Giving the chronology with distinct scrutiny of what happened at the panel I faced linking it with the struggle being fought and the way the union leadership has handled it, It would be safe for me to conclude at this juncture that the protests and the propaganda works done by the president (Ibikunle Isaac) were nothing but yet again a “STAGED DRAMA”. On the panel dated 17th of July The panel I faced revealed that the leadership of the union who faced theirs a day before ours had heaped the strength of the entire protests on us. They (Panelists) were so affirmative that the union leadership never pulled such mass, aggression and methods that heralded the entire struggle. It was so pathetic that they not only have specific words that can be directly attributed to myself they equally stated some methodology, contacts and actions which could only have been known by myself and the union leadership. The 3 chances IBIkUNLE intentionally blew off Tell no lies, claim no easy victory, tell it to the people the way it is; among avalanche of other opportunities the president particularly (I wouldn’t say the entire union leadership because the informations and opportunities were directly relayed to him) blew several opportunities The Pro-Chancellor’s visit: The ASUU chairman OAU branch as reactionary as he is informed Ibikunle that the Pro-chancellor was going to be around on June 11 to finally append his signature on the new fee regime. The chairman further stated that the Pro-Chancellor has been made to believe that the Students through their leadership have agreed with the fee. This is a pro-chancellor that is completely oblivious of the 20,000 naira acceptance fee and is being illusioned with a 2000 naira acceptance fee. The chairman suggested a peaceful demonstration with placards to the senate building to show to the Pro-Chancellor that all is not well as against what he has been fed with by the Vice-Chancellor and his merry bands. Greatest ife, for such a rally, not more than 100 student together with the union Executives would do; the Pro-Chancellor that day came and left, the president did not raise a finger, the campus was so serene as if nothing was happening. The intervention of the Joint Action Front (JAF): after the undemocratic school closure, JAF headed by Dr. Dipo Fashina a.k.a JINGO approached OAU campus through its National Secretary in a meeting with the union leadership which some of us attended. Having understood the situation of things on campus, JAF summoned a congress of its members in Lagos which included ASUU, NASU,SSANU, NMA, NAAT,NANS,NUPENG,NUT,NUEE, NURTW, ERC, DSM,CWA,SWI among others where they resolved to come all out to fight alongside the OAU students union like they did with LASU, NMA and ASUU respectively. In a bid to formalize their undaunted support for the struggle and mark the beginning of the partnership as far as the struggle is concerned; JAF Informed Ibikunle of a planned Press campaign and rally in Lagos, he shunned this ample opportunity and said that JAF can continue without them; this is an organization that speaks and the government trembles, an organization that forced a Chinese company in Lagos into the adequate payment of its staffs, an organization that greatly influenced the ASUU strike in LASU in total support of the LASU student demands, an organization powerful enough to influence ASUU, NASU, SSANU and NAAT through their National offices to go on strike in support of our demands; but guess what, they cannot cry more than the bereaved as the president completely shunned them. The intervention of NANS Zone D: While I am not particularly oblivious of the unstable attitude of NANS, I must equally affirm that the ideological and the most progressive zone of NANS is the Zone D (southwest). It is a zone D that controls over 66 campuses, a zone D whose intervention in the LASU struggle cannot be over emphasized, unlike other NANS structure, we have a Zone D that Negotiates with Fashola together with LASU union Leadership and the representatives of other PRO-student organizations in order to rid themselves of the popular blackmail of NANS living with a brown envelope after a meeting and eventually pull out of the struggle which is not usually far from the truth judging from the attitude of NANS national. NANS in its congress which Ibikunle also attended resolved to go all out with mapped out actions to hold both the OAU management and the federal government to a standstill which included the ultimatum given to the management to reopen the school and meet with the immediate demands of student. The Zone D coordinator (who stated his lack of interest in meeting with the management unless he meets with union leadership) called ibikunle to discuss how they can execute the resolutions of the congress which is sure to box the management to a corner. Greatest Ife, ibikunle unequivocally told the Zone D coordinator that they are not interested in the struggle and that whatever anti-fee hike campaign does, OAU should not be mentioned as he would immediately dissociate himself from such actions; this is totally not unlike ibikunle who not only made himself and all his executives absent but equally dissociated himself through a statement from the candle light procession that was organized on July 10 in memory of AFRIKA. Ibikunle did this to show to further proof to the management that he is not the so called “RECALCITRANT” student on campus but some individuals. These actions of ibikunle made me remember a statement posted some time ago that emphasized how Ibikunle in an informal meeting with the management promised the natural death of the struggle. This set of union leadership has only emerged to give us an illusion that a university management cannot be defeated. But we cannot be fooled as we have the example of LASU right before our very eyes. But let the president remember that my time and his time will pass, but the history we all set will never pass. Greatest Ife although some of you might have paid due to the protracted silence and the complacency displayed by the union leaders even though your payment is tantamount to a minus in this struggle; but you are indeed not to be blamed. I will most of all like to commend all great Ife students who for whatever reasons remained dogged, we shall all overcome. The ideology and the psyche of the panel I attended show that the management are more afraid of you than you can ever the scared of them. Amandla awetu
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 08:30:35 +0000