If you hear the name LASU in news, you are likely to conclude there is another crisis brewing. Its almost as though the citadel of learning hardly goes through a session without one crisis or the other.
The student union body of the school with support from NANS Zone D (Southwest) on the 20th of August, 2015 put the school on lock down in protest against the Senate building and Admin block 1 building locked allegedly by the 3 staff unions, ASUU, NASU, and SSANU.
Meanwhile, rumours have it that the student union executives and NANS zone D had collected money to put up the protest,a protest that did not have the support of the general student body.
Ina swift reaction, the public relation officer of LASUSU debunked the allegation of being influenced to put up
the protest on his Facebook wall, he had this to say.
RE: NANS ZONE D AND LASUSU SHUT DOWN LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY
The attention of the Students' Union of Lagos State University has been drawn to the false accusation, power packed innuendos and concocted lies hurled at members of LASU Students' Union(LASUSU) and National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS) Zone D, that “they are hugely paid and adequately mobilized by the University Management to scuffle academic activities on Lagos State University (LASU) campus”.
We respectfully reject the false accusation and throw such in the bin as they are deeply unfounded, baseless and unwarranted in a citadel of learning, where we have the largest gathering of intellectuals in the world. We strongly believe that members of ASUU who are alleging know the effect of false allegations as he who alleges must proof. We implore those who made these allegations to do a thorough investigation of their purported claims and come out to allege the Students’ Union with a substantial proof. Please note that, this is not the first time ASUU will allege the Students’ Union, the first allegation was that the Students’ Union has been mobilized with 4million naira to against them which was published in ASUU-LASU official bulletin around march.
Therefore, , the Students’ Union is not swayed by the propaganda being spread by some people, as the Students' Union leadership will not at any time sell the mandates and trust reposed in us by our members by indulging in such act. We remain progressive and shall champion the cause of the downtrodden students of Lagos State University as we are militant but reasonable.
THE STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY
Pursuant to the closure of the administrative block and senate building, there are many things at stake. Issuance of certificates to our fresh graduate cannot be continued, 100 level faculty of law cannot be considered admission, 500level law can not go to law school until next year, without the approval of results by the senate, our 1st semester cannot end, etc. Hence, looking at the revised academic calendar, our results ought to be approved by the senate on the 25th August, 2015 so as for the just concluded semester to end. All these are the reasons why the Governor as the visitor of LASU should say something about LASU.
The Students’ Union find it uncalled for, for the visitor of the institution Mr Akinwunmi Ambode to remain silent on LASU matter as the Union takes the silence as criminal in nature.
Actions were not directed to any quarters, however actions were directed to get the attention of the State Govt so as for him to save LASU from this partial stroke which has been achieved by the intervention of the Deputy Governor.
NANS ZONE D SOUTH WEST INTERVENTION
NANS Zone D (South West) an association with over 54 higher Institution membership, held in a pre-convention on the 29th of July, 2015 at Federal College of Agriculture Akure Ondo State, where the ZONAL Coordinator was accused by presidents of institution in LAGOS that as the coordinator, he has never made any visit to Lagos campuses since the beginning of his administration. Thereafter, it was unanimously agreed by all Students' Union Presidents, that NANS Zone D Executives should visit Lagos Institutions, which a date for visitation was never fixed. Surprisingly, on the 7th of August 2015, NANS Zone D came to Lagos to address a press conference so as to sensitize the larger community on the dangers attached to the continued closure of the senate building and the Administrative block of the University. Communique of the pre-convention can be made available on request.
Thereafter, when the Students’ Union was notified of of the coming of NANS Zone D, the President wrote a letter to the parliament to call for congress so that LASUites can decide whether or not we should accept NANS on our campus or disassociate ourselves from the struggle. Hence, the congress was disapproved on the ground that students are not much on campus and that we are on holiday, so the congress cannot be called.
Flowing therefrom, the president having seen that the congress has failed, called a stake holders meeting with all faculties president where we have in attendance 6presidents out of 7, chairmen of LASUSU standing committee and some members of the Union in LASU. The decision to allow NANS on campus was taken at the stake holders meeting held on the 19th Aug, 2015 because the congress has failed.
Hence, the University gates was only locked for some hours to gain the attention of the Govt, and the gate was opened immediately we received a call from the Govt, to find a lasting way forward to the crisis.
The Students’ Union apologize to all LASUites for not channeling another way of reaching out to LASUites to inform them of the situation of thing having seen that the congress has been disapproved.
LASUSU POSITION
It would be recalled that when the University Management postponed our exam indefinitely, the Students’ Union wrote several letters to the Governor for him to prevail over the Management and give us a date for our exam. To this end, the letters were not attended to, until we protested by blocking the Lagos/Badagry express way that the Governor intervene the second day.
On the crisis in LASU, the Students’ Union has written series of letters to the Governor which the one we wrote to him last was 11pages; this letter has not been attended to by the Governor. The Students’ Union letter to the Governor was premised on the criminal silence of the Governor on LASU crisis.
This is the 5th month of the crisis, and the Governor is not saying anything about it forgetting the fact that such a silence is criminal at this point where many things are at stake. What the Students’ Union needed was to capture the attention of the Governor so as for the Governor to heal LASU from its partial stroke. In any institution where the senate building and administrative block is being locked, such citadel is suffering from partial stroke.
It is in this regard that the Students’ Union needed the attention of the Governor to immediately make a pronouncement on LASU so as for our members to enjoy a smooth and gallop free academic journey, not such that in the next 2months, LASU will be battling with another crisis as witnessed in the 1st semester.
GNS MASS FAILURE
Having received plethora of complaints from students of LASU who sat for the GNS 201/301 exam that Lagos and his Environs/ African history (a second semester course) and Logic and Philosophy/ Man and Science( a second semester course) was merged together which made Centre for General Studies to ask irrelevant questions they didn't prepare for in their respective exam.
Also, the Students’ Union received an internal memo from the Director of GNS which was a reply to the complaint letter written to the Director by the Sub-Dean of Social Sciences saying that there is nothing they can do to the mass failure. Instantly, we wrote a reply letter to the Director of GNS warning them that we are not stopping them from uploading the result, but there must not be mass failure, if not we would not take it lightly with them. They invited the Union for a meeting for 3:00pm on the 20th Aug, 2015.
The Students’ Union therefore sent a broadcast to inform all affected students that they should make themselves available by 10:00am so as for the Union to have meeting with them and have a background knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the issue before meeting with the Director of GNS which NO student showed up.
It is evident therefore that the protest started around 3:30pm and we have called for GNS meeting around 10:00am, which makes it goes to show that the time of the movements are not in tandem with each other.
LASUites misconstrued the broadcast we sent to mean that we mobilized for the protest, we didn't, because the purpose of the two movement are different.
We give thanks to God that the purpose of why we protested has been achieved by getting the attention of the Government on LASU issue by the intervention of the Deputy Governor on the same day of the protest to invite all the Unions on campus for a way forward meeting.
CONCLUSION
Having asserted, we want to apologize to all LASUites that we are very much sorry for not informing LASUites of the protest before it started, however, it is now visible to the blind and audible to the deaf the reason why we have failed to communicate to all LASUites. Also, we wish to promise that latest on Monday, the GNS result will be released which there wont be mass failure.
On a final note, the Executive-in-Council disassociate herself from the injury caused to the speaker as that was never ordered by any member of the Executive in Council. However, it happened on a personal level between the speaker and the person in question. Above all, the Executive in Council condemns such act as it is against ethics and public morality.
The Executive in Council has agreed at an emergency meeting on Friday that any action the speaker intended to take on the matter, the Executive in Council is ready to give him full support on such move as the NO 3 citizen of the Union.
Signed
D ERUDITE
LASUSU PRO 14/15.
For more clarification;
08082656877, BBM: 2BEC62E3.
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