by Awopeju Idowu

…Imagine a scenario where Wole Olanipekun SAN in his full regalia leads Unilag alumni with pastor Tunde Bakare in the procession.

When a friend who was sympathetic to recent odds in my academic odyssey since I began my second academic incarnation in Unilag called to offer me  unsolicited words of motivation in order to shield and possibly strengthen me against the morale-dampening effect of the avoidable strike that has decelerated and ‘deschooled’ scores of university students and hitherto made them more vulnerable to hardship in the corporate world, I told him with holy rage to save his stentorian sermon and rather wear the sackcloth of solidarity with this generation whose fate has become a recycled predicament occasioned by plurality of complicity and ubiquitous hypocrisy of the supposed major player in the Nigerian project.

To the heart of the matter which is a matter of the heart, it’s no longer a subject of debate that the strength of an oppressor lies in the ignorance of the oppressed. It is devastating that ASUU, an association of the intelligentsia is employing mono-strategic mechanism to articulate its demand, a strategy that is not only impotently archaic but has made the touted genuineness of their agitation somehow questionable. While strike has made students to languish in apprehension and anxieties in their various boredom, members of the academic union have not deemed it necessary to reject their salaries in true spirit of amical cabralism. Each time there is a logjam in the jamboree between FG and ASUU, hapless and helpless Nigerian students are often the looser in the long run.

However, ASUU is not the only accomplice in the ritual rigmarole, our so called distinguished members of the upper and lower echelon of the National Assembly whom we have entrusted with our hard-earned votes have not been able to distinguish themselves as altruistic and productive democrats, what manner of public servants are they when issue of grave concern and futuristic importance is being treated with levity? The future of every  Nation that aspires to attain greatness lies in the
hands of its youth. It’s blindingly obvious that they are disinterested in protecting our interest, or what will it cost them to unleash the fullness of parliamentary plenary power to intercede, intervene, and or interpret the vocabulary of our pains to the FG? Instead they are growing fat belle. How I wish they could all be recalled!

Apparently, the proliferation of private universities by Neo-colonialist agents whether in cassock or in suit would not make it possible for us to take our adversary to the abattoir and slaughter them.

But I have an alternative which is suitable to our precarious peculiarity and don’t think that i’m non compos mentis until you give my suggestions benefit of doubts. It’s height of ignoramus not to know that times have changed and so are the weapons of agitations. You change the dancing steps when the beat have changed.

The following but not limited suggestions would suffice:

1. All the main gates of government-owned Universities should be occupied and turn same to freedom square until FG heed our cries.

2. Parents whose children are attending government-owned Universities should stage a massive protest on Monday and paralyse socio-economic activities for the sake of their children.

3. If your pastor/imam is a proprietor of a private University in the said school, boycott such Church/Mosque until FG heed our cries.

4. NANS has been polarised and castrated thus our Alumni Association of government-owned Universities, should intervene via protest with placards in their hands until the FG heed our cries. Imagine a scenario where Wole Olanipekun SAN in his full regalia leads Unilag alumni with pastor Tunde Bakare in the procession.

5. The on-going conspiracy called strike is no respecter of ethnic groups. Therefore, MEND, OPC, MASSOB etc with the exemption of Boko Haram should protest until the FG heed our cries.

6. Vibrant veteran academic and elder-statemen like Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Prof Wole Soyinka, Dr Tunji Braithwhite etc should prevail on Dr Goodluck Jonathan to consent and implement ASUU’s demands for the sake of thousands of millions of Nigerian students.

7. Nigeria Bar Association should stage a simultaneous protest in all the major cities of the Federation until the FG heed our cries.

In summary, it would be tantamount to fraudulent pontification for anybody who has not condemned or proffer panacea to the Quotidian face-off between FG and ASUU to complain about the attendant menopausal ripple-effects of subjugating and subjecting students/youth to periodic mental torture and psychological trauma. Have you not heard that when you close the door of a school you have opened the gate of the prison?

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Awopeju Idowu is a Law Student of the University of Lagos.

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.