'I'M THE AUTHENTIC NANS PRESIDENT' …OTHERS ARE FAKE –EMEMOBONG

'Look up here, I am the authentic NANS President. All others going about parading them as such are nothing but pretenders to the throne.' That's the message that Comrade Ini Ememobong, President, National Association of Nigerian Students, wants us to pass across to Nigerians.

Over the years there have been many factions of NANS and many NANS Presidents going about and purporting to be speaking for the national body on some national issues. But in a recent visit to Daily Sun Ememobong, armed with a press statement signed by Comrade Bashir Baballe, immediate past President and four other officials dismissed such claims as nothing but baloney.

'I was elected President exactly on 13th December 2009,' Ememobong said in a chat with Daily Sun. 'Elections into vacant offices in the National Executive Council and Senate arms of NANS were conducted at the Women Development Centre, Abuja. And, at that election, I emerged as President. We were about six to seven people. It was a massive victory. Other people who emerged victorious include the Secretary-General and Senate President because offices in NANS are zoned. It doesn't matter where you are from biologically. But it matters where you are schooling. That's why you could have officers coming from Northern zone to become President of NANS in the South because we are talking about academic zoning, not biological.

'I emerged President of NANS and on the 15th of April, I was inaugurated and the immediate past President, Comrade Bashir Baballe, was there.

The immediate past Senate President was there. Former President, Tijjani Kabiru, was there. The President of National Association of Polytechnics Students, Tijjani Mustapha of the Kaduna Polytechnic, was there. We also had in attendance, the President, National Association of Colleges of Education Students and the President, National Association of Colleges of Agriculture Students. They were all there. More than 10 states governments were represented from either the Ministry of Education or the office of the Special Assistants to the governor.'

The statement titled 'Setting the records straight' and signed by Comrade Bashir Baballe, immediate past National President of NANS, in agreement with the immediate past Senate President, Com. Olalekan Edward Smart and four Zonal Coordinators of association, namely Comrade Usman Karfi, Zone A, Comrade Michael Mafiejor, Zone B, Comrade Sabastine Pyklong, Zone C and Comrade Jalapamo Bolanle, Zone D, a copy which was obtained by Daily Sun, condemned, among other things a 'situation where there are many people parading themselves as NANS Presidents and EXCO members.' 'This is an ugly situation which is very unpalatable,' it further noted.

'We are totally embarrassed by the numerous calls and queries we receive on daily basis from concerned and affected individuals concerning the state of NANS. Some of them have claimed that they have been blackmailed, threatened or defrauded by persons claiming to be Presidents or Executive council members of our revolutionary organization.

Arguing that 'there can only be one President at a time,' it noted that 'for the current tenure of Zone B, the comrade who won the election and was duly elected as President is Comrade Ini Ememobong, a Law student of the University of Uyo. Members of the public are therefore advised to be properly guided when intending to meet or relate with NANS.'

'Our revolutionary organization being the largest students movement in Africa,' it warned, 'is not pro or anti government but will continually stand for and defend the rights of Nigerian students, which is our core responsibility.

Ememobong who said he was at The Sun to set the records straight like the press statement rightly noted and to appeal for assistance of the paper, because of its reach, to make the truth known to generality of Nigerians however noted that he wasn't going to take any action, whether legal or non-legal, against those parading themselves as NANS President, as he very much believe in the triumph of truth over falsehood.

'Democracy comes with some leverage. It comes with leverage where the application of force is not too appreciated,' he said in an answer to a question on what his plans are, for others parading themselves as NANS President. 'These things have been happening over the years and NANS has a way like every society of dealing with its own issues, legal or non-legal. There's what we call the Aluta Force; you crush every opposition. But I came in and sat down and said, first, I am a Christian; secondly, I am a Law student. And, by the nature of my training, I could jeopardize, by one stroke what I had spent years to build. History is recording us. As for people claiming to be this or that, which society knows they are not, any right-thinking person who chooses to do small investigation will know who the pretenders are.

'For you to be NANS President, you must first of all be a student. You cannot give what you don't have. You don't put something on nothing and expect it to stand. I'm a 400 Level student of the Faculty of Law. Ask them. NANS is for undergraduates, not for post-graduates. So, when you follow history, you will see that history is recording us.

For every criticism, we respond with programmes. We were voted in to discuss student matters. For example, we have a programme that will be coming up in January to address problem of morality, of indecent dressing, of students being used as thugs, to address issues of large and uncontrollable sexual immorality on campuses.

'So history is recording what we are doing and the story of great nations is nothing more or less than the stories of men and women who lived at those times. So, for every issue of faction we reply them with a positive programme.

'We are currently compiling the feelings of Nigerian students because we have a Charter of Demands which for us is a constitution that has become obsolete because the opening chapter of demand says we shall drive away the military. The military has long left. So, who are we going to drive away now? So, it is good for us to sit down again and chart a new course, to say that within a democratic structure, we shall not drive away democratic governance, but we shall engage them positively. And, at this programme I am talking about, I will come with a prepared text that galvanizes the interests of Nigerian students which will become for us an engagement document with Nigerian government in 2011 and beyond.'

Asked why there are so many factions of NANS, Ememobong answered: 'We have factions because we are microcosms of the society. Why do we have factions in PDP? Why do we have factions in ANPP? Why do we have factions in ACN? Why do we have factions in PPA? Factions in NANS have existed even before 1993. Let's be sincere. The issue of factions came with people who sponsored people for elections and cannot take defeat. Even the civil societies were part of the people sponsoring factions among students. So factions predate me.

'I began to hear about factions in NANS when I was in nursery school. I heard it again when I was in secondary school and up till to the university, I've heard about it. That it is happening to me is so unfortunate. But it is a reminder to me of the fact that I should have started fighting factions when it was happening to other people because the easiest time to fight a crime is when it is not happening to you, when you are not a victim. So, I am now calling on people: you don't know whether you will be NANS President tomorrow. Start praying that it does not happen to you.'