By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tanko)

One of the most prominent and physically challenged Barristers in Sierra Leone, Ibrahim Smith, Esq, has explained his journey to becoming a lawyer, saying it is far from being easy.

In an exclusive interview with Africra24, he said, his journey to success is  a path filled with hardship, perseverance, and the unwavering belief but these  circumstances, he had that he could achieve his dreams as he worked hard with passion.

“I did not start school at a tender age because my mother was extremely poor. She had no money to send me to school, so I would often watch other children going to school while I was staying home.

One day, a kind-hearted stranger, a true Good Samaritan, saw me and asked me, “Why are you not in school?”

“I told him the truth—that my mother could not afford for my schooling. Moved by my emotion stroy, that man promised to find a school for me.”

Meanwhile, he found Ephraim J. Robinson Municipal School, but as a disabled, there was no chair for me to be sitting on for classes.

The headteacher, seeing me with determination to learn, he promised to make one for me, and with the help of the good Samaritan, he got a chair and a table rather. That was how I finally started Class One.

Smith said worked hard and progressed from Class One to Class Six, and eventually sat to the National Primary School Examination (NPSE).

He performed well and earned a place in secondary school.

Nevertheless, when the time came for secondary school interviews, his mother had no money to pay as admission charges.

It was a difficult time for him then, and he thought his education might end there.

However, some kind-hearted people came together and helped his mother with some money, and then he was admitted to The Albert Academy Secondary School, at the Arts stream.

But life as a secondary school pupil was not as sweet, rather it was tough and rough throughout. Every day, he would walk a long distance to school on an empty stomach.

There were times he felt so exhausted that he would want to quit.

At one point, he seriously considered dropping out from school, but a friend by the name of Mr. Ibrahim Jalloh, encouraged him he said. The man told him this , “You are an outstanding pupil. Please, don’t give up.

Sit for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Maybe a good Samaritan will help you to continue your education.”

He took his advice and sat for the WASSCE in 2008, passing all his subjects. But after that, there was no help again.

At university, no support was there for him to continue his education, and thus he had to find a way to survive.

He started selling goods for a woman named Mrs. Isha Jabbie in her shop. It was not an easy task, but he had no choice.

Four years later, in 2012, he finally managed to enroll in the University of Sierra Leone, Fourah Bay College, studying Peace and Conflict Studies. University life was another challenge—he only had one pair of trousers, five shirts, and often with no transport fares to fare him through.

He had to walk long distances for night studies and often without launch or the required books.

But through sheer determination, he completed his first degree at FBC College.

After graduation, he hoped to find a job, but there were no opportunities for graduates like him.

To survive, he started selling again goods for another woman whose name is Haja Balu Kabba.

He was doing until 2018 when he made the life-changing decision to study law at the same Fourah Bay College.

Choosing to study law was a leap of faith—he had no money for tuition, no money for books, and not even a good phone to assist him in his studies.

But the Almighty Allah he said, made a way out for him.

Despite the odds, he managed to complete his law degree LLB, earning a second-class degree in law.

“Even when many others, including the wealthy students, struggled with their studies, and some even dropped out due to academic difficulties, I bubbled up due to hardworking and divine grace. Allah made it a bit easy for me,” I thanked Allah for everything then.

Though, getting into law school was another major challenge, he said there was no one to encourage him to be enlisted.

And so he had no hope of paying Law School fees.

When the director called out the names of students who had already paid, his name was not on the list.

“My heart sank. But then, by Allah’s mercy, a good Samaritan stepped in and paid my fees. May the Almighty bless that man !”

During bar exam preparations, he did not join a study group, he explained further. Instead, he studied alone in the Masjid (mosque), with a deep trust in Allah for his guidance.

When he finally sat for the bar exam, he passed without any references that could lead to a life setback.

“Today, by the grace of Allah, I am a lawyer. I have grown up from being a boy who could not afford school fees to a man who now represents clients in court. My journey had been filled with hardships and sad challenges, but it had also been blessed with the kindness and support shown by humanitarians (strangers), and with my perseverance, and the Grace of the Almighty, ” Esq Ibrahim Smith said in thanks and praises.

Smith Esq expressed gratefulness to those who’d helped him along the way in the pursuit of education—especially the good Samaritans who made his education possible.

His story is shared as an example that, no matter how hard life may get, with faith, determination, and the right support, success is possible at the end.

“May Allah continue to guide me as I serve as a lawyer, and may He help me excel in my passionate career,” [Ameen] he prays.