Shoring up law education, the Bingham varsity example

Law library is at the heart of law education.
In this regard, KEHINDE OSASONA looks at the recent donation by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa state
Background Just when stakeholders in the legal firmament are advocating for state of emergency in legal education in the country, some concerned stakeholders are already intervening to save the prestigious ‘law profession’ from abyss of relegation in the comity of other esteemed professions.
Much has been said and written about the state of legal education in Nigeria.
This arises from the incompetence of new wigs, occasioned by insufficient or lack of quality law books and publications in some of the faculty of law libraries in the country.
to incessant mass failure of prospective lawyers as reeled out by the Nigerian Law School management over the past few years.
However, respite seems to be on the way, as stakeholders in the law profession and Ministry of Justice have intensified efforts towards equipping Nigeria’s law school’s faculty libraries.
The latest of this effort is the donation of law publications to Bingham University law students, the first of its kind to any institution in the country, which according to the donor, are scholarly materials which the university would find useful in the course of enhancing legal education in the country citadels of learning.
Not only that, it is also believed in some quarters that the gesture would also afford the beneficiary institution’s law librarian the opportunity to offer some specialised services apart from the regular reader services, to individual and group.
More importantly, legal materials, according to legal experts, do assist judicial officers, members of the bar and their clients, law ministries, police stations and other law related bodies in carrying out their legal functions effectively and in the most efficient way.
From stakeholders’ viewpoint Handing over the materials, the Deputy Director, Library and Information Services, Dr.
Bayo Fanimehin, while emphasising the significance of the gesture said, “this gesture is a cumulative effect of the request from Bingham University to support in the area of publication to the newly established Law Faculty of the University, and this thing started some few months ago.
“When the request came to the ministry, it was forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation and the Honourable Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami who graciously and expeditiously approved that the publication be given to the university.” He said the ministry’s library which is poised to support non-reform sector in the country, went ahead to source for legal information for the university.
Some of the books, Fanimehin said, include; the all Nigeria Law Reports 1989, Vol 1 part 1 (Five cartons), International finance and external debt management publications, (1 carton), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, Abuja 1990 (7 cartons), Justice Journal (10 Cartons), Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (8 Cartons), the laws of the Federation of Nigeria (2 Cartons).
“I like to commend the Attorney General of the Federation for this kind gesture to the university, because this is the first time that the ministry would be donating legal publications to institutions in Nigeria; the type that are scholarly materials that the University would find very useful.” The intervention Explaining reason for the gesture, the Attorney –General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, represented by Director Legal Drafting, Mamman Hamza Tahir, further said, “it should be noted that this occasion is only a witness to testify that the Federal Ministry of Justice believes in continuing legal education which also happens to be part of its mandate.
“And we think it is our social responsibility also to contribute to the development of any law faculty in Nigeria, and to assist in donating legal publications to enhance and promote continuing legal education.
“You can see that gold we don’t have, but the little we have in terms of legal education, we are always ready to share in order to promote legal education.
“So, we are optimistic that these materials would assist the faculty in developing legal education in whatever areas, and also enhance the quality of law degrees you intend to award at the end of the course period,” Varsity lauds gesture Responding, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Bingham University, Professor Adenaye Alexander, who stood in for the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof William B Quirix, who was unavoidably absent at the occasion thanked the federal government for the warm gesture.
The DVC said: “I want to, on behalf of Prof William Quirix who is unavoidably absent, appreciate this kind gesture being the first university in the country to benefit from such.” While disclosing that the university is 30-year-old, but just got a law faculty last year.
He said, “over the years, we have graduated students from the Medicine, Biochemistry and other departments.
We have excelled in Tuberculosis and HIV research over the years.
“In the same vein, in the area of computer, we also won an award from the West Africans College of Computers in teaching and research.
So, last year by the grace of God, as an acting Vice Chancellor, I started the Faculty of Law and today, either by coincidence or arrangement, we are receiving a huge donation of law publications to stock our library.
“When the law faculty was first established, we look forward to having a law faculty that would be first among equal, but we did not know how to go about it.
But today, I am very confident that we shall achieve that feat in the very near future.
“I know if you don’t have certain number of books in quality and quantity, you cannot get the accreditation.
Indeed it is a matter of concern on how to furnish our library, hence today we are greatly encouraged.
“These donations are priceless contributions to legal education, especially to Bingham University Karu.
I am aware that legal books are very expensive and also know that the Council on Legal education and the National University Commission lays so much emphasis on law books.” Nevertheless, stakeholders in the legal profession are of the views that as a way of enriching law faculty in the country, law lecturers should be encouraged to have mixed degrees and training outside the country in order to enhance quality of teaching and thus make the profession attractive.
Not only that, it is expected that the facilities on ground and the quality of legal research should be muster to increase level of competence and delivery thereafter as a practicing lawyer or judge as the case may be.