AS the two presidential candidates for National Delegates Conference and election of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) holding in Ibadan between August 26-29 fine-tune their strategies, the duo, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr. Segun Onakoya, have endorsed the call that admission into the Nigeria Law School be based on examination.

Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), was the former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ondo State while Mr. Segun Onakoya was the former general secretary of NBA (1987-88).

On the quality of legal education in the country, Olanipekun, a former chairman, NBA Ilorin branch, said he okays the suggestion made by the Director-General of the Nigeria Law School, Chief John Kayode Jegede (SAN) to the Body of Benchers that those candidates applying for admission to the Law School should take entrance examinations.

"You might be a graduate of Law and not qualify to go to the Law School. I support that suggestion. It is still in the pipeline", he added.

He said extending the number of years of training at the school was not the solution.

"It is a waste of time. I do not subscribe to it. Even the best of lawyers in this country, how many years did they spend in the Law Schools? Some of them spent the first three months. How many years did they spend to read Law while in Britain?", he said.

Speaking in a similar vein, Onakoya, chairman of the International Bar Association (IBA) Committee on Gender and Discrimination said: "I have always believed that it is not the business of Law School to dictate to the universities how many Law students they should take".

However, he added: "The Law School has the right to determine who comes in when it comes to the real practice of Law. When you want to go to Council of Legal Education in London with your first degree, you have to write examinations. You want to go to any of the Bars in the United States, you have to sit for qualifying examinations.

Olanipekun promised to create jobs for lawyers finishing the encroachment of non- lawyers into the legal field.

On how he would solve unemployment among the new wigs, Onakoya said: "The primary aim of any association is to look after its members. I believe that educating these would-be lawyers is enough. Put up a career education programme and they would be able to see which one suits them, instead of saying everybody should be in court".

On the controversy that a new trend of making Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) NBA president is being unconsciously entrenched, both candidates agreed that any qualified legal practitioner, whether as a member of Inner Bar or Outer Bar was at liberty to run for any office in the association.