…the survivor’s tale of a new wig
Anyone who passed through the Nigerian Law School would tell you it was a baptism of fire. Passing the Bar finals is another matter. Stories upon stories abound. Some mythical. Some true. From the incredulous to the absurd. Sometimes shocking. At other times overwhelming. Bar finals!
Many make it. Several have to try again and again. The quest for the wig and gown!
The 2019 Bar finals result had just been released. Her joy was as ecstatic as it was infectious. “Finally, I’ll be called a barrister!” She must have screamed. Bur fate had other plans for her.
A graduate of Benue State University, Ufuoma Peace Oghenerume needed to visit her former school to collect her LLB certificate. Presentation of the LLB original certificate for screening at the Nigerian Law School is part of the condition precedent for being called to the Nigerian Bar. On account of this, she set off to Makurdi. She was already billed to participate in the Call to Bar ceremonies that would run from 26 to 28 of November. It was a trip that altered the course of her life.
On the 16th of September, she boarded one of the 18 Sitter buses owned by Benue Links Transport Company. A smooth ride it was. The prospective new wig was already imagining herself all dressed up in new robes! Then the crash! It was surreal! It was quick and sudden!
They had just approached the Nasarawa Eggon hills. It was a horrific collision with a truck that claimed all lives but two! Ufuoma Peace Oghenerume was the second survivor!
The tragedy did not swallow her but the pains were unbearable. Physical pains. Emotional pains. Battling to survive. It was almost an eclipse of a dream.
Several surgeries later at the National Hospital Abuja, Ufuoma pulled through.
Though on a wheel chair, she made it. She was called to the Bar at the same time as her mates. Today, she is a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria!
