Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Hosts Workshop for Student Activists, Premieres Documentary on Student Unionism
The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, a German non-profit foundation, through its Nigeria office, on Friday held a training workshop for student activists from campuses across Nigeria at the University of Ibadan.
The student leadership training, featuring participants from the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Tai Solarin University of Education and other institutions, took place at the University of Ibadan Hotels on the 23rd of August, 2024.
This event, which marked the second edition since its inception last year, aimed to equip future leaders with the knowledge to understand and uphold their rights effectively.
The session began with self-introductions from attendees after which participants were organised into ideological cells: the Segun Okeowo cell, Eni Obi cell, George Iwilade Afrika cell, and Comfort Idiaka cell. Each cell had representatives who provided background on the individuals their cell was named after.
The training session featured opening remarks from Juwon Sanyaolu, Lennart Oestergaard, and Soneye LAS, followed by a presentation by Comfort Idika, a former president of the National Association of Nigeria Students(NANS) in 1995, titled “Fee Hike, Student Loans, and Organizing a Fightback: Lessons from the Past.” Lanre Arogundade, another former NANS president, then led a session on “Rebuilding the Student Movement: What Is to Be Done?”
A documentary on the history of student unionism in Nigeria featuring notable figures in unionism such as Lanre Ogundade (1984 NANS President), Femi Falana, Ene Obi (former UNIJOS Union President), Segun Mayegun, (former UNILAG SU and NANS president, Omoyele Sowore (former UNILAG SU president) Comfort Idika (1995 NANS President), Sanyaolu Juwon, and others. The documentary titled, “Greatest Nigerian Students”, recounted the activities of the student unionists and NANS and the events leading to NANS’s decline.
The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) named after Germany’s first democratically elected President, Friedrich Ebert, is committed to the advancement of both socio-political and economic development in the spirit of social democracy, through civic education, research, and international cooperation.
