Editorial: Danger of Bad Precedents: Bringing to the Fore (Mis)Deeds of Aweda-Led Team Amelioration (Part I)

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

History, amongst other things, is one of the major contributors to what makes us. Sometimes, it gives either subtle or direct definitive definitions of who we are, what we are, and what will sometimes become of us. History has the potential to determine the personality of a person. Interestingly, history also contributes to the current state of things, and not only humans. If we take an ongoing court case for instance, in almost all cases, history remains the base on which the whole case is, in the first place, then it further determines the outcome of what verdict of that case will be. Going a bit more scientific, every human is made up of a complex fusion of DNA program-like lines of codes, this DNA is literally what we are and who we are scientifically speaking, it is what differentiates every single one of us from the other in a such a distinctive unmistakable manner. We have about 8 billion people on earth as we speak, yet, there is no single case of two people having the same DNA, not even in the case of Siamese Twins. In the intersection between medicine and sociology, human DNA is like a historical record of parental origin from way, way back into the past. So, if asked what history is, it is simply a record of the past. However, it is not just a record of the past, history, because it is a record of the past, is also a compass for charting our course on the water paths of the unknown future. With history, we can track how far we have made progress, or if we are evening making any progress at all in the first place. The complex way we handle our history as living organisms is one of the things that sets the clear differences between man and animals or non-humanoid organisms, with emphasis on the word complex way. Because, chickens for example, keep grudges till the fourth generation, that is, a young chicken cannot trust you, and runs from you, not because it does not trust you, but because you have done some harm, or have been hostile to it parents, up to four generations behind.

Now, someone made the statement that, ”A generation which ignores history has no past and no future”. We most times keep a keen tab on history so as not to make mistakes or commit an error. Freshmen on campus will frantically chase a senior to help them out in completing course registrations and other vital registration processes. That is a literal tap into history, the experience of that senior now becomes a resource which guides the current actions and further informs the decisions of that freshman. It can be disastrous for freshmen to decide to neglect this history, as it may cost beyond what anyone can afford. The same thing too also applies to all aspects of our lives as human beings. In marriage, when two people agrees to get married, they sometimes go for marriage counselling, by doing so, they are literally tapping into the resource of the past, so they can use whatever information they have to guide them on the uncharted waters of the future. Now this is like a clarion call to all members of the Student Union of the University of Ibadan, not to forget history, especially the recent history just formed during the course of this incumbent administration, the Bolaji Aweda-led administration.

Now, looking at this administration, the Aweda-led administration, right from the time of its inauguration ceremony, this administration has been laced with neoliberal practices, anti-students’ interests, and a complete disrespect and disregard of the Union’s members, which is entirely made up of every student in the University of Ibadan. On the day of the inauguration ceremony, when Bolaji Aweda, was sworn in as the President of the Student Union, 3 students were arrested, by the school’s security, ‘abefele’, on the order of the Vice Chancellor, and handed over to the Nigerian Army, Operation Burst. For what offence were they arrested for? For basically saying, “This thing you are giving me, I don’t want it”, we all know the story. To date, Bolaji Aweda has not said anything of his own condemning that incident. A puzzling question that needs to be asked is this, “What could the University Management have told the Nigerian Army, not even the Police or Civil Defence, that would have made them come to arrest students asking for their rights?”, of course, the management must have told lies, but what exactly could that lie have been? The military of any country, is basically solely for external affairs, and at best summoned in an extreme civil situation, an example is the issue of ‘Boko Haram’ and other terrorist sects in the Northern parts of Nigeria. So what extreme military-demanding threat could Nice Linus, Mide Gbadegesin, and Ayodele Aduwo, could have posed during the inaugural ceremony of their President, Bolaji Aweda, being a member of the Student Union? 

Now, before the election process, which is responsible for bringing in the current administration, the Congress, which is the highest decision-making body of the Union, decided to put the elections on hold until the matters of the fee hike were resolved. But the University community witnessed something strange, a counter Congress was called to make a counter decision to counter the decision reached by the immediate earlier Congress that was held. A major actor in this whole Congress-countering-saga was Bolaji Aweda. He was able to participate in the active sensitisation towards the calling for a counter Congress. Unfortunately, this same Aweda Bolaji, could hardly call for a Congress while he is now the President of the Union. First, from evasion of calling a Congress, then to, subtle sabotaging of the Congress. Bolaji Aweda’s subtle sabotaging of the Congress was like the first piece in a domino effect of desecration and disregard of the Congress under his regime. The first was an evasion of the Congress, then the second was no publicity given to a Congress that has been called. Although, Bolaji Aweda might want to feign ignorance defensively, however, everyone knew without a doubt, how he played an active role during the call of a counter-Congress that overruled the decision of an earlier Congress. There are abundance of stories highlighting all these events, as they unfolded.

Still on matters of the Congress, in the Congress that the President deliberately refused to do a sensitisation for, because, it was clear that, if he had not endorsed the call for a Congress at that time, he could well be on the verge of losing his position in the Union. This was after he had already tried evading and further delaying the Congress, to which he was called out by some members of the Union in a petition against him, and also summoned by the House in one of the sittings that held at SRC chambers during that period. When he eventually called for the Congress, he made little or no publicity about it, perhaps his area of strength is only to sensitise for a counter-Congress. As if these conducts towards the Congress were not enough. In the Congress that was held on 17th August 2024, Bolaji Aweda, walked out on the Congress while the Congress was going on, this is most likely the first of its kind, as it has not yet happened until Bolaji Aweda did, that the elected President of the University of Ibadan Student Union, the same responsible for the creation of the historically vibrant national impacting National Association of Nigerian Student (NANS), walked out on a Congress while that particular Congress was still in progress. As if walking out on a Congress while the Congress was still in progress was not enough, Bolaji Aweda, was bold enough to go ahead to modify the decision a Congress had taken. The impunity of Bolaji Aweda is so evident that walking out on a Congress was just enough for him, he had to rub in the salt on the injury, Bolaji Aweda, doctored the decision of Congress to conform his own statements to the point that it became a serious session of debate during an SRC’s plenary session at the SRC Chambers. This was simply because honourables, who were present at the time when the Congress’s resolutions were made, heard something different from what was read out to the House during the sitting as a resolution of the Congress.

The purpose of this editorial is not meant to just point to the negative sides of the current administration, instead, it stands as a reminder of what has gone down in history. Walking out of a Congress especially, can be pointed out as an act of disrespect to the entire Student Union body, it is the constitutional right of a member of the Student Union to be regarded as an important and indispensable member of the Union, hence, and injury to one, should be an injury to all. Becoming a student leader is way beyond just occupying the post in a lustful ambition. However, your actions and inactions as a student leader affect the destiny of every single student on campus. At the moment, there is a general awkward atmosphere within the campus at the moment, as the campus seems lighter in bubbling population than usual. This is because, colleagues and fellow students have dropped out, while some, having been given admission, cannot resume because of the hike in school fees. This could have been averted if Bolaji Aweda had been proactive in the agitation of the fight against fee-hike. 

Now, we are approaching another election period, and aspirants have begun subtle campaigning and raising of awareness which is against the rule, conduct, and ethics of the electoral practice, as the embargo on campaign elections has not yet been lifted. To avoid the grave consequences that comes with the mistake Uites made last session – electing Aweda and his team Amelioration -, who have done nothing but deteriorating the status quo, it is of utmost importance to bring to the fore the many misdeeds of the current UISU leadership. 

“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see…”