Rejoinder to Idede Osesky Oseyande Claim. LIKE PRESIDENT JONATHAN LIKE HIS SUPPORTERS. While surfing through Facebook after a short nap, i came across a post from a friend (Osesky) who we both served in the Federal University of Technology Akure Students Union (FUTASU). I would have ignored Oseskys post like i normally do since i believe everybody has a right to choice and right to a freedom of association, but i find it imperative to point some records right, because when falsehood is continually propagated and everybody looks away without stating the obvious, it is only a matter of time that the falsehood will begin to take the shape and form of truth.. Mr Idede Oseyande who served as the General Secretary of FUTASU today made a spurious tactical claim that he was the best FUTASU executive during our tenure which was in place in 2007/2008 Academic session. Like his Mentor, President Jonathan and his goons always do, these folks are used to rubbishing the efforts of those who come before them and those who they worked together with. Hence they always end up with embarrassing claims like my friend Osesky just did. It is either they are claiming they have implemented a Railway Transformation Agenda which had not been seen in any African country or claim they built 12 Universities which are all second to none in standard on the Africa continent, or they have done something someone else have not done before, perhaps that is why they end up with this megalomaniac hysteria, if they are not claiming they are Martin Luther King Junior, or Lee Kuan Yew, or Obama today, tomorrow they are claiming they are Jesus Christ of Nazareth or is it jesus of Otuoke.. How Osesky arrived at the conclusion that he was the best FUTASU Executive during our tenure is one thing i dont understand, if not for the puerility of the mind and his characteristic self-adulatory tendencies, how will you rate yourself ahead of Ajiboye Olubodun Holubantee (Holubantee) who was actually the fulcrum of whatever success we achieved in our tenure as FUTASUs Excos. Mr Holubantee (now a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army) was the rallying point of our government, he gave us strong hope, courage and inspiration to fight ahead as that is what Student Unionism is all about. From the Fund-raising campaign to fighting the increment in our Tuition fee. Holubantee was the rallying point, till tomorrow, i will always remember his words Man shall not live by certificate alone.. Those words always give us a lot of courage anytime we consider the fact that the University may clamp down on us and rusticate us for questioning the decisions made by the Authority. Holubantees ruggedity** and courage coupled with the contributions we all made particularly in adopting the principle of non-violence and tactically intimidating and bullying the Universitys Authority into a corner and also the influence of some very influential Nigerians, which were all key in solving the struggle for a reduction in our school fees when it was increased in 2008, we did not even stop there, we were able to persuade the Authority not to increase the School fees for a number of years. Osesky can not be the best FUTASU Exco of our set when we have the presence of a moral voice and an epitome of courage in another young, ebullient and dynamic student named Akpoveta Valentine, whose nickname then was Valour, he lived adequately to the meaning of his nickname and today, that young man is a moving train and a phenomenon in Nigeria. The kind of success he has today achieved in the field of Public and Motivational Speaking is incredible and i can only pray that he achieves more and continue to climb the ladder higher and higher. Valour was not only efficacious in articulating the Unions view points on critical issues with the Student, he was everything the face of public relation can be especially in the volatile environment of campus activism and unionism. Our set then was composed of Executives who were totally committed to the course and welfarism of the Students, today i continue to appreciate the fact that i worked with that team in my capacity as the Welfare Officer of FUTASU. Today, i remember the vibrancy, physical agility, doggedness and spirited commitment of our team, Amino, Obe, Gentle, Ola Ola Jagunmade and our Financial Secretary and Treasurer. The parameters Osesky employed in adjudging himself the best Executive in our set are parameters i dont seem to understand now and which i think i will still not understand in 50years to come, but one big parameter i understand and which will forever stand as an incontestable fact was, Osesky later contested for the position of the Students Union President, an election he lost in its totality, if he was the best performing Executive of our set, FUTARIANS would have appreciated his stride and unanimously voted him in as the next President then, but he was rejected by the students in the election and he lost out. I will not go into some specifics because i am not setting out to or interested in maligning anyone, till today Osesky remains a good friend and we have exchanged phonecalls and chat messages a couple of times in the last few months. It is only imperative to state the obvious. Self-exhortation and Self-glorification are values which young minds should try as much as possible to avoid, they create megalomaniac minds and a kind of sense of vicious pride which result in boastfulness, for example, i am the best and i have done what others have not done or can not do, they limit our abilities to do more, this i think is one reason why today we have a government who has only done just 5% of what is needed to be done in the Rail Transport sub-sector and they are all over the media shouting this government is performing signs and wonders which no one else has done before and today, they blasphemously claim they are Jesus Christ(s). Anytime i look back at our tenure in FUTA, i remain thankful to the students for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Welfare Officer of the FUTA Students Union, our set was able to do somethings which are still there for all to see, but i also left the Union conscious of the fact that there will always be challenges to solve at every point in time, today, tomorrow and everyday of our lives that we live on earth, and no one can lay claim to the fact to he is a Mr Know-all or one who can solve every problem. Lessons i learnt in my days in the Union are some of the things that continue to shape my views on politics and life, but one thing i did not learn and i will never learn is to depict the efforts of others and go around boastfully that i was the best of them all, i think Osesky really gaffed on this but again, everyone has got the freedom to their thoughts and views, but we have the moral responsibility to be responsible and truthful with our thoughts and views, and also to speak out when folks set our to immortalise lies and falsehood. Olarewaju Olaniyi, Welfare Officer, Federal University of Technology Akure Students Union (FUTASU) 2007/2008 set
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 21:02:47 +0000
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