Hello beautiful people. i have been given an admission at the University of Westminster to study International and Commercial Dispute Resolution as an LLM student. considering the fact that i caanot afford the fees, i want to apply for a scholarship in in the university. the criteria for the scholarship are: academic excellence, financial need, development potentials and a detail of what you intend to do with the knowledge upon graduation. The essay must not be more than 400 words.
Please find a copy of the essay below. Thanks.
The weakness of settling commercial disputes through the courts has become obvious to legal practitioners, investors and the general public in Nigeria. For instance the agonising problems of delay, increasing cost, court congestion and general distrust in the judicial system has made it very difficult for investors to get justice within a short period.
Although the bar and the bench have recognised these defects, little effort is being made to train lawyers in the art of resolving commercial disputes through ADR methods, a situation that hasmade it very difficult for ADR to grow in Nigeria.
In other to have an advanced knowledge in alternative dispute resolution methods, I applied and have been given an admission to study international and commercial dispute resolution in this prestigious university.
However without a scholarship my dream of acquiring this knowledge will not be realised because my father, a lecturer in a Nigerian university and my mother, an administrative staff in the same university, who have been responsible for my education are unable to cover the expenses and my salary as an associate in .... will not be sufficient for this purpose. I have two younger siblings that are currently in secondary school (high school) without scholarships and my parents are currently responsible for meeting their educational and other financial needs.
In secondary school, I was awarded the best student in government, the best student in Christian religious studies and the best student in literature in English. I was elected the Deputy Library Prefect in 2003 and the Library Prefect in 2004. I was awarded the best behaved student in 2003 and the neatest graduating student in 2005. Out of the 8 subjects taken in the West African Examination Council Examination, I made 5 Bs, 2 Cs and a D.
As an undergraduate, I was appointed a class representative of the ... Students Association of Nigeria, University of ... Branch in 2006 and I held the position till I graduated and was elected the Financial Secretary of the Association in 2009. Out of the 58 undergraduate courses, I made 21 As, 22 Bs, 14 Cs and a D and graduated with a GPA of 4.11. At the Law School, .4, 891 students sat for the Bar final examination and I was one of the 244 students that graduated with a Second Class Honours (Upper Division).
After graduation, I shall initiate a campaign in Lagos state, the commercial capital of Nigeria, which will train lawyers in the art of resolving commercial disputes with arbitration, mediation, negotiation and other ADR methods. Lectures, symposia and classes will be organised for this purpose. I hope to carry out this project in collaboration with the Council of Legal Education, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London) Nigeria Branch, the Negotiation and Conflict Management Group and The Centre for Peace in Africa.
