Former Director-General of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi, has advised the federal Government of Nigeria to scrap the law school, saying that the institution has outlived its usefulness.
Dr. Sam Amadi gave the advice on Friday.
He disclosed that the law school is designed to provide technical practical education to law students, therefore, asked if the institution is providing that practical education.
Dr. Amadi enjoined the Federal Government to allow those who want to practice law to go and do some crash courses in the universities to get qualified as lawyers.
According to him, “So, I think that we need to rethink the whole framework of Nigeria. In my view, the law school is failing. It is no longer serving its purpose. The law school is designed to provide technical practical education. So the question I ask is: what are they providing? My view is that purpose is best served at law firms.
“Many lawyers who go to law school do not practice. Some of them go into journalism, and broadcasting, or they go and teach in the University. So I would like us to strengthen the university education for lawyers in order for them to have a broad analytical competency.
“In the United States, when you finish your legal education in the university, you do a quick exam for a call as a lawyer. Here, we can license our universities to take three to six months of special rush courses for our law students to qualify to practice. After that, they go to the chambers where they learn real practice. The only way one can get pupilage is in a law firm.
“What is the law school providing for our young graduates? The law school is not rigorous, either academic or practical. So my view is, we must focus on universities to give robust academic training. Those who want to practice law should go and do some crash courses in the universities to get qualified as lawyers. Then they go to law firms or corporate places to learn corporate law or legal practice,” Dr. Sam Amadi said.
