Reports reaching us from social media reveal a student activist in the prestigious federal University of Lagos has been suspended on a lengthy note.
A student of University of Lagos identified as Adeyeye Olorunfemi of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences; Department of Building has been rusticated for 4 semesters, that is two academic years for criticizing the management of the institution.
Among other students suspended were the Students Union President, the General Secretary, the Financial Secretary, the Sport Secretary, the Speaker of the parliament, and other student leaders who participated in the peaceful protest of April 6th and 8th 2016, which led to the suspension of the Students Union.
However, among all the Students rusticated, Adeyeye Olorunfemi’s case is unique. It’s unique in the sense that, he is suspended for merely criticizing the leadership of the institution on their inability to manage situations as “democrats”.
In an article he wrote titled: The Senate of the University of Lagos; a Conglomeration of Academic Ignorami , which was published on Facebook and earned 16 shares.
The Senate of the University of Lagos; a Conglomeration of Academic Ignorami.
The University of Lagos prides itself as a cosmopolitan University and over the years has maintained the status quo of excellence among her peers in Nigeria and the world at large. I promise not to make this BOMB as lengthy and circuitous as my last post on this medium. I will also make it as lucid as possible.
I mentioned in my last article WHAT IS GREAT ABOUT THE GREAT NIGERIA STUDENTS the jejunity of the Mission statement of the UNILAG,Hardly had I finished the article when the whole statement of mine started receiving fulfillment .One would call me a prophet!.
I now see the reason for the backwardness of my Nation, we blame those at the corridor of “power” forgetting those at the corridor of “education”; the corridor of “common sense “.I am a discussant of History and it has made me realise that from time immemorial, whenever there is problem in the society ,tertiary institutions are places of solace,they are citadels of solutions.
Government would go to schools to consult undergraduates, lecturers; professors as they posed to be the backbone of the society. Now, Nigeria is in shambles, the economy is crumbling, where is Dr Nduibisi Nwokoma of the Economics department?, Buhari is still waiting for your economic model computation and those econometrics rubbish theories you teach your students.
Prof. G.L Oyekan!.., there is infrastructural decay!. Prof. Idoro Godwin, buildings are collapsing and projects are poorly handled!. This is not project planning class where you come to disturb students with your unending battery of questions e.g What is Objective? ..answer- Objective is ….Question 2- What is “is”?. What a comedian! .
Vice Chancellor sir!, you remain a first class Chemical engineering graduate from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife.What has happened to the Great Ife in you!. Our power generation is deteriorating and you are alive . The Nation’s investment of knowledge on you to make you a scholar is a WASTE. Your first class honours degree is the true definition of a FIASCO.
That’s by the way,the protest that led to Senate’s resolution to dissolve the Student Union and the forceful blood covenant Oath-taking was a peaceful one. One that started on a calm note with the intention to end in a day only if the DSA or VC came to talk to the students during the act. The Egocentricity of an African man would not just allow them to come, They are PhD holders. I call them ACADEMIC IGNORAMUSES! .
The irresponsibility, insensitivity and irresponsiveness to the welfare of the students of the VC and his misMANAGEMENT have shown that they are all misfits when it comes to parenthood.
They all stood up when the former mistake we had as president tried to rename Unilag to Maulag because the brand UNILAG gives them the pride they need to sleep with any girl-student and admission-seekers effortlessly. These are the goings-on in Unilag, let the world know!. The likes of Ogbinaka Karo were ready to tear down the nation if the renaming was not revoked. Now,this is our own issue; Welfarism, we can’t find them. Are they telling me that the Name issue is greater than Welfarism. Is the aesthetics of a building more important than the structural stability? , If you don’t know, go ask the MD, Lekki Gardens.
My secondary school teacher once told me that during his days at the University of Ibadan, they protested when the chicken on their breakfast meal was reduced to 1 instead of the usual 2. For Christ’s sake ,was it this same Nigeria? .We never asked for all these things Bello and his cohorts enjoyed,all we asked for was water/light and all we could get from a sensible Senate is the threat of expulsion. Are there no “common sense” persons in the management anymore? .We mourn late Prof. Ayodele Awojobi freshly..
I promised not to make this too lengthy but I stand in this era for change as I don’t want to be much too a victim of circumstances because I have never gained anything from this system of education. I learn everything myself just like most of us. My lecturers are too busy to teach but are very ready to threaten you with failure. Where is Julius Faremi? .
I am ready not as Adekunle Gold but as an active citizen for any step they might want to take against me. E e ba mi ni’be. I remain Adeyeye
Olorunfemi.
#IwontSign.
#RescueULSU.