UCJ EDITORIAL:THE RAINS ARE HERE AGAIN.

22/05/2017

"To be forewarned is to be forearmed—Jupiter cares. A stitch in time saves nine—Cosmos admonishes. Love your neighbour as yourself—Zeus writes. The sailor who knows not what harbour he seeks, any wind is the right direction—Hercules instructs."

Literally and figuratively, the rains are here. Even though the rain semester is deep into the middle; welcome to rain semester!

By now, virtually every student of the Better By Far University of Ilorin should be acquainted with good morning, good midday, good afternoon and sleep beautifully well messages from names that were almost inconsequential in the harmattan semester. The rains are welcoming you!

It is a practice, convention, norm that has become a part of the University community that second (rain) semester is the semester of greetings, deserving or not. You wake up in the morning to various greeting messages from different persons and you start to wonder if there is a ‘learning in character’ class that happens only in the second semester.

From the school gate, to parks, faculties, departments, and classrooms you are greeted by banners, posters, and insignias advising you on how to live your day, how to be creative about it, and how to stay out of trouble. The greetings and well-wishing sometimes get exhilarating that you start to develop hatred for anything in print; and for social media platforms that become flooded with these greetings.

The rains do not leave it there; they proceed to the physical realm with you. You could be course-mate with a person for two sessions and not as much hear a rumbling of ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ from them, but watch out; you might be surprised at the extensive downpour of courtesy that would flow in this semester. You become an automatic comrade, an honourable, a boss, and in funnier situations, a commander. Be lucky enough to know one in every ten people around and you’ll be met with extra pleasantries; you’re the newest stakeholder turned shareholder in the ‘greetings corporation.’

You shouldn’t be surprised when a seemingly familiar yet hard to place face becomes your acquaintance in your short journey to and off campus. The moment you show a slight interest in whatever topic such person brings up; usually political, you become a subscribed member to the daily salutation committee, and all he needs to seal the friendship is your contact.

These are practices that pervade the University’s atmosphere in the second semester. The sugar coating that could lead to diabetes, the salutation that makes you feel like an Ife king, and the surprising handshakes and hugs that throw you off balance. Students who have spent as much as a session in the University will find it easy to identify these people and their show of courtesy. But it wouldn’t be unethical if we tell you that “the rains are here.”

Politics should be borne out of sacrifice, skill and capacity, but sadly politicians from an intelligent root as the University community premise their politics and play of power on who greets the most. Oftentimes, most of these people are ordinarily lacking in interpersonal relationships, skill, and the only sacrifice they’re willing to bear is that of the broadcast messages they send. They become early risers to sending broadcasts instead of rising to learn about the polity, they pick the bag of courtesy that has been dumped in Okeodo and let it rain on fellow students to one end, “VOTE ME.”

Not to deny that there are quite a few who play their cards right and start using their jokers from the beginning of the session.
The rains become sudden ambassadors of other students, they become activists for ensuring the welfare of students, they start to tackle the powers that be, diplomatically and politically, showing a façade of supposed students’ rights, and loyalty to the same power they claim to tackle.

They elevate from sugar coating to honey lacing, they start to canvass for more vehicles, better hostels, and more oxygen. Ask them to show a history of past student-oriented movements, talks, and broadcasts, and you see zilch, in most cases, and in a selected few, you see a makeup of abandoned tasks that were facially beautified initially.

Members of the Union should prepare their minds for the coming of the political rain that will run through the stream of election. They’ll come in different shades and forms; forms and sizes. They’ll throw pebble of words at you, and freeze your heart with promises. They’ll flood your minds with impossible tasks and welcome you to their shelter, until the elections are over.

Then you stop knowing yourselves; in most cases. You greet them then and they’re too busy to reply. They’re focused on delivering promises they have almost no idea about its execution—in most known cases.

Keep open eyes at all times. Do not be swayed by their chocolate promises and greetings. Do not be bought by good morning greetings and quotes. If you need to be motivated daily, get quote generating apps. We should endeavour to strive to separate the chaff from the grains. We should not be flooded by the rains. The rains are here again.

This write-up is an editorial of the Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ), University of Ilorin Chapter, Kwara state.

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