In my second year at the university, an incident occurred that taught me a valuable lesson. Before I tell the story, I need to have a background. As a law student at the Obafemi Awolowo University and indeed in most faculties of Law around Nigeria, we are required to attend classes formally dressed. The standard was to wear black and white. This apparel became synonymous with law students on campus that everyone who is seen in a black and white is assumed to be a law student. So it is not unusual that when many students in black and white are seen congregating, it is assumed that they must be law students. Their dressing made them easily identifiable.
Going back to my story, it was not unusual that law students took courses from other faculties in which case we would sit with our colleagues from other faculties to receive lectures usually in one of the bigger auditoriums in school. This was one such class. My memory fails me now but I know apart from law students, we had students from the faculty of arts attending the lecture as well.
As my classmates and I arrived at the venue for this general course, I remember that the hall was filled and overflowing as it was hosting a class from the faculty of Agriculture. Indeed that lecture hall “belonged” to the faculty of agriculture. When the time for our class came, we expected that the ongoing lecture would round up and the students would leave the class to allow us to enter the hall and take our lecture. However, for reasons I cannot fathom till today, the lecturer chose to extend the class. This irritated the students who were waiting outside to use the lecture hall. As the irritation began to boil over because we were all in the blazing sun, some of those who had lectures next decided to storm the lecture room and demand that the current occupants (who were mainly Faculty of Agriculture students) leave as their time slot for the use of the hall had expired. I do not know how, but a small fracas broke out between current occupants and our group which had law students and students from the Faculty of Arts. The occupants being students from the faculty of agriculture felt ownership of the hall and resisted being evicted. Our group also felt entitled to the use of the hall because the hall had been allotted for that class at that time by the senate.
It is important for me to say here that we as law students had just finished a law class and we all headed to this hall to receive our next lecture. So we were all dressed in the regulatory black and white. Being among the last set of people to arrive at the hall, we were nowhere close to the entrance of the hall but were content to wait outside the hall in the comfort and shades of some of the trees around.
The small fracas quickly degenerated into a mini-riot that led to the disruption of activities around that side of the campus. Thankfully, the situation was brought under control and we all went about our business.
Later in the evening when I returned to my room, my roommate with a sneer on his face asked me jeeringly, Sile I heard law students were fighting on campus today, all of you in your black and white”
I was shocked to my bones. I couldn’t believe my ears. Law students were not involved in the fracas at all, we were far from it. As I said earlier, we had arrived late at the venue so when the fracas began, we were too far away to have been involved. However, because we were easily identifiable, the news on campus was that it was law students that were fighting.
On Monday the 2nd of January, 2022, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee released the Guidelines and called for applications for the Coveted Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
As it was when I was a law student, it is now that I am a lawyer. I see Senior Advocates of Nigeria being blamed for everything wrong with the profession and administration of justice. The truth is that they are easy targets because they are easily distinguishable from the rest of us. They wear different clothes, get so many privileges and even have an independent body that regulates them apart from the one that regulates all lawyers. This is the problem of being distinguished and being different. When you stand out, you would be easily targeted. So when you see news headlines that target and attack SANs, please know that they are easy targets, most of them are nobler and more worthy of respect than many practitioners and the bad ones among them (as there exists with every group) give them a bad name. I still believe SANs are leaders as is every lawyer in Nigeria, but much more is expected from Senior Advocates and that is why we are maybe too harsh on them.
In conclusion, when you stand out, it has the privileges of recognition and distinction, but it also comes with being an easy target.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
ADESILE OBASA is an astute legal practitioner with over 9 years of post call experience.
He was called to the Nigeria bar in October, 2015. His practice areas include Commercial Law, Litigation, Intellectual Property and Mediation amongst others.
He served as the Chairman of the Young Lawyers Forum of the NBA, Ibadan Branch from June 2020 – 2022. Adesile is a firm believer in a technology-driven legal practice and uses his role as a member of the Continuing Education Committee of the NBA, Ibadan to drive the necessity for today’s lawyers to have the requisite skills and attitudes required to meet not only the demands of today’s clients, but also the demands of tomorrow’s legal space. He leads the team of Lawyers at Pelican Crest Legal Practitioners as a Managing Partner.
As head of the dispute resolution practice group at Pelican Crest legal Practitioners, Adesile has led the team to a consistent 93% win rate for the past 3 years, firmly cementing the Firm’s reputation as the leading law firm in Ibadan under 10 years old.