ASUU Strike: Bishop tasks FG on speedy resolution

As Foundation Mentors Law Students
The Diocesan Bishop of Ijesa North Diocese of the Anglican Church, Rt. Rev. Isaac Oluyamo, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to ensure speedy resolutions of its negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) so as to allow students resume their academic activities without further delay.

This was even as the Justice Innocent Umezulike Foundation has held a virtual internship and mentorship programme for law students affected by the strike.

The cleric, who spoke in Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, at an event to mark his seventh anniversary as the Bishop of the Diocese, said the affected students have spent too much time at home doing nothing, adding that their continuous idleness could lead them into vices.

Oluyamo, who also commissioned a 300kva transformer and a road constructed by the Church along Rehoboth at the Diocesan Headquarters as part of the event, urged Nigerians to pray and allow for a peaceful transition in 2023, noting that no meaningful development could take place in an atmosphere of rancour.

“As we continue our service to God and humanity, we appeal for prayers for our nation Nigeria; for peace and peaceful transition of the Buhari administration. We can’t afford to let our great nation be divided through politics. We must not let ourselves down in this period because it’s a very sensitive time for our nation.

“We appeal to the Federal Government to see to the needs of ASUU so that students can resume academic activities without further delay. These students have stayed for too long at home. I urge both the Federal Government and leadership of ASUU to meet at a roundtable and resolve the issue in the interest of our future generation,” he said.

The internship programme was implemented by imparting core professional ethics and academic values on the students. According to the foundation’s Head of Legal and Research, Rachael Obodo-Obunseli, the virtual mentorship/internship programme kicked off on May 11, 2022.

Seasoned legal practitioner and immediate past National Assistant Publicity Secretary of the NBA, Akorede Habeeb Lawal Esq. served as the guest lecturer and delivered training on ‘Understanding Facts and Principles of Law: The Law Students Perspective’.
  
In the following weeks, an international legal practitioner licenced in Nigeria and the New York Bar, Benigna Ejimba Esq. lectured the students on ‘Essentials of Law Undergraduate and Bar Finals Examinations’. The guest lecturer taught the students how to approach exam questions, the nitty-gritty of legal research and its importance in legal practice, particularly paying attention to ‘Etiquettes and Essentials of Rules of Professional Conduct’.

It exposed the students to the basic pros and cons of becoming a new lawyer and the options available to them in legal practice.

Earlier discussed during the session were some excerpts from the book ‘The New Wigs and The Challenges of Legal Practice in Nigeria’ written by Justice Umezulike.

An award ceremony/graduation also held virtually on May 31, 2022, to celebrate all successful participants. Special prizes were awarded to some exceptional interns. As a main event, a first of a kind virtual Moot Court Competition featured four qualified law faculties across Nigerian universities with current serving judges presiding the proceedings.