Agony Of ‘1000’ LASU Students’ Dropped-Out: An Appeal To Fashola

'My father took a loan of N250,000 from his cooperative society to pay for my first year , and I borrowed N8,000 from my friends. I have been advised to withdraw from school , my counterpart s are now in 300 Level I would like to plead with the state government to have mercy, and revert to old fees'-Gbesemehene, a supposed 300 Level student (dropped- out) of Phisics, LASU.

Prelude
If there is any state governor in the recent times who has been faced with aluta demonstrators of grave concern and causing sleepless night to same, he is no doubt Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). Faced with the enormous task of governing a mega city-Lagos, and the attendant challenges, different sectors of the state took turn, one after the other to presenting heartrending complaints usually of high financial responsibilities.

Accordingly, from the educational wing alone, the LASU-ASUU lecturers for example, and their students have engaged him with a number of demands, which sometimes is accompanied with a caveat, directing that it be met within a specified period.

On their part, the students would relocate to his office alongside sleeping aids and cooking utensils where they cooked delicious beans and dance to skelewu and azonto to the consternation of the public and the security personnel, all in a bid to mount an irresistible pressure on the University of Benin's trained lawyer and consequently bowing to same due to some unimaginable and inescapable political implications.

In a similar vein, the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and its sister counterpart, the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASUU), both LASU branch, have equally and still blowing their trumpets demanding for promotions in service, increment of their retirement ages, and improved welfare services, all channeled towards the governor to make hard concessions.

Imagine that other key sectors like health, transport, water, security etc, have simultaneously embarked on similar agenda in the ways and manners of the above, I wonder what would have remained of the erudite scholar-turned politician. But the good thing is that they all sought to complement the restructuring embarked upon by your government. In spite of this, trust him, he never seems to be wearing long faces as many would have thought, rather, an enduring -smiling outlook, that signals 'all-is well-posture'. That is the trait of a good, amiable and listening administrator like Fashola for you, who knows the true definition of what administration entails.

Note this, Mr. Governor, we Lagosians had long found these rare leadership qualities in you, prior to your becoming the governor of Lagos state in 2007, which was why we did not hesitate to overwhelmingly vote you into office and a renewed ticket in 2011. Such is the irony and burden of governing a people in a metropolitan city like Lagos.

The writer's philosophy
That this writer, (comrade MOMODU) would often pick a pen and begin to disturb you with his numerous, motivating and inspiring articles through the pages of the national dailies advising and pleading you on behalf of LASU students and lecturers, is born out of his incurable conviction about the role that education plays in our model societies, especially now that Lagos is fast becoming a mega city, which meant that we need to breed more educated workforce-engineers, town planners, scientists, business executives, pharmacists etc. in order to reduce capital flights abroad payable to expatriates in return for their services.

It's against this backdrop that I rose to champion or otherwise advocate for the reintegrating into LASU, the 1,000 (unofficial figure) students who had dropped out of the Lagos state university due to fee hike, before its tuition was reduced on June 11 this year. In the story entitled: 'Why I'm dropping out of school' by one Mr. Gbesemehene, a LASU undergrad, as contained in the Vanguard newspaper of May 23, 2014, (reporter- Laju Arenyeka), this writer couldn't control himself as he wept profusely and labors to wipe off tears. Probably, they might not have wished to quit if not for the unavoidable circumstances that overwhelmed them. Life cannot be more frustrating than this!

The Agony of the victims
For the students, they would be more disturbed considering the fact that some of them had to go through hell before they were able to pay for their first year after being offered admission.

For instance, as one of the victims, Emmanuel Gbesemehene rightly stated in a chat with the Vanguard, when he lamented that 'his father loaned N250,000 from a cooperative society organization,' plus his additional efforts which earned him N8,000, thereby bringing the total sum to the tune of N258,000 (for yearone), automatically enters 'voicemail'-total loss. Assuming the average victims paid the sum of N240,000 each, as school fees between year one and two, (before they were booted out by the 'old' system), they would have, giving the above figures, loss (a total sum of two hundred and forty million naira only. i.e N240,000,000) to the state government. What this means is that they have been rendered easy preys to the societal predators who capitalizes on youths' misfortunes by using them to perpetrate social brigandage at a time when the nation is confronted with security challenges. This is truly agonizing. Whatever befalls such citizens in the future, they will blame the society and the government for failing to train them. No doubt, among them we have future brilliant lawyers like Falana; pragmatic administrators like Fashola, business moguls like Dangote; computer wizards like Zuckerberg and amongst others. These great men of international repute own their success story to one thing- 'education'.

Financial pledge
In order to set the pace for this project, this writer, a final year student who shares the agony of the victims and who has also been very active (with over five published articles for the LASUites' struggle) hereby pledges the sum of (N20,000) as 'donation' to officially kick-start what I called a 'humanitarian fund raising campaign' to be domiciled into an account known as-LASU Indigent Students' Relief Fund (LISRF). This idea, if supported, will cater for their dues on their return to complete their remaining sessions or semesters. Donation is opened to all.

Historical reference
This gesture is a replica of a scenario in the '70s, when a Nigerian 'woman, deeply moved by the graphic portrayal of the horrors of apartheid South Africa, made a donation of the sum of one hundred naira only (N100), during the celebration of African Day, on May 25, 1976 to fight the war of liberation from the twin evils of racism and colonialism'. It was the initial seed money that triggered a national fund raising exercise and the establishment of South African Relief Fund (SARF), which later runs into millions of dollars during Obasanjo regime.

Writer's suggestions and appeal to the Governor
In the light of this, this writer's suggestion to the governor as visitor to the university is that, he should use his goodwill by setting up a fact-finding special committee (FFSC), comprising of LASU management, government officials and Students' Union body, in a bid to ascertaining the actual numbers of students affected; levels; faculties; departments and most importantly, the financial cost of their fees in line with the current school fees regime, to returning them back to classrooms. This singular, but humanitarian task, if carried out before the end of your tenure, would not only write your name in gold in the annals of history as a populist, but it will also enhance the nationalistic prestige and image of your party-APC .

Therefore, I urge all fellow Nigerians; eminent Lagosians; cooperate institutions; civil society organizations; religious gatherings; private business owners; political office holders; the artisans; UNESCO and other well meanings NGOs etc. to lend their voices and support this humanitarian project, in bid to 'appealing' to Fashola on behalf of these indigent students, for the reinstatement of their studentship, in other that they may complete their degree programs and pursue their life ambitions professionally. Who knows, they might be the proverbial rejected stones that become the cornerstones.

Conclusion
Once again, I commend you on your developmental and visionary strides in transforming Lagos into a mini sub-nation state.

Comrade MOMODU Kadiri writes from the Department of History & Int'l Studies, LASU. Email: [email protected]. Tel:08120567606.