As you know if you've been following, my name is now on the Law school eligible candidates list. It means I can apply to Law school and be admitted if I meet their requirements. I applied and was admitted.Yay! Posting came out( kinda like NYSC) and guess where I was going. Kano! I wasn't sure how to feel. I'd heard how extreme Kano's weather conditions could be (there was no boko haram scare at the time). There was however, one consolation. I had relatives there. So, off I went, to Kano.
Law school was great. Kano was okay, but it's not a place I'd like to live. Extreme cold, extreme heat, language barrier, and now boko haram of course. Attended lectures, read my books, ate very well and added quite some weight : ). Court and Chamber Attachment-came back to PH. Went back to school-Portfolio Assessment. Made it through that one. 10 months passed by and the mighty bar finals came knocking. Pheww! You will see people reading like - you know those Jackobians in your school? Multiply how they read by 10 you got it. Yeah, I'm exaggerating, but you sha get what I'm trying to say : ). Well, I prepared for the exams, it came, I wrote.
The results were published and yay! again, I made it. You want to know my grade? Forget, not important : ). So, Call to bar was next. It had been fixed for January 17, 2012 even though we wrote our exams in August, 2011. We complained, they did not pay attention. The Body of Benchers had decided! Well, we waited for the day eagerly. The day when the rights to practice as Barristers and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Nigeria would be conferred on us. The day they will say to us, 'you can now wear your wig'.While I waited for Call to bar, I also waited for NYSC. In October, the NYSC posting list came out and my name was not there. Ha! For some reason, the faculty had omitted my name and those of 3 other people in my Private and Property Law Department. After going to Law school and coming back o. They did not send our names, again, to Senate for approval and subsequent forwarding to the office in charge of NYSC in the school. Consequently, they did not have our data and so did not send our names to NYSC office, Abuja.
That day at the faculty, Anwuri( a colleague who was affected) couldn't stop her tears.
' First Law school, now service', she said. As for me, I did not cry in the faculty. I cried when I got home.
My parents were angry. Again? My dad wanted to visit the Dean( Anwuri came with her Dad once) I told him not to. I didn't think it would change anything. He even mentioned litigation : ). We would not be going for service in November, the deed was done. It would have to be March, the next year. So again, I waited.
January 17 drew closer, then from the blues the Call to bar date was changed. Fuel subsidy wahala. It would now be January 31. Oh no! 'Well, guess it's for the better', I thought. Christmas came and went. New year's day approaching. Another change of date. Again? It would now be February 14. Why? Security reasons. Okay. Let me mention that sometime, early January, I had a dream. In the dream, it was my birthday and I got gifts from people. I was alone in a room with my gifts when a lady walked up to me to me and said, 'instead of you to be called to bar, you will die.' I looked at her and said, 'I WILL BE CALLED TO BAR IN FEBRUARY.' When I woke up, I prayed about it. I was not scared. I knew the Enemy was scheming, but I trusted God. He made law school possible, granted me success in bar finals. What is Call to bar? But I kept wondering why I had said 'february' when call to bar had been slated for January 17. I did not know that the dream was some kind of revelation too. So when they finally moved the date to February 14, I said 'okaaay, I see'. Then, I was more confident that nothing would stop me from being called to bar.
Two days to the Call day, my mom and I travelled to Abuja where it was to hold. We were to stay with a family friends. Monday before Call day, I went for Call to bar thanksgiving at Bwari Law school campus, Abuja and also to buy my Wig and Gown. In the evening, I noticed I wasn't feeling so well. I felt ill. But I chalked it to the fact that I had a cough that started the previous day. By the next morning, I was even weaker. I did not feel strong enough to be going anywhere. But I had a Call to bar to be part of. I sluggishly got dressed. In fact, my mom was more excited than me. She acted like she was the one being called to the bar. It was either, 'help me with my dress or help me with my make up'. It was almost annoying : ). We finally left when she felt she looked good enough. Me? I couldn't have cared less about using make up, I just did not have the strength. But I looked so dull, I had to use some.
Our taxi could not get to the venue. We had to alight at a distance and walk the rest of the way. My mom was behind me as we walked, but at point I noticed she was no longer behind me. And she was no where in sight. I thought 'whatever, she'll catch up'. She didn't. I started to make frantic calls from my friends' phones cos guess what? She was with my phone! I was with her invite, without which, she would not get in. I was distraught. Network around the area was terrible. I even made a call to my dad in PH asking him to call her and tell her where to come and meet me. When she finally showed up, apologetic, she explained that she had suffered a wardrobe malfunction and stopped to fix it. Did you just say,'nawa!'.
At this time, I'd gotten weaker. Add to that the wait to enter the hall and you have yourself an almost fainting me.
I barely made it through the ceremony. To tell you the truth, my Call to bar ceremony was the worst occasion I ever attended. The most stressful. At the end of the ceremony, I was forced to take a few photographs with my mom and two friends, with just my Wig. My face could barely form into a smile. Did not take any personal. Couldn't wait to go home and lie down. Alas, no taxis. Too many people. By the time we finally got home, something just wasn't right with me. Even lying down, I felt terrible. My temperature was mad-high. I remembered my dream. What the person had said. '...........You will die'. I prayed but I was not getting better. Nobody knew what was happening. They were all in the sitting room. I got up, went to the sitting room, approached our host who is a Pastor and asked him to pray for me. He did. He said I'd be fine, must be the stress. My mom said, 'nothing will happen to you, 'they' have already failed'. She gave me food. Ate little food and slept. Woke up the next morning feeling a lot better. Got better from then on. February 14, 2012 was definitely NOT one of my favourite days. I however give all glory to God. I'm now a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and, I am alive.
I am currently serving in Akure, Ondo State. I will be through in February. Maybe all those I finished university and law school with are ahead of me but I know the race is not for the swift. As long as I am alive and I have Christ, all is well. The enemy raged but God gave me victory. God knows why he allowed all the delay. I praise God for everything.
THE END
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