Lawyer Rasheedat Adeshina has recounted how a dispute arising from her student union activism at the University of Ilorin kept her academic certificate out of reach for 14 years, forcing her to pursue a fresh degree in Law.
In an interview by PUNCH, Adeshina said she completed her Industrial Chemistry programme at the university in 2000 but could not obtain her certificate until years of litigation eventually compelled the institution to release it.
Her ordeal, she explained, began during her undergraduate years when she served as the Students’ Union Assistant Secretary-General between 1997 and 1998 and became involved in campaigns concerning students who had been suspended or expelled.
She said her activism brought her into conflict with the university authorities, leading to an indefinite suspension and a declaration that she was wanted in connection with events surrounding student protests.
“I was not fighting the university because I had cheated in an examination or because I was involved in cultism. My involvement was about student unionism and defending students’ interests,” she said.
Adeshina said she completed her studies in 2000, but the university continued to withhold her academic records without giving her a specific reason.
After several unsuccessful efforts to resolve the matter, she instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in 2004 and secured judgment in her favour the following year.
The university challenged the decision, but the Court of Appeal dismissed its appeal in 2006. The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed the university’s appeal in 2014.
According to her, the court proceedings exposed the absence of any academic reason for withholding her certificate.
“My Head of Department was called as a witness, and when he was asked if I had any outstanding course or if there was anything preventing me from graduating, his answer was no,” she said.
While the legal battle continued, Adeshina decided not to allow the absence of her certificate to bring her life to a standstill.
In 2010, she began preparing to study Law, starting with obtaining the necessary secondary school qualifications before sitting for the GCE in 2011 and UTME in 2012.
She gained admission to study Law in 2013 and was already in her second year when the Supreme Court ruling paved the way for the release of her Industrial Chemistry certificate.
Adeshina completed her Law degree in 2019, attended the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2021.
She said her student activism had started with her belief that students should be treated fairly, recalling her campaign to secure the return of about 12 students who had been expelled or suspended over union activities.
The lawyer also recalled resisting what she described as attempts to introduce ethnic considerations into student affairs, saying she refused to support an administration merely because some of its officials came from her hometown.
Tensions later intensified following protests over conditions on campus and a tuition increase. She said several students were arrested after the protest, while the Students’ Union was banned.
Adeshina said she narrowly escaped arrest after discovering that her name had been listed on a charge sheet as being at large.
“I had to go underground for a period. I was declared wanted across Kwara State, but I still found ways to encourage my colleagues who were in detention,” she said.
She recalled visiting detained students and secretly passing materials to them to keep their morale high while they were held at the Oke Kura Maximum Security Custodial Centre.
Despite the hardship, Adeshina said she never considered abandoning the struggle, describing the experience as part of the sacrifices she believed were necessary for the cause she supported.
The prolonged dispute, however, affected her career because she spent years without being able to make full use of the qualification she had earned.
Although the court awarded her N5m in damages, she said the payment could not restore the decade lost to the legal battle.
“If you lose 10 years of your life, no amount of money can bring those years back. The damages were paid, but the time is gone,” she said.
Adeshina said her eventual call to the Bar gave her a strong sense of fulfilment, particularly because it came after years of efforts to frustrate her education.
She has since obtained an LLM and is currently pursuing a PhD in Law.