UI LL.B ULTIMATE EXAMS WRITTEN IN SECRET AS OTHER FINALISTS ROT AT HOME: JUST OR UNJUST?
LL.B ULTIMATE EXAMS; ITS NO INJUSTICE
Even though it passes through the valley of the shadow of the Amazon jungle or it moves through the mountains of the Nepal Tibet; the color never changes, the texture remains intact and its effect still overwhelming. I speak of nothing else but the TRUTH. There is a saying that; “Don’t believe everything you hear, there are always three sides to a story; yours, theirs and the truth”.
Amidst the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, the ink of my pen flows on papyrus in a bid to erase the squiggles of injustice written in the hearts of men. It was first a rumor but all of a sudden it turned out to be the truth that final year students of the Faculty of Law were writing their final exams. After the exams; ecstasy was written on the faces of the Law students who were once in a state of dilemma couple of weeks ago. Many are of the opinion that this move by the Faculty of Law to conduct exams behind closed doors is a pure act of injustice. I beg to differ as I brandish my identity card which shows that I am from the school of thought which believes that this is not injustice at all.
Over the years, final year students from the Faculty of Law are known for their fast academic calendars as they need to meet up with their Admission into Law School. Law school resumes session by October 21, 2013; the results of the students are expected to be ready and must have been directed to the right quarters. The proposed calendar for the final year students of Law stated clearly that they were supposed to start their second semester exams on July 29, 2013. In a bid to meet the target, they resumed lectures almost immediately after their first semester exams. They never envisaged that there would be a strike. However, ASUU strike paralyzed major activities on campus and stopped the lectures of these students. They were thrown into a state of quandary as uncertainty about the next move looms. At long last, after much deliberations and meetings; they were allowed to sit for their exams. They wrote the exams because they were ready for it. Majority of final year students chanting that this move is injustice are yet to start second semester lectures. If we claim to be a friend of progress, then nothing whatsoever should stop us from giving full support to these hardworking students. A question comes to mind and it goes to the other finalists out there; how many of you would like to sit for your final year exams right now? The answer is NO! Then, what reasons do you have that you think is enough to stop the Law students from writing their exams? The difference is obvious; this is not about partiality or favoritism.
These students paid the price of staying in school after the first semester to attend lectures when others were at home enjoying the mid-session break. They made the sacrifice because they had to meet a target. The consequence of missing admission into Law school is grave. It means waiting at home till next year’s admission (1year and 2months). University of Ibadan has 150 slots in Law school every year. If they do not get admitted into Law school this year, the Faculty may not be able to fix up the backlog in the next five years. The present finalists are close to that number and the lower levels are also in the same range.
This implies delaying these enviable jewels of destiny the opportunity to pursue their dreams of becoming a practicing Lawyer. To a large extent, the impending delay is in itself not fair at all and also portrays an act of injustice. Always go for Gold, Go for the TRUTH. The truth will never paint an act of goodwill intended for progress a color which connotes injustice. Writing the LLB Ultimate Exam means justice upheld while not writing the exam depicts injustice.
![ASUU[1]](https://i0.wp.com/thecourtroomng.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/asuu1.jpg?ssl=1)
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LL.B ULTIMATE EXAMS;INJUSTICE AT THE BAR!
“FIAT JUSTITIA RUAT COELUM,[LET JUSTICE BE DONE, THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL!]”—MOTTO, UI FACULTY OF LAW!
I laugh at hypocrisy in high places, I cry at injustice in the temple of justice, I see lawyers in words but liars in deeds. I hear the University of Ibadan’s Faculty of law, has the aforementioned maxim as its motto and all that comes to mind is a mirage! Deception! I would suggest the motto be changed to; “Ours must go to law school, though the heavens fall”
I hear people say, the exams had to be done, don’t you know the Adenirans, the Bamgboses, the Aiyelaagbes, the Kolawoles of this world must go to Law school? I smile and ask, is my University this nepotic? Well, i dont want to thread that lane today. Nepotic or not, let fate be the Judge. My drive today is from a cultural maxim; “bawo lobo se se ori ti inaki o se?” Roughly translated as, “what makes the difference between the head of a monkey and that of a gorilla?” What makes the difference between a 500 level law student and a 500 level Civil engineering student? Why should one write final examinations and the other rot at home as his dreams face assasination? Ain’t all animals are equal?
Here goes the story of a young man whom you may know too well, he, just like these law students is a 500 level student of the department of Food Technology, who eagerly awaits his final exams. He won a post graduate scholarship from a U.S. based newsfirm [which he writes for] to study in any University in the United State. He used the resources of the scholarship to apply for “International Food Law” at Michigan state University, one of the very few Universities taking the course in the world. He was gracefully admitted to resume in september, due to expected hitches, he wrote the University that he may be resuming late and he was given an extension of 28days, after which the admission is lost if not deferred. The news firm made necessary payments and days began to count.
ASUU bumped into his dreams and by every passing day, the fear of losing his scholarship worth N5Million in Tuition, N1.8million maintenance fee, and about N1 million on other expenses all set in. He earnestly wish he could write his exams and move on with his dreams as soon as possible. If he is allowed to write his exams just as this law students, he would meet up but as it stands, about N8 million worth of scholarship is gone with the wind. Assasination of dreams! He is just one out of thousands of students in the University whose dreams are shattered by every passing day.
Assuming our dreams do not matter to you, what about your dreams? Many of the students dream of becoming voices for the voiceless, givers of justice and men and women to be looked upon for liberty. But what justice can you deliver, when the foundation of your career was built out of meting out injustice on other students? The faculty’s dream of being the greatest around this clime, cannot be achieved in the face of injustice!
Perhaps you don’t believe it is injustice for Law final exams to be written in secret while other students are deprived of such priviledges, then sinserely answer this; is it justice?
Is it justice to Post graduate students who were at the tail end of their examinations when the strike began and their exams were disrupted and one year loss stares them in the face? Is it justice for Medical students who were set to swim through the waters of MB II come July 25 [earlier than law’s July 29], before the industrial action took its toll? Despite all these, the faculty of law thinks the heads of the monkeys are too precious to be scrapped, unlike that of post graduate gorilla and medical chimpanzee. They pay lip service to ASUU, sabotaging its effort at total comprehensive strike. Hypocrisy in high places! This injustice divides ASUU UI, tarnishing the ivory image of the Ivory tower.
Peradventure a soul is left, who thinks this deed of secret examinations for monkeys is just, while other animals of this animal kingdom rot in their respective stables, such soul should consult that verse of the University anthem which says; “social justice, equal chances”. Then come out to prove to us, that this is a case of social justice and equal chances.
My Lords, I leave you with the eternal words of the great sage Plato; “He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it”. I rest.
THE COURTROOM DUO SEIZES THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CONGRATULATE ALL UI LAW GRADUATES [2008-2013] ON COMPLETION OF THE MUCH ANTICIPATED ULTIMATE EXAMS.
CONCLUSION: This column is about you, it presents the two sides of a case courtesy of two writers from different schools of thought. “Audi alteram partem” means hear the other side before passing your judgement. Take the gavel, make your decision and slam because you are the judge in this courtroom. UI LL.B ULTIMATE EXAMS WRITTEN IN SECRET AS OTHER FINALISTS ROT AT HOME: JUST OR UNJUST?
Send reservations, comments and suggestions to 0813-224-5150 or 0813-697-3059 or dcourtroom12@gmail.com
Let justice be done, even if heavens fall. . . My brother, who is a PG student ought to have completed his course last year, but for the insensitivity of the dept. Today, he is at risk of losing a well paying job if he doesn’t complete his M.Sc by September. . . Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t have any exam to write, but his supervisor refuses to proof read and correct his project because ‘the strike is total and comprehensive’
bawo lobo se se ori ti
inaki o se?”
heads of the monkeys are too precious to be
scrapped, unlike that of post graduate gorilla
and medical chimpanzee.
I understand your example, a friend of mine is in the same shoe and is about to lose an MTN job.
Let justice reign.
I don’t really see us debating on this issue. The fact is your case study about the Food Science student is pathetic, but then, right from ages it is a known fact that “two heads are better than one” and majority always pools force than a single or the minority. Law students must definitely go to Law school by October 21st, one basic reason why they were in school receiving lectures while others including the Engineering final year students were at home enjoying their break. If Law students miss Law school by October, the Faculty of Law may not be in good shape for the next five years. This will also affect other younger classes. Can u now see how many heads are being affected compared to just one or two Engeneering students that even if he loses the job or schorlaship may possibly get another better opportunity. Let’s reason this fact and face reality, abeg. Faculty of Law motto as d last speaker quoted has not changed because of this act in anyway and no injustice has been committed in anyway. If Medical students that were supposed to write exams have something at stake, they too would have joined suit. Have you ever wondered why its only final year Law students that wrote exams and not other levels in the same faculty ? This alone is enough reason to tell everyone that the Faculty of Law has not committed any act of injustice but have only protected the future of generation of law students in University of Ibadan, which I’m sure the ASUU peepz too would understand.
Lastly, I’m sure it was not only Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan that conducted secret examz for their final year students. It also happened in all other Institutions that have a law faculty. Please, let everyone criticising the Faculty of Law put themselves in their shoes. Would you have missed Law School and affect several generations of Law students ?
Well said dear,God bless u.
I think in all fairness, if we were law students we will also wish we can write the ultimate exam so as not to miss out on law school. but on a broad scale, I still think within myself that this is a very big injustice metted out to other students of the university.
No injustice at all as regard what was done by the U.I Faculty of Law because of the sacrifice the students had once made and the way Nigerian Law school is been run. We have one time or the other enjoyed one favour or the other due to reasons best know to us. I remembered one of the last strike embarked upon by ASUU during which some of us in U.I then were @ the verge of completing our exams . ASUU U.I chapter decided that we should be allowed to finish our exam . when journalists visited U.I, the ASUU chairman told the visiting journalists that they were on course as regard the strike even when l was just through with a paper on the said day.
If Medical
students that were supposed to write
exams have something at stake, they too
would have joined suit.
@Anonymous
I am shocked that you think medical students have nothing at STAKE.
As for the other students, we all have things at stake, the 52 days lost now can’t be recovered till I build a time machine.
@Smug,I am also locked in your world of mixed feelings.
@Ayo, I understand you, but those favors were unanimous then not for selected few. Also, the same thing happened this time and postgraduate Students were chased out of exams for the same strike that the law monkeys were allowed to write.
I’ll choose not to reply one who is not man enough to reveal his identity. . .
The problem is that those law students are so emotional that they see anyone who criticizes is as against their progress.
If ASUU and Faculty of Law were convinced that their exam was in good faith, they wouldn’t run to the barracks to write a University examination, and end up writing it in a dilapidated public secondary school. . . I feel that’s an insult to Nigeria’s premier University
Permission to thread your path sir, I have got so many emotional remarks, after the order of *enemy of progress*.
They are quick to forget that medical students were billed to start earlier, that Pg had started and some finished.
They are the ones who in my own opinion are rather self-oriented.
At least the exams are gone, why not call a spade a spade and not a big spoon.
In my opinion those who are criticisng d writng of d exams,are doing out of sheer malice,u obviously dnt wear d shoes,so u might never knw were it pinches,u are givng examples of PG,Tech science student and Medical students,trust me all dis can be easily fixed in a matter of months after d strike,bt for Law students if they dnt go dis year,most of dem will lose their carreer,many wnt be able to make it,as a result of d Quota,until probabaly in 5 – 10 yrs time,nt only wld time no longer be on their side,many wld be set back from evn proceedng,esp among d ladies, U can’t compare d effect of losing a job in MTN to losing a carreer,pls none of the examples u gave can ever hav a long term or Life term effect on the students or persons as much as dis,so pls let’s be our brodas keeper,and for all other finalist if u were told to come down to school tomorow, and begin exams,writng alll ur papers in Fours days,nd submittng ur project almost immediateyl,wnt u all cry foul,do u tink its easy for dem also,bt they had to cos that’s d price they also have to pay.
Injustice it is.
I wonder why some peepz will always prefer not to say the truth even when they know it all because of “beef”. Anonymous like someone mentioned has got nothing to do with the issue at hand. I decided not to write my name because of some peepz that ***lolz***
Well, like someone said, no faculty can lose anything as much as the final year law students in this strike. Why do you just wish to spoil the lives of innocent people who have been toiiling right from the beginning even when others are enjoying all because of “beef”. Somebody called them “Law Monkeys” abeg, let’s stop eating beef nah, cos Ponmo is now in large supply lolz. By calling them Monkeys, you portrayed nothing than for all to know the level of your intellectual reasoning.
Do u people know that, OAU students were writting exams in School when the strike began and they continued the exams even after over one week of the strike. Why didn’t you complain about that. If OAU could do that and yet nobody complained because the whole school benefited from it, then abeg, no point of argument in this matter. Let’s stop condemning those innocent students. If those of you criticising them have a brother or sister among them, would you prefer his/her career destroyed because of ASUU strike? So, please let’s reason with these peepz and stop condemning them.
Your inability to relate the ‘law monkeys’ with the adage in the original piece showed ur intellectual level. I’m tempted to believe that you are actually a law student. . . It’s a delusion of grandeur for Law students to hold the belief that others beef them. Why would one beef a law student? Because they wear black and white? Rubbish talk. . . You want to draw intellectual people on a sentimental fight against Law students. Now get the point straight. No one is against Law students writing their exams, but a situation where ASUU stopped project supervision, disrupted PG exams, MBBS exams, only to allow law students to write is not only hypocritical but also self-serving, cowardly and unfair. . . Did OAU student write their exams in Ife Grammar school?
Bros! I’m quiet sure we are not speaking Latin here. U kept saying d same tin over and over again. What we are talking about here is d end result of whatever action taken on each set of students. The consequence dat law students will bear if dey failed to write deir exams is wot we are saying here, not comparing dem with oda final year students.
As regards OAU, what difference does it make whether dey wrote d exam on campus or off campus, d fact still remains dat dey wrote d exam even while d strike was still ongoing.
Bro, pls, let’s not engage in an argument. I WANT TO BLIVE U ARE A UITE, SO I EXPECT U TO GRAB FACT EASILY
The price Law student would have paid is grave, no one is disputing that. However thinking that others haven’t paid bigger price is myopic. You can hardly do a postgraduate degree abroad without losing a year. Many people have lost job opportunities and some are on the verge of losing. Everyone has their stories.
Haven said that, one must say this set of Law students are quite lucky that their lectures were nearing conclusion when the strike started, If the strike started a month earlier, they might have been kissing Law School goodbye this year (Ask OOU Law peeps). Truth is, the only reason Law school calender is rigid is because they have students to admit. If Law students in All Nigerian Universities suffer delay, Law school might be forced to get a lil flexible . . Best of luck to ma homies there
Now if ASUU don’t resume today or soon, PG students, medical students and in fact all students, have a right to continue lectures and exams.
Firstly, i sympathise with the Food Tech student.
But before i draw a conclusion, i’ll like us to see things from two sides-it’s just n unjust aspect and see which is permissible.
it’s injustice- other people get to stay(not rot) @ home while they continue with their curriculum as if there’s no strike n @ d end, they aint affected… i kinda agree wit Adelabu, cos if all of them don’t write exams, Law school could av bn flexible, but let’s nt forget that it isn’t just federal schools’ students that get admitted to Law schools….
Also, since they lay hold to the claim that they’ve started lectures hence, d need to write exams despite the strike, i see no reason whatsoever y PG stud. who aren’t just through wit lectures but had started writin b4 d strike should be put on hold or their exams stopped cos d truth is, their own future’s @ stake far more than dat of law studs… i mean, they don’t av a compulsory place to go wen they r thru_nysc/law sch/housemanship, n as per what they stand to miss can’t be overemphasized: i pray he gets pardoned/gets a better job @uncle to adlabu…
it’s justice- here i’m coarsed to see things via Samuel’s point of view- 1. other finalists avn’t even started d new semester(except partly for med students), let alone prep for an exam…., there’s no way u can rush 12wks of lectures for d tech guy/ test him on an uncomplited syllabus-we don’t make half-baked hot cakes in UI! But as for dos in 500L, let’s be factual, did u bother asking anyone of them abinito(wen d strike started) if they had issues wit d strike? most of them where happy cos it actually gave them opportunity to prepare more for their exams; nt knowing it would take a longer time than they envisioned. Also, let’s nt forget that Med student’s exams isn’t like law exams which is a pre-requisite for something national-Law School. it’s just like a promotional exams b4 they can write d final exams plus, they aint affected in d sense that if asuu likes, they can continue d stroke till Jan, fact is whatever time they finish finam MB, House Job is sure for them-Hospitals take them @ any time of the year in ”
2.Law school whr law students go admits once in a year unlike NYSC where finalist go-3ice in a yr… so peradventure the strike takes a longer time, finalist could either join Batch B-june or C-Nov if they don’t meet A-Jan… in other words, their dreams of serving this year isn’t stopped, just that they might finish later(not Pg studs. av treated theirs above) yl law stud.s might go to law sch next yr. i think we should put that into consideration n stop making so much out of little…. But Asuu Ui should av paid n not conduct a secret exam-oau et al din’t it’s just saddening they created d platform for other students to see it as an indescriminate act. i mean, we all knew(one way or d other) that they would find a way to write their exams, but how, nobody could tell.
so please lets stop making much fuss about d exams n think of hw to make ourselves more equipped b4 d strike’s called off.
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Please whether you guys like it or not,they are done with their exams,no use crying over spilt milk…Sorry abt the p.g,medical students,theirs can only affect a particular set of people for now nd not about 5 generations 2 come.I dunno abt the P.g students but the present non-law finalists aren’t even close 2 finishing their projects nd their syllabi,so why say its injustice?
Am not a Uite,am an akokaite and here in unilag final yr law students wrote dere exams too,dere is no denying that the asuu strike has affected students across board but law faculties across nigeria will suffer more,dey av to write dere exams,its the sad reality,ya’all remember dese law students still av to serve for 1 yr after law school.
Justice is a rational fulfilment in pragmatic milieu and not for any idealistic or utopian mirage. As for the ‘allussion or analogy’ of the semi-graduate who won a post graduate scholarship; it’s quiet a pity oo. How is he going to cope after the whole stress. I feel for him oo. Chai! Hei! Skeptically, how possible is it for a semi-graduate to write PG scholarship exam in an international flare? don’t you think it sounds incredible? In rudiments of Scholarship internationally, my dear, your write up becomes fictional folktales. But maybe it happened o, who knows? We might have gone back to the stone age. Please sire, dont bother clarifying ur facts because am not used to watching Nollywood movies, sorry, nollywound movies twice due to excessive ‘film tricks’.
A saying goes ‘it’s better to save a thousand heads than to save one’ or roast the yam before the snail, if you do vice versa, the snail would quench the fire and the yam won’t be roasted’. Any delay as regards to medical students has never been a problem. Any delay in sending the Law graduates to the Law School has been a ‘pig in the Sitting room’. The Engineers ll b serving either batch A or B, while their Law counterparts have to wait for batch C or A-d upper year. Based on the apriori that Each school has a quota in NLS every year. Do you know that if this set fail to make it to NLS this october, it definitely place them nxt year and those of next year, for 2years upfront. Lets be humane, Justice is not Wickedness. I would v continued but my fingers are fidgeting due to the OLD NOKIA DULL phone am using. It’s okia cos the ‘N’ is faced off and that’s the main reason why you v to ignore my mistakes and errors. Thank you.
While some schools took it upon dmselves to perceive d repercussion of d industrial action which is so much weighed on law student especially, schools like olabisi onabanjo university fails to be sympathetic enough to at least aid its (nine years) final year law student from ds misfortune (due for law sch)to write their final exam(which was to be written a fortnight after commencement of d strike)other school did like UI. This implies that the law final year students of OOU dt have been victims of several years of set back due to asuu strike and dis accreditation might hav to wait till next year since d faculty adhere to d strike strictly unlike other sympathetic law faculties. This will certainly have retrospective effects on subsequent law graduates since d law sch slot is only 150 per sch which is even Insufficient(for present set) due to uncleared backlog. Also, we have already applied for the law school spending almost 40k which mgt also be forfeited. It is so unfortunate
i understand the point of those commenting so far. but the simple truth is no matter how intense the consequences of the strike action would be, there is no justification for favouring a particular set of people since the basic rational behind justice is equality before the law, otherwise, it is injustice.
if we are to go by consedering the consequences of the strike, no sane student will refuse to proceed in its educational pursuit because the consequences of the strike action is subjective to individual student. but objectivity sine qua non in anything relating to the public but not subjectivity.
as stated earlier by adelabu, if all universities choose not to concuduct exam for the law student across nation, law school would be left with no choice but adjust its calender just like the universities would do.
UI’s typical display of verbosity, a clear reflection of the state of your school ‘archaic’. The legal profession is moving towards simplicity and getting rid of the unnecessary jargons get with the tide and evolve people!!!!!!!!!!
learn to write like the modern age lawyer not like some Shakespearian era poet. This is embarrassing.