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Nigerian Students’ Movement In Perspective By Ibrahim Kolawole
Without mincing words, the state of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is nothing to write home about. The Nigerian students’ movement has lost all the radical fibres it was formerly recognized for. The media was replete with condemnation and open disgust about the treacherous cum fraudulent activities of the Kenneth Orkumah-led NANS national leadership which later failed unceremoniously.
Even before this time, the NANS leadership had identified with various anti-student, pro-establishment policies including acceptance of the hostel privatization and N1000 compulsory insurance policy of the federal government and the insurance agencies. Not only this, it had at various times recognized through giving of awards to anti-student moneybags who have at one time or the other, individually or severally supported policies and agenda that put money out of the pockets of the poor people of Nigeria to those of the already super-rich. In short, it has become another pawn in the chessboard of the ruling class while standing against everything that NANS originally stood for.
However, to be fair with the self-serving Hembe and the various strands of elements appearing as NANS leaders, their predecessors had laid a solid foundation for this “historic” role they are now playing. One could vividly recall the reactionary, pro-state positions of the Daniel Onjeh, Segun Olaleye, et al, who all sold out Nigerian students away to the corrupt and backward set of ruling class in place today, just to satisfy their pecuniary interests while Nigerian students are being daily attacked through the commercialization and privatization of education policies among other anti-poor policies of the Obasanjo government and it clones in States. In fact, one can trace the history of ideological death of NANS to the 1994 convention in which power was taken away from the hands of the totalitarian Stalinists to the hands of the reactionary, pro-state elements, who banked on the general dissatisfaction of the student activists with the undemocratic means in which the organization was being run by the Stalinists to entrench themselves in the leadership, adequately supported with funds and logistics by various government agencies.
While of course one supports the condemnation of the proclamation of the NANS leadership for the third term agenda then, it was highly unfortunate that majority of those that are condemning it are found wanting in condemning the governmental policies of education commercialization and privatization over which the various NANS leadership sold out Nigerian students. Some of them, including some respected journalists, even joined the government to attack radical students’ union leadership who stood vehemently against authoritarian local school administrators and the state.
Aside the NANS national leadership intellectual collapse, the various structures of NANS – Zonal, State Joint Campus Committees and even, many students’ union – have either also sold out or lack the requisite intellectual wherewithal to lead successful and genuine struggles of students. Yet, during the radical days of NANS, the Nigerian students’ movement is not only known for fighting for its members but also that of the workers and other oppressed strata. One could easily recall the anti-SAP struggles and the anti-military struggles. Then, you have no business in being students’ union activist without having a left leaning; without having any ideological understanding of the society. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union which many uninformed Stalinists could not explain as being a product of the undemocratic and bureaucratic nature of the leadership of the Soviet Union, the best of the then student activists dissolved into human “rightism” while the reactionary layer become slaves of Nigerian state. Successive student activists could not see any true example of a genuine ex-NANS activist but those who have turned their radical credentials to means of survival.
Coupled with this is the collapse of the genuine leadership of labour movement which would have mobilized the power of Nigerians activists – including students to fights successful imperialist governments in Nigeria. The lack of the ideological base of the human rights organizations on the campuses and their failure to give a scientific economic cum political analysis of the Nigerian state led to their isolation from other mass organizations including workers’ movement and subsequent infiltration of their organizations by the pro-state elements. While the former led to lack of a holistic manner of struggling by the genuine students’ leaders which make them to adopt sectarian, anti-working class and anarchistic methods of struggling; the latter led to degeneration of these organizations in many campuses leading to sell out among students’ activists who rise to union offices through the radical credentials of these organizations but sell students out to the management and the state, thus signaling the collapse of many students’ unions. Added to this is the conscious role of the school authorities and the state in destroying the legacy of genuine students’ unionism either by buying over susceptible students’ leaders or using naked brute force like the cultists, police and victimization to deal with genuine student activists. This also found its resonance in the structures of NANS. We are witnesses to how the special assistance to President Obasanjo on students’ matters, (himself an ex-president of the OAU students’ union) usually comes to NANS convention to bribe NANS senators and use brute force of the state to stop genuine student activists from raising their voices against bad governmental policies.
Therefore, Nigerian students’ movement must start afresh and build a new organization that will base itself on the idea of transformation of the society from this man eat man, decadent market neo-liberal system that prioritize profits for the rich few against the welfare of the mass of people including the students; to an egalitarian system where the wealth of the country will be collectively used for people’s need as against that of imperialism and its hangers-on in the country’s polity. The genuine activists remaining on campuses must stand up and build a new pan-Nigerian students’ movement that will not only defend the rights of Nigerian youth to free, well funded and qualitative education with democratic impute of the workers’ and students’ unions in the running of the education sector; but also link its struggle with that of other sections of the oppressed layers –workers, artisans, professionals, etc and defend people’s rights to better socio-economic systems that will defend people’s welfare. The present NANS is not sacrosanct; it was also an offshoot of other students’ organizations – WASU, NUNS and NONS. The present NANS has played its historic roles and it is now serving as fetter to the struggles of the Nigerian students and people.
This is the time when Nigerian students ought to be asking why Nigeria will be wallowing in unimaginable wealth (over $100 billion including the excess crude oil wealth and foreign reserve) and yet the capitalist government could not provide free, qualitative education to its citizens which has led to just ten percent of Nigerian youth being in schools. Rather than for government to fund free and qualitative education, it has continue to starve it more of funds while encouraging private individuals (majority of them, politicians and government lackeys) to gain huge profits from government-induced public education collapse. This contradiction requires a solid, consistent and radical students’ organization that will raise the banner of the progressive unionism. We must also know that the demands of students are also political because the present age government is one whose ideological basis is rooted in scrupulous globalised neo-liberalism; and the invisible hands of the market and imperialism. Such government, while it continues to elongate its hold on power (either by hook or crook) against the wishes of the mass of people, will continue to stand for imperialism; stand against public education, social welfare, etc. Therefore, the new Nigerian students’ movement, if finally formed should link up with other pro-people and working class organizations to provide the requisite leadership needed by the people to chase out this useless government. The various pro-democracy organizations must works towards this. The examples of recent French movement where students played major roles along with workers, in battling Dominique Villepin’s anti-poor labour policy among other historical references (which Nigerian press refused to shed light on) are signs of what a genuine students’ movement can achieve if it bases itself on genuine ideas. Now is the time for genuine radical students’ unionism.
IBRAHIM KOLAWOLE Education Rights Campaign (ERC) edurightsforall@yahoo.com Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
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