A First-class Law graduate of the University of Uyo, Barrister Ikanna Okim has bagged scholarship to study in the University of Oxford.
Okim is to study at the UK University as an Oxford-Hackney BCL graduate scholar.
The daughter of a veteran journalist, Mr. Sunny Okim, said she intends to acquire her PhD in Corporate and Commercial Law after her Master’s programme at Oxford.
She graduated with first-class honours in Law at the University of Uyo in 2021, the first student to achieve the feat in 36 years of the department.
Okim also graduated the following year with a First Class at the prestigious Nigerian Law School, and was called to the Nigerian Bar.
In an interview with journalists, the legal practitioner said her programme “would mean burning the midnight candle, doing your tasks diligently, and being genuinely interested in what you’re studying.”
Okim said her childhood experience contributed to her academic success.
“I had a fantastic upbringing. I tell people all the time that I was raised with intentionality.
“My parents did things to task our minds and help us think independently and critically.
‘‘Growing up, we would read newspapers and explain what we read to my dad. Remember, my dad is an astute journalist and writer. We had intensive yet fun ways of learning things beyond our age.
“I believe that it helped our curiosity and our ability to understand complex things.”
Okim also opened up about her academic works and upcoming books and named her family members and lecturers at the University of Uyo as her inspiration.
“It has taken a village to build the woman I am now,” she said.