ALUTA ROCKET MISFIRING AND HIS CAMPAIGN OF CALUMNY

People who are vulnerable shouldn't attack others, especially in ways
that draw attention to their own areas of vulnerability. We are all
vulnerable in different ways; sometimes we forget our own
vulnerability and throw stones at other people in the form of
criticism. A person might remind us that we too have our own faults
and weaknesses by saying "people who live in glass houses should not
throw stones".

The thought is that if you live in a glass house and throw stones at
your neighbors, you could destroy your own home (especially when your
target retaliates); your house instead of protecting you will shatter.
Therefore, one should be careful how and when to act (if and when
necessary), because in trying to harm (bring down) others one could
bring trouble on oneself. People who live around expensive porcelain
antiques shouldn't throw stones!

This conveys the sense that we should be careful how we treat other
people (with our words and actions), or saying of bad things about
them; we should not say insulting things to and about other people
because they (their friends/fans) could easily do the same thing to us
(when chanced). This is a message for our Union Welfare Director, the
'Saint' Comrade Olanrewaju Nafiu Qudus (ALUTA ROCKET) – the
self-proclaimed no-nonsense man and a caring heart comrade.

It is imperative for lovers of peace, unified, vibrant and progressive
student unionism in LAUTECH to caution the Welfare Director for his
hypocritical and display of undemocratic political gymnasium and
ignorance about leadership; with his campaign of calumny against the
person of the Union President and the Cabinet which he's part of. This
amount to denigration and degradation of office of the President and
dragging our Union into the mud. His incessant attack on the
personality of the President could not only blotch the reputation of
the Union but also malign that of our citadel of learning.

Though it is quite necessary for him to vent his anger to perceived
irregularities and high-handedness coming from the office of the
President, but he should learn to put a sense of civility and
demureness into it and play a role expected to be played by a leader
the students sees him to be. If I must say, his noise is getting too
much and his ranting is becoming that of an ant; He's gradually losing
it, the respect, commendations and encomiums being showered on him by
some of us who are of the mind's eye that he's the most active among
the Union executives. Yes! He's indeed very active; at least, at the
time when the Public Relations Officer of the Union decides to go on
hibernation (for God knows why), he took it as a responsibility and
duty to keeping us abreast on relevant and important information about
happenings in our hinterland; which is quite commendable.

I admire his blazing passion for the welfarism of the students, and
I'm very proud of him for his passion and the drive to see that the
students live without any disturbance or panic. Despite his known
shortcoming, he has forwarded letters to different and necessary
quarters which had facilitated several meetings with the landlords of
our various hostels, with the aim to achieve reduction in our hostel
fees; also met with the security operatives, for them to protect our
lives and properties; as claimed though!

No one is disputing the fact that he's working. We're all aware of his
efforts, but it is hypocritical for him to come on social media to
paint black the person of the President and the cabinet, while he
presents himself as a saint and the only caring hearted comrade in the
cabinet. I'm not a fan of the President, only that truth must be told.
If the antic employed in his campaign of calumny is to ensure that he
gains public sympathy and support towards his presidential ambition in
the next student union election, he's been deceived by his intuition;
Ladokites are not fools, they are wise voters that don't get tricked
by such antic, more-so a strategically weak one. The tactic is not
only hypocritical, antique, debasing, degrading but also undemocratic;
it is a poor choice of approach and the territory on which, when and
where to vent the anger against the President and the irregularities
in his cabinet.

With the hypocritical actions of the Welfare Director so far, it is
only someone who is pathologically sold to untruth and of weak
reasoning will still believe that the attack on the person of the
president is borne out of his (Aluta Rocket) genuine passion for the
welfarism of the students; but his primordial sentiment and political
chauvinism, which is uncouth, uncultured and uncivilized for a
parochial and divisive comrade like him to blotch and make mockery of
our dear and referred Union with his unguided, unguarded and
unsophisticated bluffs.

The 'pull-him-down' campaign he's engaged in will not and never help
him, moreover, when he's also aiming to occupy that same post of the
President. To be frank, it will serve as an impediment to his
political ambition; an obstacle to his emergence in the next Student
Union Election (that's even if he's ratified as being done in his
socio-political organization). Whoever is advising him to use the
tactic to score cheap political points and gain political popularity
is not helping him; if he doesn't play it softly, he'll lose it
totally and ruin his blazing ambition.

He failed to realize that the people hailing and commending him today,
for his 'pull-him-down' campaign against the president and the cabinet
he's serving in, will be those that will stand against him tomorrow
and say to his face: “you pulled your boss down for you to attain his
position; you're a betrayer, an atrocious comrade; an illiterate of
plunder, meretricious saint; glorified and meritorious scumbag; a wolf
in sheep's clothing; a sacramodial and pathological liar that should
be extricated and evicted in a sane and safe community”. He should be
aware that no one eat his cake and have it, and also whatever one
soweth, shall he reapeth. The earlier he realized that, the better for
him!

Meanwhile, we should also note that for the Welfare Director to vent
his anger against the President on social media, it means he'd tried
different medium which I think proved abortive and he's left with no
choice than to let the cat out of the bag. This is a pointer to the
fact that the President has failed as a leader to put his house in
order, which begat to the incessant attack on his personality and
leveling of allegations against him by member(s) of his cabinet.

He (Aluta Rocket) claimed that the President refused to sign the
letter which could facilitate reduction in the fees of our various
hostels if and when forwarded to the necessary and concerned quarters;
he (president) is insensitive about the plight of the students; and
negligent of his duty, failed to put his house into order, thereby
unfit to lead the students populace. Also, in his recent tirade, he
claimed that the president failed to release the Union bus for easy
mobility of the Union officials and security operatives at night, for
them to cub the brutalization and robbery of the students by the men
of the underworld and securing the lives and properties of the
students.

Simply put: the president has turned the Union bus to his personal
property. In addition, many students asserted that the president
drives the bus recklessness and only use it in conveying ladies from
one hostel to another to enjoy himself and frolic to no end (they're
jealous of our president's powerful prowess and the unmatchable record
of his exploits in the Aluta “E” ministry though).

It is thus pathetic that embarrassing silence continues to be
prevalent on the side of the President in situations that call for
extreme urgency in responsiveness and the restoration of students'
confidence in the Union. The allegations leveled against him are
allegations that must not be taken with flippancy by him and all
progressive minded Ladokites. Thus, there lots of questions begging
for answers from the president; why will he refuse to sign the letter?
Why has he been dumbfounded on issues raised by the Welfare Director?
Is he truly insensitive about our plight? Why will he refuse to
release the bus to other members of his cabinet when duty calls? Isn't
the bus meant for the easy mobility of the union officials in time of
struggle? Even when the security of lives and properties of those he
sworn to protect is at stake?

For fair judgment, we therefore demand to know what is really
happening in the union, because we're sick of the officials dragging
our union into the mud with undemocratic actions and inactions. Over
to the President, we want to know his stance and answers to the
questions raised. Enough said!

Oluwatomilola Boyinde, TOMINIGERIA, P.R.O, Union of Campus Journalists
(UCJ), AND, All-Nigeria United Nations Students & Youth Association
(ANUNSA), LAUTECH. [email protected], @TomiNigeria,
08032434218, 2AF2EB9D.