By: Ochi, Maduabuchi

In the words of Ojo Aderemi, the President of the Students’ Union in 2017 to his successors, “due process and protests are the same”. “Protests are a process to get what’s due,” he noted. Seen through this meticulous lens, it seems like the recent steps of the Union, which stray further and further from the decisions made by the congress last session, are shy of due process and will not hand to students what is due to them as members of the Union.

It is interesting, with the benefit of hindsight, that they (the Union) signed the release before the postponement of the congress with the words, ‘Aluta Continua’, because they seem to have taken the words to heart, not wanting to end the fees-must-fall struggle, which the students of the University of Ibadan have found themselves enmeshed in. This seems to be the only explanation as to why the Union leadership has not only failed to organize students for proper action, but has delayed meetings that could have pushed for it as well. This far, the struggle must continue after all.

To those who may not know, the Students’ Representative Council in exercising its constitutional powers, called for a congress to be held on Saturday, 29th June, 2024. The Executive Council seemed to be in tango with the plan, pursuant to their release on 24th June that indeed the congress will take place. However, shortly after, the Executives, seemingly afflicted by “unforeseen circumstances” postponed the 29th June Congress, blatantly disregarding the fact that the constitution made provision for a congress to be held even in the absence of any member of the Executive Council or even the Speaker!

Revealing, their actions, it would seem, amount to little more than obstructing the student populace in their struggle. It would also seem that the current President, Aweda Bolaji, and his crop of executives have indeed inherited the legacy of the previous UI’SU Executives, formerly under the leadership of Samuel Samson Tobiloba. It seems the current president has made it his goal to repeat the tragedies of the precious administration in trying to keep the “struggle” alive.

It is not hard to see that what is happening now is basically a repeat of the Laboratory fee issue that took place under Host’s leadership. A fee, unconstitutionally levied on students, was meant to be resisted, to be struggled against. And indeed Host struggled. Talk after talk, after talk happened with the University management. Each time, they would return with a vacuous non-answer; “the management says they don’t know about any such fee” and “students should suspend paying any lab fee” and other vain statements like that.

However, the struggle came to an end. And the fallout was felt by the students who still had to pay these fees in order to continue their schooling activities. People’s faith in the Union was dented and the image of a toothless lion was cemented in the minds of the populace — a mere lion unable to either roar or take a bite.

One would think the new administration’s would learn from the mistakes of their forebears, because the saying goes, “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. It appears quite strongly that the Union leadership, under the headship of Aweda Bolaji has no regard for history, and rightly so the essence why we have a Students’ Union.

The same position has been reached. An unconstitutional fee imposed on the students — in this case, a fee increment— meant to be fought by the umbrella body of students. Yet all they seem to do is want to talk. But what is worse? It is with everybody but the student populace. After all, what was the point of having a stakeholders meeting — not a Congress — and yet postponing the actual Congress?

Who are the true stakeholders in the Union? It is definitely not the Council of Hall Chairpersons or some group of faculty student leaders. It is the average student; whether on SUB road running all the way from Queens to catch her 8am class after prying herself out of her bed. It is the penultimate student from Education or where else, who is unable to advance to the ultimate level because in this country to be poor is a sin, and his parents are guilty. It is the student on the verge of deferring an academic year because of the consistent anti-student policies of the management and anti-people policies of the current ruling party. In the words of Ojo Aderemi, in his book addressing the future leaders of the Union, titled ‘Dear Successor’, he had warned that “you cannot find an ally in your sworn oppressors”.

But the sentiment would seem to be lost on this crop of leaders; both the ones who have just gone, and those who are currently in power. The “struggle” must still continue, even if the people suffer.

It would seem like a trivial thing for the Congress to be postponed due to the unavailability of the Union Executives, after all no one can control everything, “unforseen circumstances” will always pop up. And they will, indeed. But a Union is equipped with a Vice President, for cases when the President is not around and a Speaker in a case of both their absence. And in the case of the intriguing absence of all three, the constitution is not silent. The very first subsection of Section XIII of the constitution states that “any member elected by a validly constituted Congress,” can be the chairman.

“What other “unforeseen circumstances” could have come up that would warrant the postponement of the Congress?”

Truth hurts in the short term, but pays off in the long term. What makes this whole situation worse is the lack of communication from the executives on the reason for the postponement of the Congress. Or rather the mystery behind it. After all, you can’t say they didn’t communicate, they told you about the “unforeseen circumstances”, didn’t they?

Ojo Aderemi, in his letter to his successors says the following, “Protests are allowed, unless you decide otherwise,” and it seems like the Union executives are deciding otherwise. It would seem like the actions of the Union Executives is a ploy to ensure that they are able to monitor the decisions made at the Congress that would be held, perhaps to avoid a repeat of history, where a Congress suspended SU elections and had to be called again to resume it. The despotic actions of the Executives and their apparent disregard for student welfare does not bode well for the future of the student community in UI.

Aluta continua, but the people suffer, and at this point is victory certain?