{"id":6749,"date":"2020-05-21T00:27:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T00:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/ng\/?p=6749"},"modified":"2020-05-21T00:27:51","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T00:27:51","slug":"a-nigerian-genius-onoriode-reginald-aziza-bagged-3-first-class-degrees-at-age-23-including-one-from-cambridge-university-received-over-over-25-academic-awards-for-the-best-student-in-the-facu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/a-nigerian-genius-onoriode-reginald-aziza-bagged-3-first-class-degrees-at-age-23-including-one-from-cambridge-university-received-over-over-25-academic-awards-for-the-best-student-in-the-facu\/","title":{"rendered":"A Nigerian Genius, ONORIODE REGINALD AZIZA Bagged 3 First Class degrees at age 23 … including one from Cambridge University *Received over over 25 academic awards for the Best Student in the Faculty of Law at Obafemi Awolowo University, the Mohammed Bello Prize for the Second Best Student at the Nigerian Law School, and the Wolfson College Jennings Prize for a Distinction on the Master of Corporate Law in Cambridge among others *Scored distinction in all papers at SSCE examinations, expertise lies in securities law, investment and dispute resolution * Inspired by Nigeria\u2019s legal luminary, Professor Olukonyinsola Ajayi SAN to study law Had a short spell at Olaniwun Ajayi LP in Lagos, later spent six months with Shearman and Sterling chamber in Paris * Worked briefly an associate with Herbert Smith Freehills in London, a culmination of the bursary awarded him by the law firm to study at Cambridge * Hired as an Attorney for Chevron Nigeria Limited while studying as a doctoral student at the University of Oxford \u201cMy driving force has been an unrepentant commitment to excellence. It is all I have ever wanted to do and be: excellent. I believe I have only been thirstier than most in pursuing excellence. I believe, as did Aristotle, that excellence is not an act but a habit. The pursuit of this habit of excellence has thus been my driving force\u201d-Aziza *BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU\/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A\nNigerian Genius, ONORIODE REGINALD AZIZA Bagged 3 First Cla<\/strong>ss\ndegrees at age 23 <\/strong>…\nincluding one from Cambridge University <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Received\nover over 25 academic awards for the Best Student in the Faculty of\nLaw at Obafemi Awolowo University, the Mohammed Bello Prize for the\nSecond Best Student at the Nigerian Law School, and the Wolfson\nCollege Jennings Prize for a Distinction on the Master of Corporate\nLaw in Cambridge among others<\/strong>\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Scored\ndistinction in all papers at SSCE examinations, expertise lies in\n<\/strong>securities\nlaw, investment and dispute resolution<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*\nInspired by Nigeria\u2019s legal luminary, Professor Olukonyinsola Ajayi\nSAN to study law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had\na short spell at Olaniwun Ajayi LP in Lagos, later <\/strong>s<\/strong>pent\nsix months with Shearman and Sterling chamber in Paris <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*\nWorked briefly an associate with Herbert Smith Freehills in London, a\nculmination of the bursary awarded him by the law firm to study at\nCambridge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*\nHired as an Attorney for <\/strong>Chevron\nNigeria Limited while studying as a doctoral student at the\nUniversity of Oxford<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy\ndriving force has been an unrepentant commitment to excellence. It is\nall I have ever wanted to do and be: excellent. I believe I have only\nbeen thirstier than most in pursuing excellence. I believe, as did\nAristotle, that excellence is not an act but a habit. The pursuit of\nthis habit of excellence has thus been my driving force\u201d-Aziza<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY\nGEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU\/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>BY\nALL STANDARD, HE IS A GENIUS.<\/strong>\n<\/strong>ONORIODE\nREGINALD AZIZA, now 26 years old cherishes education. He loves to\nstudy. He enjoys reading books. Aziza had been longing to attain the\nheight of his chosen career, even when he was a teenager at the age\nof 12. He accomplished his aspiration three years ago when his\nacademic brilliancy earned him 3 First Class degrees that made him\nshuttle the world and smiled to the bank. <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having\nhad over 25 academic awards (including the Faculty of Law Prize for\nthe Best Student in the Faculty of Law OAU, the Mohammed Bello Prize\nfor the Second Best Student at the Nigerian Law School, and the\nWolfson College Jennings Prize for a Distinction on the Master of\nCorporate Law in Cambridge), Aziza proves on the continent and\nbeyond, he truly bears a fertile mind which absorbs knowledge quite\nphenomenally.<\/strong>\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curiously\nAziza had wanted to be a neurosurgeon but when his Junior Secondary\nSchool Examination results were stellar, his father made the mistake\nto demand he opted for medicine.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo\nbe frank, my decision to study law was an act of rebellion against my\nDad. My early goal was to be a neurosurgeon. I flirted with the idea\nfor a number of years until I was 12, when I took my JSCE\nexaminations. The grades came out exceptionally well, and my Dad told\nme he wanted me in medicine and went on to name the subjects I will\ntake in my SSCE examinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026<\/strong>My\ndriving force has been an unrepentant commitment to excellence. It is\nall I have ever wanted to do and be: excellent. As I have said and\nwill always say, I am no genius and I certainly do not consider\nmyself as naturally gifted or smart. I believe I have only been\nthirstier than most in pursuing excellence. I believe, as did\nAristotle, that excellence is not an act but a habit. The pursuit of\nthis habit of excellence has thus been my driving force.\u201d<\/strong>\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c The\nrebel in me sprang up and I resisted (although it was what I wanted).\nIt appeared that the thought of someone naming my subjects for me\nirked me, because if given the choice myself, I would have picked the\nexact courses my Dad selected! I still remember the exact words I\nused in my declaration of rebellion: \u2018In fact, I want to study\nlaw.\u2019 Grinning joyously at each of my graduations from the Obafemi\nAwolowo University, the Nigerian Law School, and Cambridge, the look\non my Dad\u2019s face shows he is happy I rebelled,\u201d he revealed.<\/strong>\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Aziza, the icon he drives inspiration from in Nigeria\u2019s legal\nprofession is Professor Olukonyinsola Ajayi SAN.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He adds<\/strong>:\n\u201cIn Nigeria, my model in the profession is without a doubt Prof.\nOlukonyinsola Ajayi SAN, the Managing Partner of Olaniwun Ajayi LP.\nUnmatched in wit, unparalleled in logic, peerless in knowledge, quick\nin thought, clear in argumentation and unrivalled in poise, he earns\nmy ceaseless respect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aziza\u2019s\nfeat is more impressive given he bagged his three first class degrees\nfrom Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the Nigerian Law School and\nfinally Cambridge University by the time he turned 23.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aziza now 25\ngained admission into OAU to study Law at the age of 15 and while his\neventual feats may look easy, he notes that he battled to maintain\nhis grades in the early days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite\nbeing obviously clever, Aziza didn\u2019t gain entry to Cambridge on a\nsilver platter. With his parents retired and short on cash, Aziza\nneeded external funding to advance with his schooling but various\nletters to people in government to support yielded nothing till he\nsecured a scholarship to attend Cambridge.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a doctoral\nstudent at the University of Oxford, he also serves as an Attorney at\nChevron Nigeria Limited; the big oil producers in Nigeria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthe record, his expertise lies in <\/strong>securities\nlaw, investment and dispute resolution<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong>\nIn 2017 Aziza spent six months with Shearman and Sterling in Paris\nand before that a short spell at Olaniwun Ajayi LP in Lagos. He was\nalso briefly an associate with Herbert Smith Freehills in London.\nThis placement in the London office was the culmination of the\nbursary awarded to him by the law firm to study at Cambridge.<\/strong>\n<\/strong>As\nAziza puts it, the success and wealth he enjoys today are benefits\nfrom his unrepentant commitment to excellence. Perhaps you too can\nborrow a leaf from his book.<\/strong>\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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