ENGELS, SAMMIE, OLAMIDE, JOHNSON: OUR ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE “Two people do not lose a contest of lies; if the listener does not suspect falsehood, the speaker must be aware of his lies” (Ancient Yoruba adage) It has been more than two months now that eight of us were suspended by the university management over “ongoing police investigation” of a case of “abduction” of the Chairman, Students’ Union Electoral Commission, Abeeb Alabi Olayinka (Angel). We were at first struck by the absurdity, which was the basis of the suspension – “ongoing police investigation”. In the first instance, no police had informed us of any investigation. The university, as a matter of fact, did not present us any document to ascertain the existence of such investigation. As members of Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), who are aware of the history of Great Ife Students’ Union, we are not surprised by the quickness of OAU Management to employ baseless allegations and frivolous schemes to witch-hunt students’ activists, who it sees as threat. Akinola Saburi (Malcolm X) – former president of the union, who was known for his radical defense of pro-students’ stance – had once been alleged of “burning a place called Anglo Moz car park,” and victimized on that absurd basis. Of course our current suspension is no more than such vicious witch-hunting and victimization. Despite this, the four of us – Sammie, Engels, Olamide and Johnson – had written through our solicitor Barrister Alfred Adegoke, one time Secretary General of Great Ife Students Union and the Osun State Coordinator of DSM demanding clarifications on the ground adduced for the suspension order. Till this moment, the University has not responded to these letters. With the darkness surrounding the “investigation”, and the continuous refusal of the management to respond to our letters, our solicitor wrote to the Osun-State Commissioner of Police, demanding for clarifications over the purported investigation. Sometimes last week, the Police responded and informed us that the University Management, as well as Abeeb Alabi, had reported a case to it. We were thereupon invited to the police station. On getting to the Special Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the Osun-State Police Division, we discovered grand scheme of lies, and a showcase of shamelessness on the part of both Abeeb Olayinka and OAU Management. In a statement signed by Abeeb, he had claimed that Engels, Sammie, Juwon, Chocomilo, Anchor, Mandela and some students had led thugs, who were non-students to beat him up and take him away to Awolowo hall café, while some of the suspended students’ names were not mentioned. The police had equally informed us that the University Management testified to this fictitious story. It would be needless to start here to counter the lies of Abeeb and Omole-led OAU Management, because Great Ife students are first-hand witnesses of all the ridiculous events surrounding the Students’ Union Elections in April 2014. Our position on the April 2014 Students Union Elections, as members of DSM and ERC, has not changed. Students’ Union is a democratic body of all students; organized by students to advance their interests and defend themselves against unfriendly, anti-students’ policies of both the management and the government. Where a University Management, the chief executor of anti-students’ policies, takes a sudden interest in who should lead or not lead the union of the students, then such union is at the verge of being lifeless, because the management would always call the shot. During the April elections, the management took a criminal interest in the elections of the students’ union, and ordered that Abeeb Alabi should disqualify students from contesting the election, on the basis of a baseless allegation of indictment. We still affirm that the disqualification on the ground of such indictment was unconstitutional as far as the Students Union Constitution is concerned, alien to the rich norms of our Union, and it stabs logic and commonsense in the head. But Abeeb Alabi, despite the popular protest of students against this unconstitutionality and treachery, insisted that he would conduct the election as directed by the management. For Great Ife Students to again recall the resolve of Abeeb to betray the constitution of the Students’ Union at all cost, note carefully this elegantly written clause of our constitution: “the Electoral Commission Shall be responsible to the SRC in the first instance and shall be responsible to the congress when the SRC stands dissolved; but shall not be controlled by any person or body of persons…”(S60 (5) Students’ Union Constitution). In fact, if anyone is worthy of investigation, it is the OAU Management and Abeeb Alabi that should be brought up for trial over denial of democratic human rights and flagrant disregard for unambiguous constitution of a Union. In reality, the reason why OAU Management disqualified Students’ Activists such as Engels, Mandela, Anchor, Juwon and Chocomilo from contesting is the same as the reason why the eight of us are under suspension. Management does not want anyone who criticizes its policies or challenges them. But management miscalculated! We do not need to hold union offices to express our thoughts on the dangers of bankrupt University policies and, especially spending, such as the construction of swimming for N500 million. As members of the Democratic Socialist Movement, we took a stance against increment in fees; argued that it would not improve the lots of students. And this was what got management angry; that we still authoritatively speak against its policies, and not affected at all by the evil calculations of disqualification. Or how else can we explain the puzzle that management suspended eight students in August over a case it personally reported to the Police in April? Absolute Witch- hunting! It is our strong opinion that the immediate permutation behind this suspension is the mechanic thinking of the University that our presence would make students revisit the fee hike struggle after re-opening in August. But events have justified the correctness of our perspectives that students are not zombies, who would remain silent in the face of the fraud, called fee hike, which has been accompanied by an unprecedented rate of erratic power and water supply. We admonish Great Ife Students to always stand up for their rights to learn as human beings, and not as slaves. However, it is important we at this juncture appreciate the effort and the agitations of students for our reinstatement. In our opinion too, the organized campaign of students against this victimization and for independent students’ union is the only visible way forward. But in all frankness, this campaign can only start with a congress of students so as to galvanize participation of mass of students and support for the cause. As we drop our pen, we wish to inform our colleagues and congressmen of Great Ife Students’ Union that we remain undaunted in the struggle of the oppressed against the oppressors; neither victimization nor lies can break us. AMANDLA AWETHU… NOTHING SHALL DISCOURAGE US SIGNED, ENGELS; SAMMIE; OLAMIDE; AND JOHNSON (Suspended students and members of DSM)
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 08:37:45 +0000