LAWS AND NORMS

By Olayiwola, Faith Adedolapo

When Segun Ogunlade wrote, ‘the matter needs to be critically addressed so we don’t have organs of the association warring against each other and the leaders dividing the association into caucus in a way that breeds prejudice and a pitiable end. A house divided against itself they say shall not understand, so likewise an association where the important figures are at loggerheads in a show of power and influence.’, he was definitely not only watching the FLC and executive council at the brisk of war but also, the Hallowed Chamber being stained with uncertainty, fear of a possible coup.and the drunken nature of.power.

Impeachment, a colloquial for Afas politics, has always been shown between the Afas FLC and executives as they are always ready to move towards that which seem right to them, while neglecting the fact that they were representatives of constituencies and Afasites as a body. This has always been even during the reign of the Lord of long words and frightful sentences, Hon. Izuchukwu John, whose long sittings were always said and acted on the stage of lifeless dramas.

Just in, let us talk about a man of great standing, short words and a distinct aura. Hon. Peter Olagunju. The last time we heard about him, his relationship between him and his classmates was based on ‘brother’ as no one could look into his face while talking. His trip to Russia was of course a successful trip as they came back after a serious fight when our ‘brother’s’ political nature took over amongst his classmates.

But chill! Brother Hon. Peter is not just the speaker of the Afas Flc, he is a man of great reputation in his house, European constituency and his home, Russian unit, even though his contribution as a representative of the department has been geared only towards being a member of the electoral committee on two consecutive terms.

Hitherto, there has been a major issue which has always disfavoured the European constituency which is the inability of 300 level students to represent the constituency. Thus, only 200 level students and 400 level students were allowed to represent the constituency as the 300 level students are usually away for their Equivalent Year Abroad Program/Year Abroad Program. However, Hon Olagunju was able to continue his tenure as a 300 level student, suspended his office to travel to Russia and came back to ‘take over’ as the speaker.

Upon assumption of power, Hon. Peter has taken it upon himself as a duty to not only protect the interest of the house but to also, create them in accordance with his purpose. It is not unknown that the silent and loud wars been the FLC has been for long and no one has been able to come to a clear view of what check and balance should really be.

THE HOUSE CANNOT BE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF

The struggle for power is indeed never a day’s job; it takes years of planning, strategizing, structuring and restructuring. Hon. Peter Olagunju definitely did not pick beans on his way to his farm; he cleared the bushes and cut down the thorns before he could make clear his paths. He has duly served in the house after selected by his predecessor to represent the European constituency, role as the head of one of the important committees, Spokesperson of the house and then, the speaker of the FLC. It is quite surprising that Hon. Olagunju has been able to maintain his presence at the FLC as opposed to previous acts.

Okay, not to divert! Hon Olumide, Deputy Speaker of the FLC, is obviously not a newbie in Afas political system. On his assumption to office, he went ahead and opened two WhatsApp group pages, one of which was to train other principal officials on making budget. Gbam! When asked by one of the members of the group on why their daddy, Hon. Peter was not on the group page. It was said that Hon. Olumide said that the speaker did not have to be on the group page as the group was to help the speaker.

Yeah…chill…. Right! Something does not augur well. If the group page was to help the speaker, one, why was the speaker not added? Two, if it was to help them prepare their budget, could that not have been done on the general page or on their private pages? Why is the creation of a group page? Three, what are the other things to be discussed which has nothing to do with helping the speaker? Four, who says the speaker needs help? Unknown to Hon Olumide that his act was going to backfire by either of the two set of legislative members- the inner eyes of Hon. Peter or the inexperienced legislative men who had been told by their predecessors that every act in politics has a consequence-good or bad.

Regardless of that act, there is always a due process for everything and when these processes are not followed, it leads to anarchy and unconstitutional norms. When Aung San Suu Kyi said, ‘it is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it’ he was probably watching Hon. Peter along the path he was willing to tread. According to one of the legislative member, no one was allowed to raise any motion and Hon. Olumide was impeached by the speaker himself. Constitutionally, the speaker can impeach any erring member but does that act deserve an ‘immediate’ impeachment from office?

But it was definitely not the group page that would have caused the speakers unnecessary anger which led to Hon. Olumide’s Impeachment but the fear of there being a coup in the house. According to Hon. Itiolu Michael, ‘a house cannot be divided against itself’; Hon. Olumide’s act was quite suspicious in act and speech but the fear of the ‘authoritarian’ speaker led the few to act with uneasiness thereby allowing the speaker to wield his authoritarian nature against the ‘wanting to help’ Hon. Olumide.

FOR THE LOVE OF AFAS IS SIMPLE

Meanwhile, Simple, the hashtag for Afasites, clumsily walked into the hands of the enraged and menacing speaker. The issues between the FLC and the executive council ranging from the Afas office to the budget and down to the freshers’ welcome are long overdue. If after over six weeks of resumption and the executive council has no ground upon which they can work, would it make any difference to the Association of European Studies Students whose elections has always been toward the middle of the first session and ensures that every plan are executed within the limited time they have. For the love of Afasites, Simple is one of the few presidents in Afas who see the congress as a means to escape the weekly wrath of the FLC. Simple has designed the call ‘call for an emergency congress,’ as a medium of escaping questions and indirect threat by the legislative council.

Just in case Simple needs someone to explain to him what a budget really is; ‘an itemized summary of intended expenditure; usually coupled with expected revenue; mostly within a financial year’. Hence, if the budget goes up within 26 days, was the first budget lacking in proper preparation? It is also important for executive member to learn the proper use of language within any possible setting. Simple’s statement which states that he had no business with the house if they were not ready to look into the budget. But of course, what bids the house and the executive members is the ‘business’. And if there was no business, what is between the executive and the legislative arm? Thus, it is of the opinion that Mr. President, Simple, is yet to understand the proper way to address our ‘hallowed chamber’, hence, a need for the speaker to correct him for his wrong choice of words to prevent future occurrence. In lieu of that, there was an immediate motion for impeachment?

AFAS AND POLITICS

Furthermore, the arbitrary use of power within the Afas FLC has gotten beyond hand. It is not uncommon to see caucuses within various social political and even class settings. Hon. Peter has been exercising beyond his power which is wrong; every member of the legislative council is representing a constituency. If their constituency is against their decision or resolution, who ten are they representing? For example, Hon, Peter, representative of the European constituency has never gone back to his constituency to give any report or receive any feedback from it, yet, for over two years that e has stayed in the house; he moved motions and present bills in the name of a constituency that neither knows him nor sent him.

The President’s impeachment was wrong in all ramifications. The one who makes the law would also make its laws and make the law its law. Impeaching the president at a sitting without a notice, not allowing him to defend himself or properly investigating the issues is indisputably an inappropriate exercise of power apart from the fact that the decision of the FLC is a reflection of its chair

It is important for campus politicians to understand the position of their offices and act in accordance to that with it was made for rather than use it to wrestle for personal and needless conflicts which diminish the value of their office. All organs of government, including the fourth estate are in state to ensure for the ultimate utilisation of facilities, resources and offices. Thus, even when there are ‘separation of powers’, ‘check and balance’ help to further strengthen the performance of each organ and prevent the abuse of power by the different organs.