Danger of Bad Precedents: Bringing Afore the (mis)deeds of Aweda-led Team Amelioration (Part III)
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
Delving into the third part of this particular topic of discussion on, Bolaji Aweda’s dispositions and actions while in office, as the University of Ibadan Student Union President. There will be a stronger focus on actual actions and singular doings, that have all come together like tiny bits here and there, to form a definitive infallible definition that describes his administration as it is exactly. The success of an association/organisation/union, to a large extent, is tied to their leaders. Almost nothing can be done without the leadership of such an association/organisation/union. Now, amongst other things, qualities, and attributes a leader who really is after a positive advancement must possess are knowledge, understanding of this knowledge, and a great deal of applying this knowledge that must be understood as a non-negotiable or arguable criterion. In the immediate previous part of this piece, part II, remember that very fundamental and basic vital portions of the Nigerian Constitution were quoted. In fact, these quoted portions can be well argued as the primary pivotal pillars on which the Nigerian Constitution rests, clearly stating the base on which the Constitution stands. Hence, for a union like the University of Ibadan Student Union, whoever becomes the president of the Union, should be subjected to thorough scrutiny on how much he/she knows about all the body of laws, rules and regulations guiding members of the Union first as a Nigerian, then a student of the University of Ibadan, and eventually as a member of the Union. Also, to the extent such a candidate understands what he/she knows about this body of rules and regulations, and how they intend to apply them should become a main focal point when it comes to screening these candidates to fill these leadership positions at the Union, and also to be thoroughly tested during the press night and manifesto nights. It will not be much of a surprise to discover that some of the current members of the Executive Council of the Student Union are quite very clueless about the Union’s constitution. Even during the campaign periods, it is obvious that most of these candidates do not even know and understand in totality what their constitutional duties are until the need to campaign arises. These slippages are always visible during Press Nights and Manifesto Nights and become more evident when they assume office, the sheer display of their shenanigans just accentuates this.
For the umpteenth time, the University of Ibadan is not a private school or a private institution, it is a federal government-owned school, a publicly owned school no single entity or certain group of individuals can lay claims to like it is a family heirloom. Hence, every policy that must be enacted in the school must, without any form of reservation, be in a perpetual reconciliation to the Nigeria Constitution the Federal Government of Nigeria itself is bound by. Therefore, if any candidate is fundamentally deficient in this knowledge, and barely understands what this means in all totality, such a candidate will most likely be another Bolaji Aweda. However, the argument can go like this, any candidate defaulting in this knowledge is verily not a fit for leadership at the Union level, yet, it is not an automatic criterion for becoming a responsible student leader. Bolaji Aweda, ought to understand the purpose of his role as a student leader. The excuse that “I am also a student” is one very lame excuse that reeks of nothing but ineptitude. These leadership positions being spoken of are not something that is being forced on anyone, neither is anyone compelled to pick up these positions. That is, the occupying of these positions by interested candidates is utterly voluntary. So, any candidates deciding to run for any leadership post must necessarily be equipped with this awareness and conscious reality elementarily.
Now, Bolaji Aweda was fully aware of the current situation on ground when he was sworn in, which was the issue of the hike in school fees. So, one can come to the seeming conclusion that, if there was a golden time to prove one’s capacity as an effective leader, the time Bolaji Aweda came on board is that golden time. However, he has instead betrayed students and sabotaged even the efforts of a number of concerned students who would champion a justifiable cause. When the July 17th protest broke out, Amongst the 7 agendas that Bolaji Aweda read out, as a conclusion/resolution of the meeting the supposed student representatives held with the management, was that, the school fees were going to be reviewed by the governing council in about three weeks from that time. Remember that the protest that led to the meeting that led to that resolution/conclusion was not an initiative of the Student Union, despising these, Bolaji Aweda, without necessarily checking the satisfactory status of a decision, with the actual student who started this protest, Aweda released a statement the following day, urging students to return to classes, like he was the one who ordered the boycott of classes in the first place. The position of the Student Union Presidency is not supposed to be a manipulative tool of the management to suppress and gag the voice of students in a public school/institution like the University of Ibadan. That position is to see to the welfare of students, even if it is just one student, because “an injury to one, is an injury to all”. The Union should be able to see to the positive development of learning, making sure that the environment is conducive in all ramifications for learning. So, in fear of what the management might say, Aweda suspended the boycott of classes he did not kick-start.
As time went on, the three weeks expired, and nothing was heard, the Student Union remained as silent as stuffed bulldogs, the last statement from Bolaji Aweda was that students should put off from paying their school fees, however, the initial deadline for school fees payment remained intact, even after the first protest, and resolutions/conclusions that came out as a result of the meeting it led to. The school never released any official statement to that effect, and Bolaji Aweda, could be comfortable being silent. Now, the expiration of the three weeks, without anything from the SU President, began to cause uneasiness in the atmosphere as to what the fate of students was, as exams seemed to approach. This led to a call for Congress by students themselves, members of the Union. The very unfortunate situation was that Bolaji Aweda saw to the forestalling of this Congress holding. It got so bad that, he had to be petitioned by students, who are members of the Union, and several visits to his hallowed office, to the extent that the SRC somewhat had to call him to order on the issue of responding to the demand for a Congress. However, once the criterion for a congress to be called has been made, the President of the Union either he/she feels inclined to, becomes very inconsequential as to whether the Congress should be called, it must be called.
It is with impunity that Bolaji Aweda, spat in the face of student by numerous attempt to evade the call for Congress, and further an atempt to sabotage the holding of the actual Congress. The Union’s President, Bolaji Aweda, had the Union’s resources in his care, and as necessary, he is mandated to make use of this resources in advancing the progressive cause of students, especially for events like a Congress. This was a Congress Aweda should have called immediately after the three weeks from July 17th expired. However, the Congress was not called until about another three weeks had elapsed, and when he eventually called the Congress, it seemed as though the UI’SU executive council distanced themselves from the call for Congress, as there was no awareness that a Congress had been called, as it should have been.
Now, it was already obvious that the Congress was a grudgingly called Congress. The Congress commences hours from the schecduled time. As the Congress progressed, and suggestions on way forward were being brought forward, resolution seemed not too far from sight, however, on hearing one of the conditions the Congress demanded, Bolaji Aweda walked out of the Congress, an on going Congress, the speaker was right there, and some Honourables were also present at the Congress ground, however, Bolaji Aweda walked out on everyone from a Congress. Where the story now takes a twist is the Bolaji Aweda led administration releasing a resolution from a Congress he literally walked out of. It is a no brainer that such resolution has been adjusted. About four resolutions were arrived at during the Congress, the fourth of the resolutions being that failure for Bolaji Aweda to effect the previous resolutions would culminate in him resigning from office. Bolaji Aweda totally scrapped that part of the resolution made at the Congress. The baffling question is, does Bolaji Aweda now begins to see or take the position of the Student Union’s President as his right? He verily seemed to have forgotten that he was elected to that position, and has become more attached to the privilege at the callous expense of the privilege giver. Till date, current press time, no disciplinary action has been taken against Bolaji Aweda, for first walking out of an ongoing Congress, and worst of all, tampering with the resolution of Congress. The Congress, according to the UI’SU’s constitution is the highest decision making body in the Union, it comprises of all students of the University of Ibadan, because a student who pays his/her school fees, is automatically a financial member of the Union. As the union dues has been factored into the inevitable bundle fee that all students cannot but pay.
As if this was not enough, as things unfolded, for the protest that held on the 29th of August, 2024, protesting student had already had enough of Aweda’s cunning, manipulative and sabotaging attempt at the “fee must fall” students struggle, Aweda literally preached NELFUND to students during the Congress. Seeing the situation and reality of things, and Aweda’s lack of readiness to engage in a full effective participation in this struggle, an agreement was made that, together with him, more representatives from the stock of the protesting student on the protest ground, who could voice the main concerns and relay the hardship students are going through already, without any hope of improvement in sight, ranging from dispicable hostel conditions, to lack of conducive classrooms and other learning facilities that would aid and improve learning, to the Vice Chancellor, and by extension the university’s management. This agreement was made at the SUB Foyer a couple of hours before 3:00pm that day, however, at the approach of 2:30pm Bolaji Aweda was no where to be found at the SUB Foyer or in the building itself. Nevertherless, protesting students marched to the Senate Chambers, where a meeting was scheduled to hold with the sole aim of reviewing the school fees as earlier promised on July 17th . To the bewilderment and enragement of the protesting students, the Bolaji Aweda who was nowhere to be found was seen at the Senate Chambers. On seeing this, the protesting students literally ordered him back, as at that point he had betrayed the agreement made at the SUB Foyer, and back stabbed the very students her should serve as a frontier for. Aweda simply ignored them, went ahead with the meeting, emerged from the building after over 4 hours of reviewing the school and came out with the following resolutions that; the price of the school fees remains, and a threat to lock the school down for three weeks. Both resolutions were carried out, as the following day, which was 31st of August, 2024, the university management released a memo around 8 in the morning, stating that a three week break has been enforced, and all residents of undergraduate halls vacate the school their halls and school premises before 2:00 pm.
In the words of George Washington, “Precedents are dangerous things; let the reins of government then be braced and held with a steady hand, and every violation of the Constitution be reprehended: If defective let it be amended, but not suffered to be trampled upon whilst it has an existence.” The actions of Aweda, his team Amelioration, and the principal officers of the Student’s Representative Council, who were complicit in this betrayal of the long-suffering students of the University of Ibadan, set a disturbing precedent. If left unchecked, a future Union president may follow this unacceptable example and assume that it is acceptable to falsify the resolution of Congress, unilaterally override the decision of Congress, and make decisions affecting students without proper consultation. To preserve the integrity of our Union’s instruments, it is imperative that all conscientious members of the University of Ibadan community revisit the egregious actions perpetrated by Aweda and his cohorts.
