AKOKITES APPOINT LEADERS

The students of The University of Lagos held elections into offices across the various departments and faculties in the school to elect representatives that would lead them for the 2013/2014 academic session between the 10th and 18th February 2014. Ifeoma Nwalisi- 300L, English; Modiu Olaguro-400L, Education Math; Godwin Oyewunmi- 200L, Medicine; Adeyemi Olalemi-400L, Education Physics; Chizoba Nwajei- 300L, English  Reports.

FACULTY OF ARTS

With the exception of the post of the President, Vice president, Assistant General Secretary and Welfare director, all other positions were unopposed. Departmental elections were held concurrently with the faculty elections.

Females emerged as presidents in the Department of English and Philosophy respectively. They are Chiamaka Gift Oduah and Oluiji Sarah Oluwabukola.

There were credibility issues in the electoral process in the English Department as misunderstanding aroused due to the disqualification of some aspirants and fielding of some on the day of the election. As was expected, there were apathy among voters which might be due to the just concluded examinations and the closure of some halls of residence.

The following students emerged as the student representatives in the Faculty of Arts for the 2013/2014 academic session: Fatunbi Jimmy (English)- President, Michael Aderibigbe (History)- Vice President, Odebode John Oluwamuyiwa (Philosophy)- General Secretary, Oluwalore Tobi Destiny (Philosophy)- Assistant General Secretary, Ekuh Chuks Harrison- Social Director, Dipo Muhammed (Philosophy)-Public Relations Officer, Gbenga Opasola (Philosophy)- Welfare Director, Salome Oyerinde (Philosophy)-Financial Secretary and Sylvanus Aiganbekong (English)- Sports Director.

Fatunbi Jimmy won the presidential election with a total number of 394 votes ahead of Ezekiel Ajibola who had 241 votes.

FACULTY OF PHARMACY

All the posts were unopposed, so elections did not hold according to the electoral guidelines.  Faith Ngonadi was elected President, Adeola Aminu- Vice President and Isreal Imoru as the treasurer.

FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

The Faculty of Environmental Sciences had all positions unopposed except the post of the General Secretary which was won by Paul Babalola with 147 votes against Mogaji who had 126 votes.

The following were the unopposed positions and their winners: Abayomi Oriyomi- President, Olanrewaju Oseni- Vice President, Moyosore Odekunle- Assistant General Secretary, Alaba Otukoya- Sport Director, Yusuf Kareem- Financial Secretary and Chinedu Egunije who was elected as the Social Secretary.

 FACULTY OF EDUCATION

The elections in the Faculty of Education was fiercely contested which was eminent due the caliber of the contestants and the fact that examination was still on in the faculty which made most of the students to be available for voting.

The manifesto was held on the 13th of February while the election was held the following day between 9am and 3pm.

The offices that had no oppositions were: the Vice President’s office won by Kazeem Ayo Adeyanju, Assistant General Secretary- Damilola Deborah, Financial Secretary- Eze Joseph, Sport Secretary- Ibrahim Kalejaiye and the Welfare Secretary won by Babatunde Ademolekan.

AbdulRasak Afeez Akanji who was the out-gone Public Relations Officer lost the presidential seat to Razak Olaniyan with a total vote of 538 and 963 respectively; the post of General Secretary was won by Stephen Onyiburemeh with 763 votes beating Noah Dauda who had 666 votes. A total of 951 votes were enough to elect Damilola Majiyagbe who was challenged by Daniel Oyeniran who pulled 404 votes.

Chinyere obi lost the post of Social Director to Morayo Rashidat Ipaye who had 536 votes as against 914. The public relations officer was won by Imole Agbojule who pulled a total number of 755 votes to beat Muritala Bello and Joseph SchooJ who had 390 and 303 votes respectively.

The election, though peaceful and had large turnout of voters was almost marred with discrepancies as some students were caught either trying to vote more than once or with identity cards that belonged to someone else.

The skillfulness of the electoral committee headed by Kehinde Lawal Kamoli made sure that at least two persons were caught and handed over to the securities.

FACULTY OF EDUCATION DISSOLVES HOUSE

As counting and collation of votes was going on in the faculty of teachers, the legislative arm was dissolving the House of Representatives.

The house, which consists of thirty legislators, spread over the six departments, had four principal officers in the person of Miss Bolatito Idowu Odunlami- Speaker, Yusuf Oluwatobi Arikewuyo- Deputy Speaker, Adetayo Sunday Adelana- Clerk of the house, and Daniel Oluwatobi Inino- Chief Whip.

The new principal officers were elected by the nomination of the legislators after which an open ballot election was conducted in cases where more than one person was nominated: Titus Adebowale Adeyara and Micheal Yahaya sits as the Speaker and Clerk of the house as they had no contenders.

Ayodeji Micheal lost the post of Chief Whip to Oluwaseun Solabi with three to twenty-two votes while the Deputy speaker was won by Blessing Ufot with seventeen votes beating Balqees Ajibowu who had eight votes.

ON ASUU STRIKE: UNLIKE A NATION’S PRIDE By Modiu Olaguro

On the 10th of July, 2013, the students of the University of Lagos received a message from the SMS mobile service -“LAG MOBILE” that read thus: “UNILAG students have not and aren’t planning to stage or join any protest. Joining any protest is your risk. UNILAG, (1st choice and nation’s pride) - Council of Faculty Presidents…10 July 2013”.

Please tell me this nonsense is not coming from my student “leaders”. Are these persons speaking for Akokites or for themselves? Who should actually instigate a protest against the poor state of education if not the student leaders of the institution that prides itself as the University of First Choice and nation’s pride? Where should the protest start from if not from the university that has produced activists like Tunde Bakare, kayode Fayemi and Ayodele Awojobi?

For those that are not aware of student leadership in the University of Lagos, here is a brief description of what operates over here. The student union government was proscribed in the year 2005 following series of rioting led by the student union government in the university under the vice chancellorship of professor Oye-Ibidapo Obe.

Since then, the students neither have a uniform body that speak on their behalf nor represent them on the student union level. Though, the “SUG” government is not in place, there are student representatives across faculties and departments in the school. In a bid to fill this vacuum, the presidents of the various faculties came together under a platform called “Council of faculty presidents”.

Though, not a registered body with the Dean of Student Affairs, the council of faculty presidents has been instrumental to solving student problems on campus. A good example was the food protests that brought about uniformity in the prices of items on campus.

But being a student leader goes beyond having an office or having meetings with the DSA or vice chancellor, a student leader should in actual fact be a genuine representative of its subjects and not a stooge to neither a group nor the school authority or even, the government. A reliable source disclosed that the presidents met with the school authority and one of the conclusions raised was that as long as the students agree not to participate in any form of protest in solidarity with ASUU, the hall of residence will be open throughout the strike prompting the SMS that was credited to them.

If this is true, then it had actually reinforced my position that the future of Nigeria is not only bleak but gloomy. Does it mean that the presidents of the faculties of the University of Lagos are not privy of the issues that instigated the strike action by ASUU? If students do not stage protests against the abysmal state of the nation’s educational system, then what should they protest against? 

It is as if this council does not know what’s at stake at this stage of our national life. The issues that were tendered by ASUU are numerous and few of them are the same time not within the purview of the students but at the same time, there are quite a number of them that are of more benefit to the students than the agitators (lecturers) themselves.

The students of the University of Ibadan under the leadership of the student union organized a protest on 11th of July in solidarity with ASUU demanding the resignation of the minister of education- professor Ruqayat Rufai. This is not the only time the students of the University of Ibadan had stood for justice and on the side of common good in the history of Nigeria as a similar scenario played out during the subsidy protests.

A similar action was taken when they came en masse to show some support to the students of the University of Lagos when President Jonathan proposed that the name of the school be changed from UNILAG to MAU. My question to the student leaders is this- what is your position in all of this or would you continue to keep mum on this issue of national importance?

If our student leaders in the various tertiary institutions and the leadership of the National association of Nigerian students (NANS) in general are actually concerned about the welfare of students a fraction of how they rush to trade awards for money, they would by now have state unequivocally their position to the government through press releases, conferences, street demonstrations and even occupy the ministry of education; but alas, like Nigerian Politrickcians, it is only money that unite them not the welfare of whom they claim to represent.

Mr. Issa-Fagee while addressing a press conference, urged all stake holders to come to the rescue of the country’s educational and financial sectors from the hands of wicked governments (state and federal) as  the economy of the country is “glaringly under the jugular clutches of Western economists, experts and interests who promote exogenous (external) instead of endogenous (internal) model of development” hence, “counting on the renewed support of the media in challenging agents of underdevelopment who deny less-privileged Nigerians quality higher education, health, employment and other life-transforming elements of development”.

He goes further to equally invite "labor activists, students, traders, professional groups, civil society organizations and other progressive segments of the public to join our determined efforts to save Nigeria from her captors".

Here is a brief summary of ASUU’s demand that actually concerns the students in the universities according to the July 1 2013 strike bulletin number 1:

An agreement was signed in 2009 which the federal government agreed to increase progressively, the annual budgetary allocation to education to 26% between 2009 and 2020; render assistance to state universities; set up research and development units by companies operating in Nigeria, teaching and research equipment provision to the laboratories and classrooms .

FUNDING OF THE SECTOR

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommends at that least 26% of the annual budget is to be expended on education by any developing country like ours which had been implemented by quite a handful of other African countries like Ghana who has never gone below the recommendation since 2003 with an average allocation ranging between 26% and 35% of its annual budget to education. Kenya on her part dedicates at least 24% while South Africa budgets an average of 26% to the education sector.

A breakdown of Nigeria’s (the giant of Africa) allocation clearly legitimizes ASUU’s resolve to get the government to pay more attention to the sector- The 2013 budget allocated N426.53bn to the education sector from a total of N4.92trn representing 8.7%; In 2012, out of a total budget of N4.7trn, less than 9% (N400.15bn) was spent on education of which  N55.06bn was allocated to capital expenditure, N345.09bn on recurrent to include N317.896bn for personnel cost and N27.192bn for overheads with the main ministry proposal of N5.491bn, MDGs- N2.173bn, parastatals- N5.196bn; universities- N14.411bn, colleges of education- N4.555bn and unity colleges- N7.663bn.

Speaking at a lecture organized by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, on Leadership and the Challenges of Higher Education in Nigeria, Senator Babafemi Ojudu quoted a Nigerian professor to have said that “Nigerian leaders for whatever reason have consistently underfunded the educational sector even at the level of budget proclamations which, as everybody knows, does not tell the full story about actual expenditure. Is it any wonder then that Ghana’s better funded educational sector has become a haven for Nigerian students seeking a modicum of quality and order?”

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT UNITS

Universities all over the world take pride not only in teaching but also in research. Serious countries fund their ivory towers to conduct research in order to export their findings and discoveries to the industries and the external world. This culture of research fund has not only been imbibed by government and individuals (through donations) across the world but have over the years produced desired results in the field of science, engineering, psychology and even operation research. In the United States for instance, there are lecturers whose job is strictly for conducting research leaving the teaching of students in the hands of the academic ones.

The reverse is the case in Nigeria as not only do we have to contend with inadequacy in the number of staff (teaching and non-teaching), the few we have are not properly motivated. It is so sad that in the 21st century, some lecturers do not have offices and some even share with their colleagues in our universities. Is it a surprise that we import everything even toothpick?

According to Ojudu, In 1995, at the time Nigeria could boast of only 711 scientific publications, South Africa had 3, 413, Brazil had 5, 440, while India had 14, 883.

The setting up of the research and development units would not only be instrumental to the scientific progress of the nation but will also attract significant attention by “brains” from universities of other countries; the unit, if in place will enhance research activities on campus and also promote effective collaboration of Nigeria scholars with industries across the world.

PROVISION TO THE LABORATORIES AND CLASSROOMS

Our laboratories are no lab at all! Ours are only abodes for rats and other rodents as they are not adequately equipped and maintained; the laboratories in our citadels are best described as glorified yam barns having cobwebs as designs. Our physics lab only houses rulers and rusted beam balances; the chemistry labs in our prestigious towers are home to dry taps and expired chemicals that were probably bought during the free education program of the late sage- Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1955.

The classes in Nigerian universities are more or less a mechanic or carpentry workshop where there are more damaged furniture than good ones, our classes are neither conducive for teaching nor learning, with little or no illumination.

As a student of Mathematics, I had cause to meet with one of my lecturers on a problem on construction and he said they do not have any material on it. This left me worried as i wondered why as a department, there would not be a mathematics laboratory where students could actually see the practicality of mathematics especially geometry where they would be able to construct mathematical shapes, determine their features and areas for themselves.

What ASUU is agitating for is that they are tired of producing unemployable scientists and graduates in general- their agitation is not only for themselves but for the students also as many graduates of physics today could neither differentiate a potentiometer from a galvanometer nor a shunt from a multiplier; we have graduates of Microbiology today who find it extremely difficult to teach junior secondary school Basic science at the same time, there are thousands of Mathematics graduate certificate holders who are not conversant with the construction and bisection of a line segment. All ASUU is saying is that the laboratories must be given special attention.

RENDERING OF ASSISTANCE TO STATE UNIVERSITIES

Can you please educate me on what successive federal governments have done for the past 14 years in Aso rock? One does not need to be a close relation of the vice chancellors and registrar in universities especially the federal ones to get a glimpse of the pressures they face by all and sundry because of admissions into federal schools. It is not as if the lecturers in federal universities are more of a genius than their counterparts in the state universities but because every Nigerian especially the indigent ones prefer to study in a federal school because of the low fees paid in the federal institutions.

In the Lagos state university for instance, a students pay between N180 000 to N300 000 as fees whereas the University of Lagos charges less than N45 000 for freshers and an average of N9000 for staylites.

Though the state governments are also culpable in the decline in the standard and quality of education in the country, the federal government must come to the aid of state owned universities in other to ease the pressure on the federal universities and also make education available to all.

Modiu Olaguro studies Education and Mathematics at the University of Lagos; he wrote in through The Press Club, UNILAG .

First Published: July 2013

NANS, STOP URINATING ON OUR HEADS By Modiu Olaguro

"The blind leading the blind is not so upsetting, more jarring is the blind leading the sighted"

The academic staff union of universities (ASUU) have been on strike for the past ninety days; according to the ASUU chairman- Dr. Issa Fagge, the strike action became imperative because the federal government had failed to honour the agreement it made with the union in 2009.

As it has always been whenever ASUU strikes, the university students are always at the receiving end of it as we are left with no other option than to sit idle at our homes recounting our losses especially the inevitable extension of our academic years in school.

Though no student in his or her right senses would want to extend his or her stay in school by even a day, the situation of things that prompted the strike embarked upon by ASUU ought to make us have a rethink and to ponder for a moment on whether we- as students would rather agree to support ASUU in this cause on their position that education has to be adequately funded or succumb to the extra year pressure in clamoring for an end to the strike.

Among the stakeholders that have been vocal on the current imbroglio is the National association of Nigerian Students (NANS) headed by the National president- Yinka Gbadebo.

Gbadebo while speaking in Lagos recently, said that NANS was no longer in support of the strike as it has no moral obligation to do so urging ASUU to drag the federal government to court.

The National association of Nigerian students is the umbrella body of students studying in all tertiary institutions in the country. Thus by implication, every student studying in a university, polytechnic or college becomes an automatic member of the body.

Before embarking on this journey, it would only be fair to give a concise definition of an association in order to ascertain whether NANS fits in.

The Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary (International student’s edition) defines an association as “an official group of people who have joined together for a particular purpose; a connection or relationship between people or organization”; Encarta dictionary defines it as “Coming together and social interaction between people”.

As it is expected of an organization, we believe that any statement from the leadership of NANS ought to be the position of the generality of Nigerian students across universities; polytechnics and colleges respectively but a closer look at the antecedents, actions and statements from the leadership of NANS should make every Nigerian student wary of this body.

A colleague confided in me that quite a handful number among the leadership of NANS are either drop outs or graduates; he further revealed that the smart ones amongst them enroll for a part time, diploma or graduate course in an institution before obtaining a form of contest in order to be recognized as a student.

Clearly, ASUU and NANS are independent bodies; as Gbadebo pointed out, NANS has no moral obligation whatsoever to partake in its fights and struggles but as logical as the statement may sound, the leadership of NANS fell into a deep fallacy by asking ASUU to accept the paltry sum of 130 billion to be shared by over 60 universities.

As i wrote earlier in a piece titled “On ASUU strike: unlike a nation’s pride”, the 2009 agreement consist of quite a number of things but there are few ones that ought not to be the fight of ASUU but that of NANS especially the funding of education. Not a single one among undergraduates will support ASUU if it had embarked on this strike because of the increase in the retirement age of professors or the handing over of landed properties to federal universities.

No Nigerian student whom NANS claim to represent and speak on its behalf would line up and sing songs of praise in support of ASUU if its reason for leaving the classroom was for an increment in pay and not the call for a better education for the Nigerian people.

If NANS had been an association that truly seeks to protect the welfare of the over 60 million Nigerian students, it would have occurred to its leadership that the clamour by ASUU on the funding of education ought not to be ASUU's fight but theirs; or who stands to benefit from a world class classroom, a standard laboratory, a 24 hour electricity supply to the hostels, a reduced teacher - student ratio? The lecturers or the students?

How would NANS claim to represent 60 million Nigerian students when it neither owns a website nor a blog? What authority do NANS and its card carrying executives have when they have not a single presence on the social media? I searched for 'www.nans.edu.ng, www.nans.org, www.nans.com and several other combinations but all i got was “website not available”.

A Facebook search of NANS only shows a page with a total like of “4654” as at 14th of September 2013; a scroll to the bottom of the page had a poorly constructed statement that goes thus:

“I am comrade Adeoye Adelaja, former Ass sec Gen in Federal poly Bida 2004/2005 set, i searched on facebook and i did Ŋ¤τ̲̅ see NANS, i decided τ̲̅ȍ create the page!!! in solidarity and for the sake of passing information τ̲̅ȍ all concern across all students bodies, i donate this page τ̲̅ȍ NANS, all the current Excos who which τ̲̅ȍ Manage this Page should do ♍ƺ an Email dibigslim@yahoo.com for ♍ƺ τ̲̅ȍ admin dem”.

How on earth is NANS representing students in Nigeria if it cannot boast of a twitter account in the 21st century? How can Gbadebo and his colleagues be speaking on my behalf and on the behalf of all undergraduates if it does not have a single notice board in the University of Lagos, the University of Ibadan, the University of Calabar, Ahmadu Bello university- Zaria, Federal university of technology- Akure, Yaba college of technology, Adeniran Ogunsanya college of education, and all the other tertiary institutions across Nigeria?

The benefits of the social media as a powerful tool was most evident during the January 2012 subsidy protests where the Nigerian people were mobilised via the online media; NANS absence on the online media would not have bothered me if other associations such as the market women, national union of road transport workers, national union of local government employees, carpentry associations etcetera were not online.

Is it not a farce that few individuals have been parading themselves as the saviours of Nigerian students when they see nothing wrong in the standard of education in Nigeria? If Gbadebo was a Nigerian student, will he claim not to be aware that a four man room in an average Nigerian university now occupies at least twenty students?

How can NANS be a body that is concerned about the welfare of the Nigerian students when our laboratory taps are dried or is the ailing standard of education not part of its mandate?

What justification does NANS have to clandestinely take sides with the federal government (please convince us otherwise) when it is glaring that this country have the resources to fund education even beyond the 26% recommended by UNESCO; this is a country that feeds a president with 1 billion naira per annum and changes the spoons and forks in the first lady's kitchen with 45million naira for the same period.

How does NANS claim to speak for Nigerian students when it has always taken sides with the government in power? Speaking at the 11th annual campus life workshop, the Lagos lawyer- Mr Femi Falana stated his displeasure over the lack of sincerity on the part of NANS as the association could not present itself as a witness in the court to fight the fee hike in the Lagos state university; yet, they claim to protect the interest of the Nigerian student.

How does NANS expect Nigerian students to buy the idea that the country's economy will collapse if education gets adequate funding when there is profligacy everywhere? the politicians rides in exotic cars of the latest model whereas our professors drive about in a jeep of less than 800 000 that was manufactured probably in the 70’s; former president Olusegun Obasanjo owns a university, Atiku Abubakar owns, David mark earns over N600 million a year, Dimeji Bankole stole his own, Patricia Etteh stole, James Ibori laundered, Tafa Balogun stole, Bode George carted, Sanni Abacha's loot is still hanging, General Theophilius Danjuma sold an oil block and after paying all obligations, he asked Nigerians to advise him on what to do with it because the proceeds was too much; is NANS still buying the lies of Labaran Maku and Dr. Okonjo Iweala that the economy will collapse; that there is no money in Nigeria to educate its masses?

The 20th century physicist- Albert Einstein wrote that “Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think”- so as an individual that have received little education, I’ve been engaging myself in some serious thoughts on whether it was possible for the federal government to declare bankruptcy if it decides to cough out a paltry 1.2 trillion spread over three years on the education sector when each senator and member of the house of representatives earn at least $1.7m and $1.2m respectively amounting to over N3 trillion per annum in a country where 10 million children are out of school.

What calibre of student occupies the executive position of the association? Which school do they attend? What level are they? What’s their course of study? What are the criteria for becoming a member or an executive of NANS? What are the short and long term objectives of NANS? Who were the Nigerian students that agreed that the governor of Ondo state- Olusegun Mimiko was the best governor of the Nigerian students? What were the criteria involved? How was the conclusion reached? Was it through a vote? If yes, who voted? Where did the voting take place? Was it online or offline?

How does NANS organize students for mobilization and protests if it neither have a website nor a Facebook account or does it go about it via phone calls or text messages to all 60 million Nigerian students? As a student body, who acts as NANS staff adviser(s)? Politicians or Lecturers? How does NANS get its funding? How are the funds utilized? Who does NANS report to? Has there been any case of financial misappropriation among its members? If yes, who? When? And what actions were taken against the person(s) involved? These are begging questions that needs sincere answers from the leadership of the association.

If the questions above have answers, where are they and why are they so elusive not to be within the reach of the Nigerian students?

If Nigerian students pressure ASUU to call off the strike, i would not want us to forget that since the establishment of ASUU in 1978, it had embarked on strikes in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013 over similar issues as the present one which makes it evident that if this problem is not solved once and for all knowing fully well that the country have got the resources to heed to its demand, our children will probably be in our present predicament in a matter of years.

This is a clarion call to fellow students in all tertiary institutions across the country to demand for a body that will serve to protect our interests, speak on our behalf and sincerely represent us in order to help build an education for all society.

Until then, our heads are soaked, please NANS, stop the urine.

Modiu Olaguro finds 'X' at The University of Lagos.
Email:dprophetpride@gmail.com

First Published: October 2013

A TIME FOR CHOOSING By Modiu Olaguro

“Now’s the time to dissociate the bitter politics of hate in the mainstream Nigerian politics from our ivory towers”

The election timetable had been drawn by the office of the Dean of Student’s Affairs with detailed guidelines of the manifestos and elections into various offices at both the departmental and faculty levels across the University of Lagos.

Though, there have been traces of politicking among students as a build up to the democratic process, the lifting of the ban and the release of the guideline have since,  set the ball rolling with contestants spurning out across faculties to make their ambitions known.

At several juncture in the university, the sight of posters, flyers and banners are not hard to spot with varying designs and promises- a semblance of what operates in the wider society where several promises are made to the electorates but little efforts are made to list and enunciate how they are to be accomplished.

The unfortunate politics of sectionalism, religionism, departmentalism and cohortism coupled with the fierce act of godfatherism which has become an integral part of Nigerian politics has badly found its way into the psyche of students’ representatives emerging in our ivory towers or how bad can it be when voters are urged to vote on the basis of same religion or department rather that the pedigree of the individual.

There have been allegations and counter allegations of sabotage and rigging among contenders; some have even accused their counterparts of sending evil spirits on them via nightmares.

It is pertinent to note that every electorate owe it to his/herself and the student community the right to vote and be voted for without any fear or favour. While anyone within the confines of the stipulated requirements can obtain form of contests, the bulk of the electioneering rests on the shoulders of the electorates.

Incorporating the voting process with examinations surely places the students at a tight corner, but it was inevitable due to the time frame as a result of the ASUU strike. It is hoped that every student would see this opportunity to contribute to the leadership in the university as a build up to the inevitable reinstatement of the student union on campus.

Though election holds at the faculty level, it is as if the politics of selection has come to stay at the departmental level as no voting whatsoever occurs among aspirants in the almost all of the departments. I have witnessed one in my department where some group of students came together under the platform called “concerned science and tech students”; their job was to persuade, dissuade and nominate representatives on behalf of the thousands of students in the department.

During one of their meetings, in a bid to screen out two out of the three aspiring general secretaries, they were asked to list the contents of a minute of a meeting and to my astonishment; neither the first nor the second could utter a word, not even the third. I wondered what they were looking for as not only did they fail to give an answer, their sponsors boasted that they would learn as soon as they get into office. If an intending secretary could not even state a date as the most elementary part of a minute, I wonder if she would be able to tell the position of the address in a letter.

For different administration, the same story abounds; it’s like pouring an old wine into a new bottle. The posters and flyers, although colourful, contain mere rhetoric and plagiarised quotes that have failed to speak intellectualism to us the electorate. All we see in prints are “a new dawn”, “The time has come for a change”, “it’s about service and not servitude”- is this what we are going to export to the nation after our graduation?

Speaking at the American University, the 35th president of the United States- John Fitzgerald Kennedy quoted Professor Widrow Wilson to have said that “everyman sent out from a university should be a man of his nation, as well as a man of his time”

A university ought to be a space where ideas flow, talents nourished and leadership qualities instilled among the students. Our ivory towers should be an almost utopian society where the quest for truth is paramount. If Nigerian students still find it difficult to play a free, fair and credible election with sound manifestoes and intellectual debates, does it not amount to hypocrisy to blame the INEC chairman Professor Attahiru Jega or Dr Jonathan for the flaws in the country’s politics?

Students’ representation is a serious business that requires readiness, brilliance and a high sense of patriotism. It goes beyond collecting annual dues and organising beach parties. A student leader that is worth our votes should be one with a history of leadership and comradeship, calmness and selflessness who would represent his or her subject without fear or favour.

If what is on ground is anything to go by, it clearly illustrates that quite a handful among our intending student leaders just as their counterparts across the country are driven neither by their patriotism nor selflessness, adroitness nor brilliance, charisma nor boldness not even a sense of belonging or a quest to make the society better but a thirst for power and influence, greed and embezzlement and a means to build self-ego. A situation though abysmal, represents to a great extent, the political climate in the country.

Modiu Olaguro is a member of The Press Club, UNILAG.

Email: dprophetpride@gmail.com

Editorial: BEYOND PROTESTS

The University Of Lagos had in the spate of two weeks witnessed two protests by students of the institution. The first was the protest against the high cost of items on campus and the other was staged on Thursday, 20th June, 2013 at about 6pm in front of the electrical unit as a result of the fluctuation in the supply of electricity to the various halls of residence.

It is as if the administration of the school is shrouded in secrecy especially when one considers the fact that the students do not have a unified body to speak for them. For instance, the protest against the shortage of power would have been avoided if the management had carried the students along on the development through various media such as the Information Unit, Press Club and Lag mobile.

This development only portrays the University as one that do not take the welfare of the students as primary as no member of staff (academic and non-academic) would be here in the first place without the students.

It is no news that goods on campus are sold at exorbitant rates as compared to what operates outside the community. Other services such as passport photograph, photocopy, printing and typing are also rendered at a high price.

According to the students, the aim of the food protest was to send a message to the vendors that enough of the extortion and also to inform the management that it is always “students first” as none of them would be here as member of staff if it weren’t for the students hence, the need to stop toying with their welfares as this is supposed to be paramount.

It is important to let the traders, vendors and other persons that renders commercial services on campus know that the students of this esteemed University awaits their unreserved apology for extorting them for so long.

The joint monitoring committee that was set up among the students, vendors and the leadership of the Dean of Student Affairs should see to it that they carry out their responsibilities without fear or favour, as the well-being of every student on campus solely depends on their ability to ensure compliance to the agreed prices and also monitor the quality of foods sold to the students.

With the fluctuation of the prices of goods as a result of Nigeria’s unstable economy, the work of the monitoring committee gets more complicated as they would need to go extra miles in other to regulate prices of items on campus.

This essay was first published in July 2013