A Barrister’s passion for law & the less previleged Barrister Maryam Kolo an indegene of Niger State, is a lawyer and the Director General of Child’s Rights Agency in Minna, Niger State. She was born on the 2nd of December, 1968 to the Kolo family of late
Educational Background
I attended my primary school at our lady of Fatima Private School Jos and I did my secondary school at Baptist High School, Jos. I then proceeded to Bayero University Kano (BUK) where I got a LLBBL. I did my law school at the Nigerian Law School in Lagos and did my NYSC in Minna.
Career
Well it has really been quite a jolly ride. After school everybody was like is she going to be on the bench or is it going to be private practice? I actually started with private practice at a chamber in Minna called Oyisapati & Co where I stayed for about a year before I got an appointment to the bench as a Magistrate. I was there for over sixteen years as a Magistrate in the Niger State Judiciary. I then left there and went into the export promotion council where I served as legal adviser. After that I also went as to act as a DG at the Child’s Rights Agency. Anyway it has been very interesting and challenging with ups and downs along the way but the journey has been great.
What growing up was like
It was very nice. My father was alive then he was a role model in all ramifications and I had all my sisters around me. We were inseparable and we all grew up together, loving each other very much. It was more like growing up in a very good cocoon of having good directions and good principles.
Life’s challenges
At work, one of the major challenges I faced which I think almost every woman faces at work is the fact that you have to put in extra effort. You have to really struggle hard for you to be recognized or acknowledged as a woman with brains out there so actually making a difference is one of the main challenges. Ciming to married life, it has been one jolly ride it has been very tasking but it just grows on you like a skin as you go along. But you can’t make it all alone without the support of your husband, who has to understand that you have to be somewhere from morning to a particular time. And for a career woman who is very focused, I have to achieve something because I have to go back home and meet my kids and my husband so I don’t want to disappoint them. So when you are at work, you don’t have time to joke; you have to make sure you clear your table so that you are up and going for the next day. It makes a balance because when you are back home you know that this is home. I make sure that my work stays in the office, if you want to discuss with me anything that has to do with my work, you have to meet me at the office and when you want to come just say hello to me, you have to meet me at home that is where I have my private life.
Life lessons
Well we’ve had three major challenges as a family; the loss of our mother, the loss of our father and the loss of our sister and then the loss of a younger sister those loss tolled tremendously on us. It was a time of I MAKE SURE THAT MY WORK STAYS IN THE OFFICE, IF YOU WANT TO DISCUSS WITH ME ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH MY WORK, YOU HAVE TO MEET ME AT THE OFFICE AND WHEN YOU WANT TO COME JUST SAY HELLO TO ME, YOU HAVE TO MEET ME AT HOME THAT IS WHERE I HAVE MY PRIVATE LIFE. severe depression for all of us. We learnt with time that you have to lean on each other otherwise, it just doesn’t go away, it doesn’t work. You have to lean on each other, you seek each other’s opinions, you laugh with each other and also you cry together. These are some of the things that actually has really pulled us through and are part of the things I have learnt with time.
Aspirations growing up
I have always wanted to be a lawyer, being a professional lawyer and someday be the CJN of Nigeria. I know I will be there one day and I’m hoping I will get there. I still have faith with God that I will get there. It is just a matter of time and with lots of hard work and I believe it is safe to say that I have started achieving my dreams by becoming a lawyer. Oh a lot. One of the most touching one is my father being there for my sisters and I most of who are gone now. It was really fun having them around. People that were there for you through thick and thin. Actually my dad was a mother and father combined to me because my mother died early and he didn’t want anybody to split the kids. He was such a darling and a loving gentle man. Sometimes even for lunch we will all gather round the table and eat, and growing up also made me to want to achieve something in the kitchen. Whatever we cooked, he will eat it, even if it was not nice, he will eat it with so much relish and give a complement. He was our pillar.
My typical day
I wake up in the morning, say my prayers and then it’s off to work and once there, I have to start working until about 5 to 6pm I am off from the office and back home and then start taking care of the kids, my home, husband and then sleep.
Most cherished gift
My most cherished gift was a picture frame and a flower and a very dear sister gave it to me. Her name is Amina Kolo.
How I met my husband
I met him back in school. He came to see his sister and we bonded and started talking from
there.
Most cherished attribute of his
He is patient, understanding, very caring and extremely supportive.
Top 5 on my wish list
I have so many wishes. One of the top wishes is to have my entire family back again. I wish I could have my father back, I wish I could have my sisters back and I wish I could have my mother. Secondly, I wish I could actually stay on my diet because actually I have been on and off my diet and it very difficult when you have such a crazy schedule. Thirdly, I wish I could take every child wandering off the streets and the homeless that don’t have places to go. I wish I could actually build homes for them, really giant homes where they could be fed and come off the street where they are not harassed, molested and save a home each day. I wish for it and I am working towards that too, even though it might not a huge home but I am getting there. Fourthly I always wish that God will spare my life for me to see my daughter get married.
Favourite kind of music always on replay
Jazz. My favorite jazz artist is Yemi Sas
First and last app I check everyday
WhatsApp and also the same at bedtime.
Favourite fashion items
Perfumes and wristwatches
What I wouldn’t be caught wearing
A mini skirt
Best travel destination
Dubai. Dubai is full with fun, and I have memories there because I traveled with my late sisters.
How I relax
I hang out with my children, and friends. Everyone that comes in, we just sit at home and talk. We all have nice time and we take lots of tea because I am a person that loves taking tea.
Favourite food
I love yam a lot. Boiled, fried, anyway it is made. Also plantain roasted, boiled however it may be, I love these two a lot.
My definition of style
I define style as being what you are. I am not too particular about what other people define style as and the general norm of definition people have about style. I could see you doing something crazy or wearing something crazy and it just might attract me and I would say what a fantastic style you have taken for yourself and you might actually look quite nice in it.
Favorite perfume, designer bag and shoes
My favorite perfume is Dune. I am not particular about designer bags and shoes. I just go for whatever that really attracts me. I love to try out our made in Nigeria shoes. I am not too keen on the designer thing. I am very particular about ours here, I patronize home stuff a lot and I am good to go.
Mum’s advice that stuck with me over the years
Well, I could say Daddy’s advice since I grew up without knowing my mum. One advice that has continuously stuck with me that my father told me over the years is Maryam, you have to go to school and learn. All the money I leave for you in this world will be useless to you if you don’t have education but you can make 50 times what I have made if you go to school and work hard.
Favourite sport colour and weather
Cold weather. I will say the winter kind of cold. For colours honestly speaking you know it really surprises me when I hear someone actually liking a colour against another colour. I don’t have a particular colour. For sport, I like squash.
My favorite day of the week
My favorite day of the week is Monday. I like Monday because I love working and I hate being so idle. When I wake up by 5 am to say my prayers. I don’t go back to bed and I have to wake up everybody around. I don’t like sleeping too much and you achieve a lot more when you don’t do much of sleeping.
Beauty routine
Very simple, I wake up in the morning of course after taking my bath. I don’t do the cleanser thing or the face wash thing the only thing I do is to apply a little bit of eye pencil, eyebrows and lipstick and I’m good to go.
My role models
The late Maryam Babangida was a role model to me because I look at her as somebody who is famous, honest and straight forward. I also look up to the First Lady of my state, Dr. Amina Abubakar Sani. She is
I WILL TELL A YOUNGER ME NOT TO REPEAT THE MISTAKES I MADE. THE DECISIONS I MADE WERE TAKEN LATE AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED
somebody that is extremely straight forward, focused and being a doctor and then coming up to take the role of a governor’s wife, I actually thought that she couldn’t handle it seeing how the lives of doctors are with all those hospital things and now, she has to deal with politicians, she has to deal with other people, she has to deal with people from almost every walk of life and she is doing very much of a good job.
What would you tell a younger me
I will tell a younger me not to repeat the mistakes I made. The decisions I made were taken late as far as I am concerned, I went to school at the right time of course but I wish if I had known, I would have taken them much more earlier so that I could achieve more, faster. Maybe if I had started my primary school at the age of three, I would have achieved more. Maybe I would have started pushing my dreams then by now and I would have had that huge building on the ground for orphans and homeless people.
Legacies
What I will love to leave behind is for the young ones most especially females. I want them to be able to look up to me and say that yes, this is a woman that was able to achieve and make a mark in the society and I want to be like her. I want to make the same mark she made by being both a career woman and a great housewife.