Now, I’m fulfilled —69 years old law graduate

Madam Victoria Fagbohun has deep passion for the law profession right from her secondary school days.

Unfortunately, her dream did not materialise until seven years ago when she explored the open and distance learning education provided by the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

“I read about NOUN and its operations in a newspaper and I took the advantage of its flexible programme to register for law since I met the admission requirement for the course,” Madam Faghohun recalled.

Before then, the mother of four who resigned voluntarily according to her at the age of 33 from Ibadan office of the Post and Telecommunications (P&T) where she had worked for many years till 1979 had the Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Business Administration.

She obtained the certificate 10 years earlier from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State.

That is not all her academic credentials as she told National Mirror that she also had certificates in some short-time courses she did while abroad. Now, Madam Fagbohun from Ekiti State has completed her law degree programme at NOUN.

She studied at Akure Centre of the university and graduated with second class lower division. She was among the over 7,000 who graduated recently from the university.

At the institution’s convocation ceremony in Lagos where National Mirror spotted her, she dressed in grey colour gown just like her mates and intermittently beaming with smiles.

She told National Mirror how she was able to cope with the programme despite her age and for the fact that she had been out of school for many years.

According to her, everything in life is based on interest, commitment, self discipline, determination and above all, God’s benevolence.

“My desire all along as I had mentioned is to be a lawyer and I knew I would have to go to university to study law before such a dream could come into reality,” she said. So, despite she has been a fulltime housewife for the past three and half decades she had resigned her paid job, she has been off and on with academic activities.

“Naturally, I love reading and I knew that since God helped me to attend classes on regular basis and do all my assignments during my OND programme and be able to come out with an upper credit, I believe that the same God would see me through at NOUN,” she explained, adding, “I could recall that some of my lecturers and classmates back then in the polytechnic often wondered how I was able to make it and I always told them it was God and it is still Him that is helping me.”

Nevertheless, Madam Fagbohun equally identified the flexibility of NOUN programmes as students of the institution would not need to attend lectures unlike what is obtainable in conventional universities as another factor that helped her.

“As students you would have to do most of the studies on your own and you could do that in a corner of your room once you have all the course materials with you.

Although, it is easier for students to fail in this kind of learning system, not the serious type like my humble self,” she said boastfully as she also spoke about her husband’s involvement.

“My husband was equally supportive throughout the programme. He always encouraged me to read and at times we discussed topics and assignments together for better understanding.

At some other times especially during exams when I got tired, he would be there by my side keeping vigil with me. I thank God I have a husband who understands.

And today, I believe he would be proud of me and confidently tell people that his wife is a lawyer.”

Madam Fagbohun when finishing from the Law School which is her next assignment would be the first lawyer to be produced by her family. For the real job of which she studied law, the sexagenarian woman said “My plan is to be defending widows and the less privileged in court.

Many of them are being denied of their rights just because of their peculiar plights. I wish to be doing that free of charge for them and through that, I will be affecting somebody’s life positively,” she said.

Just like Madam Fagbohun, another fresh female law graduate in her 60s is Madam Joan Okoh, who studied at the Benin Study Centre of the university. She also told National Mirror that she studied law so that she would be defending all categories of the less privileged women in the society.

The society, she pointed out, doesn’t give deserved recognition to woman’s dignity and it is high time we correct that. But unlike Madam Fagbohun who is older by nine years, Madam Okoh is well read.

She had first, second and doctoral degrees in Educational Administration and had worked for many years with the Post Primary Education Board in Asaba, Delta State, where she retired as a Permanent Secretary two years ago.

Interestingly, Madam Okoh from Delta State is surrounded at home by many legal practitioners. According to her, her husband died in 2011 as a High Court judge and all her five children are also lawyers.

“So, everybody in my family helped me in one way or the other during my programme and I cannot thank them well enough.

“The programme has really exposed me and I will advice those who are qualified but could not go to conventional universities for one reason or the other to go to NOUN and in no time, they will also graduate,” she said.