I will start by thanking almighty God who gives life and makes all things possible. My growing up in Enugu which is proudly referred to as the Coal city (042) was such an interesting and immensely fascinating experience. Enugu during our time was such that, we being members of the closer age mate thought and reasoned alike and the great source of our happiness was football. Football was a phenomenon in the Coal city such that almost every child irrespective of parental or family class (low, middle or high class) was involved in one football activity or the other.
I remembered when I was in junior class in National Grammar School Nike (NGS), we were about 60 students in my class and during the break period, we would engage in a football match with students from other classes and interestingly, there was no referee or any form of control. The condition for eligibility was being a member of the class playing that day. Sometimes, we ended up having about 40 students from one class and about 35 students from the other class and we still played it with all the joy in our hearts because the game brought us so much joy and happiness. We fondly called it Igwebuike back then at NGS, meaning crowd is strength.
We had many youth clubs in Enugu during my time, such as DD Pioneers, Olympic Bombers, Great Olympic, ASFAC, Cannon Fc, Black Rocks etc. I played for Olympic Bombers and it was fun as I played with absolute dedication and passion, not expecting anything in return. As at that time, football was everything in Coal city (042) because despite the heavy resistance from some of our parents, we still found ways to play football in any space possible at every chance we got.
From the late 80s to my set and after my set, one cannot successfully complete a football story without mentioning one name that made many young men believe and have confidence in themselves, talking about Late Mr Sunday Ogbonnaya Chukwu popularly known as Supremo Jangaza who raised lots of players that have made it to the highest level in their football career. As a matter of fact, any player who did not pass through Jangaza will be regards as INDOMIE generation. My special tribute goes to such great icon and a dedicated football coaching maestro.
During this youthful age while playing football, I still had the passion and desire to become a lawyer. That dream kept burning in me and so after my football career which was cut short due to a persistent injury I decided to travel to England. When I got to London, United Kingdom all I could think about was how to become a lawyer unlike many of my friends who just wanted to make it financially and return to Nigeria to invest. My desire was to come back home to Nigeria with ideas which can culminate to financial success, this burning desire helped me to constantly hold onto my dream of being a lawyer.
When I got my ground in England I proceeded to actualise my dream. I got admission to study Law at London Southbank University after a compulsory one year foundation course. It was a dream come true and the beginning of journey to the realization of my dreams in a transparent country like England, I knew without a doubt that it would require a lot of commitment and determination. Mario Andretti once said that ‘’Desire is the key to motivation, but it is determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of one’s goal that enable one attain the success he seeks”. Therefore, in my mind I knew it was not going to be an easy task but at the same time with determination, commitments and God grace I was going to excel.
Another thing I have also come to terms with is the fact that, one excels in the things he has passion for and because I had such a great passion for Law, I believe I am going to excel.
During my time at the university, I became the student’s Law society president where I had the opportunity to meet lots of dignitaries including the then prime ministry of the United kingdom David Cameron, former United kingdom Mister of Justice, David Lloyds, first and only UK female Supreme court judge, Lady Hale of Richmond, Lord Robert John Reed the president of United Kingdom supreme court and many others who invited me on different occasions as the president of the student Law society. I graduated with Merit (2:1), which gave me a lot of confident and hope to forge ahead.
After my first degree in law I proceeded to Queen Mary University of London, which is one of the best university of law in United Kingdom where I acquired LLM (Masters of Laws) in International Commercial & Corporate Law. I came out also with Merit (2:1). At that stage, it was no longer a dream but a reality. I was later attached to Anthony Gold Solicitors which is one of the leading Law firm in London.
However, as the saying goes that there is no place like home, I made up my mind to establish a Firm (Law Chamber) in Nigeria but to do this one must attend Nigeria Law School and be called to the Nigerian bar. I enrolled at the Nigeria Law school and completed the required Bar 1 as a foreign student and equally passed the bar 2. I was called to Nigeria bar as a Barrister and solicitor of Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2019 and an accredited member of Nigeria Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Presently to the glory of God Almighty, the Principal owner of LAW ACCORD LEGAL PRACTITIONERS office located in FCT Abuja Nigeria
Pedro Chinwe Ugbene Esq (LLB, LLM, BL CIARB)
International Commercial & Corporate Law.