‘An Aspiring Lawyer Has to Love Reading, Should Be Patient and Strive for Excellence’
My name is Osai Ojigho, I am a Nigerian trained lawyer with a LLB from the University of Lagos and a LLM from the University of Wolverhampton. I am currently working as the Coalition Coordinator of the State of the Union Coalition (SOTU) with the secretariat based at Oxfam Pan Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.
Have you had any challenges in your career as a lawyer and if so what were the main challenges?
I have had a varied career so I will not say that the challenges I experienced were specifically because I was a lawyer. In fact being a lawyer has opened up opportunities for me to contribute in a significant way to addressing some of the development challenges we have as a country and in our continent as a whole. I have worked on draft legislations to combat domestic violence and gender inequality such as the Gender and Equal Opportunities bill for Lagos State. I have contributed to research and developed legal tools for legal practitioners through annotation of laws for Delta State and most recently a study on legal aid before the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights. If I need to cite any challenge at all, it is the fact that I had to choose an alternative career because of the demanding hours of working full time in a litigation firm and balancing work-life balance.
What was your worst day as a lawyer? I truly cannot think of one.
What was your most memorable experience?
This has to be on 17th September 2014 when together with a team of other lawyers, we filed a human rights case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (CCJ). For many years, I had worked with Alliances for Africa and other groups such as the Coalition for an Effective African Court and Interights to challenge many of the situations of gender discrimination, gender-based violence that exist through strategic litigation. Previous attempts had not yielded results. There were either legal loopholes or victims were unwilling or unable to proceed with their cases. It was therefore such a breakthrough when I had the opportunity to finally pursue justice for women by bringing the case of DOROTHY NJEMANZE & 3 ORS v FRN before the ECOWAS CCJ.
Who has been most influential in your life?
I have been blessed to have a number of people who have in different and unique ways influenced my life, career choices and inspired me to be the person I am today. If I have to choose, the most influential would be my parents, Chief Mark and Mrs. Theresa Obu. They have in a very complementary way shaped and nurtured my belief in myself that with hard work, diligence and determination I can achieve anything. I learnt organisation and focus from my dad who is an Engineer by profession. He always filed everything and had an eye for detail. From my mum, I learnt excellence and loyalty. She encouraged me to pursue my interests but always within the bond of family. They both instilled in me a sense of duty and a consciousness of faith by their active and living examples.
Why did you become a lawyer? I was inspired by a speaker at my Careers Day event at my secondary school, Eva Adelaja Girls Secondary School, Bariga, Lagos State. I cannot remember who she was but she spoke so eloquently about her work as a lawyer. That was the first time I decided that I was going to study law because I admired her confidence. Thereafter, my interest was sparked on by the varying degrees of inequalities I saw around me. For a long time, I questioned why life was harder for some and less for others. There was just this sense that injustice needed to be fixed. I was convinced that as a lawyer I can be an advocate for those less able to speak for themselves. As my studies progressed, I also learnt that law plays a key role in all aspects of life including business and finance. While my interest at University swayed towards commercial law, eventually my experiences during my internship at the International Criminal Court led me to use law more as a tool for social change and development.
What would your advice be to anyone wanting a career in law?
You have to love reading, be patient and strive for excellence. Law is a demanding course and it takes most of your time. It requires a lot of reading. The profession is not called ‘learned’ for nothing. You have to read all and everything and not get tired of doing so. It also requires patience. A good lawyer needs to experience the law and understudy seniors to improve their skills. You need time to attain this. You need to check all your facts and do your research to be the best in presenting your case, arguments etc. If you want to cut corners, you cannot succeed in the Law. The Law is also very rewarding. In the beginning you may just earn just enough or not at all. But once you have the experience and you excel in what you do, you become a highly prized professional whose work is recognised and has more higher earning potential. Also the law offers you diverse choices and is in high demand in other sectors not just legal practice.
If you had not become a lawyer, what would you have chosen?
This is a very interesting question. If I was not a lawyer, I probably would have been an artist. From a young age, I could draw, sketch and paint. I was quite good and would sketch my friends and scenes from nature. I was also creative and did a lot of artwork using beads, cloth and wool. I also entered a number of fine art competitions and won a few. Now art is a hobby which I would love to have more time to do and enjoy.
Where do you see yourself in ten years? I would be a policy maker or a director of an institution that contributes knowledge, expertise and service to improving the lives of people. Everything that I have learnt and the diverse experiences I have are leading me to a place where I can maximise these skills and knowledge to be impactful in making Africa a prosperous and peaceful continent.