The Chief judge of Kogi State, Hon. Justice Josiah Joe Majebi, has admonished students of the Nigerian Law School to be determined and hardworking if they want to succeed in the legal profession.
The CJ gave the advice today in his Chambers at the Judiciary headquarters in Lokoja, the state capital, when he received 20 students of the school who are on attachment to the High Court of Justice of the state as part of the basic requirements for their one year training at the school.
He urged them to take maximum advantage of the rare opportunity of having to interface with the Judges of the High Court and lawyers in the state whose professional inclinations were resounding.
Tutoring the students on the virtues and requirements of the profession, he noted that practitioners must necessarily conform ethically while emphasizing too that it is intolerant of conducts that are capable of public distrust stressing that the profession thrives on discipline and integrity.
“Remember, the legal profession is a profession of pride, a profession of integrity, a profession of discipline and a profession of transparency. When you are in breach of the tradition, you are creating distrust for yourself. Learning Law doesn’t perfect who you are. I do tell people that before you commence reading Law, check yourself and if you don’t have integrity, change your character and then Law perfects you fully” he said.
Taking them through a personal life history woven in determination, respect, loyalty and self-discipline, he recalled his early service years under the tutelage of late Hon. Justice Samuel Kehinde Otta when he was a state counsel in then old Kwara state and urged the students not to be wealth-conscious but submit themselves to mentoring.
“Young men of today think of reading Law to make money, but if that’s the idea you have, you will not make it. Make sure you subject yourself to mentoring.
“That I am a Chief Judge today, you can ask me the question: how do you become a CJ? Do you go committing fraud here and there to gather money and make you the CJ?
“If I can remember very well, I was taking N209 as a state counsel, after I was called to Bar, which was not adequate for my family and i. But I had a boss that time, late Justice Otta, that I was following to court as junior lawyer. The nominal party, as we defend the part of the government, was a client who always took us for lunch which costs around N230 and I thought the cost was almost equivalent to my salary. So, the next time we were to go for lunch, I told my lord: please tell them that I am fasting so they can monetize my meal. He did and I was given N120 and I bought foodstuffs with it on our way going home. The same thing happened the second time and the third time so that by the next time, they said ah, Majebi is always fasting, better give him his money o! That was how they started giving me the money that contributed to sustaining my family.
So that time, it was pains and sacrifices and not thinking of how to get to the next level.
“So I will expect that by the time you get this type of stories, you will believe that one day, you will grow from hard work and determination. Try as much as possible not to rush in life. Use 99 percent of the time you have here for the purpose you are here and then one percent to take your rest.”
He further encouraged them to be attentive and ask necessary questions in order to be well educated about the court and it’s processes. He pointed that they are supposed to take the attachment seriously by learning the procedural aspects of law while their attitude and relationships with people around would be watched as part of their formative period and foundation for their professional ethics
even as their mode of dressing was notably important too.
“For now, you are not here for social activities but to know what you are expected to learn in court. So, concentrate on why you are here so that at the end of the day, you will all return safely back to where you have come from and you will be called to Bar with the remembrance that Kogi state was one of the places that molded you” he advised.
The students who have been shared into the seven High Court divisions sitting in Lokoja will be having access to Judges and lawyers just as the CJ also promised to have one-on-one interactive session with them during the attachment period.
“Whatever you don’t understand or something that boarders on law, just ask. Once in a while, I will meet you to entertain some questions from you so that we can widen our knowledge altogether during the period of the four weeks you are here.
“If your court is not sitting and any other court is sitting, go there and listen to the proceedings, don’t limit yourself to your court alone.
“Be very free to ask questions and even if am not around and you strongly feel that I should be the one to answer your questions pass it through the Registrar” he instructed.
The students’ representative, Glory Ometere Emmanuel from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja Campus, who spoke on behalf of others,
expressed gratitude to the CJ and the Institution for the warm reception they received stating too that they were happy for the orientation and would apply what they have learnt in both their examinations and the courtrooms.
The 20 of them were deployed from Law School campuses across the country
including Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Lagos, Enugu and Yola. The attachment they began with the High Court today will last four weeks before they proceed for Chambers attachment with Law firm for another four weeks.
*Information Unit, High Court of Justice, Lokoja*
