By: Abdullateef Soyomi

In many Nigerian tertiary institutions, student activists are often labeled as troublemakers. School authorities and some students, who I believe are bereft of the education of the mind, perceive them as a threat to the peace of the campus. But that is a very big misconception. Some of these students, out of their unwavering convictions, fight for justice, fairness, and the noble values a tertiary institution of learning is expected to uphold or embody. Time and time again, the motive behind their civic demonstrations has been to champion change in the educational system of the country rather than causing violence within their alma maters.

Exhibiting resilience in challenging the status quo, this community of students is known for the culture of lending critical responses to failed systems and the institutional weapons fashioned against the Nigerian students, including increment in tuition fees, student victimization, poor infrastructure, and more.

Take the case of the then University of Ibadan Students’ Union President Ojo Aderemi, who led a “No ID card, no exam” protest, demanding the issuance of student identifications to students as evidence of their legitimate studentship. What followed this revolutionary action was swift backlash from the management. The Students’ Union Executive Committee was suspended, with Ojo Aderemi being handed a four-semester suspension. Nevertheless, the protest was not futile as students later received their ID cards as fought and demanded for. Though a delayed justice, the court eventually annulled his suspension. Today, Ojo Aderemi stands tall not just as an alumnus of the University, but as an embodiment of what student leadership should represent, a fearless, uncompromising voice for student interests.

A similar story unfolded in 2016 at the University of Lagos, where Olorunfemi Adeyeye, popularly known as Activist Femi, was rusticated for publishing an article that constructively critiqued the university’s crumbling infrastructure. Alongside fellow students, he had protested the poor facilities within the university, describing the situation as a clear dismissal of student dignity. He would later be handed a four-semester suspension for his radical action. Worse still, his suspension was delayed by the university by 3 years, symbolizing the unchecked high-handedness of the management and the failed justice system within the institution. Olorunfemi later returned to school in 2022 and finally graduated in 2023. His resilience is a powerful reminder that truth-tellers often pay a high price, but their voices echo long after the noise has settled.

Beyond the walls of their institutions, some of these student activists have also lent their voices to national issues. For example, two students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Oladapo Joshua and Ejike Kelechi, protested against what they described as the misgovernance of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The demonstration began around 11:00 a.m. inside Oduduwa Hall when the two students stood up holding placards reading “Compensate Demolition Victims Now!” and “Stop FCT Abuse!” before abruptly chanting slogans. “We want justice for displaced families!” one of the students shouted, prompting gasps from the audience. These students were later arrested by the operatives of Nigerian Police and subjected to inhuman brutality. After the condemnation of their arrest and immediate call for their release by the Alliance of Nigerian Students Against Neoliberal Attacks (ANSA), the students were later released. That demonstration, however, symbolises that challenging the status quo is one of the various ways we can hold our leaders accountable, even at the national level.

Another prominent name in the student activism space is Ayodele Aduwo, a student of the University of Ibadan. Living up to his conviction about what should be an ideal student unionism, he and other two comrades, Nice Linus and Mide Gbadegesin, challenged the status quo by carrying a peaceful and placard  protest with the inscription “fees must fall” during the inauguration of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union leadership, which was to be led by Aweda Bolaji and Busoye Matthias as President and Speaker respectively. Their peaceful protest was intended to pass a message to the management that public education is a social service, and therefore its commodification makes no common sense. This bold decision was taken after the long-standing silence of the previous leadership of the Union, led by Samson Tobiloba Samuel, in the face of the hike. Despite their demonstration being peaceful, they were reportedly dragged out of the inauguration auditorium, brutalized, and handed over to the Nigerian Army.

Two of the three students, Ayodele Aduwo and Mide Gbadegesin, would later be suspended for four semesters by the management. The other student fee-hike protester, Nice Linus, still has a pending disciplinary case, and she is likely not to receive a fair hearing.

The reason school authorities label these student activists as troublemakers is not far-fetched. It is because they see any form of protest as a threat to the anomalies that are expedient to them. I believe it is time to change the narrative. Student activists across tertiary institutions are not just students; they are justice and freedom fighters. Their courage to challenge the status quo shows what can happen if many other students stand up for what is of good cause and betterment of the students. Their persecution and stereotype of troublemakers must be erased. I believe that student activism is not a criminality but a nobility, one that is worthy of participation, as it is capable of bringing an end to student oppression in our tertiary institutions. So, don’t call them troublemakers.