Association Of Campus Journalists' Open Letter On #ReOpenOAU

AN OPEN LETTER

We write to inform you of the current shut down of Obafemi Awolowo University located in Ile-Ife,Osun State Nigeria.

Obafemi Awolowo University was shut down on 22nd day of June, 2016, two days before the Varsity was meant to resume for her 2015/16 session.

It is with Great concern that we write this letter not just because of the current closure but also because of other issues that have remained unsolved over the years.

In Obafemi Awolowo University, Students are always at the receiving end of constant crisis that has always threatened their future.

This current shut down can be traced to alleged illegality in Appointing a Vice Chancellor for the institution and the over 76months Allowance that the University is owing Non Academic Staff Union of Universities and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities which they have protested.

As Students we have endured the constant closure of our citadel which has caused Psychological trauma to us from time to time.

We have gone on strike every year in the last five years and this has led to untold hardship even on our parents who struggle to ensure we get qualitative Education.

Anomalies that have rocked our institution has made mockery of the Greatness of Obafemi Awolowo University which Students, strive to protect.

This closure is coupled with the current state of hostels in the University which has not received attention for years now even after Students protest and Campaign demanding for better welfare, some students have suffered victimization fighting for this cause but due to the undying love we have for the citadel even with the current state of welfare we have always defended the sanctity of the University with the best of our abilities as Students.

The current shut down has left many of our students abandoning Education due to situations beyond their control and even situations caused by idleness.

The Federal Government of Nigeria dissolved our University Governing Council and has failed to reconstitute another one, the same Federal Government failed to fast track appointment of an Acting Vice chancellor for the institution, not considering the fact that Obafemi Awolowo University Students have been at home for over 90days doing nothing.

Obafemi Awolowo University in its glorious days prides itself as the most productive University in Nigeria but when Students are not even allowed to graduate our productivity becomes questionable.

We find it important to write this because we are tired of been reduced to the streets due to constant closure of the University, whenever we attend a lecture we always have fears that the next day might come with no lecture because the school may have been shut suddenly.

We believe that if issues surrounding dilapidated structures,Workers welfare, Poor Hostels, Epidemic Calendar, Victimization of Students, appalling welfare are looked into, Students would not have to go home and abandon their Education involuntarily.

We have started a Social media Campaign to air our grievances, we have started trending the hashtag ReopenOAU but we believe that if Obafemi Awolowo University is managed very well, it has the potential to become one of the best around the globe.

We want to use this medium to ask that the Federal Government should as a matter of urgency constitute a New Governing Council for the institution and immediately appoint an Acting Vice Chancellor for the institution so that Students can resume.

Students have been at the receiving end of the mismanagement in Obafemi Awolowo University and we do not want to be used like slaves anymore,we are human too and we have a future to protect.

The Federal Government of Nigeria should also look into the administration of the University in the last five years, Students believe that the University was poorly managed and Students want the Federal Government to set up a panel to thoroughly investigate how OAU has been managed from 2011-2016.

We are in the month of July,2016 and we are yet to commence 2015/16 session, with the current conditions in the labor market, there are bracket and age limit to employment opportunities , and we are falling off the age bracket .

Our Students have lost out in internship programs and scholarships due to the constant shut down of the University.

Conclusively, we believe that Education with quality is our right, the Federal Government of Nigeria needs to always put future leaders first in their plans.We also want all quarters involved in affairs of the University to put Students interest at heart and ensure that they play their part without selfish motivations or individual glories.We are interested in making our citadel return back to its former glory.

Thank you.

Signed

Olanrewaju Oyedeji
ACJOAU President

Adebayo Faith
General Secretary

Abegunde Cephas
Public Relations Officer

#ReopenOAU: Analysing Objections

By Gracious Egedegbe
Friday, 08 July 2016, Ile Ife


Following an overstretched break ensued by the dissolution of the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), resulting in a protracted and excruciating delay, OAU students recently launched a campaign tagged #ReOpenOAU. The #ReOpenOAU campaign has been on for three days with thousands of students, alumni, colleagues from other universities, stakeholders and sympathisers actively involved. The aim has to be flood the cyberspace with tweets, Facebook posts and pictures demanding that the school be reopened. Earlier, the Association of Campus Journalist (ACJ), who brought the initiative, announced that it would broaden the demands to include Constitution of a new governing council. Appointment of an acting VC, and a Probe into the affairs of the university in the last five years and monitor activities thereafter.

However, this campaign has come under heavy criticism from different quarters, the most pronounced coming from those who call themselves ideologists. They have expressed different reasons for their disapproval. One of them is that the hashtag, the cynosure of the campaign, should read #OAUdemandsanActingVC amongst other alternatives. They also allege that ACJ executives, who pioneered the campaign and are currently coordinating it, are not being sincere in the campaign. They insinuate that the executives are being bought over to cooperate with the selfish interests of other parties.

At this point one must examine how valid these objections are.

The hashtag #ReOpenOAU is both brief and effective. It adequately sums up the demands of OAU students. Furthermore, it is clear to the discerning that reopening the school will involve the constitution of a new governing council and appointment of a VC, even if temporarily. Besides, the hashtag is employed for the sake of simplicity and uniformity. Participants are allowed to inject their views, experiences and solutions in addition to the hashtag.

The allegation against ACJ executives has been described as an unfounded speculation and a malicious rumour with a view to distract the coordinators and destabilise the campaign. The allegation was disparaged due to the reputable characters of the executive, proven over a long period. That the allegation is based on a phone call construed to have come from a party with a political interest has further reduced its credibility.

It would seem to all appearances that these sets of persons, referred to as ideologists are irked by the fact that they are not privy to the coordination of the campaign. Extending this argument, they fear that ACJ has reduced their relevance in the OAU polity. They label the campaign as attention seeking on the part of ACJ and other bodies actively taking part in it. As such, they think that by raising a dissenting call, they might accrue to themselves some needed attention. This is both immature and unbecoming of any student of OAU.

There is the alternative narrative that these persons want an encompassing organisation of the campaign. They want the campaign to be opened to all in planning and actualization.

Their position might be understood in the sense that they feel the coordination is not encompassing and managed by an elitist few. However, they must also understand that there are avenues to air their grievances and offer opinions and recommendations. For effective coordination, it is best that there are a set of people accountable rather than allow for a jumbled organisation and resulting ineffectiveness. The crux is that they cannot always expect their recommendations will be acted upon.

On the allegations, it could also be that these sets of people are innocent in character and really have the interest of OAU students at heart. If that is so, they should be thorough with their investigations before attempting to disrupt what has been a great advantage to the OAU cause. Furthermore, they should learn to accept in good faith, whatever policies are enacted. While they are entitled to their personal opinions and actions, they should not express such in a way that would kill the campaign or at best, weaken it. Finally, they should know that not all of their suggestions will be accepted and know when to withdraw their agitations.


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OAU VC Court Case Postponed Till October 5th

The ongoing court case on the ongoing legality of the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University has been once again postponed till October 5th, 2016.

More details to come later

234Project To Award Prizes On Tomorrow, July 9th

Following the closure of submissions for entries for the Great Ife Writer Project, the facilitators of the essay contest, the 234Project hereby invites all participants to the award ceremony tomorrow, Saturday, 9th July, 2016

Venue: Aud 1
Time: 10:00 am

There would be a lot of consolation prizes.

Antagonism Trails #ReopenOAU

It is no more news that the Obafemi Awolowo University has been out of session for about 90 days straight, as a result of a sessional holiday protracted by the eventual shutdown of the institution.  It all began with the 56-working days leave requested for by ASUU-OAU, then the Non Academic Staff Union kicking against the appointment of a new VC, to the eventual dissolution of the governing council of the Institution cum sack of the appointed VC by the government at the centre – a decision that has continued to be trailed by several reactions.

As a result, Great Ife students have been resigned to sitting and watching back home, with the capability to do little or nothing to help themselves or the university community swim out of the troubled waters, while hoping and praying that the crisis be resolved quickly and totally, so they can go back to learning; their primary assignment on campus.

All hopefulness and prayers without actions might eventually yield little or no result. However, in light of this, the Association Of Campus Journalists(ACJ), Obafemi Awolowo University chapter brought aboard the idea of an online sensitization of the general populace through the social media.  The campaign was also targeted as an avenue to reach concerned stakeholders on the crisis as well as well-meaning Nigerians who might be willing to take up the course and fight for the reopening of the institution.  The campaign with the theme “#ReOpenOAU” was eventually kick-started some days ago on major social media platforms, especially twitter.  Using this medium, Great Ife students have continued to voice out their displeasure with such pieces being targeted at major stakeholders involved in the crisis.

The purpose of the campaign can be easily deciphered from its title - reopening of the school. On its third day, the campaign has recorded huge success with various organizations and individuals joining their voices with great Ife students. 

Surprisingly, some set of great Ife students have recently come out to kick against the campaign, citing various reasons for taking such stance.   Such reasons include the conviction of these sets of people that the campaign doesn’t properly represent the interest of great Ife students. Some have also argued that the campaign should have been centered on more specific requests like appointment of an acting VC or reconstitution of the governing council.

Some others even believe it should be an avenue to ask for the reinstatement of the students union activities of the institution.  These were accompanied by several criticisms of ACJ OAU, accusing the association especially, its president, of pursuing his personal interest against the interest of the generality of great Ife students– the same students that have taken over the social media with the #ReOpenOAU campaign in the last 48 hours.

Some of these ideologists have even gone as far as threatening to start a counter-trend against the campaign, whilst some have started to spread false messages on the social media impersonating some of the leadership of the ACJ.

With the trend of things, several questions are being asked; what do these ideologists really want? Do they not want the school to resume? Do they even understand what the theme of the campaign is all about? Are they aware that if OAU is eventually reopened, then an acting VC and/or a governing council must definitely be appointed/constituted? Do they know that student Unionism cannot operate well without the school being in full operation?

However, even with this, more students and bodies continue to join the #ReopenOAU campaign by the day.

#ReopenOAU

NANS Rejects N2,500 Post-UTME Screening Fee

The National Association of Nigerian Students has rejected kicked the introduction of the admission screening fee of N2,500 by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Education.

Mr Gbenga Ayenuro, the NANS Vice President, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Akure on Friday.

“NANS, which has been, and will always be, at the forefront of any and every kind of exploitation of Nigerian students in any guise was relieved by the recent ban on post-UTME.

“As it was a long overdue decision to end the exploitation of prospectively- Nigerian students seeking admission.

“And it was a policy that endeared the Federal Government to the hearts of Nigerian masses; it was widely jubilated and welcomed by all concerned stakeholders in the Nigerian education sector,” he said.

According to him, it is surprising, appalling, anti-masses and unethical, for the federal government to submit to pressure from the heads of tertiary institutions by introducing the post-UTME screening fee.

He noted that the policy somersault was tantamount to the government being insensitive to the growing economic meltdown being experienced by parents and guardians of prospective students all over the country.

Ayenuro said that NANS viewed the introduction of the post-UTME screening fee as another way of extorting and exploiting potential students.

He alleged that it was another avenue of enriching management of various tertiary institutions across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

“Nigerian students can no longer keep mute in the face of the general hardship confronting the Nigerian masses.

“Our parents and guardians have become incapable of sending us stipends for our upkeep let alone of paying for our tuition fees.

“The food and provision stores in all our various campuses are undergoing abysmally low patronage from students due to the ever increasing high price tag of virtually all commodities.

“We cannot continue to keep mute while our future is being mortgaged and short changed by this present administration,’’ he alleged.

Ayenuro therefore issued a three-working day ultimatum to the ministry to reverse its decision on imposition of post-UTME screening fee as the most important stakeholder in the Nigerian education sector.

He said that failure to reverse the new policy would result in a peaceful protest at the Ministry of Education, Abuja, at a date to be announced.

(NAN)

Source

LSS Officially Joins #ReopenOAU

The Law Students Society of the Obafemi Awolowo University has officially declared their joining the ongoing online campaign to hasten the resumption process of the School. The Association made this official with a release signed by its President, Ekpa Stanley. Find the release below

IT IS TRAIT TO RESUME HOPE TO THE STUDENTS: #REOPENOAU; THE LEGAL STANDPOINT...

It is with the same degree of  deep seated pain in the heart of other students of OAU that we the entire learned populace of Ifelaw, rise to declare in absolute & firm stand, our unwavering support for the campaign for the immediate reopening of Obafemi Awolowo University for the 2015/2016 academic session.

We at OAU did the 2014 academic session in 2016, following the current crises, we are likely do do 2015 session in 2017, & we the students see this as an act of sabotage on our purported "bright" future.

We therefore, guided by the law of conscience, humbly express our articles of plea to all relevant parties involved in this crises to look up to posterity & open up doors of your heart for a peaceful resolution & sustained dialogue for better system.

We invite the Federal Government to put the interest of the students above any other reason in resolving this issue because primarily the institution exist because of the students.

All parties, the students inclusive must pursue restoring the university as a hub of innovation, a centre of excellence & a web of civility & hope for the advancement of humanity.

We enjoin students to resume writing not only on social media alone but constructive articles & letters to the editors of newspapers.

No war has ever ended without peace & dialogue, ergo, it is expedient to accept the truism that peace is superior to war but war precedes peace. We have gone to war; its time for lasting solution for resolving this crises.

Yours-in- Service for a Better Humanity,

Ekpa, Stanley Ekpa
President, IFELAW

Olagunju Aanuoluwapo
Secretary to the Society

Ogunleye Tosin
PRO

for the LAW STUDENTS' SOCIETY, OAU.