Overtime, students have always been seen as precocious set of people that challenge the injustice within and around their environment, they raise the placard to challenge the tyrannical leaders of their institution, stand as a body that protect the interest of fellow students by making sure that life is favorable and living is worthwhile for a common student by regulating the price of goods and services consumed by the students populace, they have risen up to make sure that the leadership of their country is never in the wrong hand, they campaign against anti-students policies of the government and challenge mediocrity in governance of the land, example of this was the role they played during the colonial era, when they, as members and founders of the West African Students Union (W.A.S.U) stood behind the Nationalists to fight for the independence of this nation and several other African countries from the colonial masters.
A similar occurrence was the activism engaged by National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) during the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo as the military head of state when he increased the tuition fee in Nigerian higher institutions without considering the common students on street, the students leaders rose against the policy and hence convene the struggle known as Ali-Must-Go, (the name Ali implies the name of the minister of Education at that time), though, this struggle led by comrade Segun Okeowo, the then NUNS president from University of Lagos resulted into proscription of NUNS but we must as a matter of expediency continue protecting the interest of students as this could be the only way to express our sincere condolence to those that have either lost their lives or properties (be it grade or money) to the uplift of welfare of Students in Nigeria .
I am not oblivion of the struggles embarked upon by the students leaders in the recent times, but various occurrences have revealed that the most sought after phrase “Aluta continua Victoria Ascerta “has been given another meaning, the Portuguese saying which was discovered as an inscription on kunta kinte’s commemorate which means struggle continues, victory is certain has been reworded by Nigerian students leaders with Aluta continua, no more victory is certain, this, if critically looked into happened not because the tyranny are too powerful to be confronted nor because they are undefeatable but this surfaced because of the Get-Rich-Quick syndrome and power intoxication. The leaders that hailed from Not-so rich and Not-rich at all homes believed that National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and other students leadership portfolios are avenues to gather resources and indeed amass wealth so as to challenge the status quo of their family, this, which hinders them from achieving what they earlier set as goals.
Though the political firmament of the country has changed, a better Nigeria has been given birth to, but the set of people that stays there remains, we may believe the leadership and the ruling party has changed but the only thing that can help a developing country like Nigeria is a rank and file change, a change at homes and streets, this, which is a good way of making sure that the effort of our heroes past will not be in vain.
It is high time the stakeholders in the Educational sector and the human right campaigners in the country rose up to challenge the ills in the land, they need to convene a modus vivendi that brings together all the decision makers as far as student’s movement in Nigeria is concerned. They need to review the journey so far, highlight the looming challenges and ways of influencing the obnoxious policies of the ruling class without going dirty. NANS as an independent non-profit oriented pressure group should not embark on any struggle, except the ones that protects the interest of the students that formed the body. The student leaders must stop betraying their allegiance to students struggle for those starched papers that lies in brown envelopes, students must feel their impacts and no student should cry because of the injustice in the land again.
Jimoh Hammed Olaoluwa is pursuing a degree in Animal Production and Health in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.
He is a born writer, he started writing articles and poems as early as when he was nine years old, he is an orator with sweet words of conviction and blogs at www.mroctomed.blogspot.com
He can be contacted through www.facebook.com/jimoh.ho
