Legal Career – My Choice To Make A Difference
I left Nigeria when I was six years old and even then, I had a dim memory of complaints about people being unlawfully detained and a general pervasive fear of the authorities. My frequent visits since then, has made me realise the disparity between Nigeria where the rule of law is not in place and Britain, where at least there’s recognised legal and enforcement procedures. These differences made me question the Rule of Law by Tom Bingham as it stated that law was a “universal secular religion. ” The concept of law is universal, but the compliance depends on the self-interests of authorities and public morality. I concluded that although the law has come far to promote rights of the people, such as the right to a fair trial under Article 6 ECHR 1998, different nations have different perceptions of law; it was easy to take the legal regime in Britain for granted. Nigeria, for instance is still susceptible to military exploitations, despite it emerging as one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, and its legal system remains weak. Thus, the nature of law and its continuous changes, driven by socio-political pressure, is important to me.
The roots of our legal system and how this country’s rich history has shaped it, has been something I’ve relished studying. From learning the significance of the Magna Carta as the basis for Common Law to learning how Cromwell used parliament to legitimise the changes brought about by the English Reformation. It became increasingly apparent to me how fundamental the law is in creating the modern state, how having a clear unified legal system is the basis for modern society. I am intrigued as to how Brexit will impact our country, with the potential of a British Bill of Rights emerging and the implications thereof.
Last summer, I had the privilege of attending two summer schools at the university of Cambridge, where I participated in several seminars. One session that struck me was how there are vast interpretations of law on murder. Here I engaged in debates about the role of duress as a defence to murder and the contextualisation of cases based on imposing factors. This enabled me to understand that each case turns on its own facts. Currently, I am reading the Law Machine by Marcel Berlins and Clare Dyer that not only looks at the evolution of the legal system, but also doubts the quality of it. This is evident through the case of Re A 2001, where there are issues with consent, a fundamental aspect of legal responsibility as the parents hadn’t given the consent for the life of one twin to be taken to save the other, despite it being a medical necessity. The extent to which parents have a right to decide matters involving their children, is still a grey area. Despite the law, whether statutory or pronounced by judges, breaking new grounds, I believe there are problems with how legal responsibility is decided. I conducted further research into criminal liability at the end of my UCL summer challenge program for law. I questioned whether the English law was restrictive on liability by looking at different cases; I explored the nuances of actus reus where multiple defendants’ actions may contribute to the outcome and thus, who should be held liable.
Through these opportunities, my passion for law was reinforced hence I started a law blog, RadicaLaw, where discussions of law are written for the inquisitive. This step forward means that I can engage in insightful discussions about the law. Participating in the Big Voice London: Law Commission, I had the privileged opportunity to scrutinise current laws. Analysing sections of law, such as the Data Protection Act 1998, I was tasked with generating solutions to possible problems. Presenting my proposals to Parliament was a true privilege – I was making a difference. It’s for this reason I want to read law; to be a main actor of change and one day go back to my roots to contribute in making Nigeria’s legal system fairer, hopefully breaking new grounds.
