Unilorin Law Graduate And The Impact Of A Pragmatic Institution

I congratulate UNILORIN on producing a lawyer that started her 'practice' at and with "call to bar". The JAMB registrar who was one time VC of the same University is making a lot of difference with remittances to FG account. Although I am on the side of ASUU in line with the principle of objective bias (which many find difficult to understand), the posture of UNILORIN in the long industrial tussle that is still alive is admirable. I always recommend UNILORIN to people who can't afford postgraduate studies overseas because of the good system that exists there based on reliable information/insights from students and staff of the University. The epithet "Better by Far" has been justified to me in different ways than can be listed here -my HR manager is a product of the University and I like his unique work style; the best private tutor for my children so far attended the same University.

As an individual, institution or society, one stands to gain very little by following the crowd. The crave for excellence is best achieved by thinking differently and being different in as much as public interest and the basic comfort of other individual entities is not disturbed. I feel the uniqueness of UNILORIN may not be unconnected with corresponding uniqueness of Ilorin as a city and Kwara as a state: one place in Nigeria that is an amalgam of Yoruba and Fulani identity; north and south characteristics without bias to the traditional regional categorisation as well as Islamic and Christian faiths. And they are all living peacefully. Ilorin as a nighmare of OPC was one conclusion I draw from my Ph.D research on the narrative of violent conflicts in Nigeria. A town/city that's an epitome of passive resistance!
I decided to be different in this update by refusing to mention the names of individuals -not even the lawyer involved. This was informed by observing a trend I consider ugly of focussing on events as if they are happening outside cultural and historical contexts. The interplay of cause and effect is very dominant in the physical and social world we live but we are bound to miss it with narrow contextual considerations. And this comes with a lot of social cost.

In a desperate context where people embark on blind pursuit of opportunities (of qualification and job), it calls for celebration to see one person ready to sacrifice the much awaited "call to bar" in order to serve her faith-based convictions. With benefits of hindsight, I wonder wether all the Muslim graduates of law from the Muslim north that pass through the Law School, including our Usmanu Danfodiyo University (named after the great Islamic reformist), didn't have as much conviction to make a case for hijab in the Law School.

As a pragmatic individual, I believe in exigencies -one of the angles some Muslims take to justify 'dehijabisation' in law school and related contexts. However, contingency should be what it is -a temporary situation that is expected to give way for the ideal to prevail. While the case at hand is contingent for individual law students, it is not for the Muslims in Nigeria for whom hijab is a core aspect of the faith.

Myself and select NYSC members should have been in the limelight some years back on hijab issues in Taraba state. The wisdom of the Camp Director (from Kwara State I understand) in negotiating the case between us and the Camp Commandant from Darazo in Bauchi State was spectacular. My argument then is still relevant in the case at hand: we cannot insist that all Muslim ladies should use hijab; but those Muslim ladies who believe in using it should not be denied by any law or practice.

This is a belief that emanates from a lay appreciation of the Nigeria's constitution that sanctions freedom of religion. Beside, such freedom is a global trend as we see images of Muslim women in hijab from the U.S security service system.

To conclude, I am pleased to stand with the Law School person at the centre of this discourse. I also would like to highlight that her stand is an expression of functional education that we aspire to have in large scale -education that breeds confident personalities that can stand up for their rights even in the most complex of contexts.

By Dr. Mikail Barau