Chiamaka Okoli

"Q: Why Price Media Law Moot? A: I tried to get into the Mooting Society twice. And I remembered the first time I tried. My friend, Daniel Jaiyeoba told me to try out for any and every moot competition that came up but the only thing that really resonated with me was Price Media Law Moot so I tried out ‘cause I love media, and growing up, one of my dreams was to be a reporter but I got into law so it seemed like a great way to start bridging the gap of the career as a lawyer and my dreams of being in the media industry."

"Q: Do you think there’s a future here for media law in Nigeria or generally, Africa? A: Yes, I think there is because we have a large number of Nigerians becoming more internet savvy. We have a lot of popular bloggers and vloggers and these are the sort of things media law covers. We also need more legislations, more decisions, more awareness on how exactly things are done and how to be in tandem with international standards. Also, just make sure that Africa is at par with the other continents. So, yeah, I think there is a future for media law in Nigeria."

"Q: What was running through your mind the moment you landed in South Africa? A: Am I really here? It was a really daunting journey getting to South Africa. At a point, I actually gave up. I mean, I gave up several times. I had parents who were loving and very worried about me in the process, it was really tiring. But then, I got there and I was like, am I really here? I don’t think it dawned on me, until I got to the University of Johannesburg."

"Q: What is one thing about you that changed during the process of Price Media Law Moot? A: My knowledge about internet intermediaries. Before I started Price Media Law Moot, I didn’t even know that internet companies had liability. And then, I really focused on Scoops. So, I got to read a lot of materials and develop more interest in internet intermediary liabilities and one thing that happened to me while I was in South Africa is I realised that no matter where you go to or no matter how far you stray away from being yourself, you never stop being yourself. The moment you start preparing and you decide, I’m going to be myself, you are going to excel because that is who you are, you can’t be anyone else. My experience made me realise that I had been living in fear saying oh, I can’t do this thing, it’s been forever since I was out to speak publicly and I stood up and I had white judges and there were Indians and it was like, my bones were filled with cement. And I just felt this like this is who I am, this is what I have been doing since I was born, this is who I am and I am always going to be excellent at it. It gave me peace, to know that I was still myself."