By Dahood Kolawole Mandela
MOTE was given a Promethean definition on April 26 in the wee hours at the abuzz Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall as the “Movement Of The Elites” by the maturely-constructive-minded residents with mature judgment of the situations on campus as total miasmata. From one corner of the Hall, a voice resonated a question that finally hurricaned the spirit of struggle,”why the word Elites?” The Prometheus-figure logically replied that “Not only wealth or economic power defines elitism; it doesn’t matter if you are part of the A-list in the society; it doesn’t matter if you are identified with the creme de la creme in a community; the animal kingdom of termites (Animalia arthropoda insecta) defines it; they are minute in size but soldiering and gigantic in action. We are rich in knowledge and we are here to garner the wealth of experiences on the notion that what starts here changes the world. Michael Ekpeti and co. sounded it as a warning in November 2015 here they are being victimized. I am not surprised because Mugabe was right to have said “the only warning that Africans take serious is battery low warning.” This rhetoric was unanimously applauded and the sequel was eventuality of the historic protest.
Gallantly, the entirety of students on campus said NO to poor welfarism, SDC’S unceasing threat and killing of leadership spirits in the university of Ibadan students without anyone as the Arrow-head. Their march through Halls of Residence in that wee hours was soldering. Their determination was unflinching and implacable. Their strengths was that of Greek-gods with Spartan discipline. Their solidarity songs were unappeasable. With the supports of identified and unidentified allies and comrades from all walks of life the university of Ibadan experienced operation total Paralysis. Through the methods of civil disobedience, roadblocks, artful ballyhoos, media activism, gyrations and kitchening at the main gate the students solidarized.
The colour of this protest easily brought the memory of Soweto uprising to mind. The Soweto Uprising, also known as16 June, were a series of protests led by high school students in South Africa that began on the morning of 16 June 1976. Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. The protest took a new turn when the victimized students started demanding the release of the freedom fighter, Nelson Madiba Mandela. What a similar protest. The entirety of students of the premier university of Ibadan staged what was foggy to the school management. Their determination was baffling and the enchanted mantra of #FreeMote was deafening. Against all odds and in the presence of mobile police who stood akimbo the students groused valiantly. The students lost control because everything they had kept buried inside came to a surface. It was as if they read the sculpted lines of William Faulkner and Henry David that, ” Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth;and that, disobedience is a true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”
In the noon, when the protest reached its zenith and with two-day count and the failure of the management to have the maxim-consensus ad idem with the students, and the determination of students who wanted response to their demands, the university vice Chancellor, Professor Abel Olayinka made a pronouncement which ordered the students to vacate the Halls of Residence on or before 4:00pm . The memorandum only kissed the deviant minds of the students who refused to vacate their Halls of residence. For the first time in a long time the students were bold and stood their ground. It was an indication that the age long silence of these students locked in the ancient Pandora Box was finally unlocked with the Midas touch of MOTE’s victimization. The school management has met twice with stakeholders and students’ leadership but no good news has recorded in the school’ power house of the Senate.
At this juncture,one can easily conclude that Michael-led protest in November against irresponsiveness of the Independence Hall Managements was right. It was as if protest is the only language the Management understand because the power supply was restored just after the protest. Surprisingly, Michael and some students were singled out by the edacious officials of the Hall. The questions begging for answers here is that when did peaceful protest become a criminal act? How could NASU members of the great Independence Hall saw criminality in the act of peaceful protest. Afterall, they have always made that the weaponry weapon to achieve their sole goal most of the time. How could NASU and ASUU form a formidable 22-member committee tagged SDC that will always barge on the Fundamental Rights of the students? It is clearer than a picture that we (students) are the products of our society. Consciously or unconsciously we learn from proximal phenomena. For complete six months, the so-called ASUU mounted untold hardship on the Nigerian education by sacking themselves from work. It was a dramatic civil disobedience in their definition and not civil protest. It was their right to solidarize for their egomaniacal or narcissistic interest. So their immunity was very strong that the Jonathan-led administration could not sack them as it was done in 2002 by Professor Oba Abdulraham, the then Vice Chancellor of the university of Ilorin. Hence, if the ASUU and NASU actions or inactions are not criminal, then Michael Ekpiete and all of us must be free. We believe in what we believe and nothing could dissuade us. From the inner Temple of ALUTA we assure you-Management, that there are many ways to students protest: the historic self-immolation of a Czech student-Jan Palach might not be a match. Kostas Georgakis painted history book as well with unimaginable sacrifice. We are ONE in this struggle. Our demand is unanimous. Free the victimized victims. Protest is our rights. What was orchestrated on April 25 by NANS and April 26 by the entirety of students would definitely change our world of oppression, dispiritedness, doldrums, dumps and dolefulness. When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes OUR duty.
#FreeMote.
