Blog: NELOC News

THE INTERRELATEDNESS OF ACCOUNTING AND LAW AND THE NON EXISTENCE OF ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER -- HAJIYA KUDIRAT A. (AUDITOR-GENERAL FOR FCT AREA COUNCILS)

THE INTERRELATEDNESS OF ACCOUNTING AND LAW AND THE NON EXISTENCE OF ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.

Accounting is a multifaceted discipline of identifying, measuring and communicating of an organization’s economic health. The discipline of accounting is best understood when one has strong conceptual understanding of other interconnected disciplines. The other disciplines which accounting is increasingly seen to interact with are: Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Law and Management. Let’s discuss in brief the interrelatedness of accounting and the law and the non-existence of one without the other.

DEFINITION OF TERMS/CONCEPTS

DEFINITION OF ACCOUNTING

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) defines accounting as“ the art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are in part at least of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof”.

Accounting: is the measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities such as business and corporations. It refers to the process of summarizing, analyzing and reporting these transactions to oversight agencies, regulators and tax collection entities, business owners, investors, and other stake holders.

DEFINITION OF LAW

Law is the set of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members, which may be enforced by the imposition of penalties. It is a system of rules that a society or government develops in order to deal with crime, business agreements, and social relationships. Law is a rule or set of rules for good behavior which is considered right and important by the majority of people for moral, religious, or emotional reasons. (https- // Merriam – Webster.com/ dictionary)

The main sources of regulation which interrelate accounting with law includes:

Accounting standards
Company law; and
For listed companies, the listing rules of the relevant stock exchange.

ACCOUNTING STANDARDS: are authoritative statements of how particular types of transactions and event are reflected in the financial statement. International Financial Reporting Standards are used in Nigeria (IFRS) for Companies while, International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are in use for public sector establishments (Government).

COMPANY LAW: this is the primary source of company Law in Nigeria. Among other things, it establishes the requirements for financial reporting by all companies in Nigeria. It sets out rules for determining profit available for distribution, issuing and redeeming share capital, the reserves that a company must have etc. The main company law status in Nigeria is Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2004 as amended.

THE INTERRELATEDNESS OF THE SUBJECT MATTERS

Accounting is interrelated with law, as it operates within a legal environment. Thus, all the transactions are governed on the basis of different Acts. Business organizations are governed by their respective statues that provide many aspects pertaining to the preparation of accounts. However, it’s likely that accounting influences law and is also influenced by law. In this way, accounting is also related to law because of the variety of many legal aspect and procedures. Accounting is guided by regulatory frame work and it is regulated by law particularly Business /Commercial Law.

The relationship between accounting and law reveals itself in many forms as company law consists of detailed rules. Accounting standards may be rules based or principle-based. International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are mainly principles based, or a mixture of both rules and principles. This clearly show the interrelatedness of accounting and law.

Nigeria has a regulatory system in which company and business law deals with specific matters. For instance the Sales of goods Act, Insurance law, Hire purchase transactions, Agency, partnership Act, 1890, Banking Laws Bank and other financial Institution Decree (BOFID) No. 25 of 1991, Central Bank Decree No. 24 of 1991 which repealed the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act of 1958. This was effectively an effort to ensure they fit between the CBN Act and the general Bank and other financial Institution (BOFID). All these laws/Act are interrelated and complement the accounting principles and standards in terms of preparation and presentation of financial statements.

THE INSEPRABLE LINK AND NON EXISTENCE OF ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER

In a report presented to the Essex County (New Jersey) Bar Association by a joint committee of lawyers and accountants, the following were noted as examples of interrelatedness of activities requiring the services of both accountants and lawyers:

(1) Planning the type of legal entity to conduct a new business, having in mind the subject of Federal, State, and Local Government taxes.

(2) Upon incorporation of businesses, the opening of books of account and installation of accounting software.

(3) Problems involved in the dissolution of partnerships and corporations.

(4) Problems involved in the consolidation, merger, acquisition and reorganization of corporations.

(5) Determination of extent of damages and profits in patent and other infringement suits.

(6) Determining losses covered by fire insurance policies and preparation of proof of claim.

(7) Matters arising in receivership and bankruptcy cases, including, Examination of books and records of the bankrupt and an analysis of Financial statements.

(8) Determination of rights of life tenant and remainder man, especially with regard to distribution of corporate dividends.

(9) Income tax matters, including presentation of cases before the

Commissioner of Internal Revenue and before the Tax Appeals Tribunals. Example Self assessment done by tax payers.

(10) Preparation of registration statements for the Securities and Exchange Commission etc. (see Byerly, Relationship between the practice of Law and Accounting 1998).

In addition, other areas of interrelatedness of accounting and law are:

(a) The preparation or interpretation of lease contracts, particularly where valuation of property or the determination of income is involved, or where there are lease security deposits.

(b) Problems relating to the declaration of dividends.

(d) Preparation of evidence for presentation in court where accounting records constitutes an important part of the evidence (Forensic Audit).

(e)The preparation of uniform legislation, particularly where it affects the interpretation of such terms as earned surplus, capital surplus, stated capital, dividends, insolvency, and many other matters which relate to both accounting and law. (Journal of Accounting the North Carolina review 2003)

Furthermore, financial transactions recorded in books of accounts are affected by law in the sense that in so many cases, accounting data must comply with the requirement of a particular enactment.

In the case of Nigeria For instance, there is no statutory obligation upon sole proprietorship or partnership firm to prepare final accounts. Whereas, Joint stock companies have a statutory obligation to keep accounting records and to prepare financial statements as required under Section 331 and 334 of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2004 as amended. For instance;

Duties of a Director

Section 305 (3) duties of a director as amended “shall have regard to the impact of the company’s operations on the environment in the community where it carries on business operations”. Thus, there is now a codified requirement for Directors to be conscious of the community and environment in areas where the company carries out business.

This provision is most welcome and long overdue, considering the fact that environmental issues are fast taking the front burner in the global business community and businesses in the 21st century are proffering ways of conducting their activities in more environmentally friendly manner.

Additional Financial Statements

Section 375 (2) makes provisions for additional financial statements required to be prepared by the directors of a company in respect of each year of the company. These additional statements include a statement of cash flow as an alternative to a statement of the source and application of fund; and changes in equity. These essentially align with International Financial Reporting Standards. (www.Nigeria Law.org / Companies and Allied Matters Act) as amended.

More so, accounting is interrelated with law in area of forensic accounting and auditing. The Forensic accountants are often engaged to quantify damages in instances related to fraud and embezzlement as well as on matters involving insurance, personal injury, business disputes, business interruption, divorce and marital disputes, construction, environmental damages, cyber-crime, products liability, business valuation and many more. The investigation is likely to ultimately lead to legal proceedings against one or several suspects. The lawyers and accountants who are members of the investigative team must be comfortable with appearing in court to explain how the investigation was conducted, and how the evidence was gathered.

"It has been my observation however, that training in the elements of bookkeeping and accounting are very valuable to a lawyer. Many at times, I noticed from experience that, the lawyer who is familiar with books of account has a greater advantage over an opponent unfamiliar with such matters. In fact, so much of the litigation which is profitable to the lawyers, requires the examination of books of account that all lawyers who accept to trial cases ought to possess knowledge of Accounting."

"Accounting is especially valuable in the examination of witnesses in the trial of cases; also for the understanding of a client's business and business problems." For instance, in the field of the patent law:

(i) Deals of all kinds for the manufacture and articles for sale, machines, etc. Whether on a royalty or other basis, requires a thorough understanding of accounting and law.

(a) For the negotiation of the deals, and (b) for the drafting of definite, certain and workable contracts; and

(ii) In connection with recoveries for infringement, a large body of law has been built up, which is generally referred to as “the law of patent accounting”. The recovery is absolutely dependent upon knowledge of accounting, and such knowledge is necessary to the application of the law itself. This has special reference to Cost Accounting and to such items as the proper classification of law and accounting terms of cost and the spreading of overheads, as well as such items as depreciation and depletion.

The lawyer whose practice includes any substantial amount of advisory work for business enterprises, whether corporations or partnership, has frequent need for the ability to understand and analyze financial statements. These statements clearly indicate the relationship between law and accounting.

One explanation of the interrelationship between these Two (2) fundamentally dissimilar decipline was presented by (A. A. Berle, Jr. and Frederick S. Fisher, Jr. Journal of Accounting, North Carolina, law review 1993).

After exhaustive research to determine the extent to which the courts have undertaken, to impose rules of accounting as rules of law: “Every day, lawyers and courts predicate legal effects on the results of accounting. It may fairly be said that rules of accounting are for many purposes rules of law or conversely that rules of law entail rules of accounting".

The respective tasks of a lawyer and accountant here intermingle so closely that neither can proceed without the other. To a much larger degree than perhaps either profession realizes, this intermingling has already taken place. Courts have in fact and in form laid down rules which bind the accountants, or they have themselves adopted accounting conventions.

Once these rules of account have found their way into the body of law, it becomes legally obliged to be followed. Not only do the courts adopt and lend sanction to accounting principles as exemplified in accounting practice.

CONCLUSION

From the foregoing, there is practically a universal agreement amongst practicing lawyers, that the services required of the lawyer today (outside of a very few specialized fields) demand a certain amount of accounting training for most competent performance. Therefore, simultaneous consideration of the legal and accounting aspects of certain problems, may suggest the necessity of important modification of accounting practice in order to reflect the results of the legal rules.

There are undoubtedly many other points at which lawyers and accountants should unite their activities in the endeavor to render to clients a service which is complete, adequate and satisfying for the specific purpose at hand. However, the examples listed in this discussion constitute a fair sample, and in themselves offer substantial proof of the interrelatedness of Accounting, Law and the non-existence of one without the other.

Thanks for your attention and God bless you.

HAJIYA KUDIRAT A. ABDUL-HAMID
AUDITOR-GENERAL FOR FCT AREA COUNCILS

CLIMATE CHANGE & GLOBAL WARMING

Realising the significance of the environment to survival of man, environmental experts have argued vociferously that without the environment man cannot exist since human activities are made possible by the existence of his environment.

Before going into the discussion of climate change and global warming, let’s first distinguish between weather and climate because a lot of people tend to confuse these two atmospheric conditions.
Weather is the temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness and wind that we experience in the atmosphere at a given time in a specific location WHILE
Climate is the average weather over a long time period (30 – 50 years) in a region.

CLIMATE CHANGE
Ordinarily, change in climate refers to some observable variations in the climatic system that is attributable to anthropogenic activities, especially those activities that alter the atmospheric compositions of earth..

In other words, climate change is the alteration that occurs in the climatic conditions of an environment due to certain human activities

Understanding climate change and how humans contribute to it
Climate change is caused by a lot of factors but chief amongst these factors is the change in the earth’s energy balance.

Normally, there ought to be a balance between the energy that the sun radiates to earth and the energy which the earth sends back out into space. However, due to a depletion in the ozone layer, the energy radiated by the sun passes through more easily into the earth and it’s atmosphere and get trapped by Greenhouse Gases (GhG) thus making the earth have a higher accumulation of solar radiation — It can simply be likened to when people gain weight if there is an imbalance between calories they take in and calories they release out.

I mentioned earlier that certain gases trap the solar radiation within the earth’s atmosphere and prevent them from going back into space; these gases are called greenhouse gases (GHG).

Greenhouse gases (GHG) and their relationship to climate change
Greenhouse Gases are those gases that act like a blanket to trap the sun’s energy and heat, rather than letting it reflect back into space. When the concentration of GHG is too high, too much heat is trapped, and the earth’s temperature rises outside the range of natural variability. Examples of such gases include: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and various fluorinated gases. CO2 currently contributes the highest rate of the greenhouse gases followed by methane (CH4), chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs), nitrous oxide (N2O) followed by the others.

It will interest you to know that the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased from 315 parts per million (ppm) in 1960 to 405.1 ppm in 2016.
Anthropogenic sources of Greenhouse Gases
Various human activities have added very large quantities of greenhouse gases (GHG) into Earth’s atmosphere!

Carbon dioxide- burning of waste and refuses indiscriminately, deforestation, industrialization, burning of fossil fuels (e.g. coal, oil and natural gas), etc.
Methane- Improper disposal of livestock manures, biomass burning (such as charcoal and firewood burning), decay of organic waste in municipal landfills
Nitrous oxide- they are emitted during industrial and agricultural activities as well as during combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste.

Fluorinated gases- Hydro-chlorofluorocarbons, Chlorofluorocarbons and some other fluorine containing substances emitted from a variety of industrial processes.

Now that we understand climate change, what is GLOBAL WARMING and how does it affect us?
Climate change is a major cause of global warming - global warming is simply an increase in the earth's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures.
Climate change & Global warming have been linked to various environmental, economic and health consequences.

Environmental consequences- hotter hot, wetter wet and drier dries; this means that we will experience hotter temperatures, heavier rainfalls and an increase in drought conditions just like we have been experiencing in recent times for instance in the southern Nigeria, climate change is reflected in the massive flood experienced in 2012; houses, farms, farm products, properties and even human beings were swept away. The statistics released by the southwest zonal office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) about 2 years ago show that no fewer than 5000 persons were affected and 60 houses destroyed in a windstorm which occurred in four states in the south -west region. Also, about four decades ago, the lake chad covered an area of about 40,000 sq km whereas it now encompasses a mere 1,300 sq km.

Economic consequences- agricultural farms will face troublesome new pests (as seen in the prevalence of army worm in maize farms in the past years) as the old pests will evolve in an attempt to adapt to the new environmental conditions.
Health consequences- heat-related mortality, dehydration, spread of infectious diseases, malnutrition, allergies, asthma, in some literatures global warming has been linked to some cases of skin cancer!

Prospective solutions to these environmental anomalies

There are honestly no perfect solutions to the issue of climate change. However, responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach:

Mitigation (reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere) through:
Practicing organic farming -- Organic farming is a method of crop and livestock production that involves choosing NOT to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones in the course of farming activities, instead organic manure are used as fertilizer. What organic farming will do is to convert the environment from a carbon source to a carbon sink (carbon storage system)
Carbon sequestration- this is a process involved in carbon capture and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to mitigate global warming. Ways of sequestering carbon include :
Afforestation- this is a deliberate act of establishing forests. The idea behind this is that the newly planted trees will help in sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby acting as a carbon sink or store.

Some mushrooms have been noted to be very good absorbers of carbon from the atmosphere and they might be key to natural carbon sequestration

There should be a shift from the use of fossil fuel to bio-fuel
Regulatory bodies should be put in place to check the annual carbon emission of industrial companies in the country in accordance with the carbon emission budget of the Paris Climate Change Agreement of 2016.

Adaptation (“what can be done with the excessive radiation we already have in the atmosphere”)
Solar panels can be used for generation of electricity which will lead to a reduction in fossil fuel burning.
Every individual should be charged with reducing their carbon footprint as much as possible.

© EnvironmentallyAwareInitiative

...An awareness and sensitization initiative

The deafening sound of the car horn, brings a chill to my veins
The echo of the empty room
Ruminates in my head
The bright and macabre day looms ahead
The captivity of my freewill beckons
With my tightly knotted tie
And smoothly ironed shirt I set out,
In the delusional hope of maybe one day
I will bask at my bank account, marvel at my arts collections,
My mansion and my fancy rides
With finesse and garb I set out
The okada rider exclaims "idiot! You blind?"
The pregnant market woman,
Lost in the dysphoria of last night slaps and punches
From her husband stares pitifully at me
My sanguine aura starts the day
But ends it with despondency
After ceaseless search and unrest
I’m back to another miserable existence
An existence of hell on earth
How did I get here?
I need a hiatus from this cursed land
The land beseeches for fruitfulness
Take us back to the time
Of the first man and the first woman
My belly makes a beautiful rhythmic noise
The bus driver toils day and night for crumbs
But can’t stop
The conductor calls and screams
For places he cannot afford to live
Yet, he screams
The first-class graduate returns home
With rotten oranges and quashed hope
But still sets out
The Adroit man have exhausted his chest beating skills
To be in control
But still puts up with the facade
Where did they all go wrong?
The home for all and land of the dreamers
The land that has tasted the blood of the wretched
Swallowed the sweats of the able-bodied men
Sucked all their vigor and aspirations
And put out the fire of dreams,that burnt in their invigorating eyes
And awakened them to the realization that
The land is only for the strong willed and rugged
It is where the strong thrive and the weak turn to vapour
It is for those who want to leave a mark
It is the land where "hustle" never relents, rest or retires.

by SalewaBabs

Ifelaw Set to Unveil 34th International Advocate Journal in Honour of Justice Minister and A.G, Abubakar Malami SAN

With great sense of gratification, we announce to the generality of Law Students’ Society as well as the entire public the unveiling of the 34TH edition of the Annual Advocate Journal.

The Advocate Journal features ultimately scholarly articles from the Bar, the Bench and the Academia all directed toward the intellectual uprightness Of students and the forward-march Of the Law Students’ Society, Obafemi Awolowo University.

Among deserving legal personalities that have been honouree in time past include rather not limited to AHMED RAJI SAN, CHIEF ANTHONY IDIGBE SAN, YUSUF ALI SAN, WOLE OLANIPEKUN SAN, MR GBENGA OYEBODE among a host of others.

Relying on the truism that surrounds our being ‘Primus inter pares”, it behooves On is closely never to fall short or whittle down our urge for unprecedented greatness; Consequently, the 34th edition of the Journal has been sealed in honour of the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General Of The Federation; ABUBAKAR MALAMI SAN.

The unveiling of this year’s edition has been strategically placed against the tune of mere norms and conventions and as much would not amount to mere perseverance of age long custom but a conscious attempt at raising the bar.

It is worthy to express that the unveiling has been strategically fitted into the outline of the forthcoming IFELAW WEEK which is scheduled for December 17th to 22nd, 2018.

We therefore enjoin the entirety of the Law Students' Society to keep fingers crossed and anticipate the most grandiose Law Week in our societal history.

The Bloggers' Hub which held on the 10th of November, 2018 at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife had in presence, notable participants across faculties and departments of the Obafemi Awolowo University and its environs. The facilitators, Mr Farombi Oluwaseun and Mr. Cephas Oluwaseun were in high codes as they taught through the sessions with much skill.

Mr Farombi Seun, popularly known as Babafaros for his social media exploits and his affiliation with the largest and most widely read news agency on the Obafemi Awolowo University campus, OAUPEEPS discussed salient points on social media and how it links up to the Blogosphere. He exposed Bloggers to understanding the times for broadcast and social media sleep.

Mr. Cephas also discussed issues on digital marketing, Google Adsense and the basic monetization issues that bloggers face today.

The Bloggers Hub ended with an award ceremony for excellent bloggers who have paid their dues to the teeming audience that grace their blogs. The Awards followed a voting session online a few weeks back amongst other criteria for selection.

Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.
There are 1.1 billion girls in the world, that is a big number!
All of us should be able to live long and fulfill our dreams.
I stand with girls everywhere as they inspire, innovate and take charge of their own future.
Every one of them deserve equal opportunities for a better future. They are a source of energy, power and creativity. They can drive change and help build a better future for all. Yet, most girls face disadvantage, sexual violence, physical violence and discrimination on a daily basis.

The 1.1 billion girls of today’s world are challenging the status quo. They’re redefining girlhood, and they’re doing so against the odds.

"On this International Day of the Girl, let us recommit to supporting every girl to develop her skills, enter the workforce on equal terms and reach her full potential." — UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Across the world, girls face adversities that hinder their education, training and entry into the workforce. They have less access to information, communication technology and resources, such as the internet where the global gender gap is growing.

A quarter of young people, most of them girls, are neither employed nor getting an education or training.
According tho the United Nations Women, this year alone, 12 million girls under 18 will be married, and 21 million girls aged 15 to 19 years will become pregnant in developing regions.
According to silcnm.org, every 10 minutes somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence.

And yet, they persist, they succeed. They are innovating technology to solve global challenges, they are standing up for the environment, they are raising their voices against violence and they are preparing to run for offices.

Believe in Yourself No matter what happens, remember YOU ARE AWESOME
There is nobody in the world like you.
You don’t have to be the same as everybody else. You are you. You are special. Look at yourself in the mirror everyday and tell yourself how special you are.
Remember, there is so much more to you than your face or body. It is left for you to find these things and bring them out to the world. Beauty lies in your character, good behaviour and not just in fashion or being trendy. Drop bad habits and work on a good attitude.
You are not a chair or a dog for people to own and treat badly. You are a human being and that means your life matters.
Being a girl shouldn’t stop you from becoming anything you want to be.
Under the theme, With Her: A Skilled GirlForce, International Day of the Girl will mark the beginning of a year-long effort to bring together partners and stakeholders to advocate for, and draw attention and investments to, the most pressing needs and opportunities for girls to attain skills for employability.

You are special, a rare GEM, and a strong woman in the making. Do not be afraid to take bold steps and try new things, because you are a girl doesn’t mean you are weak.
Believe in yourself and work with the mindset that no one can make you feel less.
Queen Ohine loves you💞💕

And Marilyn Monroe said:
"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world."

#QueenOhine
#GIG
#Fearless
#InternationalGirlsDay
#UnitedNations
#GirlsTakeOver
#DayOfTheGirl
#GirlHero
Kisses😘😘😘

Ifelaw Partners Tokunbo Orimobi on Life After School Series

The Law Students' Society Obafemi Awolowo University is a Student body known to be committed to the overall welfare of her members.
IFELAW as it's fondly called has over the years been a pacesetter among other sister faculties through her value oriented events.

It is in this same bend that the leadership of the Society has deemed it fit to co-host "Life After School Series" with the renowned TOKUNBO ORIMOBI.

Tokunbo Orimobi is an international legal practice with offices in Abuja, Ibadan, Lagos, London, Mauritius, New York and Pretoria. A legal firm which can boast of competent and adept lawyers with expertise and experience in Nigerian Law, English Law, US Law and Mauritian Law. Lawyers provide highest quality legal services in several areas of
practice such as Corporate & Commercial; Capital & Money Markets; Mergers & Acquisition; Corporate, Project & Structured
Finance; Banking & Finance; Tax; Real Estate & Conveyancing; Energy, Power & Natural Resources; Transportation (Aviation,
Maritime etc.); Intellectual Property; Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution etc

Although, it is generally acclaimed that studnet's life begins after University graduation. However the greater truth is that life begins at birth. Graduation only marks a greater phase of growth. It then becomes ideal for students to take proactive steps as they approach different phases of life.

It is worth saying that the birth of this Career enabling event is credited to the ingenuity of the Leadership Law Students' Society and the genuine concern expressed by the Tokunbo Orimobi towards the quality of graduates that universities churn out on yearly basis.

The Life-After-School Series is an informal platform that helps groom university undergraduates and prepares them
for the corporate world. Issues such as: Career Plans, Loyalty, Assertiveness, Diplomacy, Respect for Constituted
Authority, Handling Politics in the Work Place, Handling Criticisms and other related issues are to be on the front burner of the event.

Date: Thursday 11th October, 2018
TIME : 12 noon
Venue: Old moot court, Faculty Of Law. OAU

NB: However unrestricted, Premium is placed on 400L and 500L

Adedigba Daniel, Ifelaw President Addresses Nigeria on 58th Independence Anniversary

THAT WE MAY BE INDEPENDENT FROM THIS INDEPENDENCE

Today, we join the rest of the world to commemorate with our dear country on yet another annual record of celebration after we gained independence from the stranglehold of oppression, humiliation and exploitation in 1960. It is indeed a feat worthy of an annual remembrance and jubilation.

However, at this stage in our national calendar, it behooves on us quickly to make a sober reflections and necessary reminiscences to our historical pains and gains, to our trajectory fortunes and misdeeds. At age 58, we should be geared at promoting our national gains and fortunes while similarly throwing to a bottomless pit, all resolves that has been responsible for our backward progress.

At this stage in our national calendar, we should hold strongly to the real adoption in the truism of Nigeria being the giant of Africa, we similarly should make the giant whole in its entirety, an attempt to separate the head, the arm and parts of the giant is tantamount to consciously making a dwarf of a giant. An attempt at secession is a deliberate attempt indeed to render our giant powerless which applies with equal force to our giant full of sound and fury while signifying nothing. At this point, we should aggregate our strength and unify our differences.

At this stage in our national calendar, we should walk without fear and send our daughters to schools without a subsequent call for “bring backs”.
At this stage in our national calendar, we should have the real picture of a true democracy where the people really matter and where elections are not done for us in unconscientious proxy.

At this stage in our national calendar, we should align with the Biblical antics in 1 Corinthians 13:11 and put away childish things. Only then would our independence be independent.

Happy Independence Day.
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Daniel O. Adedigba,
President,
Law Students’ Society,
Obafemi Awolowo University,

1st October 2018.

We have come to that period of the semester. EXAMINATION PERIOD!.
EXAM time can be super stressful and sometimes no matter how hard you try to keep your cool, things get on top of you.
As a way of setting a golden precedence embedded with benchmarks of success. Make do with these tips on how to get it right this examination period.

1. GET A TIME-TABLE
Over time, this is a common rule but most students don't see the essential part of it.
If you have more than one exam to deal with...
Draw out a timetable with dates and time of each exam and how many topics need to be covered within the period of time.

2. CREATE AND ORGANISE YOUR READING SPACE.
It may be that before the exam period, you had no organised reading table/space.
•Get enough space to spread your textbook and notes out.
•More lights, comfortable chair, No phones, No laptop (make all necessary research before reading), No games, GET RID OF ALL DISTRACTIONS!.
•LISTEN TO BACKGROUND MUSIC; while this may not help some people, it helps a large number of students. It prepares them for distractions in the exam hall.

3. BE YOUR LECTURER!
Visual aids can be really helpful when revising for exams.
•Challenge yourself to write down you already know about a topic.
•Condence your revision notes into one page diagrams before the exam. This helps you to quickly recall during the exam.

4. PRACTICE PAST QUESTIONS!
It helps you get the format of the questions.
• Time yourself and make sure you spend the right amount of time on each section.

5. LECTURE OTHERS!
• Get a group of friends/classmates/younger ones.
• Explain answers to questions to them. It helps to clear your head.

6. GIVE YOURSELF BREAKS!.
This has been proved by scientists to help retention of knowledge.
• Create a study routine that works for you.
• Do not feel guilty being out enjoying the sunshine, instead of hunched over your textbooks.
• Remember, vitamin D is good for a healthy brain!

7. SPEND YOUR MONEY!.
As silly as this may sound, it is necessary. You need to give yourself treats during this exam period.
• Eat the right food at the right time.
• Little chocolates? Yes, but not much, remember 'sugar may seem appealing but your energy level will crash an hour later.

8. PLAN YOUR EXAM DAY!
This sums up all that has been said so far.
• Never be later to an exam. Work out how long it will take to get there, then add up some extra time.
• Go with friends/classmates. It has been discovered by scientist that the presence of intelligent friends around you in your exam environment boosts your self esteem.

SUCCESS!!!⚡⚡

From:
LSS PUBLICITY COMMITTEE.
Law Students' Society, OAU.

Ifelaw Bags Best Faculty Award, Scoops 15 Individual Categories

The Law Students' Society, O. A. U had overtime shown spirit of excellence in all spheres . In the same bend, on the 2nd of August 2018, the IFELAW Society has it is fondly called, proved that once again.

Observant minds would agree that the university community has been flurried for some weeks now due to the just concluded OAU AWARDS hosted by HOTINC. The nominees of several categories having gone through several voting processes ranging from online votings to the offline balloting.

This year, IFELAW had in record peck of her members nominated for different categories and also Faculty of Law nominated under the "BEST FACULTY" category.

Interesting to record that the "Outstanding Faculty President" category was also clinched by the president of the Law Students' Society, Mr Adedigba Daniel.

Law students, in their usual spirit of unity supported all the nominees from the faculty in all the voting processes and even came out en masse on the day of the award to elicit optimal support and motivation.

FACULTY OF LAW WON "THE BEST FACULTY" and 14 individual categories were won by the law students nomimees.

Categories such as:

Law - Best Faculty
Prima Strata - Best Club
Adedigba Daniel Cortez - Outstanding President
Easy man - Most Influential Male
G1 - Political Icon
Koye LAdele Mofehintoluwa - Best Writer
Abass Oyeyemi (Bazzman) - Student Blogger
Frizzy - Student Poet
Dj Miles - Best DJ
Alaska - Best Clothier
Anu - Face of OAU female
Lexy - Most Fashionable Male
Amupitan Caleb - Best Class Governor
Rotimi - Best Comedian
Gambit - Rookie Male
Alphaglam - Best make-up Artist

After accomplishing such a feat, what comes next is celebration from all law students.We feel elated as we celebrate with those who went forward and made us proud, we are inspirted with the sensation of unity and oneness and we feel the pride of belonging to IFELAW.

Once again, we say huge congratulations to all the winners. GOD BLESS IFELAW.

IFELAW TO HOST HEALTH SUMMIT THIS FRIDAY

The Summit is an Initiative Of the Law Students’ Society, OAU

The Initiative becomes expedient upon the acknowledgment of the need to pay much more attention to the Health as a necessary condition precedent to a sound intellectual mind.

The summit would feature:

HEALTH TALK SESSIONS

The health talk session is to be given by the Director of the Obafemi Awolowo University Medical and Health Centre, Dr Irinoye (Chairman of the Summit) as well as our own Dr Yusuf. The health talk commences by 9:30 at the New Moot and Mock Court Complex.
At the venue, there would be registration and Free Souvenirs (Jotters, Biro among other things) would be given out to the early participants.

MEDICAL SCREENING/TEST

After the talk session at the New Moot Court, we proceed to the Faculty Of Law basement where we would have free medical test to be conducted by Professional Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists and Laboratory Technicians.

DISPENSATION OF MEDICATION

Upon a successful screening process, there would dispensation of free medication to screened persons and where necessary, referrals for further check up._

The available test/medication include but not restricted to:

MALARIA
TOILET DISEASE
Cough, Cold and Catarrh
Headache
Blood Test
Body Pain
Diabetes
Hypertension
Asthmatic Patients
Wound Care
Deworming
Arthritis
Sugar Check
High blood pressure
Among a host of others

The IFELAW Health Summit is in its entirety FREE and its with an open direction.

Side attraction similarly abound in music and light refreshments.

Finally, it remains an unshaken resolve of the Law Students’ Society to ensure the general welfare of law Students is paid due attention.

Time : 9am
Date: 3rd of August, 2018
Time : Moot court

LIFE OF A LAW STUDENT

LIFE OF A LAW STUDENT

Episode 3

I once applied for an opportunity to participate in a women leadership conference organized and sponsored by a company in Paris, I wrote a cover letter and attached a document including my GP and other requirements to the email address that was provided on their website, Then I proceeded to google for pictures of Paris and had started having funny dreams of visiting Eiffel tower and locking one of those little padlocks of love with some man I fell in love with in Paris (I know right). Well, those dreams stopped the morning I received an email that started with the words “it is with regret that we…” my heart was too broken to read the rest of the mail. The email I got from tax club started with “Congratulations...” that’s how I know I got in, I read the mail to the end, there was a get together to welcome us by weekend and I had already mentally picked the gown I was going to wear.

I had been chatting with this Dapo guy from Medicine for a week now, and I had agreed to meet him, We agreed to meet around 7pm, From the pictures I saw on his Instagram page, he is dark in complexion and he appeared tall, So when I got outside my hostel where we agreed to meet, I looked straight up in search for the tall dark guy I had been chatting with for a week now, I had looked around, walked forward a bit and was about to call when I looked down and saw a dark, Short, tribal marked face staring back at me, and he was smiling, Now, I wasn’t expecting this, I smiled politely and walked with him towards SUB, We had the awkward first time we’re meeting talk and then we talked about how demanding his course is and how engaging the extra-curricular activities in mine could be, He found me ‘quite funny’, I found him very shy, On our way back to Akintola, He asked if we would do ‘this’ again, I laughed and replied with a yeahhhhh with my teeth held tightly together, in a tone I’m sure he knew was not sincere, I had enjoyed the way I spoke during the entire conversation and every part of what I did, I just didn’t enjoy his company that much, So yeahhhhh, I wasn’t doing that again. I said goodnight to him and smiled my way back to my room.

There was no power supply, so all my room mates were in the room, since there was no light to read, Mama Jesh was talking about her wedding plans…again and the other room mates were talking about how we would buy the Ankara, and travel together, dance her in and all of that. While the gist was going on, Power supply was restored, and just when the noise that comes with the return of power supply came down, Amina, one of our room mates came in screaming that her bride price was gone, She had gone to take her evening shower and had not gone with her scarf, just her short towel and her male classmates who were in the hostel, since it was still past nine had seen her, My room mates went on to crack jokes about how bride price was going to be just one tuber of yam, Bukunmi jokingly said that it would be a handshake and the jokes went on and on, I put on my data and was scrolling through the numerous messages from my classmates who were analyzing the football match between Nigeria and Croatia and how many times Moses had fallen down during the match, and the different things that had happened in the different places they had watched the match, A guy fainted at amphi and some other drama at new Buka, the topic had changed to the pig that had predicted that Nigeria will get to semi-finals when I dozed off with my phone in my hand.
I had a class around 11am the next morning but I didn’t feel like leaving my room, So I deliberately missed it, only to hear later during the day that the class held and as a result of the low turnout of my classmates, he gave a test, just fantastic. If he actually uses the test that it is me losing about 10 marks, So yes, I hope to God that he doesn’t use it. The rest of the week was just full of classes that did not hold from chemical engineering to faculty down to HSLT and then PG, I thought being in part 4 comes with having classes in venues with proximity to the faculty, Boy! I was wrong. Saturday came and it was a rainy day, It had rained all day and was still raining and it didn’t look like it was going to stop, So I got dressed and went out with my umbrella, got a bike man and err, never use an umbrella on a bike, It’s not a good idea, It got bent and rain beat me right from Akintola to the faculty, I got to the faculty wet and shivering, but the welcome party was worth it. As I was scrolling through Instagram ,I saw this picture of egusi, nicely made on Instagram, I am on my way to central market to get the necessary condiments to make mine, I find it very uncomfortable passing Fajuyi to the market, so I decided to take a bike, From the SUB junction, the bike rider started speeding as if we were on road one, It felt good, My hair was in the hair like some kinda flawless lady in an Indian movie, I was actually savoring the moment when all of a sudden, A car coming directly from opposite Faj annex did not stop at the junction, he was speeding and then the bike I was on was still speeding, All I heard next was a loud bang…

Students of the Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University

I F E L A W I S O N E
We Are IFELAW
Oba Number ONE
We Are Golden

Introducing the First of the Best 🔥🔥🔥

The Anthem of the Great Faculty IFELAW With a Bang!💥 With Peng!! 💦 And Issa Vibe!!!

One IFELAW would keep you on a cruise of the togetherness of the love within each and every one of us. From the Talents of the grande faculty and powered by the Director of socials, LSS OAU

Download here

Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it

Obviously, NLCOC '18 has come and gone but its legacy lives forever in the history book of our dear society.
The success of the just concluded NLCOC is not only hanging on the actuality but as well as the precedent that has been laid.

It's noteworthy that we call the attention of our esteemed members of the society to the momentous and monumental strides incidental to the success of the just concluded conference.

While giving his address, the Honouree, Dr Liman Hassan Mohammed gracefully assured:

° To award the best graduating law student, hence the Dr Hassan M. Liman's Prize.

° To facilitate the functionality of legal aid clinic for faculty of law.

° The Honouree further expressed his unwavering love and desire to support the Law Students' Society in their bid to provide quality legal education for members of the society.

The University's Vice chancellor who was represented by the University's librarian conferred the title of "Wakili of OAU" (OAU Ambassador) on Dr Liman Hassan Mohammed.

With this we have once again collectively affirmed our society to be the pacemaker and trendsetter for others.

We are indebted to our dear Honouree who has made possible this extraordinary inflection in the Faculty's trajectory.

Very few things in life are entirely the work of just one person – and this is no exception, so It is good we pay tribute to the enormous contributions made by our dear Honouree, his team, guest speakers and invited schools.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has contributed to the success of the program. Most especially, the entire Law Students' Society for the unflinching and invariable support.

We hold the belief that with your unwavering support, the success of NLCOC would be a corollary to greater feats for our beloved society.

The campus Elites

Who would have thought...
things change over time
Wind of change do take some attires off the line
Things get better but atimes they go sore
Castle of Awo fell
Comerades therein fled
Only the brave runs to fight another day
Campus hostel got decongested
All hail the king!!
Everyone went the other way
There are just two sets of students herein
The elites and the masses!

On my campus
The elites are not the ones that spray money around
Neither are they the ones that happens to wear the best
But those who are on okada while others wait for the never-coming bus

On my campus
Elites are not the people who eat with cutlery
Placing the forks and knives rightly
But the privileged few who gets the bus
While other trek to campus gate
A true herculean mission that takes forever

On my campus
The elites are not the ones ones with matching shoes and bags
Neither are they the ones on heels to lectures
But the ones who fling their car keys
When others initiates the unending war of getting into a 'town gboro'
They drive around in their cars
elites are not the 'off campus' livers
But the ones on the inside
As the 'off campuser' joins the struggle of destination daily
The insiders laugh and smile
'my abode is few blocks away'
We know who the elites are

Bello olanrewaju Emmanuel is a part 3 student of the faculty of Law. He is a social realist poet and currently the Assistant General Secretary of the Law Student Soceiety, Obafemi Awolowo University.

We are excited to announce some of the confirmed speakers for the much anticipated NATIONAL LEGAL CAREER OPPORTUNITY CONFERENCE 2018.

Milliscent Adanma Nnwoka MAN, (née Maduagwu) born December 02, 1984) is a Nigerian born lawyer and broadcast journalist with over 15 years experience in the media industry.
Born in Ajegunle Lagos Nigeria, Milliscent was raised in Surulere. Her father Innocent Maduagwu a Christian from Abia state and her mother Christiana Maduagwu fluent in english‎ hails from Imo state and number 4 of five children.
‎After completing a larger part of her elementary education in surulere, Lagos, she gained admission to study Law at the University of Lagos after acing her o'levels. While at Unilag she was an announcer, Newscast presenter featuring frequently on the news bulletins on Unilagfm. During summer holidays, While in school she obtained an upper credit in basic presentation at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria FRCN now called NBA. From there she did a couple of internships at Television stations like Channelstv, and afterwards when school started worked weekends for tv stations like Minaj MBI, and numerous internships elsewhere. While waiting for NYSC she worked with Biscon International owned by Bisi Olatilo where she started reading the flagship “news at ten”. A few months after she was deployed to serve the country under the National Youth Service Corps NYSC where she excelled at her multiple roles on camp and eventually as Legal counsel in Lafia's Ministry of Justice and Nasarawa State Broadcasting Network where she worked as counsel and journalist respectively with her own radio show called "Legal Angle".

In 2009 she went to the Nigerian law school Abuja and was called to the Bar on the 4th of November. She went back to Lagos afterwards and was immediately hired by Superscreen television Onipan. During her early years her first assignment was a voxpop package on the Christmas holiday period. Her unbiased reportage and delivery of news programmes catapulted her to NN24 where she did a lot of interviews, reports and co-anchored a morning show “morning cafe”. After a year she moved back to radio, became host of the Midday Dialogue, for the first talk radio in Nigeria and later prime time co-anchor of Hardfacts, in Port Harcourt. There she anchored the 2015 elections live in the situation room, anchored political programs, socio-economic, quizzes and family shows.

She is an associate member of Diplomacy institute and the Nigeria Bar Association.
Milliscent has a Master of Arts in broadcast journalism from the University of the West of England, Bristol. In the course of her career, Milliscent has trained internationally at several A-list media organizations, some of which include; Bloomberg LP, ITV Westcountry, UJIMA radio Bristol to mention a few.

Milliscent currently works with Nigeria’s premier television station, Channels TV based in Lagos.

Milliscent Nwoka has been confirmed as one of the guests/panelists expected at the upcoming NATIONAL LEGAL CAREER AND OPPORTUNITY CONFERENCE on 29th of June, 2018, an annual conference organized by the Law Students' Society, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Where she would be sharing her experience as a law graduate cum presenter and Tv host.

In an official announcement of the confirmed speakers for the much anticipated NATIONAL LEGAL CAREER OPPORTUNITY CONFERENCE 2018.

Mclively, born Sanni Michael and sometimes also referred to as Mr Agidi is an indigene of Edo State.
He started off with acting at the age of 7 of which at the age of 17, he already had a drama group. His name, Lively, was earned as a result of his extreme enthusiasm in his teenage years.
He had his Law degree from Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University.
During his undergraduate days, he was an active member of the Law Students' Representative Council (LSRC).
Mr Agidi started his career as MC in 2013 before he metamorphosed into a comedian in 2015. Michael is one that sees intersections between the thinking process of a Lawyer and the creative process of a Comedian as he believes they both demand thinking on one's feet and communicating those thoughts in a clear and convincing manner.
His study of Law has equally had great impact on his performances as a Comedian as Law has been a confidence boost. He is one who doesn't see himself practicing law for long but feels the training will forever be with him.
An expert in handling corporate events, dinners, weddings and other social events. Mclively has hosted over 200 events in many states in Nigeria for which they all have been a mark of excellence. He has thus presented himself as a situational and realistic comedian as he has used comedy to address a whole lot of pressing issues in Nigeria. These issues range from the striving and struggles of Nigerian youths to unemployment that has become a problem yet to be solved in Nigeria to corruption that has eaten deep into the system of our fatherland.

Michael has carved a niche for himself through his trademark which is his appearance in white shirt, black trousers and an arm bag to match. This appearance has depicted him as Nigeria's number one agitated and unemployed youth. He is also the co-founder of 'Livelihood Entertainment'. An entertainment outfit that has achieved merging live performances into a cinema setting.

McLively is passionate about entertainment, comedy, acting and has dedicated his life to being an effective host as well as a comedian. MClively has been confirmed as one of the guests/panelists expected at the upcoming NATIONAL LEGAL CAREER AND OPPORTUNITY CONFERENCE on 29th of June, 2018, an annual conference organized by the Law Students' Society, OAU. At the conference, he would be sharing his experience as a Law graduate and as well how he rose to stardom as a comedian cum MC.

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday, 5th May, 2018 passed the repeal and re-enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act which is said to be the biggest business reform bill in Nigeria in over 28 years.

Speaking on the passage of the new bill , the Senate President , Bukola Saraki on his Twitter handle said , “The passage of the repeal and re -enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act is a significant milestone in our legislative agenda. This is by far the most far -reaching legislation ever passed by any legislature in our country”.

“This is a pro-business law. This bill that we have just passed will show the audacity that we have to move Nigerian businesses into a new era of success and development. The CAMA will represent one of the most important legislations, we are truly now walking the talk, to say that we are ready for business in Nigeria, to support small scale industries to promote innovations, and encourage enterprise”, Saraki also said.

What are the benefits, advantages, merits and profitability the New CAMA bill offers?

✔ Single Member Company: one person can now form a company as opposed to the former requirement of two or more persons. This is especially good for start-ups and young entrepreneurs.

✔ Promotes the use of technology: the new CAMA Bill provides online registration of companies. It ensures that Nigerians can now register their businesses from anywhere in the country through the e-registration system that the senate’s amendment gives legal backing.

✔ Removal of all the unnecessary regulatory provisions for small companies. The Bill is one of the most critical pieces of legislation which impacts the Nigerian business climate and the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs). The Bill ensures more business-friendly regulation of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.

✔ Reduction of the minimum share capital for companies to start-up in Nigeria

✔ The Bill creates a new form of legal identity for Nigerian businesses. For instance, the Limited Liability Partnership

✔ Financial Assistance: Companies would be able to provide financial assistance to their shareholders under the new Bill.

✔ Resolving Insolvency: the Bill introduces a company rescue and insolvency legal regime which is not focused on a company's demise, but on rescuing companies from insolvency through the inclusion of an insolvency framework.

✔ Company's Secretary: the Bill seeks to further ease the regulatory burden of companies by limiting the requirement to appoint a company's secretary to public companies, thereby making it optional for small companies and companies with one shareholder.

✔ Annual General Meeting: Under the new Bill, it is not mandatory for small companies to convene and hold Annual General Meetings.

✔ Minority Shareholder's Rights: the Bill is geared towards ensuring Minority Shareholder's rights.

✔ Beneficial Ownership: the Bill has provisions which mandates the disclosure of beneficial interest in q company's shares and prescribes punitive measures for failing to disclose such interest.

✔ Exemption from Audit: the Bill has provisions which exempt small companies from appointing auditors.

✔ Fewer reporting obligations for small companies: the new Bill reduces financial reporting obligations of small companies.

✔ Time and Cost: there is reduction in the time and cost of setting up a company.

✔ Promotion of Financial Stability: especially with the introduction of the model netting provisions in the Bill.

✔ Increasing Investor Confidence in the Nigerian Financial sector as well as all sectors of the economy: Due to a competitive and business friendly environment where companies are regulated in line with global best practices, investors confidence in the Nigerian economy is increased and all sectors of the economy is expected to significantly improve.

✔ Nigeria may begin to witness increased revenue generation and job creation.

Analysts see the amendment of CAMA as a positive step further to attaining a better business environment in Africa’s largest economy, which in the long term can stimulate economic growth.

The proposed amendments would have the overall effect of making Nigerian Company Law more fit for today’s business realities, improve the business environment and performance across the Nigerian economy as a whole, as well as reduce direct compliance costs for businesses in Nigeria.

Ohine Joy is a writer and poet. She writes from the Faculty of Law Obafemi Awolowo University.

LSS PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK

"The best person is not the most brilliant but the one adaptable to change".
Balogun Ismael, our personality of the week shares his experience on how life on and outside OAU campus has been generally. He talks on how he has been able to shuffle his extracurricular activities with his academics and conclusively advices the fresh students and other students.
Meet our personality of the week: ISMAEL BALOGUN a.k.a I-SHOW

INTRODUCTION:
Balogun Ismael is a 500 level law student of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun State. He is currently the President of the National Association of Muslim Law Students (NAMLAS). He is a very active member of the moot and mock committee as he has on many occasions, represented the school on moot competitions. These are some of his contributions to the Law Students Society amongst others.

INTERVIEWER: Can you tell us summarily but generally how your experience on this campus has been?
BALOGUN ISMAEL: Justice Holmes who said that, "the life of the law has always been experience and not logic" has infact said it all. My experience on this campus like most people has been a tasking journey right from my first year days. Not only a tasking journey, it has also been a very long journey with some ups and downs.The courses, the lecturers, the students, everything infact has been very interesting and I thank God for it all.

INTERVIEWER: How exactly were your first year days?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: One very essential thing I would love to share is the importance of perception and adaptation to the change of that perception. Before I resumed school fully, I always had this known perception of being a first class student and I made up my mind not to get involved in any extracurricular activity . All I wanted was to be on a first class. So on resuming school, I interacted with people and listened to their perception about things, some good and others not so good. Subsequently, i decided to speak with a few lecturers who told me to suspend every extracurricular activity with the exception of the moot and mock committee and the debate committee till after my first year. Although coming to school, my parents warned me not to allow anyone direct my decisions, i adhered to the advice of these lecturers and got serious with the moot and mock committee and I have not since then, had any regrets about my decision. Concerning the courses, they were new but I still enjoyed them, read and was happy with the results.

INTERVIEWER: What influenced your study of law?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: Coming from a kind of background and environment where I wasn't exposed really exposed to much, I wasn't opportuned to see lawyers at work and admire the legal profsssion. I didn't have a relative or anyone I knew in the legal professional to look up to. I just knew there was a thing called Law and I read books about it which developed my interests for the profession. Basically, my study of law was decided by me.

INTERVIEWER: So, going back to school, we know peer pressure influence either positively or negatively is very rampant among students. For example, if a friend gets a higher than you, how did you exactly feel? Did that always push you positively or make you have a kind of jealous influence?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: There's this Latin Maxim I really cherish and believe so much. Vita brevis est, ars longo Is a Latin maxim that means "this life is very short and full of calamity". I believe that one rule in life is to understand your ability. I never really feel bad if my grades are not as good as my friends'. I just think that's their own destiny and my own grades also shape my destiny. Plus, sentiment might block my way of achieving other things.

INTERVIEWER: So, from your introduction, you're a 500 level student, the president of NAMLAS and a very active member of the moot and mock committee which is quite impressive. How have you been able to cope with these positions? How have you been able to shuffle these activities with your academics?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: Thanks for the compliment, I really appreciate it. Being a member of the moot and mock, as everyone knows, that committee is really time taking, the president of NAMLAS and also my academics, I have learnt to structure and plan my everyday work so, everything goes smoothly without disrupting each other. Basically, time management had been my strength.

INTERVIEWER: That's very good, now to the future. It is a known fact that law has many fields, so, what part of law would you like to delve into? What are your basic interests in law?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: Well, coming from my type of unexposed background, i have found out that if I don't practice law, it would look really bizarre and disappointing. Also, if I were to choose a particular field of interest now, I think I would deny myself of learning from the other fields of law. So, for now, I would love to be a full time litigation lawyer with basic knowledge of other areas in law.

INTERVIEWER: Hmmm impressive perception. Okay now, for the single ladies eyeing you out there, I would love you to tell us if you're in a romantic relationship or not

BALOGUN ISMAEL: (Laughs) Well, all my life i've been single, no girlfriends, no romantic relationships.

INTERVIEWER: So, what's the reason? Do you think being in a romantic relationships is a distraction?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: I think ladies might be a distraction to you if you don't have sense. My motive of not having a girlfriend yet is not due to the fact that she will be a distraction to me. In my own view, if you have the right person, you don't have to be distracted. The right lady to me is one who is productive, could help you and guide in everything you're doing. I think that's a plus and not a distraction.

INTERVIEWER: So, what do you do during your free time? Are you involved in any business?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: To some extent, I'm always occupied. I really do not like lazying around. So, during my free time I read and sometimes go to see friends, talk about businesses, careers, and general stuffs.

INTERVIEWER: Hmm you mentioned books, what kind of books?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: I read literary works, novels basically. I read books by philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. I read John Bisham's books, the jury is my favorite. Also, I think to be distinguished, you do things no one else does in your environment. So, as a law student, I also read chemistry, physics, and biology.

INTERVIEWER: Being the NAMLAS president, how do you handle people as a leader?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: Basically, patience is the key! I use patience and respect to handle most people which in turn, gains me influence. A leader is expected to have a lot of influence.

INTERVIEWER: Now, the penultimate question. What's your advice to the fresh students?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: One thing the fresh students need, is to know about an environment, particularly the challenges in the environment. They should always get the act right first and not jump into conclusions about everything. They should always inquire from their senior colleagues. Also, they should focus on having a solid foundation. I would also recommend the moot and mock committee and the debate committee for them to be serious with in their first year. When they're done with their first year, they'll have the experience and they can then do anything they want to. But always put their academics first.

INTERVIEWER: The last question now. What advice do you have to every student out there?

BALOGUN ISMAEL: To all students out there, whatever we all are doing, I believe we should do them well and be consistent. Consistence is the key!. Also, with the way we're being trained in this faculty, I believe we'll be prepared for anything that comes outside this school. Be focused, determined and run away from complacency.
On a concluding note,I would love to share this quote, "You must never allow a situation of having to lock a stable door after the horses are debuted"

Interviewing crew: Akinkuotu Ibukun and Adeleke Precious

It is a general belief that it is quite wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends and it is as just wrong, or even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. In the same vein would the above statement lie in consonance with the political terrain of Ekiti State, particularly as events start unfolding.
It is no more a news for the vibrant minds in Nigerian political jurisdiction that July 14, 2018 is the day slated for all eligible electorates in Ekiti state to exercise their civic rights. It is a day that would determine how the next four years in Ekiti state would be. Hence, it is as crucial as crux itself, in the history of the state.
In this case, the only "inclined plane" that could be invoked in bringing out the true spirit of democracy, is if and only if all the concerned stakeholders go back to their seats and let the electoral commission performs its duties independently and with no form of interference from any angle.

Going down memory lane, it is apposite that we draw our minds to June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti state. Being the election that ushered in Mr. Ayodele Fayose as the governor of the state, the election has proven itself to be in conformity with the tradition that seeking elective positions in Ekiti state is not for the fainthearted and elections are as usual, being marred by violence, intimidations and long drawn legal tussles.
It should also be recalled that the decibel of accusations and counter-accusations of violence, threats and intimidations has become almost deafening, most especially when elections draw nearer in Ekiti State. The kerfuffle in the state's political arena has reached the crescendo that there has never been a lull in clashes among the various opposing political interests in the South Western state.

To have a clearer picture of the jurisprudence of past Ekiti gubernatorial polls, recourse must be made to the circumstances that surround the June 21, 2014 elections. Casualties recorded include Funsho Ogundare, a supporter of Opeyemi Bamidele, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, who was shot and killed after clashes between Bamidele's supporters and people believed to be faithfuls of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Emure Ekiti. Sequel to the tragic incident was the arraignment of a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly from Emure Constituency, Hon. Kehinde Boluwade, with six other APC members in relations to the killing.

Not only this. Hope we have not forgotten the whistle blower? Yes! I mean Captain Sagir Koli.
The audio recordings and affidavit were provided by Sagir Koli, a Captain in the 32nd Artillery Brigade stationed in Ekiti State, who has since fled the country for fear of reprisal attack. Captain Koli recorded the conversation on June 20, 2014 when he was asked to accompany his Commanding Officer, Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh, to the meeting, which was held at Spotless Hotel in Ado-Ekiti.
In an exclusive interview with the Sahara Reporters' publisher, Omoyele Sowore, the Nigerian Army Captain leaked a 37-minute audio recording. The audio captured a meeting as being attended by the eventual “winner” of the election, Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State; Senator Iyiola Omisore of Osun State; a close associate of Mr. Fayose identified as Honorable Abdulkareem; the Minister for Police Affairs (as he then was) Jelili Adesiyan; and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro who was at the time the Minister of State for Defense and Mr. Chris Uba. They all came to Ekiti with a huge stash of money and soldiers from the East to carry out the assignment.
The audio recordings were analyzed and authenticated by Guardian Consulting, an independent US-based security consulting company. According to a report authored by Guardian Consulting, also in the possession of SaharaReporters, the independent company used Forensic Voice Frequency Comparison technology to identify all voices on the recording with audio available in the public domain.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that all these open-day rapes on democracy don't just occur, they were sequel to series of allegations made by one political bloc against another opposing camp.

Having caught a glimpse of the years back, I think it is high time to look at what the future holds, as far as July 14, 2018 is concerned.

In a visitation made by the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Benhard Schlagheck, to the Peoples' Democratic Party's (PDP) Secretariat in Abuja, the party's National Chairman, Chief Uche Secondus, while alleged the APC, through the aid of the government at the centre, of hatching plans to manipulate their way to victory at the poll. He continued that the least Nigerians expect from the APC-led Federal Government is free and fair elections in 2019, beginning from the Ekiti gubernatorial poll.
Uche Secondus went further that "July 14 Ekiti State governorship election would be the first test for this administration. We know that the APC and INEC have perfected plans to rig the election..."

The All Progressives Congress' (APC) National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, during the kickoff of fresh membership registration drive of the Ekiti APC, declared that the Ekiti gubernatorial poll is a must win for the party.
He assured that the party would deploy every available resource to win the election, which he described as a litmus test ahead of the 2019 general elections.
In Oyegun's words, "We will work hard to ensure that Ekiti returns to the progressive fold; after the July 14 election. Although, we are in power at the centre, that doesn’t mean we should not work hard. President Muhammadu Buhari, as you know, will not rig or compromise or subvert the will of the electorate, so, we must work hard to deserve the victory that will come to us".

Furthermore, the winner of the APC's primary election and consequently the party's guber candidate, Dr. Kayode John Fayemi at a meeting in Ado-Ekiti was, in what seems like corroboration of Oyegun's statement, recorded to have said that " the same election that brought in Ayodele Fayose in 2014 is what we are going to have again, come July 14"

Meanwhile, the 2014 guber poll remains one of the most controversial "peaceful" change of government in the state, even that the both of local and international election observers unanimously saw the election as not free, fair and transparent, giving credence to the series of inadequacies that took place prior to, during and after the election.

In view of the foregoing, are we to say that history is bound to repeat itself? Should we be expecting a kind of election, where we will not be counting votes alone, but death toll inclusive? Should we be expecting casualties, all because we want to bring into fulfillment one of the tenets of democracy, which is peaceful change of government?

JOLAOSO Moses Adebare
A 300level student of law
Obafemi Awolowo University.

The 'Future' of Nigerian Youths is 'Present'

If you attended primary or secondary school in Nigeria, you may have been fortunate to have heard the song: “parents listen to your children, we are the leaders of tomorrow…”. I have known this song for over 18 solid years now. However, a sort of interesting thing over the years is that the same sets of leaders have remained in power for about that same amount of years or even more – the gerontocrats. Hold on! It gets further interesting: the first born of my parents also knew this song when she was in kindergarten but now, the look on her face whenever this song is raised, suggests the singer keeps shut. Do not misunderstand me! Whoever composed this song, may Abraham’s blessings be upon him/her and if it flows over, may you remember me. Really, he/she may have seen the need for parents and leaders to train the young minds and prepare them to take the mantle of leadership. Unfortunate, regrettably I must say, this song has sold us out and it appears that it was composed to reflect immortality without actualizing the contents of the lyrics; no fault of the composer, however. I would assume the composer may have also seen the obvious danger of neglecting the youth, and decided to issue a warning to the public in disguise of this beautiful song. It is one thing to send an alert on a forecast of imminent danger however, it is entirely another thing to act on the alert; not just acting, but acting urgently.

It is noteworthy that this is not peculiar only to Nigeria – it is an African deformity. The oldies who pride as African leaders see themselves, unfortunately so, as ordained by ‘god’ to see to the affairs of the nations and continent at large. This gives me a gory imagination of how ‘god’ really ordained them to clinch their araldite fists on power. From East, West, North to Southern African, we have been so “lucky” to be ruled by the oldies, who forget that the older they get, their ability to function effectively depreciates. To make matters worse, their cabinets are filled with people of equal class, whose abilities to proffer solutions, to present day problems, have died a natural death.

When you compare the average ages of world leaders, you would realize that the average ages of African Leaders are from 60s and above against that of the West and Europe – averaged at 30 (if not less) and above. With all these misfortunes that have befallen the youths, can we still sing the song boldly or should we put the song aside and take the bull by the horns? I would prefer the latter.

Imagine you are at a gathering where the guest speaker is Mugabe (former President of Zimbabwe) and he is to give a speech, let’s say, about the youth as the hope of African continent, what will be running through your young mind as a youth? “laughable” you may say, but this happens every now and then: we see it in inaugural lectures, and book lunches on various topics on the youths as the future of the continent. I understand that it is only when we invite the oldies that we get the noisy cheques, and the rather unreasonable donations; then we promise them of our undivided supports at the polls. We keep shooting ourselves on the legs! My Nigerian youths, when are we going to wake up? “We are the future leaders” of a thing is only to give you comfort and get you out of their way. For your information, the future is not in the nearest future – it is now!

They come to tell you “another story” during elections, and fear obstructs your guts; preventing you from telling them it is time for the “future leaders” to take over. Well, the hard truth is that you are being fooled by these oldies and the “future” thing is a scam! The only future I know is the “NOW” future – that is the best future! Nigerian youths, you have to remember that the best time to do something was yesterday and another better time is ‘NOW’. The leaders who have ruled us since 1999 till date all took the bull by the horns and lived by the lyrics of that old song: they were all at least in their 30s when they took the mantles of leadership in various positions. I need not tell you their ages! All you have to know is that most of them were in their 30s. If they thought they were competent to rule the nation in their primes, what has changed now? Why can’t the youths be allowed to take over now? Well, they will give the immoral excuse that the youths are lazy and not ripe enough to plough the apples. Or, “it does not matter who rules (whether young or old) but the important thing is that the job is done", they will say. Brother, sorry to disappoint you, it does matter! Since the return to democracy till date, how many of the jobs have been done? Nigeria and Africa at large desire the 30s and 40s (as leaders) who are sound, burning with zeal and willing to proffer solutions to 21century problems, not some weak oldies who should be playing with their grandchildren in the gardens.

We need to quit the believe that our voices will never be heard. I would rather die trying than live and do nothing!
The future is now! Get you PVC and stop denying us your vote, because you think your vote does not count. Stop selling you vote for bags of rice and roasted meats – they cannot sustain you for the next 4 years. If you are a political thug, or intend to be one in 2019 elections, please do yourself a favor: pause for a minute and ask questions about the children of your political clients. Where are they, what do they look like, where are they schooling, how many degrees do they have, and where do they work? And if you already have children, how are they fairing? Your foolishness pays them and that is why they need you. “ Abeg, our mumu don do”!

A word is enough for the wise!

Nwachukwu Chidozie is a part 5
Law student of Obafemi Awolowo
University.

Interviewer: Can we meet you?

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): My name is TIJANI Taofeek, a 500l student of this Faculty. The chairman, Freshers Orientation Committee

Interviewer: What does it feel like being the chairman, did you initially think of saying no thinking about the stress and other things attached. And so far, what has been the challenges?

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): Answering the questions as you asked, when I was told I was going to be the chairman, I said no, I did not just think of saying no. I've been in Orientation Committee ever since I left Part 1 and even just as the Assistant Protocol Head, the work was enormous and I wasn't even the head, so you can imagine I would react. I think everyone who has always been appointed said no at first because it's crazy, the amount of work you have to do, the amount of freshmen you've to handle, the amount of Orientation Committee members you've to see to their welfare and make sure everyone works according to their responsibilities, they don't enrol in other people's responsibilities and they don't avoid theirs. All these things are ultimately responsibilities and you've to make sure everything is in place.

Interviewer: Briefly, tell us what you've in store for the Freshmen?

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): This session, the goal is to pick every single program we've done in the past one by one and do better in every regard including programs organized by Organizations and Chambers. There are also programs that have not been exactly organized before but would be organized.

Interviewer: On the issue of Freshmen's party being dominated and hijacked by senior colleagues as it happened at the Freshmen's party organized last year, how do you plan to avoid a repeat of this?

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): It is simple this year as it won't be a dominated party by others but Freshmen. The problem has always been too much leniency and too much leeway for people who have not been going by the rules, therefore, the simple things that has to change this year is that there is less leniency, less leeway for people who don't go by the rules and the rules become stricter in terms of formulation and even, implementation.

Interviewer: What do you have to say concerning some members of the orientation committee who have some other conflicting interests.

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): The reason why Freshmen are here is to get help with their screening process and to be inculcated into the Law Students Society through the Orientation Programs. The reason why Orientation Committee however exist is to help Freshmen with what were earlier mentioned, anything outside these is not allowed. Anything outside what you're meant to do is not allowed. The reason why you're doing it is another thing, if it to increase your popularity among Freshmen because you're going for a political move, it's a smart move but the reason why you're there is different from what you've to do there.

Interviewer: Freshmen and Members orientation committee are from different backgrounds and homes as some can tolerate people or be patient and some can't as there's limitation to want we all can take, how do you intend to manage a freshman who's hot tempered?

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): Actually, the excuse on behalf of freshmen that decide to be rude is that they are just coming in and not yet used to the system.
But then, you just coming into the system isn't an excuse to be rude! This means you're not rude because of the present circumstance but because you're normally rude.

Interviewer: But what about the frustration Freshmen witness, like going from one place to another, arranging files and all involved.

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): Firstly, Freshmen on Monday need to understand that Orientation Members left their individual homes, internships or things that will help their lives to help Freshmen.
Freshmen should not allow frustration get the better part of them as it's in human nature to be frustrated, then, such person will be corrected.
As a Freshman, sit where you're supposed to, submit your files when it's your time but if not yet your time and you get rude, you can start the whole process from the beginning. They won't be greeted with frowning faces or an harsh environment, it will be a pleasant environment until anyone chose to make it unpleasant for him/herself.

Interviewer: what is the plan towards the welfare of members of orientation committee?

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): There is a Welfare Sub Committee headed by Seun Akande and Tolani and they are the most credible people that I know in terms of welfare. To the best of the ability of LSS, Orientation members would be fed considerably at the end of a working day, maybe not consecutively but alternatively, Orientation Members will be fed as it's not easy working for long hours or tasking your brain throughout. It's only reasonable to help ourselves.

Interviewer: what's the level of synergy between you and the Principal Liaison Officer (PLO)?

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): I've been relating with the PLO in relation to his program; My PLO & I. We already have guests in place and all that's left is the execution of the program.

Ibukunoluwa: Finally, what should Freshmen expect in their week and what will make their orientation week different from the previous ones.

TIJANI Taofeek(Marlow): I can't speak on programs by programs but the general thing that will make the week better than previous orientation weeks is Participation and Interaction from the committee. The best Orientation Week I've ever participated in was the one headed by Miss Monimola Abimbola, 2014/2015 session. The level of interaction between the Freshmen and Orientation Committee and even the Chairman herself was impeccable. Then, people ensured things were in place, interacted with Freshmen really well and looked forward to the next day. So what made that session's Orientation Week stand out was Participation and Interaction. Other things we plan on putting in place is better planning, better documentation and making sure punctuality is of essence.

Ibukunoluwa: On this note, I want to say a big thank you for honouring our invitation. We wish you a wonderful and successful orientation exercise ahead.

INTERVIEW CREW
VINCENT Nelson
AKINKUOTU Ibukunoluwa
ADEBIMPE Morenikeji Fatimah
ADEYEYE Eyitayo

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