An indepth interview with Prof. Momodu Kassim-Momodu, Dean of BACOLAW
By Haliru Ummideen (400 Level)
BACOLAW was established as a College in Crescent University and commenced in 2012. The first set of students were admitted and began their studies in B 2012/2013 academic session.
His Excellency Judge Bola Abdul Jabbar Ajibola (SAN, KBE, D.LITT, LLD, FCIARB, FNIALS, CFR) is a quintessential Intellectual, Lawyer, Arbitrator, Judge, and Mentor of International repute. He was one of the most successful legal practitioners of his time in practice. He became President of Nigerian Bar Association, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a Judge of International Court of Justice, and President of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. He is the doyen of arbitration in Africa and founder of Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, Judge Bola Ajibola was also President, World Bank Administrative Tribunal, Washington, Chairman, United Nations Compensation Commission For Kuwait and Chairman, NigeriaCameroun Special Commission on Bakassi Dispute.
I met His Excellency for the first time in 1980 at a meeting of the Nigerian Society of International Law in Lagos. I was a young graduate assistant in University of Lagos then, and he was a towering legal practitioner in Lagos Island. He took instant interest in me that day and invited me to visit his law office at Igbosere Street Lagos. He soon became one of my unforgettable mentors. I remember that what attracted him to me on that first meeting in 1980 was his admirable talent for banter and persiflage, as he went round greeting and chatting with people, hitting each person, young and old with his entertaining light raillery, causing laughter and creating a lively atmosphere in what was a dull pre-meeting reception and cocktail before his arrival.
His Excellency mentored very many of today’s successful legal practitioners, law professors, arbitrators, and numerous judges of both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Since when have you been the Dean of BACOLAW? I have been Dean of Law in BACOLAW since October 2017.
How many departments are in the college? BACOLAW has three departments. These are Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Department of Commercial and Industrial Law, and Department of Islamic and Customary Law.
How many departments are in the college? BACOLAW has three departments. These are Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Department of Commercial and Industrial Law, and Department of Islamic What is the quality of lecturers in the college? We have highly dedicated academic staff in the College. The quality of these academic staff is evident from the performance of graduates of the College in law practice and academics. As young as the College is, our graduates had so many distinction in the master’s degree in law at reputable universities in Nigeria, The United Kingdom, United States of America, and Canada. Also, a good number of our graduates are doing very well as Solicitors and Barristers in good law firms in Nigeria. and Customary Law.
What are the achievements of the College so far? BACOLAW is continuously recording growth. We have since October 2017 introduced new courses that meet present day technological and commercial advancement. Some of these new courses are;
1) Information Communication Technology Law.
2) Law of Intellectual Property.
3) Banking and Insurance Law.
4) Alternative Dispute Resolution.
5) Environmental Law.
6) Oil and Gas Law.
7) Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of Nigeria professional qualification course that qualifies our students as professional arbitrators before graduation.
8) Communication Skills.
9) Islamic Law of Tort and Crime, and
10) Islamic Law of Company, Banking, and Insurance.
The College publishes an annual law journals Crescent University Law Journal in printed copy edition and online. The journal is the only university online journal in Nigeria. We have a website, https://www.bacolaw.edu.ng, linked to the main Crescent University website.
We have established more professional and academicsoriented student societies run by the students under the guidance of assigned academic staff. The new societies established since 2017 are;
1) Nigerian Society of International Law, (with membership open to students from other Colleges who are interested in international affairs, international relations and international.
2) Human Rights Society.
3) Alternative Dispute Resolution Society.
We have established a Law Clinic in 2021. It is located within the Bola Ajibola College of Law Building. The objective of the law clinic is to provide legal and ancillary services to members of the university community and the surrounding neighborhood such as Rounda, Adeun to Lafenwa etc. The Clinic also organizes symposia and seminars for the purpose of disseminating knowledge and creating awareness about issues of concern in the community. The Clinic will be training students in the practical aspect of the legal profession. Participation in law clinic activities will allow students to gain experience working with real life cases and dealing with real life clients under the guidance of faculty members and volunteer members of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Council of Legal Education student’s admission quota for BACOLAW is 50. We have been working toward approval to raise the quota to 100 or not less than 70 before next semester admission. We are expecting the accreditation visit of the Council of Legal Education in August 2021. We hope that after the visit our admission quota will be increased to 100 students.
What are the challenges currently been faced by the college?
When I arrived in BACOLAW in October 2017, I had all the things we have achieved so far, as listed earlier in mind. There are others, based on the discussions I had with His Excellency Judge Bola Ajibola, and what I understood his vision for the College and university to be. We are still struggling to achieve what I call real excellence in both academic education and morals.
We need staffing to the level that we can conveniently do that, and introduce postgraduate studies in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and make the College a major centre for studies in ADR. That is His Excellency’s number one dream for the College as he told me. To do that, we need to be able to offer the conditions of service that will attract and retain the appropriate academic and administrative staff. Other postgraduate courses that I have in mind are in the areas of Cyber Security Law, Artificial Intelligence Law, Information Communication Technology Law, International Law, and Islamic and Comparative Law studies. These courses will attract both Nigerian and foreign students and the university will earn good local and foreign currency revenue from building a very good academic faculty capable of offering world-class training at postgraduate level in those areas.
Furthermore, a faculty of the proprietor’s dream and BACOLAW’s vision and mission will be well placed to offer consultancy services to governments, private law firms and foreign lawyers dealing with Nigerian matters. So, the major challenge is being able to provide the environment for attracting and retaining the academic faculty that will make it possible for the College to achieve the dream of the proprietor and make the College a major Centre of Excellence in those specific areas and in the teaching of law generally.
Can you speak a bit on the college image outside?
We are doing all we can within the resources available to produce dedicated public service-oriented lawyers. Not the bread-and-butter lawyers. We are striving to produce smart solicitors and barristers with the ethics of the profession and legacies of the His Excellency Judge Bola Ajibola in mind always. We are determined to always prepare our students for research-based law practice and alternative dispute resolution techniques.
“We leave the society to do the assessment of our image or achievements”.
What is your advice for the current law students?
They should live and be seen to be living the values of the proprietor bearing in mind that the College will only recommend to the Nigerian Law School for admission, those of them who have been of good behavior, good in academics and considered to be fit and proper for admission for professional training to become legal practitioners.
What is your advice for the Alumni?
Our alumni should in their practice of law by guided by good conscience and the professional ethics of the legal profession. They should always remember their College, University and be active in both the College and the University alumni association.
. Is the proprietor’s image a blessing for the university or otherwise?
The proprietor’s impressively high image is a challenge for both the College and the University to aim at achieving excellence and perfection in academics, research, and moral standards. We all must bear that in mind and not seek to have a free ride on his wings.
What has the college gained for being named after Prince Bola Ajibola, a person of such stature?
The name attracts attention. The consequence of that is the expectation of excellence in legal education, ethics, and moral standard.
What is your vision for the college in the next five years?
I see growth in student intake at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels with the great expectation that the College will overcome all challenges and fulfil the vision of His Excellency Judge Bola Ajibola the proprietor.
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