The Muffin Man
Apathy and widespread disinterest in governance and political affairs among students of the University of Ibadan is a subject that has had a lot of extensive discussion. In fact, it is an issue that is discussed almost every other day in student gatherings, in press publications and other similar contexts. But this is nothing new; it is a rot that eats deep into the core of our very own Nigeria. We are not in the business of taking responsibility for our affairs; rather, we are in the business of shifting blames. For our UISU, if there's anything we've learnt so far in this decade, it is that our sense of responsibility is nonexistent and our priorities are strewn all over the place, and this issue begins as soon as new students step foot into the university campus.
To start with, as per custom, the new guys are always warmly welcomed, and a lot of extravagance is thrown into welcoming them. Not to be inimical, considering how much of a toll the struggle of getting admitted takes, there is probably something worth celebrating. However, in the light of current economic realities, too much is getting spent on the fresher welcome, an event that most freshmen don't attend. We have seen the outrageous amounts some faculties and halls of residence spend on their freshers' week, some of them spending between #400,000 and #600,000 to welcome freshmen. It would appear that a significant chunk of the recently increased basic dues has found its way into organising these parties.
During elections, freshmen constitute the bulk of the total voting populace. Naturally, given the fact that they are the ones who have to deal with registrations as a matter of urgency, they always fit the criteria of being constitutionally recognised financial members of the departmental, faculty or hall of residence student associations. This, however, gives them an edge— even though in most cases, they can't hold a post, they can determine who holds the post.
As a result of this, they become the natural prey of the predatory politicians and student influencers in UI. Their naivete is exploited by these ones who will weigh them down with their own troubles. It starts with sharing flyers on WhatsApp statuses and class/faculty/hall groups to actively peddling the good news of this person's coming. Before you know it, they begin to carry someone else's baggage on their head whilst dragging theirs behind them. They become foot soldiers for someone else's campaign. Some of them sink so deeply into the cause of another person's ambition it would seem as though they've been brainwashed. And there is very little indication to show that this is not the case. Efforts to get them to focus on what they actually came to accomplish in school will get hit with a sharp and cold rebuff.
It is sad to note that it is from this stage that the unfortunate seedling of entitlement is planted into the minds of many Utes. They don't only support a candidate for the sake of supporting said candidate; they do it for the good karma of someone else supporting them too when their time comes. So in their minds, it stops being about what the voters decide but rather about what they have decided.
These freshmen are actually early-stage demonstrations of the mentality that most staylites hold on to till the end of their stay at university. Some of them hold on to that foot soldier mindset till they graduate. He is from my hall/faculty/fellowship; I must help him is a mentality many proudly latch on to till the end; it even carries them into the broader Nigerian democratic processes, where they begin clamouring for tribalistic and religious sentiments. Others, however, hold on to their lukewarmness and their evenhandedness; they'd rather leave matters that concern them primarily to others who have the time, a mentality that has time and again proven to be defective. Meanwhile, there are even others who hold on to the party mindset. Their priority from the moment of the freshers' welcome becomes finding the next lit party.
In the meantime, after elections, freshmen still constitute the bulk of those who don't actually understand how to ask for better treatment. Imagine living in a dilapidated environment with light issues, toilet issues and water issues or going to class with registration issues and no insight on which course you should be taking, but when asked about how well your rep, hall chair or faculty president is performing, you begin to sing his praises of how he organised a tutorial for you when you first resumed and how he is actually a nice guy. This is exactly what most of these freshmen do. On the one hand, one could argue that they are not familiar with the new environments in which they have found themselves, that they are not familiar with the processes and the politics. On the other hand, however, it is just basic human instinct for a person to notice what is out of place in his or her environment and then try to get it fixed. It is a basic human instinct to be inquisitive and to find new ways to improve one's quality of life.
But then, as much as one can argue about the malleability of freshmen, it is important to note that as far as the issue of popular participation in politics is concerned, the burden falls on everyone. As the saying goes, iron sharpeneth iron. If the returning students are not concerned themselves, what is to say that the new students should? Moreover, it is not about them; it is about the wrong indoctrination that they and so many of us carry.
Maybe next time we will talk about the staylites who choose to be passive.
