IN THIS SEASON OF ‘ENDORSEMENTS’, LESSONS HAVE TO BE LEARNED
He who finds favour in the sight of the elders is most likely a lucky man
These indeed are peculiar times in the University of Ibadan. Flyers are everywhere, graphics designers are making their fortunes and WhatsApp is buzzing with broadcast messages. At this time, everyone is about their campaigns business and the campaigns managers are not even taking it easy. Yes, it is election period and lessons have to be learned, maybe re-learned too. The principal actors in this season are the aspirants, the voters and the Electoral Committee. After all, like in complementary demand, the existence of one necessitates the other.
First, the contestants; these ones come in twos. There are the ones who have good plans and some others who only want the glory that comes with the title. Check around, you will see them. When the children of God gather, the Devil himself is there with them. So, these people with false intention cannot but be hiding somewhere in the pack. It will therefore be of no use to try to tell them to back-off. They usually don’t. At this point, it might be difficult to separate the ones with true intentions from the ones with false intentions. Campaigns are flying everywhere and students are hardly given a breathing space. But in the midst of all these, it would not be difficult to know someone with a track record of excellence and achievements. There is a clear different between excellence and mediocrity; one that department, halls, or the efforts of ‘stakeholders’ cannot hide. It would then be left to the voters to choose wisely.
Now, when we talk about voters choosing wisely, the problem is not always with not knowing whom the best man is. After all, difference, they say, is clear. The problem really is the issue of misguided ‘loyalty’. Most students vote for whom they vote for on the basis of familiarity and misguided loyalty. Sentences like “she’s from my department”, “he looks like a cool person” are not uncommon here. Many of these students do not take time to attend manifesto nights or inquire about the intention of these aspirants. Asides, the track record of achievements or charisma of these aspirants, the Manifesto Night is an effective medium to filter the bad eggs from the good ones. But somehow, no one seems to want to learn or apply these lessons. The so-called ‘stakeholders’ have made this worse. These people canvass for support for aspirants, simply because of the affiliations of being in the same departments or halls. As long as they can establish a point of affiliation, they begin to canvass for support. It is even worse how a hall chair can put a call through to another hall chair, mentions an aspirants’ name as the ‘endorsed’ candidate and asks the other hall chair to try to influence members of the hall to vote for the ‘chosen’ one, who has found favour before the elders. There and then, the fate of thousands of people is sealed on a phone call. When Kemi Adetiba told these stories in King of Boys, she wasn’t lying.
It would therefore be an honourable thing for the voters to take time to screen the candidate as they can. Voters should not vote for aspirants simply because they were ‘endorsed’ by certain persons.
The Electoral Committee is the third principal actor here. Their contributions are equally as important as the whole process. Whether or not the whole process will go in vain is in their care and how they choose to handle matters that pertain to their office. During the last election, in this faculty, the whole electoral process was almost truncated because the electoral officers made a mistake that could best be avoided. The matter was resolved, but it left a grudge in the hearts of some and mistrust in the minds of many others.
The Electoral Committee would therefore do well to ensure transparency at this point. Nothing should be done in secret, if truly the wishes of the people are being represented well.
This is the season where the batons are handed to the people’s choices. People’s choices? Maybe not always. Democracy is widely regarded as the best system of government because it allows for the will of the people. In reality, it is only the least of the evils. It is like picking the least spoilt of three bad apples. So, it is that season again where students are at the risk of picking another bad apple because the golden apple was plucked from their departments and halls. However, this does not erase the existence of true leaders. If only students can open their eyes and look beyond their halls, departments and ‘endorsement’ sentiments, who says true and outstanding student leaders cannot be elected?
