Lasu Vc, Students At War Over Union Elections, Tuition Fees
''No matter how long the night, the day will dawn''
The atmospheric barometer of the lagos state university is getting hot again between the institution's management and the students particularly the politicians among them who are vying for respective political positions in the Students' Union Government (SUG). The students have been managing their tempers since last year following the cancellation of the election by the authority claiming that one of the aspirants whose popularity was ranging in the build up to the election was said to be having issues with the LASU authority. Since then, it has been one issue on the other and a battle line thus was drawn between the management and the league of aspirants on the one hand, and Lagos State University Independent Electoral Commission (LASUSU-IEC) and the Dean Students Affairs, Prof. Akiyemi. The problem is further worsened by some set of students, whom the university is unarguably indebted to as a result of reversal and are equally ready for a showdown with the juggernaut Professor of pathology to either refund their school fee differentials immediately or declare total war on the campus by means of protest.
But what the students fails to realize is that such disbursement can only come through the approval of Governor Fashola, as particularly the case as the government had last week announced that it had disbursed the said amount and that it was only a matter of time for the students to start smiling to banks. But since there is a break of trust between them and the government, they simply concluded that 'seen is believing'.
Responding to one of the TVC Reporters last week on the issue of the fee refund, I simply noted that 'only until the students start receiving alerts from their respective banks will they believe that money was actually released, otherwise, it's business as usual'. However, information is on that some students are already receiving banks alerts, whether this is true or mere joke will soon be made known to the public.
To begin a reign of fresh agitation which if care is not taking may affect the delicate balance of LASU academic calendar, some of the students, (under the aegis of league of aspirants) were seen yesterday morning February, 23, venting their angers at the main campus, ojo, calling on Obafunwa to allow elections to hold as scheduled, meaning Wednesday, February 25, 2015. The peaceful protest which went on for several hours set of from the faculty of arts abe igi, marched to the administration block which housed the VC'S office and other principal officers of the citadel of learning in a view to presenting their grievances was left unattended to. Not even a representative was sent to address the mob. Efforts to reach the V.C was abortive but an unofficial source who claimed not to be mentioned disclosed that the Prof. was probably out of the country as far away the United States. When the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics, Prof. Senapo Bakre latter called on them for a possible peaceful dialogue, it went deaf ears. The protestants also marched to the Student Affair Divission where they were received by the D.S.A who assured them that message would be communicated to the authority and blamed the LASUSU-IEC for the yet to be conducted LASUSU election.
When I phoned the chairman of the IEC, COMRADE Momoh Mustapha, on the allegation from the D.S.A, he simply concluded that his committee does not have any problem in conducting the elections, adding that it was the management that stalled the election in the first place. This view was further corroborated by the IEC secretary, comrade Lawal Hakeem aka (Dady Fish) who noted that his committee didn't stop the election but the management, adding that 'they are fully prepared whenever the management gives the go ahead to do so'. This is the current state of affair in LASU.
Considering the current political battle between the PDP and APC in the nation's commercial capital for the soul of the state and Aso Rock, it is left to be seen how the LASU narrative which recently endorsed Akiwumi Ambode of the All Progressive Congress, APC, would slug it out with the opposition party's flag bearer in the state, Jimi Agbaje's in the days ahead since each side is desperately looking for opportunity to break into the other's stronghold.
As things currently stands, the Governor of the state, BRF should act fast before it is too late to prevail on the LASU management to conduct the Students Union elections within days, otherwise, the series of arrangement already underway may characteristically work against his party in the March 28 and April 11 elections. I have personally cautioned and faulted some of the plans but swift action by the government can make a different. There is limit to what comrade Embassy can do. When I saw the evils of school fee hike last year, I engaged the SUG leadership and faulted their decisions in a number of respects. God so good, we got our demands. As a Student activist, I cannot be silent when certain things which I found inimical to the generality of the students and the union are endangered. The yet to be conducted LASUSU election is one of them.
The Vice Chancellor has done the necessary thing by pardoning AWO, one of the presidential candidates whom the management said has questions to answer and all that. Now that he has been cleared, I think all that is needed is to re-order for a fresh one.
AWO is the acronym for Adeyemi Wasiu Onikoro which the candidate adopted for the purpose of 2014/2015 LASU-SUG elections before it was abruptly but avoidably postponed over the fear he might go to the poll and win, a scenario LASU Authority would not fold its hands seeing it manifesting. Their fear is against the backdrop that considering AWO's long history of undeterred alutarism, he might not be a push-over- president or easily compromisable when it comes to matter of conflicting interests between students and the government as exemplified by comrade Nurudeen's leadership who is the outgoing Students' Union President. But what they obviously missed is that it's the students that can only guarantee the faith of all the four presidential candidates- Comrade Sodik Oloko (KODO); COMRADE Ayo (A'WHY), comrade Hussain (OGO) and comrade AWO.
The LASU Authority had last December cancelled the Students' Union elections citing as reason, one, out of the four presidential candidates-AWO, whom according to the Management had a case to answer in a sinister move to disqualify him and prevent him from participating in the election. This was contained in a well publicized LASU official bulletin dated December, 10th 2014 at a time when the students populace numbered in their thousands were fully prepared elect their leaders that would pilot affairs in 2014/2015 session.
Surprisingly, this hatred, rather than contaminating the minds of the candidate's supporters turned out to be blessing in disguise as many of them found more reasons to support his ambition to vie for the number one seat in LASU students hearachy.
In fact, it won him huge crowned of sympathetic supporters across the institution's campuses- main campus, Ojo; LASUCOM (Ikeja); School of Communications (Ojuelegba); and Engineering (Epe) respectively.
In contrast therefore, just as the PDP led federal government influenced Jega's controlled INEC's decision to push for poll shift from February 14 and 28 as earlier scheduled respectively, so was the scenario in LASU as the authority mounted pressure on the LASUSU-IEC's (Lagos State University Student Union Independent Electoral Commission) chairman, comrade Momoh Mustapha and its Secretary, comrade Lawal Hakeem aka Daddy Fish to scuttle the electoral process in LASU. But the IEC, in its maturity pushed the burden to the Dean of Students Affairs for implementation. The only difference here is that whereas INEC had since announced a new date of March 28 and April 11, 2015, the Lagos State government controlled LASU and its authority has done otherwise without considering the fact that the institution students Union is currently without leadership. Section 85(2) and 91(1) of the supreme LASUSU constitution which clearly states as follows: “the transition period shall commence from six weeks before the begning of second semester examination”. Accordingly, section 91(1) say: “all organs of the union stand dissolved when the university session for which the organs were elected comes to an end”. Contrary to these provisions, LASU is in its 5th week into the first semester. How do one interpret this.
Whether the VC and the Lagos State Government are planning to scrap the Union as proposed for which reason they don't want the election hold, is an issue of grave concern, and it must be vehemently rejected.
Until Governor Babatude Raji Fashola instructs LASU Management to conduct this pending elections that will bring in a new Students' Union Exco, He and his APC chieftains will lack any locus standi to criticize President Jonathan, his party PDP and INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega over the postponed general elections. They should practice what they preach and not the opposite. Nigerians are not fools.
Should the election not hold as proposed next week, it will be the third time the LASU management will be sabotaging the Students Union elections. The first was December 11TH and February 4th respectively. I pray the students' populace would not use this as a veritable ground in disturbing the peace of the university just a year after the January 22nd and 23rd 2014 protest. We don't learn from history. It is now a slogan that the only thing the government and LASU authority acknowledge before bowing to pressure is violence. We in LASU want peace not violence.
My good friend comrade Nurideen has made his mark as far as the history of students struggles are concern after leading the students towards unprecedented achievement in LASU. I spoke to him over the weekend about the need to fast track the elections to avoid the uncertainty. Its sanding that over 40 days down the line, the union is still without a new exco. I will continue to agitate until the elections are held possibly next week Wednesday.
Comrade MOMODU IS AN ACTIVIST.