MY TWO CENTS ON KCENT AND OTHER STORIES

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Before I start, I should lay a foundation of clarity to limit the reader’s amenability to innocent fallibility. I write this not to seek anybody’s goodwill. As a matter of fact, by the time I’m done, I should have succeeded in stepping on a good number of toes with my jackboot of facts. Besides, the central figure of this piece is in no place now to dole out lip-smacking rewards. So, please save yourself the trouble do not presume an inexistent ulterior motive.

Also, I write this not as an omniscient narrator. I do not know all that happened during the pre-election, election and post-election periods. I hear rumours. I hear allegations. I hear all sorts of things. But whatever bricks of words I lay in this void are moulded out of the little I know FOR CERTAIN. Whether or not that conforms to your line of thought is of slight concern to me.

Finally, for those that feel this piece might have crossed the ethics of journalism, to them I say; this is not to eulogise anyone (though that is no crime), it hopes only to analyse and inform the public facts the author is privy to. This is not a Mellanbite describing another Mellanbite because of the spirit of Mellanbism. This is a writer telling a story of a public figure from his experiential eyeglasses, and addressing matters that surround him.

Some persons are rolling over themselves to point out that this is the first time a Students’ Union aspirant, or a presidential hopeful, would lose out consecutively. But their observation might even be rooted upon shadows. This is as it is had on good information that once upon a time, a student of Veterinary Medicine made as many as three trials for the Oval Office. Alas, he could not attempt a forth to perhaps hit the target like Muhammadu Buhari. Thus, there is nothing new under the Sun. Even if it is the case that this is the very first time such would happen, how is it different from a person losing a presidential bid in his department and losing again in his hall as we have on recent record in this hall? How is it significantly different from that and many other instances?

It has been said over and over that greatness is not in ever falling but in rising each time you fall. I think KCent has arisen after his two successive defeats. This is why he was able to thank Mellanbites after the second failure with so much sincerity. It is why he could muster mettle to thank even those who did not vote for him – he said because they must have had their reasons too. It is why, despite the incalculable amount of sacrifices he made at the altar of the Kunle Adepeju Building, he is still as agreeable and good-natured as ever. KCent no doubt has moved on, most likely to greater things. Sadly, his fans are still mentally trapped in the cobwebs of electoral fantasies and vestiges. They are still hanging on to a hangover over the electoral upshot. I just hope, in hanging on, they do not hang themselves in the end.

Recently, I was privy to a conversation between KCent and a lecturer where he, and his twin, lamented UI’s staunch refusal to adopt modern technology for course registration and explained how it is working in sister universities. They suggested that most Uites are not clamouring vehemently for a change because they have not directly navigated a better system elsewhere (something they have done). Together they recounted the times they wrote to the school management and approached the Students’ Union leadership and the equal amount of times they were disappointed. They vowed not to relent, especially as the current Vice Chancellor appears ready for change. They also vowed to support those in power. And in all this, I saw men who are sincerely troubled by the backward state of the school.

Some days ago, a friend of mine remarked that KCent has now become a legend. I cannot agree more. Today, KCent has hundreds upon hundreds of sincere supporters, both within and without his constituency. If he had become the Students’ Union President, he might have a thousand more. Or even more. But he can never tell how many (and so many they’d be) are the sycophants. He should not worry about that now. That cup has passed. It is not even out of place to theorise that the loss at the polls is in reality a blessing in disguise.

Away from this account, I do not know if someone has drawn attention to what I am about to bring to fore. Whatever the case is, it is must be said that lessons may be equally learnt… I feel strongly that the actions of some Mellanbites during the period of electioneering accounted hugely for KCent’s loss at the polls. And it doesn’t take rocket science to realise this. Mellanbites might have been his greatest fans and A-Blockites might have been his most steadfast disciples, but we took it too far. At a point and till today, the line got blurred between Mellanbism and the savage folly known to some quarters. At a point, we even outdid the said quarters in their trade. We were indeed beside ourselves.
While some took to the corridors and the streets to undemocratically demonstrate their craze; others laid siege to the Union’s Facebook group to spread the campaign of calumny renounced by their hero from the outset. This show of shame, though done in good faith, must have largely contributed to the fall at the polls. Do we not realise that we can only lead with the sword of intellectualism and the dagger of common sense? Anything beyond that is just a corruption of the ideals that befit us.

I must not close my laptop without perching, at least briefly, on the nest of trouble which was conjured up in the night of Tuesday, the 19th of April. As an extension of the show of shame earlier mentioned, we saw residents and even elders of Mellanby hall giving sovereign power to their emotions while forgetting reason in the vault of derision. Due process was thrown into the trashcan; caution was hurled into the lagoon and reasonableness left in the wild for beasts to prey on. How can you displace the pressboard because you disagree with 4.2% percent of it? When did vandalism become a way to resolve differences and curb excesses? Let me not even graze the criminality inherent in the conduct, an exposure of the irrationality should do.

Gone are the days when the ruffians in the hall lurked in the crannies of the famous dungeon of A-Block. Today, the spirit of rowdiness appears to have levitated to some corners in the alphabet that follows. It is a pity. It is a pity indeed. Some may crucify me for this. They may even declare that I am no true Mellanbite. But Mellanbism, I believe, is not synonymous to zombiism. Mellanbism is standing up for truth no matter whose ox is gored. It is the temerity of a lion and not the timidity of a fool. It is high time we vaccinated ourselves against the venom of violence. We must realise that the only way we can lead while others follow is for us to pay heed to our leaders, and to let reason lead while we follow.

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