ISWS04 || Interviewing a Nigerian Law Student Who's Pursuing the Law Career to Help the Suffering Nigeria

This interview is back on track. The host has been very busy lately and apologise for not being consistent. The delayed response of some interviewee also contributed. We're back and this would be done weekly. With us is a law student who is in her intermediate level in the University of Uyo. In my interview with her, she shares her experience in her first year and how experience taught her what she needed to know.

Speculations has it that getting an admission in law school and excelling at the same time is difficult and almost impossible. She refutes this as people's facts and said it depends on the individual involved.

Listen to this Nigerian law student @ukpono as she shares her ups and downs, pursuing a career she feels can help her solve Nigeria's problems. Let's hear and learn from her experience. A few changes has been made in the markdown style. I won't be using the red colour as it's too shouting and the beneficiary percentage has been changed from 25% to 50%.

Host	Interviewee
@bossj23	@ukpono
Graduate	Student

Interviewing the Nigerian Law Student

@bossj23: Good evening UK. Trust you're good?Good evening UK. Trust you're good?

@ukpono: Good evening, Bossj. I'm doing well. How about you?

@bossj23: I'm good. I thank God for the gift of life. Still in school right?

@ukpono: Yes. Currently in my intermediate year.

@bossj23: Ohkay. Please which institution and what's your discipline?

@ukpono: I'm a Nigerian law student. Schooling in Nigeria.

@bossj23: Wow. That's good to hear. Was law your dream course or were you forced to study course? Like what motivated you to advance into this particular discipline? You can use Voice notes as well in supplying the answers.

@ukpono: Lovely question. I've always dreamt of wearing the wig and gown. As a matter of fact, I had told my parents myself that I wish to pursue a law degree. There are several controversies surrounding the course. However, I never let it dissuade me from pursuing my dreams. One particular reason why I chose this course is because of the knowledge and influence it gives.

	Picture of @ukpono and friends

What motivated me to advance into this discipline? It's the issues we have in Nigeria. Sometimes, I see people come online to play the blame game. We talk about our leaders yet few people take steps to solve these problems. I've come to realise that talking doesn't fix problems. Taking the necessary actions does. And to act you need to understand the root cause first.

So, I choose this course, not just for the degree, but to arm myself with knowledge. I need to know what is obtainable and how to help people facing various challenges. I want to learn so I can serve. And understand so I can change my community, one case at a time.

@bossj23: Thanks for this. I love your vision. Another question. In Nigeria, most people say it's difficult to get an admission into law and that if you eventually get it, it would be difficult to excel.. They also say students who study law are proud people. Do you buy these notions? How was your first year in school? Was it difficult?

@ukpono: Interesting question. In Nigeria, most people say it's difficult to get an admission into law and that if you eventually get it, it would be difficult to excel. They also say students who study law are proud people. Do you buy these notions?

Everything you said is true, but there are exceptions. In Nigeria, most people say it's difficult to get admitted into the Faculty of Law. But if I were to advise someone, I'd say score high and try not make any mistakes during your admission process. Using the wrong subject combination or not completing the admission process can deny a person their admission. Speaking from experience. You don't need to do some funny things. Just aim high and leave the rest to God. This is what worked for me.

Now for the question, "If you eventually get it, it would be difficult to excel.... Let me explain.

I'm a student leader and this is what I tell my fellow students: Nothing is easy in life. With diligence and discipline you'd excel. I have a friend who had 5.0 GPA thrice. He ensured that he maintained a 4.0 CGPA from year 1 till he graduated.

In law, there's no shortcut. You just have to study to excel. You have to put in the work and try to understand what you're reading. Students don't underperform because they are less intelligent. No. Students excel because they've understood how to approach law questions.

So when one says it's difficult to excel in law, it could be that he doesn't know how to approach law questions. You don't answer law questions how you answer sociology questions. You need to understand how to use the IRAC method, raise the issue, know the rules, apply it and give your conclusion. This requires studying. So when people say it's difficult to excel, I'll say yes, but not impossible. You just have to put in the work.

They say law students are proud, do I buy the notion?My answer is NO. The average law student is trained to be confident. I guess this is what most people misinterpret to be arrogance or pride.

As a lawyer, you should be able to speak with enough conviction. If not, no one will listen to you. Imagine hiring a lawyer who has low self-esteem or inferiority complex would you be pleased with her performance? Exactly! For me, I'd say that what we see in law students is confidence, not pride.

@bossj23: How was your first year in school?

@ukpono: My first year in school was surreal. I was super excited to make the list. But settling in wasn't as smooth as I expected. Before now, I had spoken with senior colleagues, asking about the lecturers. What do they like or dislike? How can one approach each lecturer's course? How is the university system run and all? Including their own experiences and challenges. I did this to get myself acquainted with the course and system.

My first semester, I thought I was ready. But when the results came out, I discovered that there were areas I needed to work on. This wasn't because the questions or courses were difficult. Just that I hadn't mastered how to approach law questions yet. Law questions aren't answered like regular questions in mathematics and English.

I did get good grades, but wasn't the kind of grades I wished for. The second semester, I resolved to do better. Some of the things my senior colleagues told me started making sense, like oh, this is why they said this and that. I started understanding how to use IRAC and implementing other techniques they shared.

Some advice don't click until you live it.

The second semester in my first year, I performed even better compared to the first semester. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't difficult either. The first experience had taught me all I needed to know and boom, that was it.

@bossj23: Before sharing your prominent moment or experience that made you cry or mark the date.... Is it possible to do side hustles or work part-time and get better grades when studying law? Were there times you felt you won't make it probably due to a challenge, doubts or personal situations? What helped you conquer the feeling of thoughts of not making your parents proud in this field? With all those bulky textbooks, how do you even read them

@ukpono: You can work while studying law and still get good grades. It's all about planning. But then, this planning has to be structured. For me, I do these two things:

• Split my activities into chunks. I start by breaking my day or week into blocks. For instance, I can choose to dedicate:
  → 30 hrs in a week for work
  → 25 hrs for studying
  → 30 mins - 1 hr daily for napping, etc.

This structure helps me get things done no matter how tight my schedule might be.

• Say NO to procrastination
  The second person who graduated with a first-class from my faculty, Ifeco, was a hustler. When I heard how Ifeco succeeded despite juggling work with school, I felt motivated to push on. For you to excel in school without a sponsor, you need not just determination, but discipline and zero tolerance for procrastination. Because you'd feel like quitting many times.

Were there times you felt you won't make it probably due to a challenge, doubts or personal situations? What helped you conquer the feeling of thoughts of not making your parents proud in this field? A personal story: When I started, I was working full-time to pay my own fees. There were days I'd wake up feeling exhausted and worried about how my grades would be like at the end of the semester. But I knew that it I didn't work, I'd drop out of school. And if I dropped out of school, I'd hate myself.

I hate underperforming. So, that semester, I made a promise to myself to have nothing less than a B. Guess what? I smashed my goals. But it wasn't easy. It demanded a lot of disciplined and self-motivation to reach that target. I'd say that what helped me push on was the promise I made to my parents. Every time I felt like dropping out, the thought of disappointing them or diminishing their high hopes in me kept me going.

@ukpono: Now, about those bulky textbooks, here is my cheat code: Reading early. I'd break my plan into three phases:
Month 1: Read
Month 2: Revise
Month 3: Test myself
At first, it will feel like nothing sticks, however, by the third month, I'd get a full grasp of what each topic is about. But studying law goes beyond the textbooks. I use other study techniques as well. Like,

• Videos
• Past questions and
• Model questions from the internet

That way, I don't have to kill myself with bulky textbooks. If you can study past questions effectively, you're most likely to excel more than those who study only textbooks. These past questions help you know how to answer questions and how the questions would be framed. You won't be new to exam questions even when your lecturers try to twist them.

@bossj23: Can you share that prominent moment or experience you won't forget in a hurry at once so I'll listen to the voice notes all at once. After sharing, answer this last question.

@ukpono: There was this examination I wrote. You should see how I cited cases, supporting each point with legal authorities and all. I felt confident that once my lecturer marks my script, my A grade is guaranteed. Bossj, do you know that as I stepped out of the examination hall, the lecturer sent a message to my class group chat saying:

I don't know what happened to the class. Everyone was just answering question 1 the wrong way. This isn't what the question was about.

My heart cut in half. I knew I had lost 17 full marks. I could see my A grade telling me bye bye. I felt so sad. I don't want to say "depressed," but I felt deeply sad. The most painful part was that it was one of the questions I failed to study in the past question due to limited time. It dawned upon me to be resolute with my study technique and ensure that I cover up past questions. I made up my mind that this won't happen again.

@bossj23: What is your greatest fear in life?

@ukpono: One of my biggest fears is not living up to my full potential. I hate underperforming, especially when I know I can do more. I wish to put in my best effort at every moment and keep improving no matter what happens.

@bossj23: Which active Steemian would you want me to interview next??

@ukpono: @pandora2010.

@bossj23: I really appreciate the time you spent too be on this show and share you experiences and motivations as you venture out into studying this discipline.

@ukpono: Thank you so much for having me. Honestly, this interview made me pause and reflect on my learning journey. I hope my story ignites something in someone reading this post. I hope it gives them a little more courage or clarity to pursue their dreams.

@bossj23: We have come to the end of the show. It's ISWS week 4. @pandora2010, do you accept her invitation to be interviewed by me?

Question for Readers

• It's sarcastic for most lawyers in Nigeria to worsen problems instead of solving them. Is this a general term or based on individual personalities?

• Is it possible to pursue the discipline, law, in your country without engaging in bribes to sort your way in as it's a professional course?

• What advice do you have to this Nigerian law student?

• Do you have suggestions on how this interview can be improved?