By Idowu Tobi
Undoubtedly, majority of us students wanted to bear the cross of this break. A disruption of the academic calendar was a solidarity cross everybody was proud to bear for Mote… and others. Other issues like the age-long insensitivity of those at the helm of leadership, an exclusive hubris of the town that has begun to unfortunately manifest in the gown, were incidental. But of course they all added up to the students’ case. The school governing council will meet today, and it is hoped that those issues are seriously given satisfactory resolutions. The current of Students’ feelings is largely tied to the freeing of Mr. Tunji ‘Mote’ Ekpeti from the claws of Students Disciplinary Committee’s verdict; therefore nothing will be achieved from today’s meeting, as far as students are concerned, if Mote is not freed.
Meanwhile, there is nothing more insidious in cajoling students to academic laziness than a break during an ongoing semester. It is even more penetrating, albeit in a sly way, when the break is indefinite. Questions as to when one should start the serious plunging into one’s books are often set at the rear of one’s thoughts. To combat this friendly devil, a dose of this axiom: a day spent away from book takes years to recover – this axiom should be of great help in time like this; but like all axioms, it is not an end in itself. The end is, one should go to one’s books.
More so, the cause of Mote was a deus ex machina for many a student who wanted a sudden break from academic rigour. To deny this fact is to perjure against oneself. It was not an uncommon theme on campus before the break on the lips of most students that they were breaking under the weight of the semester’s stress. This couldn’t but have been as a result of the general outline of this semester. More often than not there was canvas of darkness on campus. Water became a scarce commodity. Cost of living sprinted to a point where many students’ riches could not reach it. Consequently, protest became a regular feature. But lectures continued, in many cases, in haphazard spurts. This definitely was a yoke that eventually choked most students.
As we anticipate a happy report from today’s meeting, it is hoped that many will not be back on campus still testing the depth of their academic river when they should’ve become fishes at home in the cozy of their habitat. There is a truth, wittingly and unwittingly accepted by all UItes, that academic erosion and tsunami are crosses borne only by those that are caught in it. O Y O is your case if you fail, then get rusticated, and you want a free-you protest from the rest students. The meat of this pie is that we should not let this break break our reading spirit.
Also, there is no time too late for a start of any serious adventure. More often than not, it is the commencement of an activity that presents the greatest challenge. After that hurdle has been leaped, it is often discovered that other points along the way become easy pie. So, it is incumbent on everyone to take the leap today. And for those diligent ones amidst us, do not rest on your oars. You may crash along the track if you start looking back.
To take this write-up home, the solidarity with which almost every student has been standing with and for Mote is commendable, and it will be a proud precedent for posterity. Posterity will, however, question anyone’s rationality, who fails to dillengtly bear his academic cross along with the worthy bearing of a fellow comrade’s cross.
