In the beginning, there was a union. You know how that godforsaken story goes, don’t you? The University of Ibadan student society began as an enviable beacon of the flush of light that could flood the entirety of the nation, if only we groomed our youths well for tomorrow. And of course, the future was indeed bright. We had a crop of students, bristling with activism and earnestness of purpose, who could stand their ground anywhere, sure of what they represent. But somewhere along the line, this trajectory was destroyed and a new generation came.
Do not ask me at what point in time this flock of no-do-goods arrived at the scene. I do not know. But what I do know is that the evidence is everywhere. Today, we have a mixture of personalities, all with their own shades of unique negativities. We have the cutthroat politicians who will do whatever they can to achieve power and then misuse it at the first instance they get. We have blatant losers who have been disgraced at the election poll and then, in their last desperate attempt for illusory relevance, reinvent themselves as godfathers. Or stakeholders. Who the hell gave them such audacity? It would be better wouldn’t it, if they became stakeholders and used their new-found “responsibilities” for good? But instead, they push their agenda at the expense of the union.
And to rest the weight of my rant on those who we do elect, let me just say that, like Nigeria, we have not been blessed with great leadership. We are a collection of dumbbells who have got so used to the idea of failed leaders that we become apologists of said terrible leaders at the first whiff of criticism. They say it is only human to steal. Abi, shey you too will not embezzle small if you are there too ni? Abeg, make we talk truth. Dear, realist, I have a question for you: are you mad? Forgive me for being too crude. Let me rephrase, are you completely brainless? How do you expect us to move on as a student-society if we give excuses for those who we elected, those who swore to do well by us? Tell me, how the hell are we going to progress from this goddamn rot we have found ourselves in if you jump to defend ‘Deroju before even considering the facts, saying she cannot do all that work without “chopping” small? If she is innocent, then the best for everyone is to let her defend herself rather than concluding that her potential guilt is not a big deal.
How can we have freedom of the press if K-Cent’s supporters remove Mellanby Hall’s press board just because they were offended by a cartoon? What will they do when they become presidents and a national daily lambasts them? Look at their heats of darkness, exposed for the world to see. Shame! How can the press have integrity when the Awo Hall student leadership feels at ease to make use of the press board as they like? In what world is this generation not considered insane for some press organisaions to be “banned” by legislative councils for not writing to their taste [I’m looking at you AFAS]? And for my fellow pressmen, my fellow noble, hardworking pressmen, I am disappointed. I am sorry for being so open with this but I cannot perform selective criticism. We have many press organisations which have turned themselves into entertainment tabloids, living in a bubble, and ignoring what goes on in their territory. They would rather write about Kim Kardashian’s new selfie than the fact that their hall EXCO is planning to give out mediocre packages. We have pressboards that dedicate 80% of their work to matters which do not directly affect their readership. I ask, are we thinking correctly?
As pressmen, we have the key to driving social change through the sheer power of our writings. So, tell me why waste such potential on frivolities? The pressmen I respect the most, who I believe are also the most influential on campus, are Haleem Limo Olatunji, Alao Abiodun Joshua, Oseni Akin and, the budding Adédòkun Sèyí Godsent and of course, the phenomenal ‘Kunle Adebajo. They never write in a vacuum. When something worth writing about is to be written about, they do not shy away from addressing the reality at hand. Do not expect these men to expend their energy on tone-deaf writings. And, ladies-in-the-press, what’s up? [Topic for another day]. I hope this rot is tackled by the leadership of the Union of Campus Journalists, headed by Samuel Alagba Samueli Arowosafe. Kudos to Zik Press and AFAS Press for being two of the few organisations upholding the true content of the beauty of campus journalism.
This new generation of decadence is very weird indeed. They bow down to rules which they should challenge and they challenge rules that should not be flouted. They are arrogant cowards. If that sounds nearly oxy-moronic to you, it is because that is what it is. Was it not only a few years back that that controversial Students’ Union President, Babatunde Badmus walked into an SRC sitting with an audacity for the ages and demanded that the Speaker came right away to his office? No, I am not joking. The SU president did walk into a sitting of nobly-elected legislative councilmen and ordered their leader to come into his office. It made headlines. The Courtroom even wrote about it. He was criticised. It was forgotten. But I choose to exhume the bodies of our immediate past because they are the testimony to the fact that our generation is full of bullsh*t.
And we have been oriented so much to be so bizarre in our thinking that such awards as Ivory Honours could become phenomena in our campus. We have degraded ourselves to such low heights that we believe we are so incapable of being engineers of meaningful change in the world that we choose to celebrate our disgraceful traits. As Kunle Adebajo wrote, in response to the 2016 Ivory Honours nominees’ list, “Categories such as comedian of the year, most sophisticated (whatever that means), streetboy of the year (really?), hourglass of the year, couple of the year, most sought after etc. paint us as a bunch of confused, jobless lads who are not sure what to do with their time. For the love of God, if we are not careful, we will graduate into greater ordure and celebrate even baser qualities.”
What kind of mindless generation is this, I ask for the millionth and repeated time. When we have students in an intellectual environment acting like hooligans [check: last week’s Zik Hall stakeholders’ meeting], we have to ask ourselves the kind of students the university has been admitting. When we are radical in the wrong places, willing to cause mayhem for the cause of one candidate who will most likely end up exhibiting the same kind of fuckery the union is used to, I fear for what awaits us.
I would comment about so-called graduates who still parade our Union with no good intents [read: military base], and only know how to court controversy with their greed. But there is never enough time to analyse the full-on malady which has plagued our student-body for so long. This is where my pen rests. Those who this article offends can talk all they want. As long as I write, I will continue to talk about how freaking messed up we are. If you do not see it, then you are part of the roblem
Editor’s Note: This 8-year old piece was authored by Kanyinsola Olorunnisola, a former IndyPress Editor-in-Chief, while he was a student.
