Let’s stand up, keep calm and pray for AFAS

Olamilekan Mashika

Democracy and its government of the people preaching, on the long run, is merely an advertisement show. The voting system, similarly, is a popularity contest. This writer has reservation for these two phenomena but for the purpose of simply not imposing his views, he has restrained from putting it out here. However, one might puzzle why democracy is taking the center stage in an article that suggest we supplicate to a divine being (whoever our religion believes he is) and hope that all will be well with our dear AFAS. The reasons aren’t farfetched.

On the election, electioneering and propaganda

As has been pointed out above, voting is nothing but a tool incapable of doing what it is meant for. This writer must explain why. The elections of AFAS, which comes up on Thursday has stirred many still waters. One of the interesting aspect of this session’s election is that most of the offices to run for have at least 2 candidates. This, in itself should make AFASites witness an unprecedented level of intellectualism and a fierce competition of wits and intellects between different individual of different revered departments of this great faculty. But Alas, the disappointment! First is the story of 3 sports’ director aspirants who have deem it fit to be engulfed in WhatsApp stories of AFAS support or no support. As it happens, two of the aspirants are 200level students, and one of them, Alawiye Israel, having participated in a football match played by the faculty’s 200level team was made a video by the team soliciting for AFASites to support him. This gesture, however noble one might think it is, screams unfairness to the other candidate, Morakinyo Olaolowo who is equally a 200level student. There, a war of words was stirred. AFAS Great Minds WhatsApp platform was disturbed yet again. Yes, yet again. Earlier, long before the war of sports, a “concerned AFASite” released a statement stating that all achievements, Akinyoola Emmanuel, one of the presidential candidate, laid claims to are false. Apparently, Mr. Emmanuel had claimed that achievements of the present administration can also be ascribed to him since some of them were done by virtue of his office as social director. This, just like a tempest, stirred the WhatsApp platform yet again. Also, trying to find sanity in the hullabaloo that slowly plagued out faculty, Mr. Emmanuel’s banner was removed by God knows who (oh well, he got a bigger one anyway). But that is not all. Long before all these, even when the water was still calmer, Adeniyi Olamilekan, the sole aspirant for the position of AGS was accused of threatening his opponent, one Miss. Adeoye into steeping down from contesting. When quizzed about this by AFAS press correspondent, he claimed this is unfounded and a mere propaganda. Whether or not that is true is known to God, Mr Adeniyi and Miss Adeoye. Ladies and gentlemen, can we now see that even the faculty of great minds is also home to people with sharp and malicious inclinations towards politics. We can all sit there and criticise the government of the nation, but really, if in fact, this is the new set of leaders our nation hopes to hinge its future on, aren’t we heading towards subtle downfall? Propaganda fly around like the next best thing in the world; people, supposed AFASites with great minds, resort to using cruel machinations all in the hope of making sure their candidates end up in the office. Will we continue to act as though all is well?

On the spamming of WhatsApp group
How on earth do we show to, say, the governor of Oyo state, the pitiful state of AFAS WhatsApp group? One question one need ask is if, in any way, spamming WhatsApp groups with stickers of political aspirants achieve any aim? Seeing that democracy is merely a subjective popularity contest, once a person chooses an aspirant, no Jupiter can revert that. What then is the point of spamming the group? And to even begin to reason that the name of the group is “AFAS GREAT MINDS” makes one shakes his head. To what extent is it reasonable, even in the minute way possible, to spam a WhatsApp group with stickers and BCs? Perhaps, this writer has to say this, it exasperates people and make them not want to vote for the candidate you so proclaim.
On the 3.0 CGPA
Should we now go home, pinch ourselves, knock our heads hard and weep profusely for thinking that the faculty management did us wrong when they pegged the requirement for contesting for an executive position at 3.0? Should we now begin to blame ourselves. Is it now the time when we can finally say, “whew!! How wrong we all are to fight it!!!” or what are we to say when a candidate can not use the word “privilege” correctly (whether as a noun or a verb). What sort of steps do we dance to gbedu? We thought the university grading system is not enough to judge a person’s leadership skill, we thought it cannot tell the full story, but aren’t we in the wrong? With the set of candidates paraded at the AFAS press night, can we finally say the management was right? Or how else do we justify it when a person vying for the post of Assistant General Secretary states categorically that he does not know the usage of a comma? And he plans to write letters. Or what story does it tell, when a candidate gets defensive on being asked to explicate on what he meant by Financial literacy? Or what do we say when a person writes as his manifesto that he aims to “COOPERATE WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE”? I mean, what is his job to begin with??? Whatever the case is, whether or not the management is right, we can’t help but ponder whether we, AFASites should have stayed with the decision and see what the 3.0s have to offer.
On the disqualification and re-qualification of some candidates
Before we think of anything, let us wonder what it means for a candidate to be disqualified by the electoral committee. It simply suggests that they deemed the person unworthy of the post. However, in our moment of wondering, let us consider why such unworthy candidate be allowed to reapply for the same post. Second chance comes to one’s mind, but really, a degree in the university takes at least four years to get, and it simply means there is enough time for second or third chance. And if we think that it’ll be unfair on penultimate students who move on to their final year, well, whose fault was it that the person failed to prepare for the screening. In any scenario possible, giving a candidate or candidates second chance to reapply for a post they are deemed unfit to run for is not completely reasonable. In fact, shouldn’t the candidate him/herself simply wait till the following year, lace his boots and enter the race again? Isn’t there dignity in that? Well, even if with a shred of grace these candidates are allowed to reapply and luckily they pass, but shouldn’t they be excellent? Shouldn’t the aura that comes with them show that they are actually ready? Sadly, the three aspirants originally disqualified and made to reapply, were simply not up to the task in last night’s press night. They simply did not light up the place and blow off the roof. They simply were just there.

On the over usage of tutorials

Yes, we all know that the constitution does not categorically state who is in charge of tutorials or place any of the office holders as the head of a tutorial committee, and now that we’ve stated that, can we just get it over with? But no, we simply can’t. Academic committee or whatever name we choose to give it appears in almost all manifestoes of all aspirants. Seriously? We can’t find something else to do in the faculty? No, this writer is not preaching that the sole purpose of coming to this great institution should be neglected or that we shouldn’t help one another in our academic life, but this writer believes if plans can be clichéd, tutorials as plans would be a cliché. To be honest, now, in the state AFAS is, setting up tutorials or academic committees shouldn’t really count as plans. People do it anyway. Those who have political aspirations would do it and even those in office will, even various departments will hold tutorials, so really, why is it still counted as a plan. Yes, you can make it more organised, but really, you can always do that without necessarily putting it on your manifesto as a plan. This is this writer merely putting it out there as a word of advice for future aspirants to consider leaving out tutorials as part of your plans because it has gotten to a point where it is just what is expected of you.

Conclusion
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, if you get to this point of this long essay, you are a warrior. Now, let’s go back to why this writer has criticised democracy. Even with all that has been listed, the minds of the electorate may not change to whom they want to give their votes. It is safe to assume that regardless of the press screening results and electoral screening results, the electorates would simply vote for who they like. However, this writer wishes to advise AFASites. Go to the manifesto night, listen to the aspirants, check whom you really want to vote in, screen them in your minds, let your head do the screening and not your heart. Be the judge, jury and executioner and vote with a rational rationale. Because pitifully, it is merely who has the most fans and not who has more to offer. Electorates are unconcerned about the plans, the intelligence, the logic of the aspirants’ words, his/her eloquence, his/her ability to persuade or his/her ability to be composed. These do not matter, what ultimately matters is that when a candidate is your person, then till they kingdom comes, he/she gets your vote.

Now, dearest AFASites, with all that have been stated, shouldn’t we indeed, stand up, keep calm and pray for AFAS?