My Academic Journey in Canada: Mark’s Story
Life is a journey and like life’s journeys which are fraught with uncertainties, I have come to realize that life’s most rewarding adventures are challenging. Like a traveler to Jerusalem through the tortuous Baca Valley, my expenditure through life as a foreign-trained lawyer from Nigeria, is replete with vicissitudes. However, just as this traveler was hopeful and focused on the joy he would have worshipping at the temple, I understand that I should look past the gloominess around me and envision light at the end of the tunnel in my yearning to achieve life’s goals especially my aspiration to become a Canadian-licensed lawyer.
I am an experienced lawyer with a record of hard work and success in various fields of practice in Nigeria. I was called to the Nigerian bar in 2005 and because of my desire to assist people with their legal problems, I won “the Most Outstanding Counsel” award during my national service in 2008. During my work at Nosawaru Yesufu & Co., Nigeria –for over 7 years—I provided legal succor to many individuals with diverse backgrounds. For example, I devoted my time, energy, and resources to assist hundreds of expatriate workers from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America to obtain their immigration documentation like temporary work permits, visitor’s visas, and green cards. How exciting it was for me in 2013 to personally meet Mr. Abba Moro, the Nigerian Minister of Immigration at the time to discuss immigration reforms! I am also desirous of assisting the teeming immigrant population in my community with their immigration problems.
My other areas of practice in Nigeria included civil litigation, business law, contracts, and family law. I am convinced that my training and experience will assist me to metamorphose as a better lawyer in Canada to provide access to justice and fair trial to people of diverse backgrounds.
In January 2020 my family and I emigrated from New York City, United States of America, to Calgary, a home to the nation’s most innovative law school—the University of Calgary (UofC). My subsequent training at UofC’s Foreign Trained Lawyers’ Program (FTLP) designed for the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) candidates, between September 2021 and August 2022, provided me with an opportunity to learn firsthand from the Faculty of Law’s world-renowned instructors making me full-fledged just like the Juris Doctor students. Further, my training at UofC made possible an interchange of knowledge and experience between me and my culturally and linguistically diverse classmates.
Nevertheless, preparing for and writing the NCA exams was an uphill task for me because I had to work full-time to care for my young family and to pay the bills. The FTLP at UofC made it possible for me to pass most of the required courses within one year. I also successfully passed my other courses and obtained my certificate of qualification in November 2023. I am currently seeking an articling position and I am in the process of registering for the Practice Readiness Education Program. Not satisfied with my current achievement, I pursued a competency-based training in an area of law that is close to my heart, immigration law. Hence, I obtained my license as a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant in February 2024. While my major focus will be immigration practice, I am open minded to other fields of law as well. As an immigrant, and now a Canadian citizen, my goal is to build bridges for immigrants from across the globe to fulfill their Canadian dream.
These achievements fill me with hope and excitement like the lonely traveler enroute to Jerusalem via the rugged Baca Valley. This traveler was not intimidated or discouraged by the intermittent and ominous hooting of the desert owls at night nor the hissing of the venomous vipers throughout his arduous journey. Neither was the contemplation of being robbed by stern-looking strangers on the way caused him trepidation. Happily, when this pilgrim eventually arrived at the temple, the joy of figuratively appearing before the Almighty God eclipsed all the hardships he encountered on the way making him a better and stronger person! Like this optimistic visitor, I am ever more resolute in my desire to practice law in Canada. I have no spark or iota of doubt that my goal will one day be realized.
