Certainly, Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) Ife needs urgent fumigation exercise but I suppose not of bed bugs. Recently, the 'prestigious' and the 'very leading' Nigerian University has been rocked by bedbug attacks. Nearly all the eight halls of residence of the South-western Nigerian institution have in a couple of weeks running been ravaged by a surge of these dreaded blood sucking monstrous cockroach-like but smaller insects. The cry of students, particularly that of the Central Executive Council of the institution's Students' Union body as led by the Union's president- Omotayo Akande with intensified media campaign directly to the university's own Management was unavoidably heard. Just some two weeks ago, on the 8th of October, the university in a release through the Division of Student Affairs issued an ultimatum to student residents on campus that they evacuate halls on certain days, even while examinations were yet to end so that hostels would be fumigated and students' hostels could be salvaged from these anthropogenic boko haram. Whether or not the fumigation has been carried as scheduled or it is the case that the students need the war against these bugs is food for another thought.
However, as much as I am not of contrary opinion to the fumigation 'thing,' as a matter of fact, all that I think the entire OAU university sphere requires optimally at this testing time is a fumigation of character. A fumigation of attitude. Call it in other words, personsicidation of all stakeholders. At this point, i hope someone would forgive my seemingly annoying word coinaging. Afterall, if insecticide is to insects, then, 'personsicidation' should go for person, if not willingly but willingly.
For students and staff of 'Africa's most beautiful campus' as is self acclaimed by Great Ife students who have not lost their self being to terrestrial and monetary manipulations, it would be given a yes nod any time that Great Ife only used to have and uphold good and moral attitudes. The slogan of the institution which is 'for learning and culture' is now a halved pair. The culture-half has been thrown into the abyss. From my investigation, OAU (Oba awon unifasiti), truly used to be the king among universities. This nomenclature had come not only from the so called academic seriousness with which it is known but also from the way and manner the then generation of students created for themselves and the university an enviable image of admirable moral standards. Though there might have been instances of gross financial misconduct as at the time when Great Ife was still very great, certainly not would there have been any such things as much as now.
Today, we seem to have lost it all. From all ends, events have blown the feathers of the mother hen, thereby exposing her naked anus to the world. Sometime in September this year,2015, the leadership of the Students' Union made headline on Punch News paper for their proposed 1.8million naira budget for phone calls. Barely, a week after this horrible incidence, there was another major controversy of fraudulent act leveled on the same body. Earlier before these sour events, several were the bad connotations with which key sectors of the Obafemi Awolowo University have been branded. The management of OAU is allegedly still not free from financial misappropriation and misapplication.. Despite the increment in tuition fee and acceptance fee, one cannot at this time point at any tangible renovations and developments that have since taken place. No concrete step has been taken to ameliorate the poor welfare state in which students of the institution have been dumped. All we heard is some officer changing accounts from name 'A' to 'B.' What insolence!!! Suspension is now a tool in the hands of theoretical academic angels to incapacitate conscious students of the university who resolutely team against maladministration and academic oppression.
Instead of this outburst for fumigation of halls of residence, i fell un-remorseful to say that the bedbugs live not in the realm of the concrete and innocent beds of the university's hostels but in our bodies and souls. They live and infest in our under-skin. They are there armed and clothed with jungle justice, stained and painted with financial dishonesty. These bugs are a symbol of rape, theft, physical assaults, lecturers' abuse of power to butcher off innocent students CGPA. They are representative of ethnicity and nepotism killing off our academic standards.
As far as I'm concerned, if things must change for the best in my alma mater, good character at all ends must be our template. We only complain of poor welfarism, students complain, in fact, staff members wail. Every now and then, we make very horrendous headlines. May be we have failed to ask WHY. BAD CHARACTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unhygienic characters that have become traditions in halls of residence. The height of behavioral decadence that see very grown up students urinate behind windows on hostel corridors, in stagnated runnels.
The tradition that sees students use water closets without flushing even while taps run torrentially and another perching on the same waste minutes later only to demarcate the human dungs with layers of pieces of paper. All these are hugs that first must be fumigated.
When retrogressive ideologies are imposed on a few progressive ones in the name of 'padi padi' politics, thereby leading to a crumbled system; why do we leave the needful for the irrelevance? BUG this is!!
Way Forward
This is the time. Now is the time. It is now or never. This period when everyone is clamouring for the fumigation of halls of residence should be taken as an opportunity by all the affected to turn a new leave. It is my candid opinion that we all see this unpalatable moment as a time to rend our garments and repent of all irrational characters.
The change we want begins with us in OAU.
All hands must be on deck in the call to fumigate these bugs.
we have heard enough of it.
None is a holy man, no self-exoneration. It begins with me. It begins with YOU.
Photo Credit: Catchit Pest Control
