“I believe my single driving force has been an unrepentant commitment to excellence. It is all I have ever wanted to do and be: excellent. The pursuit of this habit of excellence has thus been my driving force.” – Dr. Aziza
The thirst for success has been known to catapult even the most unlikely to untold heights. The world’s one unfailing success formula standing unwavering through the test of time? Hard work + Consistency.
“As I have said and will always say, I am no genius and I certainly do not consider myself as naturally gifted or smart. I believe I have only been thirstier than most in pursuing excellence. I believe, as did Aristotle, that excellence is not an act but a habit.”
Dubbed a genius, award-winning Nigerian-born lawyer, researcher, and social activist Onoriode Reginald Aziza a proud recipient of over 25 awards (including the Faculty of Law Prize for the Best Student in the Faculty of Law OAU, the Mohammed Bello Prize for the Second Best Student at the Nigerian Law School, and the Wolfson College Jennings Prize for a Distinction on the Master of Corporate Law in Cambridge), boasts of personal, academic and professional accomplishments even at such a young age.
He holds first-class law degrees from the Obafemi Awolowo University, the Nigerian Law School, and the University of Cambridge, all before turning 23! Earning him the coveted title of a triple first-class lawyer. On Friday, 1 October 2021, he was formally conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from Oxford University.
Right from time, he racked up a stellar resume; At 12, he passed his Junior School Certificate Examination (JSCE), gained admission to study Law at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) at 15, bagging a first-class degree. Later proceeding to bag his second and third first-class degrees from the Nigerian Law School and Cambridge University before turning 23 years old.
Today, at age 26, the Delta State indigene, born to father, a retired civil servant, and mom, a professor of Linguistics at Delta State University, unsurprisingly is doing exceptionally well in his Law career.
Called to the Nigerian Bar in November 2013, presently Dr. Onoriode Reginald Aziza is a Counsel in the Legal Division of Chevron Nigeria Limited where he provides legal support to the business in a broad range of complex, high-value matters.
Prior to this, Reginald worked in leading law practices in Nigeria (Olaniwun Ajayi LP), London (Herbert Smith Freehills LLP), and Paris (Shearman and Sterling LLP).
Trip down memory lane, Dr. Aziza didn’t set out to be a Lawyer at first but a neurosurgeon, studying law was an act of rebellion against his dad, he says. That decision has more than obviously paid off BIG.
The astute litigator and mentor also helms a scholarship scheme called the Reginald Aziza Leadership in Law Scholarship Award launched in 2017, which funds intellectually gifted but financially constrained students to the Nigerian Law School, thereafter connecting them to jobs and scholarship opportunities to help further their education and careers.
