Chioma Agomo
Nigerian academician
Chioma Kanu Agomo (1 March 1951) is a Nigerian professor of Law at the University of Lagos with specialisation in Law of contract, Industrial law, Insurance law and Gender and the Law.
Quotes
edit- In my view, we cannot isolate legal education from the general educational system, and other factors, which impact teaching and learning.
- [1] Prof Agomo speak on legal education in 2021.
- The legal profession is one that has strong ethics. Besides, it has always been part of the curriculum of the Nigerian Law School.
- [2] Prof Agomo speak on ethics in legal profession in 2021.
- The law school provides a common ground for law graduates from the various law faculties to undergo their professional training. It should not be scrapped for uniformity.
- [3] Prof Agomo speak on law school in 2021.
- If you do not fear God, you are on a slippery slope, anything goes. But you must believe in something. If you don’t have integrity, if you don’t have character, before you vie for an office, you must know what you are looking for.
- [4] Prof Agomo with newsmen in 2021.
- I will like to see a university that is not a respecter of persons, that gives honour to whom honour is due and do things the way it should be done at all times, that everybody will have a sense of belonging, no matter where he or she may come from.
- [5] Prof Agomo speak on her hope for the university in 2021.
- Being a lecturer was my choice from the word go. I never wanted to practise at the Bar, and the Bench never crossed my mind.
- [6] Prof Agomo speak on lecturing in 2021.
- Politics in the academic environment is not different from politics in the wider polity. When God is with you, no one can be against you. It can be frustrating and mind-boggling. But then you cannot really avoid it. When the chips are down, one must take a stand.
- [7] Prof Agomo speak on politics in academic environment in 2021.
- Age is in the mind. I do not feel 70 at all. I consider this as the end of one phase and the beginning of another one. It is great to be 70; it is a landmark but it is not my bus stop.
- [8] Prof Agomo speak on her 70th Birth anniversary in 2021.
Quotes about Chioma Agomo
edit- I got to know Professor Agomo for over 23 years and the impression I have about her has never changed. However, recently she added another star to her several stars by being the biblical Deborah of our time.
- [9] Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Prof Ogundipe described Agomo in 2021.
- No matter who is in power, corruption will still flourish.
- Having said that, I must add that education is at a crossroads, legal education included. There is a paradigm shift, which is beginning to show in the mode of interactions between teacher and students. The difficulty is that the facilities in place in some places do not match the number of intakes. In the days of smaller numbers, and effective tutorial system, it was easy to assess the quality of education. That has since gone, but the virtual learning mode now made imperative by the COVID-19 pandemic, has shown that there are viable alternative modes of legal education.
- The introduction of clinical legal education over more than a decade ago exposed students and lecturers to innovative ways of teaching and learning such that, law students at the point of graduating, would be expected to have acquired some lawyering and other requisite skills. These changes, I believe, are continuing in many law faculties. One area where I have recently expressed some concern is in the area of students’ willingness to engage themselves purposively in acquiring life-long legal knowledge and skills, beyond the acquisition of knowledge for the purpose of passing exams and nothing more. This is a cause for concern.
- My answer to this question has not changed from the view I expressed in 2007 when I was first asked this same question. In my view, we cannot isolate legal education from the general educational system, and other factors, which impact teaching and learning. We cannot separate legal education from governance. We cannot separate it from funding, from competing interests.
- Education is a process. It is not static. It must change with the times. Legal education has come a long way, and it still has a long way to go. Globalisation and the internet have brought in their wake the gradual erosion of internal barriers and hindrances to access to changes across the globe. There are now ample opportunities and avenues to learn from other systems.
- However, there are still things that are needed within borders to improve on what is already on ground. Minimum standards as set by the National Universities Commission (NUC) from time to time should be strictly applied across the board to federal, state and private universities. Government cannot shy away from adequate funding of the system. It is share hypocrisy to give the impression that education in public institutions is free, and yet not fund the institutions adequately so as to provide a conducive learning environment.
- I was asked this question in 2005, one year into my deanship of the Law Faculty of the University of Lagos. My response then was “Yes.” Eighteen years down the line, my thinking has remained largely unchanged. However, I have come to realise, that maturity is not necessarily a function of age. There are some young people with wisdom and maturity beyond their years, while there are adults who behave like immature babies.
- What is needed to sustain the quality of students admitted immediately after secondary school education is a thorough screening process as is currently the case, which uses a three-tier structure. Furthermore, the increasing popularity of the school of foundation studies, which prepares students for the Joint Universities Preparatory Examinations Board (JUPEB), has provided a further maturing period for intending students.
- The Revised Guidelines for Group Life Insurance Policy for Employees 2020, jointly issued by the National Insurance Commission and National Pension Commission, provides in paragraph 7.3 that where an employer failed to carry out a Group Life Insurance on behalf of the employees and death occurs in active service, such employer is liable to pay the 300 per cent of the gross emolument for Group Life Insurance Policy to the beneficiaries of the deceased employee in line with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014.
- According to paragraph 7.4 of the Guidelines, an employer who fails to insure its employees for up to the 300 per cent of their gross emoluments, is liable to pay the difference to the beneficiary of the deceased employee. Gross emolument for this purpose means the annual total remuneration of the employee before any deductions.
- This is a sad reality of today’s world of work. I believe it is most prevalent in the banking industry. The oil and gas sector appears also to have its fair share of contract staff. Unfortunately, the economic situation makes it difficult for those affected to leave and seek employment elsewhere.
- The treatment of contract staff by employers runs counter to International Labour Organisation (ILO’s) concept of decent work, which advocates fair remuneration, social protection and social dialogue, among others. The only effective way out is through unionisation. It is only collective labour that can fight for the rights of its members. Individual employees are powerless to fight for themselves.
- Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. It is now obvious that it has continued unabated under the present administration. It merely goes to show that no matter who is in power, corruption will still flourish unless or until people have a change in values.
- Integrity, transparency, merit, and a sense of social responsibility must be enthroned. Again, there must be the political will to sanction offenders appropriately, no matter whose ox is gored. Selective treatment demoralizes people and encourages others to continue to engage in corrupt practices.
- I do not know the state of the bill. I know that I was sent a draft for my comment some months ago. I did not comment because this matter has dragged on for years. I recollect that I was one of those co-opted into the Committee that revised the Insurance Act, 2003. It was a thorough exercise under the chairmanship of Professor Joe Irukwu. This was around 2009. I am not sure of the exact year. That we should still be dealing with the same matter in 2021 leaves a lot to be desired. The potential of the Insurance Industry to drive the economy has not been fully explored. It is sad.
- As I said during my exaugural lecture, it has been a fruitful and deeply satisfying journey. It has been a journey reflecting the invisible hand of God guiding me through the highs and lows. He blessed me with destiny helpers. There were challenges. It was not an easy journey, but God saw me through each stage. To Him alone is the glory.
- I must not fail to add that the Faculty of Law of the University of Lagos is a family. There are great people within its walls. There are men and women of impeccable integrity. The Faculty is a home away from home. It was a great privilege to have spent my entire working years in the University of Lagos.
