STAND UP FOR UNIABUJA STUDENTS!

“A small body of determined spirits, fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

A country’s political life is not solely in the hands of political organizations. We have to also recognize the importance of the contributions of ordinary people. The average day, decades-long struggle of people finding their voice carries a lot of weight and lot of influence. We must believe and stand up to be counted. We all have to work together and that is the key. It is never about money or celebrity status; it is about us taking responsibility for our being. And like magic, believe me each voice begins to be heard and joined by other voices and that is what can bring about change. We the people, the man on the street – you and I – have to be engaged not only in protests but also in persuading business organizations and institutions to take action.

 People as a people are the makers of our own history. We have to want change. It will involve hard work and sacrifice to get this miracle underway. So we should stop pointing fingers at oppressors when, by standing by, we give them the very fuel that they need to oppress us.

When the opportunity presents itself, we have to use whatever we have, whatever place or category we hold, to use our voices, our work, our lives to speak up and to speak out. To rise in such a way that our vision transcends even what we do not think is possible. To find that thing that drives us, that thing that makes our life feel that it has a certain value, because, in the end, that is the only thing that really matters!

 It is at times like this that opportunities are created for each of us to become leaders.  We need to be prepared to step out of our comfort zone or we will push away our chances for growth, mastery and the kind of lasting achievement that we can all be proud of. We have to be symbols of a refusal to submit to mediocrity and injustice. For a start, let us stand up and all of us support the students of the faculties of engineering and medicine at the University of Abuja. Their plight is more than pathetic. These are our youth in the prime of their lives, who have endeavored and have been accepted into the university eight years ago for courses some of which are 5-year programmes, just to be told that there is no accreditation for the university to run these courses. 8 years! They have paid fees and accommodation for eight years, to whom; for what? Where is the justice? The contract agreed to by the institutions and their parents has been breached. Who will pay for this? The university cannot do what they have promised and these young men and women have no recourse. Why? They have taken their money and are stealing their lives.

 What is the Minister of Education doing? The Minister should resign in shame that this kind of thing can happen on her watch. Last month, I heard the president talking about a space programme. We really are jokers. We cannot manage power, health, education and jobs and we are following space programme. Na wah o! In case you do not know, it is these same engineers and doctors whose futures we toy with that will develop these programmes for us in the future. Where is the National Association of Nigerian Students? “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” said Martin Luther King. We must stand shoulder to shoulder when we see these cases of injustice as it is only together that we can defeat the resident evil that are our institutions in Nigeria.

Mr. President, please wade into this issue. You should be investing in the university. You should make it something that Nigeria and the FCT will be proud of and therein graduate the types of scientists, engineers and doctors who will support you in your space programme and assist you in leading the country to the future that you promise us daily.