KNOW YOUR LECTURERS SERIES; EP 1.

AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. S.O. Daudu.

Dr. Sunday Omokhudu Daudu is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Benin. He is currently the Staff Adviser. In this interview he shares some of his experiences as a student as well as academic tips.


Sir, what is your name?

Daudu Sunday Omokhudu Garvin.

Where did you study law?

I studied law at the Faculty of Law, University of Benin.

What year did you graduate?

I graduated in the year, 2008.
 
Why did you choose law, did you always feel you were going to be a lawyer?

Yes, of course, from the beginning. As I was leaving primary school to secondary school, there was a form given to students in JSS1 to fill. One of the entries was the profession you wanted to go into. At that stage, I knew I was going to study law when I was just in secondary school. So yes, I knew ab initio that I was going to study law.

Was it an easy journey to get admission?

For me, it was an easy journey. First, I wrote JAMB, and I didn’t score up to the cut-off mark. Then there was Diploma in Law, so I did not waste time. I bought the form for diploma in law. So I had to do Diploma in Law for 2 years, before I came in as a Direct Entry Student. And my direct entry was also seamless. I was the class representative at my Diploma Level which helped me gain admission at the Direct Entry. In fact, I can say categorically that I was the first student to be admitted from Diploma in my set.

Compare and contrast your experience in the faculty as a student and as a lecturer.

I will say Lecturers are now more friendly than before.  This easy communication with lecturers was not there. People looked at their Lecturers as demi-gods and you dare not walk into their offices just like that. So, this system is better and stronger than it was then. Even the assessments are more liberal than it was then, as more lecturers take a course unlike then when only one lecturer takes a course. The system is better now than it was then.

Students use a lot of techniques for recalling, which of them did you use to aid your studies?

I was very busy even as a full-time student. What aided me was that I made notes, my notes are still intact. I made notes and read only at night because I also worked. More often than not I had a synopsis, during exam all I had to do was a context reading. I think the best bet is consistency in   continually studying your notes. However intelligent you are, if you do not consistently study your notes, during examination it will be overwhelming.

Sir, I understand that you practice, which area of law do you specialize in?

The dominant area of law that runs through my mind is Labour Law-Employment Law, where you look at the procedure for the discipline of staff and what happens when the procedure is not followed. We also look at Negligence in labour practices. I am more into civil litigation than criminal litigation.

What are the courses you teach in the faculty?

Currently I teach Environmental law,  Nigeria Legal System and Administrative Law. My first book was on Criminal Law. It was authored in 2012 and it is titled Criminal Law in Nigeria, A Legal Approach, also co-authored by Professor Aigbokhaevbo and Professor Atsegbua.

As an examiner, how do you expect law students to answer your questions to get the maximum marks?

If you give me a page, it is immaterial whether all the ingredients are there, you can’t get the full marks. That’s for me, I don’t know about others. So, I want to see a verbose work. It shows that the person has mastery of the area; if you can leverage on the question and buttress your point with supporting case law and authorities. The danger is that when you mark, for instance a page, we are caught in the web as to whether it will be an over-bloated score. I would not want a page. Minimum of two and half pages; I like students who write as much as possible.
 

Are you on social media? And are you amenable to us sharing your social media handles?

Yes, I am on WhatsApp and Facebook, you can share my Facebook handle.

https://www.facebook.com/sunnygavin.daudu.5

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