Students’ union versus students’ unionists

Students’ unions are groups or associations that accommodate students’ membership to ensure their welfare and pressing needs are pursued and guaranteed.

Students’ unionists are people who are saddled with the responsibility of driving the vehicle of students’ union to ensure students’ welfare and pressing demands are pursued and guaranteed.

Here, the need to relate the past with the present, and the picture of the future will be clearly displayed.

What was the state of our union yesterday? What is currently the state of unions today? What do we expect our unions to become in the future?

The above enumerated questions are essential to the firm existence of progressive students leadership. They are sacrosanct and germane to be addressed.

Many years ago, students’ unions were a gallant and competent association that accommodated vibrant, intellectual and diplomatic comrades.

Technocrats and democrats overwhelmingly dominated our associations, and this went a long way to enable justifiable leadership in the nooks, crannies and corners of the Federation.

What we witness today are contrary to the drama of leadership of the past, a wide diversion from the major objectives of being comrades have generally occurred. Our grotesque is how to install good leaders in power.

As it was stipulated in one of my articles titled “leadership, knowledge and wisdom”: “leadership is the simplest profession, if we don’t complicate it. Leadership is joyful, if we don’t try and awake sorrow from its slumber.”
In the next paragraph of the same article, it is was written that: “leadership is not harmful, if we are patient. Patience some of us lacked brought us closer to global mess” (end of quote).
The students union with several levels have not yet proved us wrong – because the purpose of coming into the game of students leadership has been compromised with biased conception.

Do our unionists deserve to lead union members? To be truthful to our conscience and to safeguard the solid existence of our unions, many unionists are half-baked produced leaders, inexperience men who deserve leadership training and tutorials.

The commonwealth of the unions should remain what we call it. Our commonwealth must not be syphoned/looted by union leaders. All actions performed not for your own interest, but the interest of others is called service to humanity. Students union are no categorised as service to humanity, but service to selfish jingoes.

Student unionists find it very facile to criticise our corrupt politicians. When we read their articles directed against bad policies of governments – we get easily convinced about their capacity.

Nevertheless, they use these articles as unnecessary pretences to gain students’ interest.

Students unionism is not about castigation of violence, or instigation of trouble – it is just about how we can ameliorate the trouble and violence.

Students unionism is not a golden avenue to accumulate wealth and luxuries, but a brightening opportunity to give students union members our monies when we have them.

It is an indubitable fact that our youthful students’ leaders have not learnt the principle of sportsmanship after election.

Post-election crisis/violence had kept on lingering like kerosene fire. It happens among students union in every nook and cranny of the Federation.

In one of Hon Democrat ‘s articles titled “Patakilisation of Leaving Good Legacy In NANS, NAUS, NAPS And Other Associations”: “A good leader is a democratic servant who intelligently copes with different people. God put millions of students under you; and you expect all of them to be responsible. You expect all of them to be wise and intelligent. All of them cannot be. What makes you a leader is your ability to change their irresponsibility to responsibility. Their stupidity to intelligence. Their problems to solutions.”
The above assertion preaches humility in students leaders while governing union members. Do not raise your shoulders higher than your heads, and don’t walk majestically like king of the world. Every unionist gained power to rule through the will of the students, so he deserves not nonchalant attitudes.

Govern students in a manner that pleases students, not in a manner that satisfies their wishes.

Students unionism needs to be remodelled and restructured to ensure maintenance of students welfare, and sustenance of students wilful demands.

Comrade Lawal Abdulhamid is NANS’ Assistant Secretary General, Zone A