The Students Union Government would return after several years of suspension. A suspension which came as a result of the Comrade Seedorf led administration's insistence that the rights of students will not be taken for granted or trampled upon and a resoluteness in refusing to give in to frivolous demands by perceived higher authorities. Everyone who is conversant with this school knows that story so well. But this time the Students Union will return rebranded, reformed, restructured and repositioned.
Welcome to SUG 1.1, STUDENTS UNION LEADERSHIP.
The euphoria and excitement that greeted the return of our dear union cannot be quantified. But all of such excitement was short-lived. Why?
Our dear Students union returned reformed and rebranded.
No, SUG 1.1 version of the students union wasn't an upgrade but in fact a ridiculous downgrade on the previous version of Student Unions. The Student Union returned as a toothless and quite pathetically, toothless bulldog. Manipulated and reconstructed to have no meaningful effect on how the students are being treated and on how the decisions and policies affecting the day to day lives of students were made.
The most appalling development however, is that the SUG (rebranded as SUL) further degraded when the Comrade Danlab led administration came on board.
Needless to say, every student know of the impunity, controversies and carefree attitude that has characterized this Comrade Danlab led administration.
With all due respect to all concerned, this administration is led by and made up of incompetent and incapable individuals absolutely unworthy of being called comrades.
For everyone who knows the heroic and gallantry story of worthy and competent Comrades like Belle, Awoko and Seedorf would attest that this current set of Students Union leaders do not even qualify to be course representatives not to mention the post of students union leadership!
Okay, now let's return to the title of this article. Why is the letter _W_ In _Playwright_? You most probably don't know why. Don't worry, I don't know why as well. But every time I pronounce _PlayWright_ and _Playright_ it sounds the same with or without the letter _W_in it.
Now, let's return back to the article. Since the Students Union came back on board in the 2017/2018 academic session what purpose have they served? What students right have they fought for?
Was the unnecessary increment in the departmental fees at the beginning of this session fought? Have you ever passed the Agbale small or Rombay small gate whenever it rained? If you have then you'd know that with the colossal flood that amasses there we'll soon need canoes to cross whenever it rains otherwise we risk being washed away by the flood.
Have you passed the through Rombay small gate at night? From the walk way beside Sports Pavilion right to the security posts, there's no single security bulb..... hence that route is forever dark whether there's power supply or not. What about the constant harassment of students by self acclaimed security men? Or the maltreatment of students by fellow students wearing green khakhi and parading themselves as cadets?
What has the student union done to address these and many more myriads of challenges faced by the students?
Has the welfare or standards of students improved since their return? What positive change have been implemented by the Student Union since their return? Earlier this week, reports emerged of Cadets beating a student.....I don't want to know whatever the student did....who gave the cadets the right to beat up a student? That's a clear infringement on our fundamental human rights!
What has the student union done about it? Our multi-million Naira Aluta bomb bus is still missing and the school authorities and Student Union have so far kept annoyingly mute on the matter as if the funds used to purchase the bus was from MRM or Danlab's private purse, yet even at that, leadership demands accountability.
Given the painful fact that the student union has not contributed anything positive or meaningful to the lives of student since its reinstatement, I believe that it is safe to conclude that the Students Union Leadership alongside its executives are as useless as the letter _W_ in the word _playWright_.
What purpose do they serve?
The most painful thing is not the uselessness of the Student Union Leadership in its entirety or the incompetence and incapability of the students elected to pilot its affairs, or the fact the it is completely a toothless bulldog absolutely incapable of carrying out attacks that would benefit the students, the most painful thing is the fact that these union that is supposed to fight for our right is the one depriving us of that right.
Every student was mandated to pay a sum of #500 as SUL due. The session is about to be rounded up yet only a measly 20% of students have received their 'package'. A chat with the Dean of Students affairs revealed that just over a thousand out of 7000 packages(Notebooks) have been delivered to the union.
The questions that keeps begging for answers are:
- *1. What purpose is the #500 being paid if we can't get Notebooks that don't even worth half of the amount paid in return?
- What is the fate of finalists who have not received their Notebooks? Would they come back next session for it or forfeit what rightfully belongs to them?
- And for the freshers, are they going to ask for a Danlab led administration package in a Siwes led administration?
- Apart from those 2A notebooks, what else is being done with our money?
We call on all concerned stakeholders and relevant authorities in the school to bring a quick resolution to this issue and save students from the unnecessary hardship and dictatorship the Danlab led administration is subjecting us to.
If left to me the students union would be abolished as they have nothing, absolutely nothing to contribute to students live.
Until a set of leadership executives, ready to put their studentship on the line to fight for the rights of students comes on board, our dear student union will continue to remain an avenue for random individuals to showcase their incompetency, toothless bulldog and as the letter _W_ in the word _playWright_: Useless.
WRITTEN BY: Ltr. AS Akinbinu (ASA)
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