Tell no lie, claim no easy victory but tell it to the people the way it is... amicar Cabral
The students’ union of Obafemi Awolowo University wishes to announce to the public CATEGORICALLY that it has not in any way planned or established any means to disrupt the coronation of the new Ooni of Ile-Ife land. As a matter of fact, it even becomes a privilege and blessing for our generation to witness and felicitate alongside the dignitaries that will be present in the official ceremony of the 51st traditional ruler of Ile-Ife- OBA ENITAN ADEYEYE OGUNWUSI. The university management in their characteristic derogatory habit had only painted us bad to the international community as rogues, touts or worse as tyrants in the statement pasted on the University website. To our image, it is unhealthy and devastating judging from our stance in the past. The students’ Union in time past has been recognised for their ability to draw lines between emotions and our anger which has been the reason why our demonstrations have been mainly 90% cerebral while the remaining 10% as a mere physical exercise.
In this piece, we tend to reshape the minds and opinions of the public as against what the management had published:
That a letter was not sent by the students’ union executive to request for a meeting with the University management. Rather, in anticipation of the statement published from the office of the president of the SU titled: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE VICE-CHANCELLOR that the University management hosted us to a meeting. For the sake of posterity, it must be noted that the principal officers at the meeting failed to hear a word from us and proceeded to calling us various forms of names and graciously generalising the whole students as animals and people void of brains. As mass oriented based leaders we gave reports of the incident to people who had elected us in glorification of the true spirit of democracy that the University has failed to teach us.
That the acting dean of students affairs directed hall committees to start renovation is a prevarication. The response of the dean in that meeting was that the University is short of funds, the school in its purview has given the best of learning conditions and also that our fees are too small to commiserate our demands. But, we are aware that less than a year ago, the needs assessment fund that sums up to 2.8 billion naira was released to the University account which is the reason why we are asking for an elevation in the living and learning conditions of our students. Not disconnected from the fact that 18,000 developmental levies were introduced to our charges in 2014, we are expecting erection of new structures and rehabilitation of existing ones. While understanding that the basis for the astronomical increment last year was for the ‘betterment’ of welfare conditions, we do not have an euphoria in the total transformation of OAU into an ivy league university yet we only demand for basic needs and requirement for good academic grades.
That the supply of electricity was cut off for one day is very far from the truth. The resumption into this semester greeted us with three days of total blackout. However, with the plague that the University management has inflicted on us, the students’ Union was able to reason along the fact that some serious technical fault might had arose. Neglecting the pre-conceived notion about cruelty of the management, our arm of consultation and negotiation got longer and we pacified students by bringing the hope of a permanent and lasting solution to its quagmire. Subsequently, just a week after, light and water became intermittently supplied. Against its constant necessity, sometimes we had it for 2 days and the next 3 days might be unprecedentedly erratic. As rational human beings, we complained and stated vehemently that the conditions are egregious, pesky, in humane and dangerous to our student’s well-being. Not, only that our grades will be affected but of impending endemic and health disaster. We also predicted that in subsequent times, students might as well get angry to the extent that it might be impossible for the leaders to further pacify and control them.
Unfortunately, the light and water issues continued for 3 days consecutively. Students cannot clean themselves, cook food for their consumption and the whole scenario looks like compulsory starvation in a 21st century model University.
That the University has only chosen a rival relationship to the whole student body by publicly sharing the account of professor Y.K Yusuf without the consideration of the PRO of the students’ Union version. One of the principal rules of natural justice remains Audi alterem patem meaning that all individuals must be given a right to fair hearing. The reputation of the university management has even reflected their plan to further victimise radical students and leaders who have stood against inimical established order of the University management. Lecturers are not gods; they must be accessible and approachable both in classes and informally.
The PRO of the students’ Union while moving about to perform his constitutional duties of informing students basically for the celebration of the international student’s day came across the professor in Oduduwa lecture theatre where he introduced himself and asked for permission to address the class. Although, the lecturer had the prerogative to allow or deny him, yet, it has to be in a respectful manner. To our greatest surprise, not in conformation to the respect that had been displayed by the student, the lecturer shouted at him saying that he is stupid and with immediate effect dash out of his class. The student- EMMANUEL OJEDOKUN- is way above 22years of age; he is fit to be considered an adult and in some advanced country, he is already fit be a leader in all capability.
Asking for proper acknowledgment is never criminal. What is more criminal is the denial of information to be passed. What if it was security information? In the same vein the lecturer might have denied his student of is access. From facts garnered, the lecturer resulted into physical assault by grabbing him around the neck and rough-handling him. We understood that the lecturer was not known for that attitude and was only tensed because he actually came to class 38 minutes after the specified time for lecture. Our position was for an apology for the undisputed assault on the student and for ASUU to take steps in re-orientating her members.
That Owolabi Olawale aka ogunruku who was suspended in 2011 during the protest against the increment in acceptance fee from #2,000-#20,000 is not in the student’s database of the University is a laughable test of logic. Is it possible for a non-student to be suspended from a University? The University management sent a letter signed by the then Registrar through the faculty of education and department of physical education for his suspension on the basis that he participated alongside more than 30,000 students in a peaceful protest against un-justifiable increment in school charges. We use this rare opportunity to commend ASUU’s intervention in his case which further gave us the requisite confirmation that the management is only acting in an overtly superior manner, sheer magnanimity and un- justifiable hegemony.
We bring to our parents, guardians, well wishers and in generality, people of IFE and Nigeria at large that if there is anyone guilty of time and lives wasting, there is none than PROF.Bamitale Idowu Omole. In this session, we have had 2 mid- semester break in the space of 5 weeks. The first one was during the NASU revolt against non-payment of 40 months allowance which was an escapist strategy against the intervention of students in that struggle. Resulting from the unprecedented eviction of students from the University in September was the tragic loss of 2 of our students in an automobile crash on the dead traps called roads in our country. Our students are saying that they want to learn, they want to meet up with the normal academic calendar and graduate as early as possible but the management is only acting on speculations and misinformation of the public.
WHO IS MORE SERIOUS AND RESPONSIBLE???????
Omotayo AkandeOluwaseun Oketooto
PresidentSecretary General
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