Female lawyer, 29, bags British Council scholarship
Few weeks ago, Olorode sat for the essay competition that qualified her for the scholarship, worth N1.35million, alongside 57 other applicants. At the end of the competition, she emerged the ultimate winner. Tagged University of Sussex Support Scholarship, selection and participation in the essay competition was done by a partnering organisation, the British Council. Speaking […]
Few weeks ago, Olorode sat for the essay competition that qualified her for the scholarship, worth N1.35million, alongside 57 other applicants. At the end of the competition, she emerged the ultimate winner.
Tagged University of Sussex Support Scholarship, selection and participation in the essay competition was done by a partnering organisation, the British Council.
Speaking on how she emerged winner, Olorode said, “The application process was of two types: online and hardcopy application. I chose the former. As demanded, I submitted my results, transcript and other relevant references. After the submission of my application, I waited till I was called to participate in the examination. We were asked to write on the topic, Tracing the historic links between Sussex and Africa: how does a Sussex degree position me for success and to make an impact to my society?’
“For someone like me, writing on this essay topic was not a difficult task. This is because my father, Prof. Lai Olorode is an alumnus of the University of Sussex. And being an alumnus, he has many publications and information books from the university, which I have read on many occasions. To that extent, I developed interest in the school, and the publications seemed to have prepared me for the challenge of the essay writing competition.”
A graduate of Law from the University of Lagos, she was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2008 when she was barely 23 years old. She is currently a staff member of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Lagos as a legal officer. Though not willing to quit the law profession, Olorode said she would want to become a university don like her father. “I am going to the University of Sussex to bag a Masters degree in Law.
The whole essence is to have an edge in my profession. Of course I have no intention to quit my job, but I want to return and become a lecturer like my dad. Call it the need to sustain a family tradition and you won’t be wrong.
“Dad told me so many beautiful things about the university. From when I was a child he has always narrated those beautiful stories to me.
Now, I am aware that the school has a conducive environment for
learning. I hope I would have the opportunity to meet with good
jurists and Law professors. I have read some of their profiles and works, and they have been very impressive. By and large, I am looking forward to a good time out there in Sussex,” Taiwo said.
Delivering a motivating pre-departure speech in Lagos, the editorial director of ThisDay newspapers, Simon Kolawole, who was a scholar at Sussex between 2005 and 2006 said, “In the simplest term, I will say the system there is more organised, unlike what is obtainable in Nigeria. I was there and I enjoyed it, so they should go.
“The environment is beautiful and study activities are more engaging, in terms of the quality of studies students are exposed to. Of course we cannot be talking about standard because we are world apart. They are far ahead of us in terms of standard. For instance, there is no issue of sexual harassment. Different people are marking your scripts, so you don’t even know whom or how many people you would have to sleep with to pass your papers,” Kolawole said.
Since its establishment in 1961, the University of Sussex has sustained a robust relationship with Nigerians. The relationship is said to have kick-started when the former Nigerian president, the late Dr. Nnamdi
Azikiwe visited Falmer, the proposed site for the university’s campus. The school has, since then, rendered academic services to many Nigerians.
“Sussex has provided many Nigerians with qualitative education for more than 50 years. And all these people are doing very well in all facets of life. The list includes former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Alhaji
Babagana Kingibe, former Minister of Finance, Mansur Mukhtar, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, among numerous others,” Ify Udofia, University of Sussex Country Officer in Nigeria said. “Academic qualification for the Distinction Award requires the applicant to have a Second Class Upper. However, applicants with a high Second Class Lower (minimum of 3.0 GPA out of 5) will be considered. For the Merit Award, an applicant must have a minimum of A, A, A at A Level, BTEC or International Baccalaureate, or a minimum of GPA 3.0 and above from an accredited Nigerian university. Such a person must have applied and hold an offer of a place on an eligible postgraduate or undergraduate course, and must be a Nigerian citizen resident in Nigeria,” Udofia added.