By: Patrick Ezihe
“The day we see truth and cease to speak is the day we begin to die.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Apathy, in its most insidious form, is the silent withdrawal from matters that directly shape our lives. It extends far beyond the refusal to vote or engage during elections. It is the quiet complicity in failing to challenge systems of leadership, question authority, or demand accountability. In Nigeria, political indifference has taken root so deeply that it now threatens the very foundations of participatory governance. Millions abstain from elections, and for some, the mere thought of protest, whether peaceful or otherwise, is dismissed either on the altar of religious doctrine or under the weight of personal resignation. The consequences, though predictable, are devastating as a small minority decides the policies that govern the lives of the majority. Sadly, this national malaise has found fertile ground at the University of Ibadan.
The University of Ibadan, once famed for intellectual and political thought, is gradually metamorphosing into an environment where academic success is pursued in isolation from civic responsibility. For a growing number of students, academic distinction has become the only aspiration, while engagement with the structures and processes that shape student life is regarded as unnecessary, or worse, irrelevant. To downplay the dangers of political apathy is to ignore the creeping erosion of student participation in the university’s day-to-day running. Nowhere has this decline been more apparent than in the waning interest of students in the union. Across faculties and halls of residence, it has become increasingly common for political aspirants to run unopposed. Some executive positions in some associations remain perennially vacant, while others are reluctantly filled through by-elections, often with candidates whose only qualification is their eventual interest rather than their competence. In the absence of competition, the incentive to write meaningful manifestos, engage constituents, or even attempt to inspire trust becomes almost non-existent.
But apathy is not confined to elective office alone. A more troubling indifference pervades issues that bear directly upon students’ welfare. A recent example is the dismal turnout at the ratified Students’ Union Congress of May 17. While one could rightly fault the Union’s leadership for poor and belated publicity, that explanation does not absolve the student body of its own inattentiveness, especially considering that prominent student publications such as IndyPress, Mellanby Press, and UCJ, had already disseminated ample information. The eventual cancellation of that Congress represented not merely a missed event, but a squandered opportunity to deliberate on pressing concerns such as rising fees and deteriorating infrastructure. When students choose to remain disengaged, they relinquish the power to influence decisions that ultimately affect their academic journey and overall well-being. This disinterest has spilled over into the workings of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), an organ that should, by all measures, attract active student participation. Ironically, while students troop in droves to events like Jaw War or parties, they are conspicuously absent in spaces where their collective interests are discussed.
This prevailing apathy is not unique to the University of Ibadan. It mirrors a broader national disillusionment with politics. Across Nigeria, citizens have adopted a posture of indifference, allowing underperforming Senators, House Representatives, Local Government Chairpersons to continue unchecked. Were political consciousness more widespread, many of these officials would have been recalled or held accountable for their dereliction of duty. In the 2023 presidential election, President Tinubu secured victory with fewer than 8 million votes out of over 100 million eligible voters, less than 10% of the voting population. In stark contrast, the United States recorded over 155 million votes from approximately 267 million eligible citizens during their last general election. The difference is not just numerical. Students of the University of Ibadan must awaken to the reality that political engagement is not an elective pursuit. That it is imperative. History, both local and global, affirms that civic awareness is the first trigger in the fire of social transformation. On February 23, 1917, the people of Russia took to the streets in protest over bread shortages, triggering a revolution that altered the course of world history. Closer to home, the Egba women of the 19th century rose in defiance of colonial injustice, while the Aba Women’s Riot of 1929 remains landmark in the annals of anti-colonial resistance. These were not isolated moments. They were the outcome of a populace that refused to be silent in the face of injustice.
Even within our own university lies a history steeped in activism. The story of Kunle Adepeju, the first Nigerian student to die in the course of protest, is one that should stir the conscience of every Uite. Shot by an unidentified security officer during a student demonstration, his death provoked national outrage. Thousands of students marched in protest, holding the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lambo, to account. They walked all the way to St. Anne’s Church in Molete, where Adepeju was buried, an enduring testament to what political awareness can ignite. In light of such legacy, it is both ironic and tragic that today’s students find justification in silence. The issues confronting us, rising tuition, inadequate accommodation, decaying infrastructure are not insurmountable. They only demand an engaged, informed, and vocal student community.
Indifference is a form of surrender, silence is complicity. If we fail to hold our leaders accountable, we give them license to act without scrutiny or consequence. As political scientist Harold Lasswell once observed, “Politics is who gets what, when, and how.” The choice, therefore, rests with the students of the University of Ibadan. Will we choose to remain passive observers, or will we assert our right to determine the conditions of our education and future?
Indeed, the day we see the truth and choose silence is the day we begin to die. Not physically, but in spirit, in resolve, and in our capacity to enjoy better humane and living conditions.
