"IN MY CAMPUS, THE FOUR PEOPLE THAT MADE FIRST CLASS ARE ALL GIRLS. .. IT IS ONLY YOU THAT CAN STOP YOURSELF." PROMISE, A FIRST CLASS GRADUATE OF THE NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL. (INTERVIEW: INSPIRING WOMEN!)

Promise Adaobi Madubuobu graduated summa cum laude in the just concluded Nigerian Law School 2015/2016 session. She takes us through an inspiring journey where we learn about the place of determination, hard work, faith and focus in achieving our set goals.




PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

My name is Promise Adaobi Madubuobu. I graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Faculty of Law. I attended Nigerian Law School, Yola Campus. Basically, I am the first in my family, we are five, two girls and three guys.

BRIEFLY TELL US ABOUT YOUR SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND.

I went to an all girls' all boarding, mission School. Holy Innocent Juniorate Convent Nkpor. Anambra State. It was a wonderful experience. In my Junior Secondary School, I was more or less like an average student, though my teacher will always scold me that I could unleash more.


I think everything started in my SS1,that was when I improved. I was the best graduating Student of my set. Then for university, it was wonderful, I was 2nd in class, I enjoyed myself in university, as a student lawyer, and a dramatist, I liked to act, in church, and I decided to also tutor. I love to impact on peoples’ life, I like it when someone comes to me happy that I really helped him or her. Even amongst my colleague and junior ones too. I held positions in school, the last was the Chief Judge of LAWSA (Law Student Association). It was a beautiful experience, combining with studies, and very herculean.


WHAT WAS YOUR DUTY AS THE CHIEF JUDGE OF LAWSA?

You will try to make sure that the Student Judiciary is lively, have to ensure your colleagues are up and doing, by having to Sit for their matters, ensuring that matters are disposed off effectively, try to ensure that students are encouraged to come to court and file cases, and participate in the activities. You also ensure that you secure opportunities for students to go outside and compete with their colleagues in other schools.

AS A UNIVERSITY JUDGE DID YOU FEEL YOU WERE GETTING THE ART?

Of course there must be some level of limitations, what we did was what we saw our past seniors do and judges doing in Court. Like for me, I started following up Moot Court activities right form my second year, and during holidays, I go to visit courts, I get involved in a Law firm as an Intern, during my breaks, and it helped me.

It was very herculean, that 4th year but it still turned out wonderful. You had to miss your classes, at a point one of my lectures started scolding that I am not always in class, because most of the Sittings go on during Classes, but I thank God it was a success.

DO YOU THINK THE SITTIIGS DURING CLASSES SHOULD CHANGE?

We try to know if there could be free periods, the faculty knows the court sits, I think it is difficult to provide free periods, we are talking about students in 5 different levels, it is going to be very tough to have one free period to accommodate all the classes at once, some days I might have my free periods, but the classes that is supposed to come might not have, so most times, it has to be us that will sacrifice when the ones that are to appear in court are free, we have to go and just sit. In some days we are lucky, everybody is free.

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SAW YOUR RESULT?

When I heard about the result, I felt fulfilled, seriously, because that was what I wanted. That was what I prayed for and I worked for, I really prayed for it in my university level, somehow some things happened then, I missed that point. I just needed to tell myself that I wasn’t an ordinary person. It is not as if 1st class defines me, but then when you work toward something and see it come to reality, it gives you this assurance that hardwork pays. And confidence, trust, determination and perseverance helps, when you keep having all these, and you don’t get what you want, you may be discouraged. I just needed to assure myself that, “see, you can do whatever you want to do”.

WHAT DID THIS TEACH YOU ABOUT LIFE?

Law School taught me that I do not have any limitation at all not even one. In many ways, anything I want to do, I could, and the only thing is if God says this is not where you are supposed to be, because I believe in God so much. Nobody can stop me from doing what I want to do. People will always tell you how difficult things are, and the beauty of difficult task is that they are the ones that pay off. When something is difficult that makes it interesting and good to achieve.

Sometimes, when you have your mind set on the challenges and the problems, you might just miss the mark, just keep telling yourself, “this is my goal, this is where I want to get” and see the challenges as part of the progress.

TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES IN PURSUIT OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE?

There could be the challenge of trying to keep friends, you might not even have time for friends like that, sometimes someone would expect that you come around, and gist and all that, but, it just won’t happen, so it can really be a problem and you know you really want to keep this person as a friend. Then I believe that in everything, just be very kind to people as a person, impact in people’s lives and everything will play out well.

Also, people will say your life style is triangular, and you are missing out in the social part. I believe it depends on what you define as being social, for me, there are a whole lot of things that I could do and I will still be socially relevant, I mustn’t do some stuffs in the sense that people will want me to, some people will ask me, “have you danced, have you clubbed?”, that is not the definition of being social, all I keep hoping for is I be friendly and that’s important.

For the financial challenges, you might want to do some things and you can’t just do it. There was a day I wanted to get a book, “The winning brief” and I just couldn’t get it. I am just using it as an instance, and I still don’t have the book. I will still get it. There are some people that couldn’t get to Law School because of money, there are people that came and couldn’t concentrate because they barely had what to eat and all of that. For me it was really tough, I don’t know how I pulled through.

WHAT IN YOUR OPINION IS THE PERCEPTION OF THE SOCIETY TO GIRL CHILD EDUCATION?

Now, they are giving in to the fact that girls are doing well. In my campus, Yola Campus, it is the first time we are making 1st Class in the Campus, and the four people that made 1st class are all girls, anybody can do well regardless of the gender, apart from some family that are yet to come to terms with the realities of life, but any girl that is still thinking anybody is stopping her, I think she should just know that nobody is stopping her, nobody can stop her, even for the guys, it is only you that can stop yourself, because, once you make up your mind about something, and your pursue it with this level of tenacity you will get there, or even if you do not, you will get to somewhere as wonderful and good as were you wanted to get to.

WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU DID DELIBERATELY AS REGARDS ATTAINING THIS?

I was ‘violent’ with it, not in the negative sense, I made up my mind. I had to do my externship in Lagos Campus. There was no money to do that, I had to get money to assist myself, I collected from friends, because I knew some colleagues who were good from university, some got 1st class from other universities, so I needed to go and meet them, I begged people for tutorials, I tried to have group tutorials with them. They were my friends that I knew from other schools, I knew one from UNN. Another from UNI Ilorin, we met during inter school competitions, they were in Lagos campus of NLS.

Then to Yola campus tutorial group, we read, We tried to get cleared at some points, we called people from other Campuses when we are having issues. And prayers, I have never prayed like this before, I just wanted it, and coupled with the fact that people were underestimating our campus, that “Yola has never made a first class,” , they called us the primary section of Nigerian Law School, we just needed a change, and there is this friend of mine, from UNILAG she also made a 1st class, both in University and Law School, we read together and she was a source of motivation to me, we also prayed on the land about whatever was working negatively against it, our lecturers were also passionate about it, they wanted a change of story for us.

YOUR STORY IS QUITE INSPIRING, SO FOR YOU, IT IS, EVERYONE SHOULD GO FOR WHAT THEY WANT?

Seriously, I have told myself. Initially when I was in University, I used to think men are my problems, but they are not. I think I am my own problem, that is the way I have decided to see it. During the time they made me a Chief Judge, when they were still contemplating, one of the guys said, they cannot make a woman, and all these stories, but eventually I was and I did what I could do.

I got there because I got interested in politics in school, if I was in class probably having this apathy, we need to show interest. So, most times girls don’t show interest. That is the problem, nobody is your problem, you sit back in the house and you are just hoping for somebody to marry you off and build a mansion for you and tomorrow you would say that somebody is limiting you, I am not saying that some people will not fight you, but the more you pay attention to them, it makes them more important than they are.

WHAT IF YOUR ARE ASKED TO WORKLESS, STAY AT HOME MORE BECAUSE OF THE ASSUMED FEMALE/WIFELY ROLE IN TH SOCIETY?

If at any point, there is a need for someone to stay back, and it is resolved between us that this is who to stay or not to stay, I am ok with it, but then it is a problem where everybody thinks that you have to stay back because you are a woman. Then, why will people get involve with other people’s private matter. People have their ways they run their things, this is the way I want to run my own and it is not any ones business.

That is the way I see it, so I really do not bother about all those things, because for me it is no applicable, what is applicable for me is what will be the best. Both of you must support one another, whoever it takes to sacrifice to support, it is something you agree on, not a public matter.

ABOUT THE ISSUE OF GENDER ROLE STEROTYPING, WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

What I know and the simple truth is, when a person is good at something, give him or her the chance to show what they have to offer. If we keep saying we are not in support, we might be limiting our level of development in the society. If it were still the time when women don’t go to school, it may be very difficult for you to hear of Chimamanda today, she might never have the opportunity to write and be who she is today, and a whole lot of other women, and even some men who are also there doing well. So let us stop trying to be draconian in our approach to life, trying to determining and define other people’s way of life, because of our perceptions to life. Just give people the breathing space to do what they are good at. I believe that someone that is doing well will definitely benefit the society one way or the other.

ADVISE TO GIRLS WHO ARE IN PURSUIT OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE?

If you want to achieve anything as a girl, there are sacrifices you have to make. You must first of all be discipline. Discipline is very important without it, you cannot go far in life. Some people are born as genius because of say, their genetic inheritance, while some people groom themselves to become one, you might find out that those who were born as genius, may end up becoming average because of lack of discipline.

Discipline embodies a whole lot of things, it enables you to take proper decisions at the right time. So for any girl that aspires to do well in academics, she needs to be discipline. It tells you to preserver, also, dealing with peer pressure, you still apply discipline, it tells you that you are not an Island, you are supposed to mingled amongst them, but you know when to draw the line. It will tell you to seek for wisdom and understanding.

As a devout Christian, it will even be easier for you, by the time you back it up with spiritual and biblical injunctions, there are some things you will naturally avoid. It can really be difficult for us, especially when some things are common amongst girls, you have to meet up probably with the fashion trends.

I have seen very excellent students that are fashion sensitive, I think it has to do with their compatibility, you just need to be discipline enough to know yourself, what you can combine without a problem, and what you have to let go. Just know that if you want to have distinction in life, you must be different. You cannot be like everybody.

SO WHAT DID YOU DO DIFFERENTLY REGARDING YOUR LAW SCHOOL PERFORMANCE?

Have you read to a point that people will start praying for you to make a first class? they see you they will be like, “this girl you don’t sleep, you will kill yourself”. It got to that point. I know there are people that read more than I did too, but at least, someone could see, when exams were fast approaching, I moved out of the hostel, technically.

There is a place we call conference room where we read in school, with my pillow, I carried my books there to read, I usually have backache, I place it at my back and when I am feeling sleepy, I use it to sleep,(my friend and I), people will be laughing but I just made up my mind, let me just give this my best shot, because the truth is, if you don’t give it your best shot, your will regret it later.

WHAT WILL YOU SAY ABOUT PEOPLE WHO READ SO MUCH BUT STILL FAIL?

It is for the person to take out time and find out, you mustn’t just read, you should also come to class to listen to your lecturers to know the tips they will give and try to also be close to your colleagues to also know how they understood a particular point, the first thing is to understand the system, you might be reading but you are reading for nothing because you are not reading properly.

About short answers, they like short answers in NLS, and they don’t like short answers, its probably one of the reason why some excellent students do not get it. From what I construed from my lecturers, they want something like what Justice OPuta (as he then was) talked about, like a miniskirt of a beautiful woman, it has to be short, but you are not going to give them something that is very superficial or without foundation, you have to make it attractive enough to cover the subject matter, and for you to be able to achieve that, with the level of preparation and divine wisdom that you already have, you will be able to ascertain the mindset of the examiner who gave you that question.

It is understanding where that person is coming from that will help you to give the right answer. When we were in school in Yola then, when we had confusions, we called people from Abuja, asked them what they were told. When you have all cleared the point and then you have come to the point of harmonization, if not, you ask your lecturer and he would now call his colleagues they have to get a unified viewed. This is important. It is always good for you to be cleared, if you are not cleared and you get into the exams hall and you get to see something related to that area, you might lose balance, but when you are certain that that issue has been perfectly discussed and you arrived at a consensus, you wouldn’t have any problem stating that answer.

Exam is 60% psychology, because, it is your ability to x-ray the mind of the examiner and know what he wants and you have that confidence that you are able to ascertain his mind, it will give you a good footing, if you miss that aspect of the exam, it will be difficult, that is why you see people who cram making terrible grades, exam is a wonderful test of knowledge, but there is more to life than exams.
Infact, for me, the main exams is life after law School. I keep telling people that there is more first Class to be acquired, for me the first Class in life is to be really successful that is what really counts to a large extent. You see people who made first class, or 2.1, who somehow missed the point and are nowhere to be found in terms of relevance, you see people who made 3rd class and pass who are more relevant.

So what matters or what made them get to that point is no longer grades no, we are now in a very fresh and new world, what you have to keep doing is still have that determination to make it in life.

WHAT PATH IN YOUR OWN OPINION CAN A LADY TAKE TO BE SUCESSFUL IN LIFE?

Everybody have to go with what they have passion for. If you know that which you have passion for go for it. Read up stuffs about people who have made it in that area. Keep wonderful relationships, be kind, be polite, be nice, have a very strong will, be that person that someone will look at and say, she is worth more than rubies. The sky is just a starting point. I have given up on troubling myself about what people think, I am just doing what I like, and you can’t stop me.