The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), a union of tertiary institution students in Nigeria reacted to the student policy. This reaction has led to debates on the groups posture towards government policies and it’s alleged involvement in politics. Judging from the groups past actions and recent reactions to the student loan policy, can the group be regarded as a group of political jobbers. Our Scribes have presented their case.
YES, THEY SHOULD
“The people united will never be defeated,” declared Caesar Chavez, the American unionist who organised the Delano grape strike that protested against the exploitation of grape farmers in California, USA. But in the aspect of student unionism in Nigeria, this statement is nothing like the truth because the unifying factor of Nigerian students became their tormenting demon. If I may take your lordship through realms of personal encounters, past occurrences and present happenings, I will present that the National Association of Nigerian Students has lost its purpose and utility, and has undergone a transformation, hence, should be accorded a new personality.
My lord, I once met an old man of about 60 years, who regretted what student unionism had turned into. He recollected the “good old days” when he and his comrades represented their fellows and he was sad that today, student leaders were nothing but mere shells in the arsenals of politicians. In this process of being in form, they exhibit all kinds of ill manners — hooliganism not excluded. A little walk into the past will reveal that the history of the National Association of Nigerian Students started with the colonial era West African Students’ Union founded to attain political and sociocultural decolonisation. Soon afterwards, four years before the attainment of independence, student representatives came together to create the National Union of Nigerian Students out of the remains of WASU. Chavez’s quote, “the people united will never be defeated” would later manifest in 1978 when students protested a hike in school fees. The protests, termed ’Ali must go’ after the then Minister of Education, Ahmadu Ali.
It will interest this honourable court that the union was banned by then General Obasanjo, however, through the relentless works of students, it was succeeded by the National Association of Nigerian Students. The union in its current state, no longer sharing a semblance of consciousness of purpose and bravery like it once did, points to only one thing: that the lion has given birth to a goat. Nigerian students in recent years have faced fee hikes, worsening the effects of the deteriorating economy. One, NANS is not at the forefront of the struggle. The union is not behind either. NANS is nowhere to be found in the struggle. So what does NANS do? Acting as political agents.
As Nigerian students, it has become the norm to often hear of ASUU on various media platforms as they consistently champion the cause of lecturers and the broader educational system, often clashing with the government over funding and welfare. However, compared to this body dedicated to the welfare and advancement of its members, NANS has been entangled in controversies that reek of political servitude. In March 2025, NANS issued a 72-hour ultimatum to northern-state governors over school closures during Ramadan, threatening nationwide protests. Yet, this grand posturing fizzled out without tangible action, raising questions about whether the threat was a genuine advocacy effort or a staged performance for political relevance.
More damning is the internal factionalism that has turned NANS into a political battleground. In May 2025, a factional president, Atiku Abubakar Isah, accused Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, of interference in NANS affairs, alleging assault and bribery attempts to sway student leadership. The Olushola Ladoja-led faction, however, dismissed Isah’s claims, accusing opposition figures like Atiku Abubakar and Omoyele Sowore of sponsoring division within NANS to destabilise its leadership. This public spat, riddled with allegations of political sponsorship, paints NANS not as a united front for students but as a pawn in the chess game of Nigeria’s political elite.
NANS’ recent foray into sports partnerships, such as collaborating with the Edo State Government for an inter-campus tournament in June 2025, while seemingly positive, diverts attention from pressing academic and welfare concerns. When students grapple with insecurity, unemployment, and exploitative fees, such initiatives feel like hollow gestures, perhaps designed to polish the image of political allies rather than address the cries of Nigerian students. The only time NANS said anything about the school fees hike, which tops the list of students’ challenges at the moment, was in April 2025 when the association called for a probe into alleged diversions of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), this being a policy which students are massively against. The action further cemented perceptions of NANS as an ally of the political elite.
Nothing could be more obvious than the fact that NANS has done the wrong actions by deliberately being on the opposite side of students’ struggles and interests. John Stuart Mill, an Enlightenment philosopher, in his exposition on utility, stated that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” Desertion of student unions that fought fee increments, romanticisation of the student loan (an unpopular policy), hooliganism, and constant patronage by political actors do not, in any way, resemble the utility the association was created for which was to fight for the happiness of students. A people united will never be defeated has been shown not to apply to this instant case as it should be among unions whose mandate is basically to stand for members’ interests. In contrast to the legacy of ‘Ali Must Go,’ NANS today is a shadow of its former self and in the absence of utility, NANS should be disregarded as a student body and tagged as an association of political jobbers that it is.
NO, THEY SHOULD NOT.
In June 2023, Bola Tinubu, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, signed the Student Loan Bill 2023 into law. This Act (Student Loan Act 2023) was the government’s response to tackle the rampant increase in tertiary institution tuition fees across Nigeria. Reacting to the development, NANS described the Act as a way forward for Nigeria’s educational system. NANS has become the subject of unfair criticism for its reactions to government policies, especially the Students’ Loan Act 2023 and the Act’s successor, the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024. According to the critics, NANS’ supportive reactions were in a bid to seek political favours. These critics only look at the praise NANS accorded the government while neglecting its actions that condemned and called for a review of the sections of the Act that were not student-friendly. Praise for government policies is often erroneously viewed as a means of seeking government or political favour. Romans 13:7 – “Render therefore to all their dues….”. Thus praise should be given to whom praise is due.
One of the major reasons why there is stiff opposition to the student loan policy is the fear that the government will totally refrain from funding education in Nigeria. However, the Student Loan Policy signed in 2024 established a General Reserve Fund that will receive 1% of all taxes, levies and duties collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) (Now the Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS), a government agency. This is an indication that the government is not refraining from funding education. Nevertheless, NANS had called for a reduction in the cost of education as an alternative to student loans. Tertiary education comes at a huge cost for Nigerian students. Students pay more than tuition fees for education. Aside from stationery expenses, students pay to procure materials for practical coursework, cover the financial costs of final year research projects, and pay to entertain lecturers who are present to assess and grade their presentations. NANS was one of the groups that advocated for the review of the 2023 Student Loan Act. Upon Review, the Act became the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Act, 2024. The 2024 Act made provisions for the option of a ₦20,000 monthly upkeep to mitigate the extra costs students incur on education.
It is also worth noting that NANS has made several calls for transparency and accountability in NELFUND’s loan disbursement processes. The Ogun State Chapter of NANS staged a protest that shut down traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Highway after media reports of allegations of misappropriation of NELFUND loans that amounted to ₦100billion. NANS is also a strong advocate for student representation on the NELFUND board. In all the fights and advocacy for the interest and continuity of Nigerian students’ education by NANS, some detractors have slapped the “Political Jobbers” tag on NANS, especially regarding the group’s stance on the students’ loan policy. While it cannot be denied that former leaders and participating members of NANS have been appointed or vie for political positions after their active days in NANS. It is also important to note that NANS has not and does not function like a political party that offers members a platform to public office.
According to data by NELFUND, 298,124 Nigerian students from 198 tertiary institutions in the country have benefited from student loans as of June 14, 2025. NANS’ reactions to the student loan policy are in the interest of the Nigerian students who have benefited from the loan and those of thousands more who have applied for the loan and should not be attributed to political jobbing like the prosecution does, as it is not political jobbing. The allegations of political jobbing on NANS lack substantive evidence and are thus baseless. NANS has never officially taken part in partisan politics as a group. NANS’ advocacy and reaction to government policies cannot be proven as opportunistic or politically motivated. Neither can it be proven that the NANS leadership are hustling for personal gains in their advocacy for the Nigerian students. In light of NANS’ reaction to the student loan policy, the evidence is clear enough to prove that these reactions are not politically motivated nor are they personal-gain-centric as the prosecution claims.
The prosecution’s charges against NANS would be that it would compromise the prosecution’s stance of an unrealistic radical advocacy for a tuition-free education. This compromise is in the best interest of Nigerian students who now have guarantees of finishing their tertiary education. The prosecution will provide tales of free tertiary education in the Nordic nations of Europe and some other European countries whose income tax rate is more than double that of Nigeria. All the evidence tendered to this Courtroom only points to one thing and only one thing. That NANS is not a group of political jobbers and should not be regarded as one.
CONCLUSION:
This column is about you, it presents the two sides of a case courtesy of two writers from different schools of thought. “Audi alteram partem” means hear the other side before passing your judgment. Take the gavel, make your decision and slam because you are the judge in this courtroom.
