Before You Release Your Release...- Pope Jay

Before anything, I would firstly want to welcome the fresh students of the great Ife to campus. I would hope that you come to terms with the fact that you are “bloody freshers” soon enough, for any true process of education begins with an acceptance of ignorance. I wish you prosperous days in the Obafemi Awolowo University and a success in your academic pursuit.

One thing I have come to learn and perhaps love about the great Ife is her spirit of activism. You would rarely find a student or staff who does not have a pinch of activism in him/her. Even the artisans and traders who have only come to make a living on the grounds of OAU cannot be exempted; this is perhaps why cases of the popular “Town gboro” going on strikes would not sound totally strange. A consequence of this spirit of “alutaism” is a corresponding high number of releases on campus. By releases, I do not refer to the ecstatic discharge that is often sequel to the pleasurable act of coitus and I am not sure I would author any article on such profane philistinism any time soon. “Releases” in the context of this topic simply refers to different forms of writing; most especially the kinds we read on our campus.

The rate at which the quality of these releases are declining are quite saddening. These days, the only things we get to read are slandering headlines and long epistles of libel and the only times when we get to read some worthy ideas and informative process, one might end up with an headache from the alarming use of English in such articles. I have and still read a number of commentary articles and by some OAU lecturers on several topics; Barr. Sola Adegbite of the Faculty of Law, Professor Remi Sonaiya of the Faculty of Arts, Pharm ‘Lakunle Jaiyesimi and Professor Adebayo Lamikanra and some others. I believe the works of these ones and many others even beyond OAU should set a standard for the upcoming writers. Very many times, I marvel at some of the pieces of Professor Lamikanra, he is the kind of author that would insult you in a way that makes you want to be insulted because eventually, you might not understand the insult but understand the joke (and sometimes vice versa).

In conclusion, I would advise that authors on campus, especially the ones who claim to be activists of the pen and even other writers be cautious of the kind of releases they make.There is always the need for proof reading and editing. We all should strive to improve ourselves both grammatically and in the ideals our write-ups represent. In summary, before you release your release please ensure it is worthy of release.

Pope Jay