Bwari, is the town on the outskirts of Abuja and Niger state where one of the Law School branches is situated. As Bar Part 1, the compulsory 3 month acclimatisation period for those whose Law degrees were earned outside the Nigerian jurisdiction recently begun, we consulted one of the prospective Lawyers to keep a diary of their experience. The first volume lies below;
The Law School experience begins as soon as you see a billboard promoting Bwari tourism. Not only is it an oxymoron but is also a laugh out loud kind of situation. So it should not surprise you that I reread it to make sure I was not imagining things. From my research on Bwari (which was mostly just been asking friends who had gone through Law School already) was that there was nothing in Bwari but Lovito’s and the Mami Market. These two places will quickly become EVERYTHING but anyway I digress.
When you come for registration, unless law school has put on their website that they have changed their registration process. Do not I repeat DO NOT go on the first day. Not only will you hate your life but your time will be wasted. You will sweat and shout and push and shove because people do not respect queues. It will be the ultimate ‘welcome back’ experience. You will have so many other frustrating experiences so don’t waste it on this. I know people who had to register over two or three days. This is not the time to be an Efiko. You have been warned.
Coming two or three days late will allow for the madness to go down and what will take you two or three days will only take two or three hours. The registration process feels almost like a treasure hunt. It goes a little like this after admissions you go to accounts, then the Mami market to photocopy, then back to admissions and only once you have completed this can you collect your reward at the clinic.
In general, the people make the experience where ever you go. So after much consideration I dedicated my first week to making sure that I met as many people as possible.
My first night, I planned to unpack my suitcase and sleep and just mentally prepare myself for this nightmare. You will be happy to know I did no such thing. I put my social shoes on and made my way to Lovito’s because you should never say no to turn up. From the night out I realized two things. One, that we had a lot of good looking girls in this batch. If I came here with the mind set to find my future husband ( cos you know Bar Part 1= eHarmony) I really had to step my game up. Two, that the girl to guy ratio sucks, it’s basically 60/40 and the guys out here aren’t as cute as the girls. There goes any hope of finding bae. No, but seriously in the last few days I have had a lot of fun. I have laughed, I have cried from laughing. I have made friends very easily. I’m surprised by how easy it was for me to click with people.
With all that being said, bar part 1 is not the time to be rebellious. Please and please follow the rules and just go under the radar.
The dress code is simple. For Guys, please wear suits, and make sure all your ties are black and simple. Don’t underestimate the power of a suit that fits.
For girls, black dresses below the knew. White shirts, tanks tops with a black blazer and black skirts below your knee. Save the mini skirts for Lovito’s. It’s not worth being sent back to change. They inspect you everyday before you enter and yes they will send you back to change. No point in doing the journey of the Israelites twice.
Lastly, you can’t have a bunch of good looking kids in their prime stashed away in the village with nothing but Lovito’s and not expect some hanky panky. It’s only been a week and we can already see signs of hanky panky. I just pray that the gives don’t mess with the banter. So when you do come to law school and decide to give, please make sure y’all stay cordial after. No point in ruining the group dynamics. If you have a relationship before law school, you might want to have a serious talk because the temptation out here is real.