Former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has revealed why his late father wanted him to become a lawyer.
The former Minister of Transportation who acquired his law degree at the age of 57, revealed that he would go a step further by going into law School to be called to bar.
Amaechi also disclosed that he had no intention of practicing law, even as he said he had started a Masters programme in Corporate and Company Law at Kings College, London.
The frontline politician told Vanguard in an interview that contrary to claims in some quarters that he bought the Law degree certificate, he actually worked hard for it.
The chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said throughout the duration of the programme, he was dedicated to his studies, even as a minister.
Amaechi further noted that he was always ahead of lecturers and students in punctuality, a development he disclosed made the Baze University to present him award for diligence and punctuality.
His words: “Going back to obtain a Law degree at 57 is normal. I should have graduated a long time ago. When I hear people say I bought a degree, I just laugh. I laugh because until I started campaigning for presidency, I never missed a class.
”So for three years and six months, I never missed a class. And I came before all the lecturers and I came before all the students.
“The school gave me award for being diligent and punctual. I never failed any course work. But that’s not important, what is important is that I wrote all my course work in person, so they can’t say lecturers gave me pass marks.
”In Baze University, we don’t write matriculation number or our names. They give you a barcode which you place on the answer sheet. So when the teachers mark, they mark what is called blind marking and they can’t take it home.
”They mark there in the school. If they can’t finish, they leave it there and come back the next day. When they come the next day, they continue. And as they are marking, they mark with barcode so they don’t know the name of the person or the matriculation number and I don’t think they are handwriting experts.
”Let me give you an instance. I scored 69 per cent in Jurisprudence which was a B grade. The person who taught me Jurisprudence was my supervisor in my long essay, I’m sure if he had known that it was me, he would have added me one percent to make it 70.
”The whole faculty was like “oh, no, he should have added you one percent to make it 70t.”
On his inspiration to pursue the course, Amaechi explained: “First and foremost, it was to fulfill my father’s wish that I read Law. At least, I have satisfied his wish and he would have been happy if he was alive.
“He was in love with the work of Rotimi Williams who was one of the best lawyers then and felt I should be like him.
“When I got the admission, I started asking myself how would I cope with my work. I would go to school as early as 8am and report to work by 6pm. I would work from 6pm to 11 pm and sometimes 11:30pm then I go home. I did that on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wednesdays were cabinet meetings. I worked Wednesdays and Fridays. “
