“I won’t be contesting anymore if a rerun is granted”- Aderemi Moses
In a press interview with the faculty press, Aderemi Moses, one of the three presidential candidates for the concluded 2018/19 AFAS election, shares his grievances about the election and resolutions made.
AFAS PRESS: What are your complaints or reservations about the AFAS election?
Aderemi: If we cannot get the election process right at this level compared to what is done at the state level, apparently there is a problem somewhere- that means we have no moral write up. A night before the election happened, the Afasec chairperson said something about how everyone whose names were already on the would be allowed to vote while those whose names were not, would not be allowed to vote. Then on the election day, you suddenly hear people coming in saying they want to exercise their franchise without being on the list and they were allowed to vote. Then there was the instance of the conflicting figures. After the total of 352 that Francis got, 323 they said I got, and the 318 that Damilare got– accumulating the figures was 993, and then they had to do a shoddy job of coming back to tell us that they didn’t refresh the system and the total number of votes cast was 1003, who does that? It has never happened anywhere in the world. Like, this is not the first election I have contested for, this should be like the fourth election for me on campus.
AFAS PRESS: You don’t buy the excuse that the system was not refreshed?
Aderemi: It does not happen anywhere in the world. It’s just like a student who went for an exam and forgot to do the third question. You cannot tell us that. If you are doing a job you are incapable of, I feel people should just let it go. But then you now tell us that the system was not refreshed, that is no excuse, to be honest. This is like my very honest opinion. You cannot make a common excuse that it was not refreshed. I actually need to use this in context, I’m a historian. I need to use the historical base now. So let’s imagine that the 2015 national election between Buhari and Atiku. Let’s assume that they declared the results and the accredited vote was 23 million and Buhari got 3 million and Atiku got 2 million or something. INEC then comes back after releasing the results publicly to say that instead of 23 million people accredited votes, it is now 25 million. Do you know the kind of protest that would happen, the kind of uproar it would cause? Because this is something that should not happen. This kind of stuff is terrible.
AFAS PRESS: You are not accepting the results?
Aderemi: I cannot accept. I have actually let it go but I just feel like this thing is more about justice. It is not just about me. I put in a lot for the election, stabbed a few classes.
AFAS PRESS: Speaking about you, can you attest to the statement by AFASIEC chairperson that you’ve never lost an election before, which is more like a premise for you to have won the faculty election?
Aderemi: I told her that if I lose fair and square it is very okay with me. I told her that this was not the first election I would contest for on campus. I ran for AGS, I ran for vice hall chairman, I ran for honorable house of rep in Tedder hall and there was actually no protest. I could attest to the fact that these elections were actually credible. I told her that if I had lost the election fair and square, there would actually be no need for people to complain after the election. There were so many irregularities with the election and with that I would not take the result. Because this is not just about me, it’s about many people talking about it. I have even heard an allegation, I’m not sure about it but I heard someone saying something about how a particular candidate already got the list of financial members of the association in the faculty of Arts. But there is actually no way I can prove that. There are actually various allegations like that. In politics, every of these stuff matters but I have no proof or evidence.
AFAS PRESS: Let’s talk about the faculty legislative council (FLC) emergency sitting calling for the AFASIEC chairperson to answer questions on your petition. You didn’t show up?
Aderemi: They didn’t invite us. I was actually surprised at what happened
AFAS PRESS: Did you see the broadcast for the emergency meeting?
Aderemi: Yes, I saw it
AFAS PRESS: You felt that an invitation should have been extended to you before you could attend?
Aderemi: That has always been the (format) in all houses maybe except faculty of Arts. I was in the house before in Tedder hall so I have seen how the legislative house actually works. Once you send petitions, you will be invited. Even at the SRC level, that is how it happens. They didn’t tell us to come, they didn’t tell us they were going to be pleading our case. They didn’t even make it known, even on the agenda, it was not on the list; there was nothing like they were going to be inviting Damilath or myself.
AFAS PRESS: Why were your complaints extended to the Dean of Students’ Affairs?
Aderemi: There are some people you don’t really talk to but you have respect for them. I made my complaints, but it was actually very sad that the Afasec chairperson, even after complaining, watered everything down. That is actually not the way to go. I was actually surprised that the FLC was even trying to tell Afasites that out of the five-six cases brought to their desk on the election, none of them was worth their attention. When you look at these things, you would want to ask the question why?
AFAS PRESS: Are you looking forward to a rerun?
Aderemi: At the inception, I made the move to reach out to the FLC, executives, the dean of student affairs. At this point, I feel like I should just focus on other things I’m actually getting my life into right now. The position I was on Jan 27th is actually different from the position I’m in now. Now I’m actually thinking of other things to engage my time in positively. Those are the major things now. Looking at everything that happened, the way individuals in the faculty reacted to it, I can say maybe I’ve actually done my best.
The fact is I’ve actually left the election to whatever happens– whatever Afasites actually want, let it just be their way. I won’t be contesting anymore if a rerun is eventually granted by the school management. But then pushing the case up is actually for history. Our history shouldn’t record that the faculty of Art had an election marred with so many irregularities. This should be our field of specialization; ours is a place where you have departments like history, philosophy, classics, etc and we talk about how society actually goes up and down– the fall and rise of society. Faculty of Arts shouldn’t be tagged as the place where people contest elections and do not believe in the process. This is the first time this is happening In UI where people go for elections and people complain bitterly about the results. Faculty of Arts is so much respected on campus.
The other reason for me taking the issue up across the faculty and school management is that this is actually not about myself, it’s about people who actually put in their sweat and blood into the election, as well campaign from 100 to 400 level because they believed in the agenda-they believe in fresh ideas. So denying this kind of people a free and fair election do not speak well of the kind of image it is sending out. So my desire to take it to that level was not because of me. Immediately I saw the FLC’s take on the issue, I just gave. Out of 6 issues I brought in and then the 3 Damilath brought, not a single one was worth looking into by the house. The truth is posterity will judge. Everyone will leave school one day and we would go on with our personal lives.
AFAS PRESS: What do you want?
Aderemi: An apology, not just to me, but to Afasites because what they (AFASIEC) actually did was not good enough; It’s not excusable in any part. You don’t tell that to people who have actually given their time and sacrificed a lot. For instance, you have to set up your team and campaign from the first week to the thirteenth week. We went on break again, people were still campaigning. Then you now declare that it was a mistake, you don’t do things like that. If we are not in a civilized place i.e if this thing happened in a place where people are not given to intellectuality or law and order, maybe in the Polytechnics or so, no one would be surprised. But happening in the University of Ibadan– a school we pride as the first and the best, and the chairperson cannot give an apology letter instantly to the Afasites, to the candidates, then it is not acceptable. Every other person involved should apologize for what they did to Afasites. She( AFASIEC chairperson) is actually spoiling my name everywhere, telling people that I’m a terrible person, I’m bad and all, I was surprised. I’m this kind of person that when I’m pushed, I can actually push back.
