From SA page Soni Akoji Was President Jonathan Really Booed by OAU Students? My brother Max Robin (who happens to be a former PRO of the OAU Students Union) has asked me to provide details of OAU students protest against President Jonathan yesterday. Ordinarily when the debate about what really happened raged on facebook yesterday evening, i merely shrugged and went to have a much deserved sleep. I had done my part in the scorching sun. I felt i didnt need to bother my head with those having the war of words. Moreso i could see that just like everything, this was already becoming a war between the PDP and APC wings of the social media. Interestingly, i support neither one nor the other. Years ago, i joined others on the same campus to give Bola Ahmed Tinubu a similar dose when he came for a public lecture. I would do the same today to all members of the discredited capitalist ruling elite regardless of their political parties. They are all the same. However on a second thought i have decided to give a brief outline of what i witnessed yesterday. I do not intend this to be an account of all that happened. This will just be an account of my own participation and experience. Others who participated can also write theirs. On Thursday 27 November 2014, a group of OAU student activists and OAU Union leaders visited my family house in Ife to attend my birthday party. The time was around 4pm. Just before they got to my house, they received information of President Jonathans visit to the campus the next day (Friday). According to them, the information had been kept under wraps by the organizers for a awhile so understandably everyone, including myself, was a bit shocked. In the course of the birthday celebration, a meeting of the activists took place with myself in attendance. It was there and then we had the agreement to mobilise for a protest at the venue of President Jonathans meeting with the Council of Obas the next day. The comrades left my house around 8.30pm and proceeded to campus. Throughout the night, placards were hurriedly written and arrangements made for the protest. Given the short time we had for preparation, many crucial arrangements could not be made including getting someone to do a video recording. If there was a video recording, i would not be writing this today, I think we also took it for granted that independent media organisations like Sahara reporters would be at the event. It is now that i now realise that just like everyone else, Sahara reporters and other independent media organisations might not have been informed as well. The next day the students mobilized. I joined them late, sometimes around 12noon. Commercial buses were prevented from entering the campus so i had a hectic time getting in. By the time i got there, a huge crowd of placard-wielding students had gathered in front of Oduduwa hall. The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) banner demanding better education funding was conspicuous in front. Many other groups like the NANS were there who came to show support to the president. I met them drumming and singing. But the group of protesting students was the biggest. The President security details were already sweating profusely. So also was the Universitys secuirty. By the time i got to the front of the crowd, the Universitys CSO grabbed me immediately and started urging me to try and calm the situation. I also remember meeting with Jude Imagwe (SA to Jonathan of student and Youth). Despite the distinct demarcation between us, i am not afraid to say Jude has been my friend since he was NANS president. I hate his politics and im sure he can barely tolerate mine. But despite this and to my surprise, we have continued to be friends. Well the Jude i saw yesterday wasnt the same confident Jude. How relieved he was to see me! All the while, they had been confronted with a crowd of angry students, none of whom they knew or could talk to. The Union president who must have been Judes contact on the ground was booed by students. In that kind of atmosphere, the reputation of the SA on Youth and Student is on the line. The president would be disgraced on his watch. So seeing a known face was like a star in a dark sky. Immediately i met Jude, he made effort, as is done in government circles, to lead me to a side in order to have a conversation with me. I politely declined and asked that we have the conversation where we can be seen. From there, Jude introduced me to a man in suit whom, if my memory serves me right, he called the CSO to the president. The CSO who looked somewhat shaken wanted to know if no harm would come to the President. I remember telling him OAU students are not known to be violent and that all we have come to do is to make a statement that Jonathan and his government poverty-inducing policies would not be accepted. i remember saying that we wanted two narratives to come out of todays visit: those who have come to welcome the president would have their day and those of us who have come to protest against him would also have our day and that on our own part, i would assure them their would be no violence. Then the CSO, wanting to push his luck further, asked if i could arrange about 4 student leaders to have an audience with the president later. Like an experienced bribe-giver he must be, as he mentioned 4 students leaders he just quickly added ofcourse with you as one of the four. I simply smiled and firmly told him that is not going to happen. With the depth of anger in Nigeria today, if you are really the presidents security, youd better shield him from contact with students. I didnt know the import of my statement until much later when i heard that the organizers of the visit also may have planned that the president would have an opportunity to address students. From there, i went to join the crowd. At this point, we decided to move round the venue of the meeting chanting solidarity songs. It was a huge crowd. We went round through the road in front of the SUB, towards amphi, through the admin carpark, through the library and motion ground and back to where we started from. By the time we got back, the first set of dignitaries were about to leave. So we decided to sit on the road. The point was not to prevent them from leaving but to delay them a bit so they get the message that Nigerians rejects them and their policies. As the dignitaries came out, chant of thief, thief rented the air. Governor Fayose of Ekiti state must have an inflated idea of his own popularity. As he made his way out, he approached the protesters sitting on the road with the intention of addressing them. For a split second, a few number of students made to stand up, not sure what their attitude should be. But the majority immediately retook the initiative and raised the chant of thief, thief!. As the chant got louder and louder, his security details got the message that their man was not accepted and took him away. From this point, a battle of wit started between us and the security on President Jonathans passage. For several minutes, we sat on the road and didnt budge. Now to trick us, multiple information of the presidents route were sent out. Inevitably some protesters were swayed. Rowdiness soon ensued as is expected under that circumstance. In retrospect, there are of course things we could have done differently. For instance if we had just blocked the road leading out from the SUB towards road one, the president would have had a far more hectic time getting to his chopper at the sport complex. But at the same time, for a protest planned hurriedly, i think we had a good turnout and our action had an impact. We made a statement which is that oppressors will have no where to hide. As the president convoy raced towards the sport complex, students raced after them. At the sport complex, we all gathered round. I was at the back discussing with some people and was not really interested in the proceedings anymore. I believed we had succeeded with what we set out to achieve. Just then, a great shout went up. It wasnt the sound of clapping, it was the sound of students booing the president. It must have been as he came out of his car and walked into the chopper. But i was at the back and couldnt see into the sport complex where the choppers were. But what struck me later was the rather mournful atmosphere as the Presidents chopper lifted from the ground. I didnt see any one waving or clapping and displaying any emotion to wish the Choppers occupant safe flight. A few camera phones went up to capture the choppers ascendance. But as soon as the Chopper was up in the sky, as if acting according to a script, everyone just turned back and started walking back to pick up the pieces of their lives again. Those who needed to get out of the campus but had been delayed because of the visit, students writing exams but could not read in peace etc. Like the Okada man upon whose bike i rode from campus gate into town, it was good riddance. Hassan Taiwo Soweto Copyright (C)
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 22:09:11 +0000
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