Dangerous Trends

UCJ EDITORIAL

07/03/2017

DANGEROUS TRENDS

It is public knowledge that conflict is inevitable. Conflict serves a particular purpose in terms of advancement of society. Without conflict, humanity is bereft of the animating principle to develop individually and collectively. In fact, conflict is life itself.

In terms of advancement, consistency is one of the yardsticks used for measuring development. In this regard, the University of Ilorin prides herself as a citadel of learning with the most stable academic calendar in Nigeria—a reward brought about by diligence, sacrifice and patience by all and sundry within the school system. This treasured academic stability has earned the varsity a pride of place in the comity of schools both locally and international. Thus making her the most sought after university in the country.

On the other hand, however, is a worrisome trend that mirrors in part, an imminent catastrophe capable of rupturing the very fabric of the school system if not handled properly. It can be likened to the ride of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse advancing with the aim of transmitting to each man portions of his karmic patterns in fulfillment of cosmic law.

In the last three months, the University of Ilorin has trended in the media for the wrong reasons. This is due largely to a series of events among which include: an online protest of December last year by students demanding for their PC Tablets after waiting for a long period of time; the non-accreditation of the department of Criminology and its attendant challenges; crippling of the school website on several occasions; allegation of financial misappropriation against the school management by a factional wing of the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) Unilorin chapter; manual balloting system (as against electronic) for hostel allocation; conversion of rooms in some hostels from the original four-man occupants to six; and the most recent of all—the Computer Based Test (CBT) center drama and the school park saga of Thursday 2nd March, 2017, among others.

Yes, it is factual to maintain that there can never be anything like absolute freedom anywhere in the world. Thus, the attainment of utopia is a mere smoke-screen that bears no reality of any sort. Even the religious cannot debunk the fact that after life’s sojourn, souls still engage in perpetual servitude through pain or pleasure which may be experienced in heaven or hell. Regardless of this however, human rights are considered sacred and inalienable. Therefore, it is incumbent on the administration to honour this mandate by exercising its powers with a touch of humanity.

According to the late Afro-beats legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, most Nigerians lead a cosmetic life in what he describes as “suffering and smiling.” As far as they are concerned, all is well on the outside but deep down inside, reverse is the case. This is the general feeling of most students of the University of Ilorin. The policy of “Face Tanke” is enough to instill a sense of fear and caution in them. As such, their actions are steeped in docility in order to avoid the sledge hammer of rustication or suspension. This should not be taken as an act of cowardice but an art-form designed to stay out of trouble. More or less suggestive of a keg of gunpowder waiting to be detonated.

Relishing the state of the status quo, a statement was made sometimes in January by one of the university dons to the effect that students should forget about the way they are being treated so as to be able to finish their programmes in good time and be gainfully employed.

There is a concept known as positive and negative peace. Put simpliciter, positive peace, though not without conflicts, is a kind of peace that engenders unity, understanding and cooperation with little or no room for suspicion, fear and bigotry. In such society, the propensity for development is very high. The reverse is the case with negative peace. This kind of peace is nascent or fragile. As such, if not well managed, the center will not stand and therefore, things will surely fall apart. This should not be the fate of our alma mater---the university of Ilorin.

An online source (WhatIs.com) defines early warning system as technology and associated policies and procedures designed to predict and mitigate the harm of natural and human-initiated disasters and other undesirable events. The incidence of Thursday 2nd March is a bad omen that calls for serious concerns. On that ill-fated day, thousands of students waited several hours just to take a 15-minute computer-based test only to be told that the exercise had been postponed due largely to poor logistics.

After being told that the tests would no longer hold, the students, looking disenchanted, headed for the school park in droves. As expected, the immense gathering of students made it difficult for the security and the cadet to maintain decorum and orderliness at the park. Unfortunately, a student was hit by a commercial vehicle due to widespread restiveness of students. Only God knows what would have become of the system if the victim had died. Who knows, there might have been a re-enactment of the recent violence at the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA). This imminent disaster was averted by the school management, the SU among others.

In a related development, a member of the Cadet was said to have been struck by a student with a pipe—an offshoot of intense frustration and anger. Some students even sustained minor injuries in the course of the whole commotion.

To a large extent, these challenges are brought about by administrative decisions on the one hand, and indiscipline on the other. For instance, it had to take the physical presence of the Vice Chancellor to restore normalcy at the CBT center yesterday evening. No doubt, managing students in this part of the world can be a pain in the neck, nevertheless, if the system is effective and efficient as it ought to, problems such as overpopulation versus inadequate infrastructure will be reduced to the barest minimum.

Conversely, it makes things more difficult for the Students' Union in terms of her mandate to protect the welfare of the students. This has led to a series of unpalatable experiences such as name-calling, threats, intimidation, conspiracy, and a host of others. Some have been subsumed by the heat of these challenges while others are still standing tall and unruffled.

In fact, the bulk of what the incumbent Students' Union has done since its inception is student-intervention; leaving little room for a consolidated scheme for the students. This SU administration will go down in the annals of history as the most crises-laden in recent years. The good news is, their determination seems unshaken in the face of intense trials and tribulations.

At this juncture, it is imperative to state that the recent challenges confronting the system are not suggestive of a war of Armageddon. No one is at war with the system. The students want fair treatment and value for their parents' money. This, however, should not be taken as license for students to act irresponsibly and excessively. The onus lies mainly on the management and by extension, the Students’ Union to do the needful in bringing the system out of the woods of its present challenges.

In sum, the above stated scenarios should be studied carefully with a view to designing an appropriate response to keep the peace. Such response should not be belligerent or antagonistic by intent and purpose but a sincere dialogue with stakeholders. All hope is not lost. Over the years, the Better by Far university has been known for its policy of constructive criticism through healthy dialogue and student participation in the decision making process. The purport of this editorial therefore is simple: the school management should not relent in putting the interest of the students first in the scheme of things.

The PR team of the school should devise a more effective channel of communication of particularly in the area of social media—something similar to the memo issued last December by the Corporate Affairs Unit in respect of the P.C Tabs. This will go a long way to complement the feedback mechanism employed by the Students’ Union in keeping the student populace informed on the trend of development on the campus. It will also stem the tidal waves of misinformed actions and misguided intelligence. Every system has its own problems. Our alma mater will surely overcome hers.

This write-up is a weekly editorial of the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ilorin Chapter.

For feedback, inquiries, and suggestions, you can send us an email on ucjeditorial@gmail.com

Or

Call the Editor-in-Chief on 📞08036543643.

You can follow our Twitter handle: @ucjunilorin

Or like our Facebook page: http://m.facebook.com/UnilorinUCJ/