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By Abdullah Ajibade
A rebuilt or renovated Aso Rock is not tantamount to having leaders who deliver.
Rarely will a day pass without students getting swayed by the political imbroglio and by extension, power tussle within the Great Ife Student Union. The examination is fast approaching and everywhere is tense. Students are struggling to adapt to the atmosphere considering the short semester but it seems that the Union leaders, regardless of the level, are only interested in pushing their agenda which has so far been detrimental to the sanity and peace of the student community.
Gliding through the political situation within the Great Ife student Community, one will comfortably posit that it is a microscopic representation of the Nigerian state.
Naturally, power play cannot be detached from politics. It's part of it and amongst what makes it interesting. Some scholars will even maintain that it's a criterion to ensure a strong political institution. However, it is pertinent to emphasize that when the eagerness to engage in power play effortlessly tramples upon the interest of the populace, then it is no longer for them but rather, a minority faction who wants to leverage the vulnerability of the multitude.
The reinstatement of the Student Union to a large extent rekindled the hope of the Great Ife Students. They were keenly expecting a set of leaders that would serve as a natural face and not an ugly one feigning beauty.
The Nigerian In the Great Ife Students' Union Run Of Affairs.
In the Nigerian state, in most occurrences when the Speaker or leader of the house is suspended or removed, it's either because he belongs to a different faction from the Executive and his actions are already threatening or because he refuses to bend to external decisions as it won't correspond with his selfish interest. It has not always been about competency.
The Executive would then sponsor a division in the house and the speaker will be somehow, legally or illegally suspended or removed. In the case that the speaker has a strong political spread, security forces will be deployed to stop any sitting that contradicts the interest of the Executive Council. The only rare exception in this regard is when there is a case of embezzlement or related issues against the leader of the house.
The above does not vindicate either party as it will be realized that it is only a fight between selfish interests and not for the benefit of the populace.
The Great Ife Students' Union - The suspension of the Speaker of the Great Ife Students' Representative Council regardless of the process is a clear depiction of a power tussle. A display of “let's see who is ahead between the Central Executive and the Speaker ”.
Following the congress that claimed to have suspended the speaker, the speaker still presided over the next sitting of the house - Further proof of the power tussle. He later dragged the issue to court, being a democratic setting, it's the right action to take. However, in politics, it's another call for further problems and another attempt to drag the Judiciary into the fight.
Unlike the Nigerian state where the home of the presiding judge will be ransacked and probably something negative will be found just to influence him to dance to their tunes a few days before the court sitting, what we witnessed here is locking the venue where the proceeding was meant to take place while the Judicial Council had to use elsewhere ( although the judicial council already had and still had subsequent sittings at the venue).
In the Nigerian state, should the judiciary give a verdict that is against the interest of the Executive, what happens is that they will either drag the case to a higher court while still exercising dictatorship or not honour the court and damn the consequence if any.
In Semblance to the foregoing, the press release that followed the verdict of the Judicial Council containing the position of the Great Ife Student Union has stated that the Court is only misusing power. This is predictable. Regardless of whether the Court is biased or not, as far as it is not in the favour of the Executive Council, the pattern never changes. It's a perpetual practice in the Nigerian state and they are really learning fast and duplicating the bigger picture locally.
A Press Release Of Commercial Lies.
In the Nigerian State, the leadership often hides behind words to propagate their biases. Today, it is the Media aid coming out to paint black as white. Tomorrow, it's the Commissioner or Minister for information coming out to dress a smelly wound. Either way, it's always about Image Repair.
The Great Ife Students’ Union - As a Great Ife student, a well-worded press release is enough to sort out our transportation issues, cut the bushes around the hostels, serve as a source of water in various hostels and most Importantly, fight for the rights of the students - An administration of more words, less action.
The Cabals
The Cabals are people behind the scene pressing the buttons of whatever is happening. They stand in support of those that are loyal to them and stand against those that are not their loyalists. These people sponsor elections, permutate, and do many other things to ensure that their biases prevail. They are in the Nigerian State and not absent in the Student Community. We don't know them but we can feel their presence.
Birds Of A Feather
Dissecting the whole situation, one will realize that none of the parties is fighting in the interest of the Student. The Executive Council is not relenting in establishing its power while the speaker is also running helter-skelter struggling to save his position and the Representative Council is also dealing with internal politics. Amidst all this, student welfare suffers and the distraction has reached a crescendo.
when you hear that the Great Ife Student Union is a reflection of the Nigerian state, it simply connotes that they share political and "run of affairs" semblance which is outside OAU being situated in Nigeria.