By ‘Joba Ojelabi
Love, like many other issues of the heart, is a complex yet
simple phenomenon. There have been many schools of thought that have come to
state that its control is not totally with man: That we cannot decide who or
when to love, it just happens. And indeed, I remember that in my years in the
Obafemi Awolowo University, never had I seen so many people love one lady so
and interestingly, it was for no good reason. Jacob Oluwatosin had come to
contest for office at a time when even the walls did not know her name. She had
been a representative of the Faculty of Law at the Hallowed Chambers before
then but only few cared to know, not when her competition were both former
officials of the Hall Executive Council. However, it would seem that all she
needed to do to change the mind of the great Ife was hold the microphone at
Oduduwa Hall. Interestingly and very unusually, I was unable to attend the
Debate of the elections that brought in the people’s precious stone but even I
began to notice the unusual surge that came in her polls immediately after the
Debate. I do not know what she did or did not say but whatever it was, it
worked so well that Emerald did not have to do anything after that event; not
even say a thing at the manifesto declaration. The chants of her name were
everywhere and at some point, speculations started to come that this was no
ordinary love and although I might not agree with whatever context the
speculations might have risen from, only a fool would have disputed that that
love was not extraordinary.
I have seen leaders
fail, I have seen leaders succeed but only a few have I seen that truly stood
out at the job. Many have asked what has brought about my catholic silence on
the current leadership of the Obafemi Awolowo University Students’ Union and my
response has remained fairly the same: There is so much noise and so little
talk. Somehow, we never truly let people fail before we call them failures.
Even though the temptation to jump into that conclusion is quite high but these
days, everybody wants to talk and nobody want to listen. It’s why idealists
would in their surreal perspectives grow so distant from reality that they
become the very opposite of it. But maybe another day, I would share my
thoughts on ideals and their realistic workability. For today, like many
others, I just want to try to understand how a precious stone became a pebble
that the very ones who used to polish now walk upon.
A whole semester happened and we would not here anything
major from the Vice President. All we would know were a stale Fresher’s week
and a couple of bland articles. But even they were pardonable, after all, power
did need some adapting to. But then a bottle broke and along with it a couple
of hearts, not just because our gracious lady had come to level of bottle
brawls and things of the sort but also for the detestable photographs of her
battery that accompanied that event and then we happened; the gentlemen of the
press seeking another juicy story. Amidst all of the plenty stories that
surfaced, we never really could find the truth but one thing is apparent from
the events that followed: In all the lambasting that happened at the Students’
Union Building that night, there was only one victim. The question then remains
who the victimizer was: Herself or him?
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