It has been ages since I last made a post here. In fact I feared that the benign cobwebs like those of deserted homesteads would begin to litter my blog. It is just the way of nature; I would politely dust them off and reintroduce myself to the audience. Today I will make a spirited attempt to summon the writing gods again, with some success I hope.
At
the stroke of 1pm on Wednesday 2nd December, 2020, our invigilator clambered
up the Law Development Centre (LDC) auditorium platform. He seized the lectern
and bellowed through the only available microphone. Four words came out of his
mouth and this was what he said; “Your time is up.” We had heard those words on
a number of occasions throughout our innumerable examinations but somehow,
these had taken on a different meaning. This was unlike any of those papers
that we had done before, it was our very last. And somehow after many days of
postponing, of tweaks and modifications to our schedule, we were seeing the
light at the tunnel end. So when he said your time is up, the first thought
that crossed my mind was that our time at LDC was up. But maybe I wasn’t over-thinking
it, our time was actually up!
Ours
has been a year like no other (I know everyone will say that about their lot)
where we have shockingly done a 9 months course across three calendar years. This
needs alot of explaining. The institution’s gates were flung open many moons
ago in 2019 but I can say with certainty that even in 2021, we shall still be
acolytes of LDC. Let that sink in because these are not normal times! We are
going to have to do alot of explaining to our children in future. It doesn’t happen
all the time and I have a hunch that the heavens may have been punishing us for
side stepping the pre-entry examination. (Too many words were spoken after all,
as if it was supposed to be our fault that we were having an easy entrance)
So
my story...
I
will let you in on the small bits and pieces. For the rest, you may have to exercise
some patience as my autobiography is in the offing. (The wait won’t be long and
I will be sure to dedicate a full chapter on my stay at LDC)
To
get my story’s genesis, we will have to be transported back to an isolated
event in my sophomore year. It had nothing to do with academics but was just a
social event. Towards the end of 2016, I was honoured to be part of the wedding
entourage of one of my father’s closest friends. He was a man of standing in
society and had only delayed in formalising his marriage because of a few
challenges here and there. You all know how this life can be. I was under
obligation to attend because of the family ties but also that I had no reason
to be elsewhere. So when it was time for the groom to give his speech, he summoned
his children and had the opportunity to talk about each one of them. An important
fact that we shouldn’t lose sight of was that the man was a lawyer himself. As he
introduced his first born child, he gave me my biggest take way that day. This was
what he said and I quote; “My daughter here is a big lawyer in town and she
works with one of the biggest law firms in the country. And by the way, she got
that place on merit because while she was at LDC, she was among the best in her
class.” He went on and said, “I know many of you may not know what goes on at
LDC but that is the hardest place on earth because I have been there myself.” It
was the “hardest place on earth” for me, because at that point my body cringed.
I knew deep down that it was only a matter of years before I got to that
dreaded place.
I
will hit the pause button for now and release the forward button.
When
I got into my first class at LDC, there was nothing out of the normal. When I
did my first assignment, it was normal too. The workshops were normal and so
were the examinations. I don’t know if it was just me but I bet that I share
this with a hundred others.
I
speak mostly for myself but I know many others share my sentiments. Shortly after
our final paper, as we sat over a farewell lunch with a group of friends, my brother
in the struggle AJK advanced a similar case. In fact for him, he was blunter than
I would ever be because he admitted that there was nothing difficult at LDC.
Absolutely nothing! Every single thing we do is about attitude, he said and I
agree.
I
will share one of my highlights and this involved my close and dear friend
Lillian. After our week of banking (the one considered to be the most
difficult) we had a sit down as we always did and decided to run through our three
workshop questions. As we concluded, Arinda paused and matter-of-factly asked, “But
Patrick wait a minute, is this the banking that we were told was difficult or
we should expect something else?” For me that was one of my all time favourite
moments at the Centre. It was just a disarming question asked so innocently
with such calm and collection.
I
am of course alive to the challenges some of my colleagues faced and that is
why I speak mostly for myself. Many of them had businesses to run, children to
return to in the evening and nagging spouses that weighed like stones around
their necks. But I for one, was a ‘baggage-less’ young boy with absolutely no
excuse.
For
me it has been a journey of faith that has kept me going every single day. I
must be among the very few who have already acquired their graduation gowns (I
actually bought mine last year after my first week in school). That is how much
faith I have in the God I serve! I have walked through the ‘burning furnace’
and just like the Lord’s servants Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego I have emerged
unscathed. The only difference with me is that my angel is invisible to the
human eye.
As
the sun sets on the struggles of our today, we are reminded of tomorrow and if
we get to see it, I can guarantee that we shall be great.
