3 SKILLS LAW SCHOOL DOESN'T TEACH YOU

The best students in school don't necessarily turn out the best lawyers.While academic excellence rests almost entirely on the time and devotion to studies,success in the real world is for those that best apply skills that are acquired in the natural course of practice.Those skills for emphasis,are almost never taught in schools.Lets walk through 3 things every lawyer should know that aren't taught in law school.

RESCUE YOUR WITNESS ALWAYS.ITS A BUSINESS STRATEGY TOO

You give your witnesses a pep talk and prepare them for their testimonies but the real job starts when he is on the stand.The most undesirable moment for an advocate is when his witness loses composure as a result of lawyers trying very hard with their questions to make the impossible possible.It is the responsibility of a wise counsel at this point to object not because a ground arose,but to enable his witness gain back his footing.Go as hard as possible.Asides buying time,it is a psychological booster for the witness to know you are in it with him and haven't abandoned him.The lawyer is trained to remain calm as long as the line of questioning isn't doing any real damage to that paragraph of the final address he has in mind but then one has to balance that with the need to keep his side motivated.Ultimately the lay man may not understand that no harm was done to his case,all he knows is that he or his witness were being hit hard with questions while the lawyer just sat there and did nothing.Even if you end up winning the case,he may attribute it to luck and search for a 'better' lawyer next time.

DON'T BE CAUGHT IN JUDGE'S CROSS HAIRS.BE ARMED ALWAYS

There are basically 3 types of judges when they get stuck in court-First,the ones that listen to submissions of counsel to see which is more persuasive,then the ones that shove pride aside and adjourn to research and rule.Thirdly,the ones who never accept they don't know and proceed to scrape out a ruling; valid or not.No matter how sure you are of the position of the law on whatever is in dispute,you won't make any head way with category 1 and 3 unless you have full case citations in court.Otherwise,you have to take whatever is given to you.Most judges in that position are more inclined to tilt towards the position of a 'Supreme Court' authority or at the very least,thread more carefully.Yes,there are bound to be impossible situations.Like i remember once being asked by a magistrate to supply an authority on why there cannot be a reply on points of law to a reply on points of law after an application and objection.Its so elementary its a no-win there and then but it really won't hurt to always have a collection of authorities close by on as many issues as you can.It could be at the back of your diary,in a jotter or book.No matter how long you don't get to use it for,it is the right play and you will need it some day.

NETWORK...MINGLE & TINGLE

If you are a young lawyer whether with your own firm or not,It is not just enough to be good.You have to 'network'; build and cultivate relationships with your seniors and peers to adapt to these times.Lawyers don't set up shop and wait for customers to stroll in,the most connected reap the most fruits.In this age of social media,a lot get to actively campaign for NBA candidates not necessarily because they believe they have what it takes to lead but because they are looking to establish and manage relationships not just with the candidate himself but with other 'chairmen' on the same ship.The best at doing this establish life long relationships while the lesser skilled part ways with maybe a N2M-N3M 'deed of assignment' runs.Think how much even the impatient learner can get from 4 or 5 'Anything For Your Boy,Sir?' arrangements in 1 year.Maybe enough to even start a side hustle.If you are a private lawyer,the value of social relationships cannot be over-emphasized.Mingle,tingle and bingo!.

TOP 20 SONGS & 5 ALBUMS OF 2020

1.WETTIN DEY SUP-BURNA BOY

2.ENJOY YOURSELF REMIX-POP SMOKE FEAT BURNA BOY

3.SHI GEGE-JHYBO

4.AMAZING GRACE-DA BABY

5.20.10.20-BURNA BOY

6.FAVORITE B**CH-EMINEM

7.BOP DADDY-FALZ / GUGUDEMAP-DREMO FEAT SINZU,LIL FROSH,IDOWEST & KNUCKLEZ

8.YOU-OMAH LAY

9.STFU-DREMO 

10.SUZANNA-SAUTI SOL

11.IN TOO DEEP-EMINEM

12.SOMETHING LIKE THIS-SOUND SULTAN / SLOW BURNER-LARRY GAAGA FEAT JOEBOY

13.THERE THEY GO-NASTY C

14.IMPERFECTIONS-POP SMOKE

15.BROKE OR NOT-DAVE EAST

16.GOD ONLY KNOWS-FIREBOY

17.MOVE-STEFFLON DON / 40 DOLLAZZZ-B.O.B

18.BARAWO-AJEBO HUSTLERS 

19.DAMN-OMAH LAY

20.FAAJI-DREMO FEAT YCEE & SINZU

TOP 5 ALBUMS OF 2020

1.BLAME IT ON BABY-DA BABY

2.SHOOT FOR THE STARS,AIM FOR THE MOON-POP SMOKE

3.THREE-PATORANKING

4.CODENAME VOL.2-DREMO

5.KARMA 3-DAVE EAST

TOP 10 SONGS & TOP 3 ALBUMS OF LAST QUARTER 2020

1.20.10.20-BURNA BOY

2.FAVORITE B**CH-EMINEM FEAT TY DOLLA $IGN

3.4O DOLLAZZZ-B.O.B

4.MOVE-STEFFLON DON

5.PUTTIN-TEKNO / I WANNA LIVE-KODAK BLACK

6.DOUBTING THOMAS-LARRY GAAGA FEAT UMU IBILIGBO & DAVIDO

7.WHERE I BELONG-BUSTA RHYMES FEAT MARIAH CAREY / IN THE MORNING-JENNIFER LOPEZ 

8.LEGEND-JOYNER LUCAS FEAT RICK ROSS

9.DOINGS-FLAVOUR FEAT PHYNO / AFTER HOURZZZ-B.O.B

10.STAND UP REMIX-JADAKISS × FABOLOUS / REMEMBER THE TIMES-KODAK BLACK

TOP 3 ALBUMS

1.PLUTO x BABY PLUTO-FUTURE & LIL UZI VERT

2.BILL ISRAEL-KODAK BLACK

3.SO HELP ME GOD-2CHAINZ / COLOURS & SOUNDS-NINIOLA

SHAMELESS HOUSE OF BUHARI

When the House of Representatives summoned President Buhari over the recent killing of over 100 farmers in Zabarmari,Borno state by boko haram,no one fully aware of what is happening in this country expected him to appear.The President's handlers will not allow him take unscripted questions except it is absolutely necessary.Asides the fact that this administration's inability to protect nigerians is irrefutable and that the President's ability to intelligently weave through questions is doubtful,Buhari has displayed a high propensity whether as a result of mental infirmity or not,to digress from questions he is being asked to matters totally unrelated to them.

There is the UN General Assembly question on nigerian youths where he pulled out a written speech to speak about climate change and the DW interview where he was asked about his proposed fight on corruption and he responded with some talk about oil companies in an unrelated context.There is also the NTA special interview where he was asked 'Who Is Muhammadu Buhari' and he started blabbing about teachers.Nigerians deserve answers as to why the President would admit his service chiefs were not doing enough after 5 years and still retain those very same men despite the killing of innocent nigerians at an unprecedented rate.

For emphasis,nigerians don't expect Buhari to subject himself to questions because he has failed indefensibly.That they have sat down and tolerated the worst government in the history of this country doesn't however mean that they should be made fools.It was with utter disgust they had to watch the Speaker of the House of Representatives,Femi Gbajabiamila go to the villa to 'water the ground' for Buhari's appearance before the House and emerge to tell press men that Buhari will address the house.Since when does the House of Representatives summon people to 'address' it?.

The legislature as an arm supposed to act as a check on the executive and safeguard a democracy,doesn't invite whomsoever they are dissatisfied with to come and read from a piece of paper or reel out some rehearsed words,their appearance is demanded (the failure to comply which necessitates an arrest warrant) to come and clarify as to a certain situation.They are asked questions and they respond.No one summoned has ever appeared before the House to 'address' it.

While it is no secret the leaders of the National Assembly were picked to enable the executive have its way,the manner in which Gbajabiamila in particular has conducted himself is disgraceful.Under him,a petition was sent to Buhari over the refusal of the CBN Governor,Godwin Emefiele,the MD of the NPA,Hadiza Bala Usman,the GMD of the NNPC, Mele Kyari and the DG of the Bureau for Public Enterprises,Alex Okoh to appear and defend allegations of financial irregularities.The constitution clearly states in Section 89 (1) (d) that any arm of the national assembly whose summons to appear is disobeyed without that person adducing a reasonable excuse as to why he couldn't come,should be compelled to do so via an arrest warrant with that same person covering all expenses incurred in effecting that arrest.

The above-named persons ignored the house and instead of their arrest as stipulated by law,a letter to Buhari was what was deemed appropriate.And now that Buhari himself has been summoned,with no shame at all,Gbajabiamila went to beg him to appear.We have learnt to live with a lot and even though no one expects the nigerian police to arrest the President as the constitution provides (note that his immunity extends only to prosecution),it is appalling to have to plead with him and come out all smiles to tell the world he has agreed to 'address' the house.

The shameful antics of Gbajabiamila's house shouldn't suprise anyone but this is a very sensitive matter we are talking about-the loss of innocent nigerian lives to terrorists our troops are actively fighting and which the President has released over 2000 of with none charged to court.People are dying every day.If they aren't dying in Borno,they are dying in Katsina,Zamfara or Kaduna.Any politician with a little class even if he shares the same bed room with the President,would worry about the possible implications of licking his boots in public when a matter this sensitive comes up.

You can't disagree with anyone as the #EndSARS protests have proven,who says if these killings were going on in the South,they would have stood up to government by now.Buhari who annointed him speaker will leave in about 2 years and if he places him above anything else,he will go back to Lagos and never return to Abuja.

Nigerians have had to endure the very shameless cessation of all probes till after their vacation and the fact that no mention has been made of them after over 2 months of resumption.There is honour even among thieves and a consensus has been reached to desist from embarrassing fellow 'comrades' in government.The South South is a quite bullish lot and once the NNDC probe started to create the impression the region was the only one looting this nation,you knew they would want the picture to depict the true state of affairs and in no time,the House minority leader,Hon.Ndudi Elumelu raised the issue of N100bn embezzlement at the North East Development Commission.

The majority leader of the House,Hon.Alhassan Doguwa from Kano subsequently issued a statement saying all probes will be suspended till they were back from break.Whatever financial irregularities Emefiele,Hadiza Usman,Mele Kyari et al need to come and clarify can be waved aside,the House of Representatives has 'offed the mic' and has pretended not to even notice so while wishing it all out of the consciousness of nigerians.

They at least owe us all the decency to treat issues relating to the loss of lives without insulting our collective intelligence.

FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME, WHO REALLY KILLED ALEX BADEH & WHY ARE HIS ALLEGED KILLERS NOT IN COURT?.

From as 'early' as 6 months after the death of immediate past Chief of Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh it was obvious something wasn't right and this is the 3rd time in 2 years i am writing to ask this question-'WHO REALLY KILLED ALEX BADEH & WHY ARE HIS ALLEGED KILLERS NOT IN COURT?.Whether or not Badeh was murdered to prevent him from disclosing the alleged shady dealings of Current Chief of Army Staff, Gen.Tukur Buratai who before becoming COAS had already bought 2 houses in Dubai while Jonathan was President or whether or not he was fed to President Buhari's alleged fulani militia,one thing is clear-Badeh died in highly suspicious circumstances.

The Police on the 27th of December 2018 said it had arrested persons in connection to the killing it didn't want to parade because it could alert the other members of the gang.Later that very same day,a video confession of one of the 5 suspects in custody surfaced.He said they waylaid Badeh on the highway,shot him and took money they had already been told he was going to purchase a new farmland with in Nassarawa.The Badeh family instantly dismissed it as a charade.They said Badeh's bank accounts had all been frozen and that his entitlements had also been stopped.His house in Abuja was littered with trash because he didn't even have money to pay the refuse company.

They went further to say someone asked him for money at his farm to buy drugs and he told the person to take some maize and sell because he was broke.That was 2 years ago.The Buhari administration has blatantly refused to prosecute those it arrested for his murder.What are they hiding?.A day after my first article asking questions was published,another new 14 persons were paraded by the Military as having being arrested in a joint operation with the DSS.They had placed an 'ongoing investigations' sign on the case to buy time but what is really complicated about a case where a suspect voluntarily confessed to killing the victim with a blow by blow account of the roles other named accomplices played?.Except of course they want the matter forgotten over time.

The noise made a while ago about prosecuting his security details and how obtaining their statements wasn't easy was a shabby attempt at evading the real issue; the self-confessed killers in custody.We were told when Badeh was killed that a friend riding with him was taken away by the killers and that he was released only after a ransom was paid.The suspect that spoke never admitted to doing that with his gang and till date,that friend hasn't been identified by anyone.

The Buhari administration has a history of protecting allies it has sacrificed.Notably Lawal Daura, the President's townsman and former DSS boss who was made the scapegoat for the invasion of the National Assembly by the DSS after foreign countries besieged  the villa with calls and visits by their ambassadors to enquire if all was well.Daura had blocked the entrance to the houses of Former Senate President,Bukola Saraki and his deputy,Sen.Ike Ekweremadu just weeks earlier so the Presidency couldn't claim to be unaware of his excesses.Daura was not prosecuted and is rumoured as at this time to have moved overseas.

Then there is also the case of the first lady,Aisha Buhari's former Aide-De-Camp,ASP Sani Baba-Inna who was arrested for fraudulently obtaining N2.5bn from undisclosed persons in her name.Most people said the money was hers and that he may have been punished for getting too greedy.That much was corroborated by Baba-Inna's family members when they met with frontline activist,Deji Adeyanju.They said Baba-Inna's greed got him into trouble and that they know he even bought a house for one of her daughters in Abuja.Its been over 2 years now and nobody from the presidency or the police has told us why Baba-Inna wasn't charged to court.There he will state his version of events and they don't want that.

The fact that a bunch of miscreants are being shielded from prosecution despite having confessed to killing an immediate past Chief of Defense Staff all but says the very powers that be are involved.As a former military man himself,Buhari ordinarily wouldn't risk the stigma amongst the military community (past and present) refusing to prosecute confessed killers of a former Chief of Defense Staff could occasion.Except of course,he knows more about the Badeh killing than his people have been made to tell us.For the third time in 2 years,WHO REALLY KILLED ALEX BADEH AND WHY ARE HIS ALLEGED KILLERS NOT IN COURT?.

LIKE YUSUF,LIKE GANA: THE LESSON WE HAVEN'T LEARNT

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it"-George Santayana

The killing of notorious Benue bandit, Terwase Akwaza alias Gana hasn't drawn much sympathy.No one expected it to.However an article in last Saturday's Vanguard Newspaper which quoted sources as saying he told his foot soldiers to stay in the forest and avenge him if he is killed further justifies the one fear most people had when details of how he died became public; the fear of having to deal with another boko haram situation.The military is saying it won't expantiate on its position that he was killed in a shoot-out with soldiers because it doesn't want to join issues with its 'political masters'.

The 'political masters' themselves have not ordered a probe and seem content with just saying he was being brought to the government house to surrender as part of an amnesty programme when the army intercepted the convoy and took him away.This is the boko haram saga replaying itself from the very beginning.

Boko haram started off as a small sect no one knew outside Borno.According to early reports,its members had an altercation with the police that led to the killing of some of them.

They mobilized and started attacking police installations in Bauchi until the authorities launched a full blown offensive that led to the capture of its founder,Mohammed Yusuf who was caught hiding in his in-law's house.The military say they arrested and handed him over to the police who summarily executed him.The sect was in bed with just a few Borno politicians then, the most prominent of them,Governor Ali Modu Sheriff's former commissioner of religious affairs,Alhaji Baba Fui who was also killed.Those politicians were their first source of funding till others keyed into their quest for vengeance and a subsequent islamization agenda for their selfish interests.

Like Yusuf, Gana was also in bed with politicians from his state.Reports have him as saying the only reason he agreed to any amnesty deal is because former Benue governor and serving senator,Gabriel Suswam was part of the arrangement.He is widely believed to be a classic case of what happens after politicians arm thugs to help them win elections.Particularly noteworthy is the fact that in addition to an existing structure with experience in perpetrating mayhem,they have a base in a forest along the Sankera axis of Benue state.It won't require as much effort as boko haram had to devote in its early days to constitute a grave threat.

It is very important that Governor Ortom not only reaches out and wins over Gana's associates in the best interest of his people,he also needs to set up a panel of enquiry.He has to do more than just saying 'I am shocked' and 'all i know is the army took him'.Even if just for the optics because if God forbid a crisis erupts,he will be an easy scapegoat.A proactive President would have long ordered a probe but by now,i don't think there is anyone who expects Buhari to be that reasonable no matter the gravity of implications in play.

Benue lives are at stake and it is important Ortom acts like a leader.He of all people should know we have a President who isn't at all bothered about trying to please nigerians.People in his home state had to protest on the streets before a joint security task force was constituted countless human lives after.A word is enough for the wise.

GHANA: NIGERIA'S FOREIGN POLICY IS NOT WEAK, IT IS NON-EXISTENT

Famed journalist, Dele Momodu told The Punch in an interview published in Sunday's edition of the paper, that Nigeria's foreign policy was at its weakest ever and that President Buhari needs to practice diplomacy of reciprocity otherwise countries will exploit that weakness.Foreign policy in a few words is the sum total of measures put in place by a nation to promote and safeguard its interests in interactions with other nations.

To put it very simply,Nigeria has no foreign policy under Buhari.It just lives every day as it comes.Urging Buhari to employ a diplomacy of reciprocity against nations like Ghana as Mr Momodu did is with all due respect to him, most laughable.Ghanaians are locking down nigerian shops and asking for $1 million levies,how many Ghanaian businesses are here for Buhari to reciprocate that?.

To make demands and ensure compliance,one has to have leverage.Nations that weren't gaining much from us respected the fact that we had superior clout with the big nations overseas but we have to face the reality on ground today which is that we have been a global laughing stock since Buhari came on board.He was in South Africa saying he was proud of Nigerians making positive and NEGATIVE impact across the globe just weeks after being sworn in and a while later,he was in the UK saying our reputation for crime has made us unwelcome in the country.

There were a lot of nigerian criminals abroad under previous governments but those Presidents chose not to amplify that because they understood the weight portrayal carried.They had only encouraging things to say because they had focus on foreign aid and investment.The issue of foreign investment was a potent tool for the Jonathan administration.

When the South African government deported 125 nigerians for not having yellow fever certificates,he reciprocated by sending 85 South African nationals back to their country.An apology came within a week with a firm promise to adjust their immigration policies.Nigeria was the biggest market for some prominent South African corporations and Jonathan had leverage because he did not impose hefty fines for infractions by MTN et al neither did he try to drown them in taxes.They took us very seriously and responded appropriately when xenophobic killings became global knowledge.

What measure of reciprocity can Buhari effectively use against a country like Ghana?.The FG itself said they deported 825 Nigerians from 2018-2019 alone and it was in the news months ago that they had to intercede to save 39 arrested for entering the country illegally.Are there any Ghanaians trying to move to Nigeria?.That is a country that paid electricity bills for the entire period of their lockdown and has now extended the gesture to 2021.They also paid the water bills for everyone during the lockdown and for an extra 3 months after.There are so many nigerian businesses in Ghana,they can't stop thinking about what Ghanaians will gain when they are shut down.There is just no way we can hit back as hard as they have hit us.

Our economy is in a free fall and bilateral agreements are not as common a sight as they used to be despite Buhari's record-setting foreign trips.The famed number one military in Africa were shit on by Chad when they shot a video of troops led by their President waiting for our soldiers to come and reclaim our territories.The Chadians have every reason to not disclose their mission to us based on very obvious suspicions.Our President releases the terrorists they are fighting and even sends a military aircraft to bring them back from other countries.

The whole world was watching and applauding their offensive and instead of Big Brother Nigeria to save face by calling to make enquires as to how we can co-ordinate to ensure boko haram has no hiding place,we sat and acted like nothing was happening.The closest thing to an acknowledgment was a denial by our military that the Chadians were waiting for us to reclaim our territories.The Chadian President was so annoyed,he vowed never to let any of his soldiers fight outside Chad; a very hot slap on our face.We have condescended to being ridiculed by a country like Chad.

Foreign policy under Buhari (if at all you can call it that) is in tatters.The question on the role of youths he messed up at the 74th United Nations General Assembly was perhaps necessitated by his 'some lazy youths' comment.Reading out a prepared speech on weather climate in response to that question may just have been what saved him from embarrassing us further.

As far as international relations go,we are in a deep mess.What reciprocity and against who?.The same ECOWAS countries that now borrow us grains to feed?.