What I Did To Keep My Focus —Best Graduating Law School Student

Naomi Ekop, an alumnus of the Afe Babalola University,
Ado-Ekiti, scooped 13 awards at the Nigerian Law School emerging as
the overall best graduating student. Currently a Legal Research
Assistant with the Bayelsa State Judiciary, she spoke with LAOLU
HAROLDS.

Looking back, who or what were the influences in your
life that steered you in this direction (Law)? Where did the
motivation come from?

The first influences on my decision to study law were my parents
who are lawyers. Growing up with lawyers, viewing strategically
placed portraits of my parents robed and being surrounded by law
books definitely sparked an interest in Law. I was also motivated
by the versatile nature of the legal profession as law reaches into
every aspect of life and lawyers can be seen to function in diverse
spheres of life.

What was your experience through the course? What did
you find particularly challenging, for instance, and how did you
cope?

The entire experience through my course of study could be
likened to putting together building blocks. With each new level or
class, you find yourself acquiring new knowledge and skills whether
practical or theoretical, which must be rightly positioned on
previous knowledge in order to achieve a durable structure that can
compete favourably in any legal clime.

An aspect that was particularly challenging was having to study
the position of the law on any given principle, as contained in
statutes and judicial precedents. It is the norm that answers to
legal questions ought to be backed by authorities, and a student
has to properly apply the authorities to the principles to stand
out. Authorities are also constantly evolving through amendments
and judicial interpretation but one of the ways I coped was to make
use of case law that could be touched on more than one principle of
law.

Can you give us a peek into your family background? What
influence did this have on
your career, and progress?

I am the first of three children – two females and one male,
born in a Christian home. My parents are from Akwa Ibom State and
both have experience in the fields of academics. Currently, my dad
is a legal practitioner while my mum is an academic planning
officer. My parents have always wanted the best for us
academically, so that we could come out at the top of our chosen
fields. They also, by God’s grace, made sure we lacked nothing
within their power to provide. Their determination to maintain this
state of affairs influenced me to  put in my best into my
academics as it would always be rewarding to them to see me
excel.

What personal discipline did you have to subject
yourself to to achieve and sustain that
momentum you had?

I constantly reminded myself to always aim for excellence and
strive to be the best in all I did. Even when I didn’t meet my
goals, I made efforts to learn from the mistakes I made, let go of
the past and look forward to the next opportunity to excel. I tried
to discipline myself to abide by the rules of institutions I
attended to avoid queries, attending classes on time, doing
assignments and reading as I should while not letting it overshadow
my walk with God. I had to discover what worked for me in terms of
reading patterns and schedules and resolutely stick to them even
when they were not in tandem with what others were doing or what
they approved of.

The social media addiction is a big problem today.
Ladies are particularly susceptible to this distraction (Facebook,
Instagram, WhatsApp etc). How did you insulate yourself to achieve
the feat you achieved?

Social media addiction is a trait that creeps up on people
unknown to them and it took some measure of discipline to avoid its
negative effects on my academics. I had to consciously train myself
to put down my phone when it was time to study or complete a task.
I made a deliberate decision not to be on every social media app
that sprang up. There were also times when I would delete a social
media app or deactivate my data settings for a couple of days.

There’s this notion about lawyers’ penchant for
defending everyone that can pay their bill…often including
criminals. Have you ever thought about the ‘morality test’ your
chosen profession might bring your way? Where do you plan to
stand?

The right to a lawyer or legal representation is a right
bestowed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
even on persons assumed to be criminals, as everyone is presumed
innocent until proven guilty. The thought of the ‘morality test’
has definitely crossed my mind as the thought of what lengths one
would go to in the profession is inevitable. I plan to stand on the
side of truth and justice and will not compromise my beliefs in any
situation as the profession is sorely in need of persons of
integrity.

Culled nigeriantribune