CONGLOMERATION OF DICTATORS AT THE HELM OF AFFAIRS; FROM OAU, UI, UNIPORT, AND NOW TO UNILAG, WHAT HOPE LIES FOR STUDENT MOVEMENT IN THE COUNTRY

By Moshood Odunayo Olajide 

        The role of students in providing a spark to mass movements such as the struggle for the defense of the defenceless and war against poor learning environment and general welfare conditions on Nigerian campuses cannot be overemphasized just as Nigerian University authorities in a new but tyrannical way of caging students interests has resolved to castrate the agitations of students. 

        This process of struggles but in another dimensional bold demand has been championed in many countries abroad without recourse to trampling on democratic principles, for instance, in China, revolutionary students launched what became known as the “May Fourth Movement” in 1919. This movement mobilized hundreds of thousands of students to oppose the division of Chinese territory by the European powers following the Versailles Treaty of World War 1 protesting imperialist domination of their country, the students in May,1919 were the first to recognize that it was not “foreigners” in general who were China’s enemies, but the imperialist exploiters, their troops and corporations, who sought to drain and subjugate China. 

        This aside, the revitalized struggle on the part of students and young people around the world is a clear example from students spring’s  uprisings in South Korea, Greece, Japan, Thailand, and the FeeMustFall struggle recently in South Africa which is a student led protest movement that began in mid October 2015 in response to an increase in fees at South African universities. The protest which also called for higher wages for low earning university staffs who worked for private contractors such as cleaning services and campus security and for them to be employed directly by  universities. This protest later yield result as the South African government halt the fee increment regime. Also, in Turkey and some part of Europe, student coalitions led by organizations, fought against government cut-backs in social infrastructure and neo liberal policies while youths in the above mentioned countries also rebelled against the blatant injustices from the authority. 

        In Nigeria, reverse is the case in all these, apart from university authorities silencing of students legitimate agitations without recourse to the tenet of democratic ingredients, they always abuse power to the extent of proscribing  student unions, suspending or expelling any activists who lead students legitimate agitations while students will be placed under strenuous undertaken to learn whenever there is reopening of school after an initial shutdown. 

        THE EXPERIENCE OF THE OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE 

          In 2011, the management of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife increase the first generation institution's acceptance fee from #2,000 to 20,000. This increment of acceptance fees sparked peaceful demonstration upon announcement by the University Public Relations Officer with over 15,000 students geared ready for the mother of all protest to express their anger and demand for total reversal of the fee. But as usual in authorities dictatorial character, the school was shutdown while a student activist by the name Owolabi Olawale who is pivotal to the acceptance fee struggle was suspended by the management and since then, he is yet to be reinstated up till now which is attributable to the half-heartedness and cowardice deployed towards defending the right of students to quality living and learning conditions in OAU Students Union under the leadership of the recently dissolved Omotayo Akande TY led administration. 

        While independent unionism free of control from school  managements is very essential in escaping from the cage of these tyrants, student leaders in the country especially from the next national leadership of NANS should also commence immediate public campaign geared towards the amendment of the students union regulations bill in the  National Assembly, amendment criminalising the suspension or proscription of student associations should be one of the primary target and the campaign should be intensified by employing all legitimate measures within the ambit of Law from, protests, mass rally, distribution of leaflets and to public symposiums carried in all the six geo political zone in the country.

Moshood Odunayo Olajide
24/04/2016