Oola beats addiction to earn law degree

January 29 was a life-changing day for Samuel Oola. He had proved his doubters wrong. Oola had finally bagged his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from Makerere University after several years of battle with alcohol and finally defeating the addiction.

“It was a humbling moment,” Oola, 43, told Monitor.

“I was thrilled because getting to that point has not been an easy walk.”

Oola’s previous struggle with alcohol addiction had been an open secret around the university, with some students and staff doubting whether he would ever complete his legal studies. 

But after the Principal of Makerere University School of Law read out his name among the graduands, loud cheers rocked the tent. Colleagues rushed to hug Oola for his feat.

“Many people were surprised that I was graduating. Maybe they were looking at me like a walking miracle because some of my colleagues whom I used to drink with are now deceased because of addiction,” he says.

A section of former Makerere law students told Monitor that they could not believe that Oola had finally made it. Oola had posted a decent cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.4. 

“It is unbelievable. I still wonder how he did it,” one former law student said.

The backstory

Oola’s addiction started in 2000 when he joined Makerere University, a story the Monitor first published in 2019. A tedious study routine coupled with getting bullied by fellow students pushed him into drinking.

It was late one evening when ditched the soft drinks and called out to the waiter for beers. In the days and weeks that followed, Oola imbibed more beers, and on days he was hard up, he swigged from the cheaper but harder alcoholic stuff sold in sachets.

With time, Oola’s binge drinking spiraled out of control and he got sucked into university strikes, and fighting fellow students. These disruptive ways forced him out of university in his second year.

The family then sought help from Serenity Rehabilitation Centre, on Entebbe Road in Wakiso District. The centre helps alcoholics overcome their addictions.

After a three-month stint in rehabilitation, Oola took some time off school to regain his footing and also get involved in different life pursuits, including dabbling in agriculture.  

It was while handling these projects that he thought of doing another course that would enable him to come up with innovations in development. So in 2009, Oola found his way back to Makerere University and enrolled for a Bachelor of Development Studies.

“Returning to campus to enroll for Development Studies was another nightmare. I became a laughing stock,” Oola says. “Students and staff kept mocking me for abandoning the pursuit of the prestigious legal studies and crossing to Development Studies. They dismissed Development Studies as a useless course.”

Discouraged, Oola abandoned the course, worried that perhaps it would lead him nowhere. As he figured out his next step, a call came from the University Senate urging students who never completed their studies to return and finish their courses. Though the call came in 2014, Oola only resumed his studies during the 2018/2019 academic year.

The great comeback

More determined than ever, Oola resumed his law studies. At this point, he had also cut down on his drinking spree.

“I last drank a bottle of alcohol in 2019,” he says. “And I think putting a final stop to it propelled me to focus more on my studies until I finally completed my studies.”

Despite having completely discarded the habit of drinking, Oola acknowledges that some people continue to tempt him back into the dark habit.

“But I will not give in. I want to stay sober and create a more meaningful life for myself,” he says.

What next?

With dreams of practicing law one day, Oola is already into his fourth month as a student at the Law Development Centre (LDC) at its Lira campus. He enrolled at LDC last year as he was waiting to graduate from Makerere University.

 “I am now looking at going into practicing law and defending justice after LDC,” he says.

He continues to juggle his studies with raising a daughter. To date, Oola continues with his agriculture projects, which are his main source of livelihood.

To others battling addiction, Oola says it is possible to completely become reformed and make a more meaningful life.

“If I can overcome alcohol addiction, you too can,” he says. “You need to accept the help given, associate with the right friends, and turn to God. If you suffer these problems, you too can overcome them.”

Graduation

Makerere University held its 74th graduation ceremony from January 29 to February 2.

A total of 12,913 students from different colleges and schools graduated from Uganda’s oldest university.

Of these, 6,816 were female while 6,097 were male.

A total of 11,016 were undergraduate students, 24 were undergraduate diploma students, 156 were postgraduate diploma students, 1,585 were graduate students and 132 were PhD students.