OAU And The Return of Tyranny

By Adejumo Kabir

According to Frederick William Robertson, there are three things in the world that deserve no mercy, these are: hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny. However, with the development in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, the university management exhibits all of these from hall porters to security operatives, from security operatives to bigwigs in charge of students' Eportal and the 'letter writing department of the institution'.

It is pathetic that out of oppression and tyranny, the powers, that be now determine what students may read and what students may not read, what students must say and what may not be said, this for you is forbidden to know and you must never go near the megaphone except for fellowship announcement and other dogmatic conferences where politicians come to boast of how they have been stealing our collective joy. I remember there was one where the response to the popular chant: "Great Ife" was changed to "Atiku" all in the name of N5 million donation and a bus to a faculty.

Recently, an aide to one of the Nigerian Senators disclosed that during his days as undergraduate, his principal would not have wished to visit OAU because of the revolutionary combat students will wage against them. Nothing of such any longer and no thanks to the university management who believe in keeping students ignorant and denying them from educating their colleagues.

While section 22 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides for the obligation of the mass media, section 38 provides for freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Section 39 gives provision for freedom of expression and the press. Also, section 40 and 41 provide for freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of movement respectively. However, OAU authorities have framed these aspects of the constitution because they know that those aspects are the deadliest enemies of tyranny.

Some weeks back, concerned students gathered in Angola Hall of Residence to discuss issues affecting them as pertaining to buttery exploitation and other welfare challenges. Truth be told, at the cause of this intellectual engagement, I did not recall that there was any form of violence or vandalization of property.

Instead of applauding students intellectual engagement, the authorities rather summoned the key players in the intellectual discourse, blocked some persons portals and tagged the meeting an "illegal gathering of students". Some of us wonder what the institution will tag the section of New Bukataria where fight frequently occur after some elements drink to stupor and where some students now gather to do 'short time' at night.

Another appalling thing is how the university management confuse the public on the state of the Students' Union. When authority "A" says the SU activities are probscribed, authority "B" will say only the CEC and SRC activities are probscribed. What is a union? A union is simply a coalition with same law biding them. Then, a part of the union cannot be probscribed without the other being affected except we want to justify hypocrisy.

While the university management also accused these students of misleading statements on the attempt by the school to increase students school fees at the college of Health Sciences, its refused to disclaim the fact in Premium Times report affirming that a meeting was called where stakeholders and some group of persons classified as parents discussed an increment of N85,000 as professional training fee.

Let's not make 'animal farm' of the institution without thinking about the consequences. Yes, the institution is for learning and culture however, it will be difficult to give to others what you don't have. As an observer during the gathering, these students haven't done anything outside the law of the land and it is important that the university does not bring out issues out of nothing. There are better issues to resolve than victimising the 'pointers' of irregularities on campus.

The challenges students face daily to get buses in the morning and later in the evening after classes should be the headache all stakeholders in the institution. We understand that most of the 100 level, perhaps part one students as we call it here have been reportedly 'brainwashed' during their orientation that no one goes into unionism/activism succeed in life. While it will be against the learning and culture principle of the university for me to say elders are lying, and as a well cultured Yoruba boy brought up very well, I will rather say that there was 'adjustment of truth' in the assertion credited to the management that activists "never do well". In fact, it is on record that activism of students and workers led Professor Ayobami Salami out of the institution, it was activism that brought Professor Anthony Elujoba and the same activism denied him of going to jail.

The university itself applauded the roles of students during those period as activism gave the current Vice Chancellor the opportunity to be one. Gagging against activism now is nothing but hypocrisy. We understand that the authority is expecting some persons to graduate before the restoration of the union in order to have control over newbies like they do to a section of the lecturers' union. This may be a brilliant move but indeed not a good move.

Many have been relunctant to write and speak because of fear of being attacked but silence will only make the school degenerate beyond repair.  Some students have been to Koshere prison without stealing, but on the ground that they beat up porters who confessed to their chairman in their heart of hearts that no students beat them. Like Fela named his house Kalakuta republic after he left Kalakuta prison, history will never forget how some students were illegally jailed during this administration. Remember, no amount of rejoinder can erase the name of Professor Wale Omole from 1999 cult attack.

Also, there are several cases at the university security unit initiated by hall porters against students, but no one speaks about how some porters knock on students doors in middle of the night to count the number of students in a room, how porters illegally stop students to ask for their identity cards when some of them don't even come with one during their search at night. If we are to go by the definition of the dictionary on who a porter is, it will be unfair to them. And we understand that they are part of the oppressed who are not aware of their state of being.

Lastly, it is understood that the Association of Campus Journalists (ACJ) has turned to Association of Coward Journalists as its leadership no longer represent the interest of the students (herein the masses). The sad thing here is that if everyone is scared of being attacked in this kind of setting, who will restore normalcy?

Adejumo Kabir, is a student journalist at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.