academic world, what Mrs. Ogun had been to me years back at work, as I earlier acknowledged.
Mr. Fagbohun was a lecturer per excellence in Commercial law. He continually warned students about the risk of not attending his lectures promptly and regularly, as it would result in failure, no matter how brilliant a student might be academically. His sole aim was to get every student to have a thorough understanding of his subject, rather than engage vainly in wasteful academic voyages. He would prefer that a student listened attentively to his teaching than submerge in note taking or stenography. He stressed that once a student understood a subject during lectures, it would enable him to do further reading on his or her own to expand his or her knowledge. Otherwise, rummaging through volumes of books in further research without basic understanding would only lead to confusion instead of wisdom. His lecture method was like a seminar whereby students were guided from a layman's understanding of the issues of law to the practical level of a professional using everyday experiences or examples. Thereafter, students were encouraged and inspired to do more personal research later for a wholistic inculcation and understanding of the subject. For his strictness, students feared Mr. Fagbohun because they could not escape him as Commercial Law was a core, compulsory subject. His regulation about regular attendance at lectures had proved practically fatal in my own case because I could never successfully navigate the constant 35-kilometre traffic jam between my office after the day's hard work and the lecture theatre. So I always missed the opening parts of lectures and no amount of note-reading afterwards could save me from recording a reference in the subject. That was why I had to approach him for guidance as I prepared for my re-sit.
What amazed me was the very warm welcome he accorded me. He made me feel familiar and at home. That attitude won me over. Mr. Fagbohun counseled me extensively and he showed me some very key areas of the subject, which every student must master. I followed his instructions diligently. Fortunately for me too, I came across some very useful question and answer books on Law Relating to Banking written by Femi Adekanye, in my wife's library. I also came by other relevant question/answer books on the Law of Agency, Partnership, etc., by which I mastered the different types of agencies and their relationship to their principals. As a result, my next re-sit was a foregone conclusion and I left LASU a successful law diploma holder!
Thereafter, for a long while, until the publication of LASU Part-time (Evening) Law Degree programme, I stayed clear of both the University and Mr. Fagbohun whom I would probably not have recognized or he my face, if we had come across one another during the period.
Admission to the LL.B Degree Programme
Seeing that I was qualified, I went on to submit the necessary admission form for consideration. I was then invited for an oral interview which I attended. By my nature, I do not like lobbying for anything in life nor do I also like being pressurized into doing my duty. So, initially I did nothing to follow up my application as others were said to be doing.
I waited patiently but there was no response. So I went to LASU one day to check if the admissions-list had been released. There was no such notice on the board. I then decided to return to my office.
On the way to my car, I saw Mr. Fagbohun afar off in the opposite direction. Being naturally a shy person I thought of dodging him. Since I was the only one who recognized him, I could have just walked past him but, again, something persuaded me to greet him, and I did. Mr. Fagbohun, in his usual pleasant manner, responded politely but he wanted to know where we had met before. I then introduced myself and he embraced me! He asked me in Yoruba: “Ewo le tun wa se ni bi o?” (meaning what again have you come to do here?). I responded “Eyin le tun pe wa o” (It's you that invited us again).
“To come and do what?” Mr. Fagbohun asked.
I responded: “To read law at the degree level”.
“Lagbara Olorun a work out o”, he said (meaning by God's grace, it will work out in your favour).
We parted ways but, for sometime again, I never bothered to go to LASU although I kept abreast of events until the admissions list was published. When I learnt that the first admission list was published and my name was not there, I was consoled that another list would soon be out so I had to exercise some patience.
The second list was out but my name was missing from it too. Worried, I went to LASU several times to consult the then Law Faculty Co-ordinator, Prof. Mike Ikhariale. He assured me that I would be contacted if I was admitted. As a professional HR Practitioner, I understood that such statements lacked merit.
Then I decided to see Mr. Fagbohun for assistance. He was very solicitous and assured me that by God's grace, things would work out in my favour. He advised me to leave matters in his hands. Indeed he later secured my admission. That's why I will forever be grateful to him and his friend, Mr. Mustapha , for all they did for me without any strings attached. I consider it a divine favour of the Almighty God!
Mr. Fagbohun's goodness to me did not end there. In the course of the degree programme, he did not spare himself to assist me. I remember the period when I had difficulty making sense out of the Law of Evidence despite the excellence of my wonderful lecturer on the subject, Mr. Collins Enesha. Mr. Fagbohun had to sit me down in his office for over an hour to review the subject with me in its totality. It was such patient tutoring that enabled me to assimilate the subject and fully understand what the statement “the fact-in-issue” meant in the legal sense. Initially it was very confusing to me.
Again, his organisation of an international seminar on Environmental Law in 1997 opened yet another chapter in my life as it was the first time, as a participant in that conference, that I became fully exposed to the environmental complexity or in particular, the general legal aspects of it. This awareness and experience led to my choosing to write my final research project on it with Mr. Fagbohun as my Supervisor. My experience with him as my supervisor again proved to me how thorough Mr. Fagbohun was in scholarship. We had to brush aside any form of closeness we ever had during the exercise. I was thoroughly drilled and made to know my onions before my script was accepted. And the day he finally approved my project was like the day a long-time prisoner is granted a presidential pardon! I fully appreciate him for it.
The Other People I Will Never Forget In LASU
They were lecturers who lectured conscientiously. They were timely and concerned about students understanding their lectures. They gave us notes without extorting payment. They encouraged and held tutorials and, if a student so desired, they made themselves available for their clarifications on all issues until the student was satisfied. They were frank with students and emphasized the canons of law that must be thoroughly mastered in their general knowledge of the law. They discouraged and frowned on examination mal-practices and punished it severely whenever it occurred. They encouraged students to study together in groups to discuss their lessons and so kept us on our toes in a transparent and loving manner.
Who are these lecturers?
At the Diploma level, I am proud to identify Professor Funsho Adaramola and Late Professor Ogan. They jointly taught us legal theory and the philosophy of law. Mr. Adegoroye took us on Introduction to Law or Administrative Law. Mrs. (now) Professor Aluko handled the Nigerian Legal System while Mr. Solanke, the first Evening Law Diploma Co-ordinator, taught us Criminal Law. Mr. Babatunde taught Legal Methods while Mr. Taiwo Ajala and Mr. (now) Professor I. O. Smith taught us Land Law. Messrs Soroye and Emiri jointly taught us Civil Procedure. Mr., (now Professor) Owasanoye, took us on Contract while Messrs. Fagbohun and Salami took us in Commercial Law alternately. Mr., (now Professor) Ikhariale did justice to Constitutional Law at the degree level.
On the forefront at the degree level was Mr. A.D. Badaiki, the untiring Criminal Law Lecturer, followed by Professor Mike Ikhariale as aforementioned. He taught us so much one day that he concluded his lecture by reiterating emphatically “ I profess nothing but the law”.
Our Computer Lecturer (name I cannot recollect at the time of writing) was a very thorough man. Mr. Fakoya took us in The Use of English. The easy-going lady, Mrs. Adesanya (who later became a Judge of the Lagos High Court) did Contract.
The famous “Mama Susu” who taught us on the Law of Torts will be remembered for her constant exhortation, “you all matriculated together but don't necessarily have to graduate together. I want to produce lawyers who would be able to stand boldly before renowned legal luminaries wherever they go. If you scored my 1.0, you will surely be able to do that. Once you are able to scale my subject and Professor Smith's Land Law, you are rest assured that you have graduated from LASU”. Indeed our final results showed that she meant every word she uttered because a considerable number of students had carryovers and some eventually only passed her paper in their final year! As for me however, I took her words as a big challenge. Thank God I escaped her stricture. I am not aware that anybody in the history of LASU Law Faculty had ever recorded more than a 3.0 in her Law of Torts, up to my own time. It might happen some day, before she retires but that will surely be a Herculean task because the Mama Susu that I knew was rather very uncompromising!
However, except for the low volume of her tone, lecturing was down-to-earth and as exciting as it was interesting.
Professor I.O. Smith, popularly known as “1.0 Smith”, because he marked many students 1.0 in his subject, as aforementioned, handled Land Law. He taught clearly and was a very punctual and regular lecturer. His explicatory skills were fully demonstrated in his two books, namely, “Land Law In Nigeria” and “Practical Approach to Land Law in Nigeria
As complex and fundamental as Land Law is, Prof. Smith could award a 5.0 (the maximum score) if a student merited it. Land Law turned out to be one of my best subjects although in the first semester exam, I recorded a zero in it! This happened to me not because I did not prepare well but simply because I missed the part (a) of a question in the exam so that all my subsequent answers to (b), (c) and (d) parts were all adversely and terminally affected. That was the peculiarity of Prof. Smith for you. Whenever he sets his questions, your answer to the first part may earn you his full marks or a zero. So you needed to analyse a question fully before ever attempting to write your answer; otherwise, you would be fatally destablised in all the rest. To him, it was simply a make or lose affair. For this reason, he warned students to, in their own interests, steer clear of his essay questions because he was very difficult to please thereon. So if a student was foolhardy enough to plunge into such an area, whatever the result was, he or she was on his or her own.
Now comes my able, Law of Evidence lecturer, Mr. Collins Enesha. Though comparatively young, he measured up to the likes of Prof. Smith, both in his delivery and marking. He took the trouble to ensure that students understood him but warned regularly thus: “Even when you take the horse to the stream, it may refuse to drink. Some people destined to fail will fail, no matter what a lecturer does to encourage him or her to succeed, because he or she will not give it the seriousness it deserves to pass. To such students, when the chips are down, I owe no apologies. Before the exams, I will do all within my capacity to lecture very well and I will encourage students to come for clarifications on aspects they don't understand but once the exams have been written and you refuse to cross River Jordan
To me, Collins had been a natural and gifted lecturer.
Mr. Emiri lectured on the Law of Equity and Trust and he was full of what it took to deliver the goods to his students.
Prof. M. Adediran, all the way from Obafemi Awolowo University Lagos Obafemi Awolowo University University of Ife
Every female in our class he addressed as “young lady” or “baby”, and that is where I learnt to call every lady “baby” till today. I soon discovered the winsomeness of such words. They engender affection and make communication and interpersonal relationship more informal, thereby promoting friendliness. Some lecturers were not snobs (talking down to you) but human beings who had conscience and displayed love and affection both for their subjects and their students. Prof. Adediran was such a man.
Mr. Kelani was not new to me. He was in his final year for a law degree when I was in the diploma level. He became my tutorial lecturer. Thereafter, I had admired him as a promising and talented lecturer. At my 400 level at which he taught Islamic Law, because of a research-oriented mind to know something about Islam, I had to offer it even though it had meant exceeding the number of subjects allowed. I did this for some reasons. Apart from trusting Kelani's skill as a lecturer, I, as a Christian, was aware of the see-sawing criticisms between Christian and Islamic adherents. I wanted to know the basic differences between the two religions. After all, the Bible admonishes Christians to “search for the truth”, moreso as Hosea 4:6 states: “My people perish from lack of knowledge”. Besides, there is the popular saying that “knowledge is power”. So, in search of knowledge and wisdom so that I would not criticize people unnecessarily out of ignorance, I seized the opportunity to know something about Islam.
Mr. Kelani lived up to his billing as he gave his total being to his deliveries as a lecturer. He was friendly with virtually all his students but hated any form of distraction whenever he was lecturing. Intrude on this golden rule and see his temperament at work! Even as an Islamic adherent, he taught us with an open mind and religious controversy was not stirred.
Mr. Ajala was a very brilliant and firm lecturer in Conveyancing. He had taught me in Land Law at the diploma level and whenever, out of inquisitiveness, we asked practical questions on Real Property Law, he would jokingly reply, “come to my chambers; what will be left for me to practise if I give you all the knowledge at this stage?” However, I did not attend his lectures beyond the first semester because I had chosen another very fascinating subject, Environmental Law, for my final project write-up. Nevertheless, I did enjoy every bit of his lectures for the short duration I attended them.
Mr. Ajala was a hard task-master who required us to use our overall residual knowledge in all the other law subjects to make revision and ensure our mastery of every aspect of Conveyancing because the subject could not be studied in isolation.
Conveyancing was therefore not a light subject at all!. The manner of Mr. Ajala's teaching eased students through any toughness that arose. As a result, only two categories of students ever failed his subject: those who were unsettled due to illness or other domestic problems during examination or students who foolishly took the study of Conveyancing too lightly.
I got close to Mr. Ajala through my wife whom he met at the bank where she worked as a Cashier. When he saw her name tag which bore Omogboyega, he recollected that there was a name like that amongst his students (though he could not place me then). He decided to ask if she was related to me. Mary answered in the affirmative and that I was her husband. This incidental introduction brought us together, after we eventually met during one of his lectures.
This closeness enabled me assess him deeper both in his private and official capacities. At that time, he had become our Co-ordinator. Some earlier developments had made us to misunderstand him. First, it was during his tenure that our fees were jerked up from N20,000 to N30,000. When we complained, all he promised was that it would not go beyond that amount till we graduated. This singular action created ill-feeling between him and us. However, he showed us unusual empathy in his recognising that having paid so much money as executive students, we ought to enjoy more comfort. To remedy our jeopardy and seeming short-changing, he did work on the idea of moving our lecture venue out of the Campus to another place where our lectures would go on more comfortably. He tried his best to bring about an all-round improvement in the department to justify the increase in our school fees. Despite these overtures that he loved us, we never appreciated his efforts until after he had relinquished his position to someone else whose tenure was clearly worse.
Mr. Ajala also hated laziness and so he deliberately over-worked his students so that, at the worst, they were left with a sufficient residue of knowledge that would stand them in good stead anytime, anywhere. This grooming we appreciated, for which we regarded him as a good person. He was also approachable, if one really had a genuine concern!
Fortunately, LASU enjoyed virtually an uninterrupted academic calendar from the 1995/96 session till we graduated in the 2000/2001 academic session. We never lost anything in time! This was a record in my 11-year interaction in the University!
Prof. Ogan (Now Late)
He was a methodical, sure-footed Lecturer who, too, didn't like to be interrupted while lecturing until he was satisfied he had delivered whatever was required. His notes were highly technical but his delivery was very simple. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.
Prof. Adaramola
He was a popular, easy-going and fluent speaker of the English Language who cut a father-figure with the students. His book “Basic Jurisprudence”, is a master-piece on the subject and loved by students. Though small in size, the book was rich with the necessary knowledge which only very studious minds internalized appropriately. And his lecture delivery style was superb!
Mr. Odum
He taught me Labour Law. Having had a good, practical acquaintance with this aspect of the law during my professional encounters at the Chattered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria
Mr. Sofowora
The Author of “Business Law in Nigeria
Dr. Iysa Bello.
He too taught me in Islamic Law. He was a very humble gentleman and highly explicit. Even though most of the students were Christians, his conduct overshadowed or precluded any differences. He was a good example of what Islam preaches - humility, moderation and peace.
Mrs. Ipaye
She took us in Family Law as well as Law of Succession. She was highly dedicated and thorough as she proffered refreshing insights in her areas of specialization. It was a loss to miss any part of her lectures.
Mrs. Adesanya
She taught us Contract, I & II. Easy-going and friendly, her soft spokenness was such that one hardly realized when she had covered much ground at any point in time. She was very thorough in breaking down the Law of Contract into common understanding and in a clear language, the volume notwithstanding!
There were other Lecturers who did their bits, and I appreciate them all.
People who don't read books tend to find life boring, dull and their lives are static. So cultivate a reading habit! Yemi Omogboyega
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