THE IGNORANCE OF NAPS “Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” – Martin Luther King. “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in.” – Napoleon Bonaparte “Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened by responsibility.” – Sigmund Freud. First and foremost, I need to tell you that “status quo” is the Latin for “the mess we are in.” We, the Nigerian students under the aegis of NAPS are really in a big mess. For clarity of purpose, NAPS is the acronym for National Association of Polytechnic Students. I have no personal grudges against any of its member; in fact, I must commend its efforts. But at the same time I wish to use this medium to elicit some basic facts about how NAPS has scuttled its efforts with unyielding varying ultimatums on the on-going ASUP strike. The first message that beeped into my phone this morning was from a Comrade colleague at the School of Engineering in FPN. His lamentations about the ceaseless strike were painfully fathomable. At least, he ought to have been a State Corp Member by now and maybe planning to return for his HND. He quibbled at length during our chat; in fact, he mentioned that Dr. Chibuzor of the ASUP and the NAPS President are being lax about the strike because the president (GEJ) is from their region (South). But I disagreed; because I abhor ethnic favouritism or its jingoism. Meanwhile, I do believe the ASUP president is not fit for that position; while the NAPS president appears to be a Ctrl+V of the former. As for the NAPS leadership under the present dispensation, they had treaded on a path of ignorance last month – March 2014; maybe unknowingly, (no ambivalence please). Prior to the commencement of the National Conference on 17th March 2014, the NAPS had broadcast (via social media, this page inclusive) of its readiness to storm Abuja with a peaceful protest in order to disrupt the inauguration, and also for it to get the president’s attention on the very obnoxious strike. It was really a welcomed idea. In fact, my revered colleague of SLT had solicited with students of FPN to converge at various places. I was highly elated because I was in Abuja, and as such would be able to participate in the struggle against what is bedeviling the futuristic achievements of my fellow Nigerian Students. Alas! I was stunned when the NAPS Senate President refused picking my calls that early morning. So many students from FPN had gathered themselves at various places, in readiness for selfless pursuit of collective progress. My revered colleague of the SLT told me my calls were being rejected by the Senate President because they were at SSS office, from which they left for Edet House (Police Headquarters) or so. Doing what at SSS office? Edet House? They were there to seek PROTEST PERMIT. I was flummoxed! I concluded to myself that the NAPS leadership has flawed itself. At the end, they were not allowed to protest. Whereas the Colleges of Education Students did protest without a permit the following day (18th of March 2014) and theirs was even broadcast live on AIT news as well as the NTA. This erroneous path treaded by NAPS coupled with the chat I had with my revered colleague this morning birthed the title of this write-up: “THE IGNORANCE OF NAPS.” No one knows it all; as a matter o fact I’m just a learner. But honestly, I learn not for exams purpose; rather to be educated and know my rights and how to defend them. I learn to know my duties and responsibilities and how to discharge them. Therefore, it behooves us to state unequivocally that NAPS had goofed off in its approach then. How and why? Their right to peaceful protest is clearly enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution, as it can be clearly seen in Chapter 4 (FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS), section 40: “RIGHT TO PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION” – “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interest.” Hence, it can be deduced that the NAPS needed no permit to assemble peacefully in order to protest its interest; unless if the state bans protest as it has been the case in Rivers State since the time of Joseph Mbu (the former State Commissioner of Police). My SLT colleague had told me the SSS/Police pleaded or cajoled them per se to leave the protest; claiming the government would blame the students as being sponsored by the opposition. Who cares? Has this government any mastery than blaming opposition? Didn’t it blame the opposition during the ASUU strike via its loud mouth-pieces Doyin Okupe and Reuben Abati? It aches when we are too considerate about a government that is inconsiderate about its citizens, the youths per se. Personally, I felt NAPS lacked the courage then, but it is not too late to strategically re-enforce its stance and plight. A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears. And courage which is needed is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear. Furthermore, this flaw exhibited by NAPS leadership clearly depicts that most (not all) of the students who participate in Students’ Unionism lack the basic prerequisite of tough bargaining and intellectual militancy. The latter is usually based on knowing your rights and how to effectively articulate them with persistence and doggedness, without spitting on the other person’s face. I’ve not suggested the Arab Spring yet for the Nigerian Students, but the monumental thievery under this administration is enough to goad the students to occupy the Nation’s Capital. Do I need to tell you that $20b is more than Nigeria’s Annual Budget? Or have you forgotten so soon that a woman -minister boarded private jets and maintained them with about N10 billion? Maybe I need you to be reminded that that huge amount of money spent on only private jets by just 1 minister is half of what the SELFISH ASUP is demanding, hun? A union, whose staff number exceeds a thousand. In conclusion, my aim in this write-up is to wake up the NAPS and to spur it to do more. If you had called on students to converge, which they did, and you refused to show up or meet their expectations, you may never see them again next time when you direly need them. Reading through the lyrics of the late activist – Fela Anikulapo Kuti – I would leave you with this to mull over: “Man dey suffer he no fit talk na condition; man dey suffer he fit talk na condition too. Suffer dey Africa paparapa; a suffer dey Africa paparap. Which condition you dey me I don’t know; the condition me I dey me I know. My condition don reach make I act.” We’ll soon advise the NAPS on how the pioneers of aluta were dogged intellectually and physically in demanding and achieving their rights to timely education in this same Nigeria. All I can do for now is to fight with my pen and my voice wherever I can be heard; but I know with you my fellow Nigerian students we can do something to make a drastic change. Let’s be leaders of today; no more deceit of being leaders of tomorrow. God bless FPN! God bless Nigeria! Comr. O. B. Abdurrahman NALISS FPN
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 10:44:13 +0000
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