SUG Election fall out,Who's to blame?

Africa’s own literary idol, Chinua Achebe, in his final days commented- “the writer is often faced with two choices- turn away from the reality of life’s intimidating complexity or conquer its mystery by battling with it.” He went on to conclude that “the writer who chooses the former soon runs of energy and produces elegantly tired fiction.”

What happened on the election ground is no more news; most students even feel that a narration of what transpired on that day is not only unnecessary but might be considered as a means to doctor the truth. But, then, considering the fact that most students like myself didn’t have an omniscient view of the election ground and the practices that day coupled with the daunting complexity that too many stories have been tailored just to fit a single truth, you will agree that whatever happened on that very day needs not only be said as is but an analysis is needed to place it in proper light, to put it under perspective. This is the dreaded task I have chosen the task of conquering the mystery of that day by battling with every intelligence I can gather as regards the practices of the election that consequently led to its cancellation.

It is at the point of reflecting on the manifesto day that one will come to the regrettable realisation that the Students’ Union Government of this school has lost its true essence. The SUG, as I will rightly argue, was supposed to be the training ground, so to put it, of future politicians. It is at the SUG level that the university have the opportunity to correct the ills of the Nigerian society by training these politicians on the rudiments of governing; drilling into their minds that governance should be based on competence, character and credibility. The manifesto which was supposed to be a demonstration of the intelligence of these prospective leaders has denigrated to a mere show of campaign competition, a display of the politician with the highest screams and shouts, and has been flawed with a touch of anarchism.

What truly happened on the election ground? This must be a question you can’t wait for me to answer. As was seen by most of us that day, Gbugbemi (a 500L Law student) was at the center of the stage. He was being confronted on every front by all who was around him, as I later gathered he was even slapped. But, then, why was he confronted in such manner? As we all know, it was said that he tried to rig the election- a truth or, howbeit, an allegation I stand to question its viability because I have heard too many versions of the story. One of the rumours claimed he was trying to force numerous ballot papers into a single ballot box, yet another claims Gbugbemi held in his hands about twenty ballot papers which he was trying to force into his pocket and still another claims he had been on the voting table casting votes ceaselessly for his candidate, Mike Osajiele.

However, I wouldn’t try to trade off the truth in this matter on the basis that it has too many versions. After all, the truth has many sides. It is no hidden truth that many have some deep latent hurts from previous elections particularly the SUG elections of last year. The students still deeply feels that the appointed president was staff-appointed and godfather-influenced or it could be anything but student-appointed. A flawed electioneering process that plunged this campus into its darkest dungeon of Students’ Unionism, a government marked with corruptible deeds that had General Abacha been alive he would most certainly applaud their efforts for making him their role model.

To this effect a meeting of political stakeholders and aspirants was held at Eboh Hotels some weeks ago. The meeting aimed, above all, to correct the ills and to categorically warn the aspirants that any move to tamper with the due process of this election will not be approached with kid gloves. In retrospect, I begin to conclude that if Gbugbemi acted as he was accused, he made the most fatal error one could ever make because that election on that day has, so far, been the most monitored; all eyes were at the ballot box.

A lot of persons that felt that comrade Pedro was cheated last year came out not just to vote but to monitor; consolidating the fact that this campus is presently in the middle of a political coup, or to put it more democratically, a political revolution.

Many feels this is what had been transpiring during past elections but it has been covered by the Okurakpor Hall- casting a dark shadow on the highly esteemed hall that have housed too many important occasions- from the Orientation program, to church programs and, of course, all the flawed elections. Who, then, is to be blamed? My conclusion is the School authorities.

Whether they have approached our SUG elections with lack of genuine interest or this whole show is a display of their stack incompetence. Either way the school authority is to be blamed. How else, can one explain that a mere election manifesto and a free and fair election among two faculties cannot be effectively organised by a university marked with a remarkable number of intellectuals that had at one time in the past been involved with Students’ Unionism? Or could it be that history wants to repeats itself? I will drop my pen at this point.