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The paradigm shift of campus politics in UDS: A pimple on the face of progress or a normal narrative of politics?

                   By OSMAN ABUDU

Osman Abudu 

Good day to one and all. The words of Martin Luther King Jr reads "Every man must decide whether to walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness". This clearly defines why every young man who wants to occupy a leadership position is being intrigued to do so. 

Campus politics over the years has drifted away from the prime principle of meritocracy. All actors within the political environment on campus can be attributed to this change i n narrative of our campus politics and hence the inherent need for us to rise in unism and re-write our political story. It is important that as an institution, we always remember where we are coming from, so that we are well placed in measuring the adequacy of where we ought to be going. It is on this line that I write to share my little thoughts with you. 

First of all, it is very disheartening to learn that aspirants can sometimes be architects of ill-birth messages against fellow aspirants. It's general knowledge that one of the ways to make your presence felt as a student politician is to mastermind and cast shame against others just to score political points. This has led to enmities being breeded amongst potential student leaders and hence making the political environment more supposedly polluted.

Furthermore, aspirants sometimes make unfeasible and close to impossible promises only to come into office to realise that their envisages cannot cannot be put into effective function. On this tangent, will one be far from right to say that student leaders are sometimes captives of their own graves?

Fast forward, students on the other hand feel our student leaders over the years have not really met their expectations. Our leaders on the other hand opine that the dynamics of actually running a portfolio are not as easy as how it is being perceived, citing the words of Golda Meir who said, *"The picture is always different from afar"*. This has resulted in an increased level of apathy hence students sometimes pass a vote of no confidence in a candidate even before he assumes the mantle of leadership. This dichotomy between the actual delivery of our leaders and the high expectations of students over the years is what has set a bad tone of precedence for potential student leaders, leading to a reverse in the political development on our various tertiary institutions.

The above not withstanding, I believe in the current hopefuls of my August institution because I know a lot of them who engage actively in extracurricular activities where they are doing so well, but they leave all that to get into the hustle and tussle of politics. This has tempted me to believe the better side of them, and that it's the passion and desire to serve that is actually igniting them to contest for various portfolios. I would want to believe that they still hold the standards of integrity very high, as learnt from their engagement in extracurricular activities. They are well aware that leadership is always a social contract between you and the people you wish to serve, anything short of which is completely unwelcome. I'm sure all aspirants on campus have this at the back of their minds.

Let me end by calling all the Paramount political elements on campus to join hands and let's alter the discourse of our student leadership.

If you disagree with me on any of my points, just know that these are the thoughts of a beginner in article writing. You can state your candid opinion and it will be warmly embraced. 

Thank you

*✍By OSMAN ABUDU*

*Recruitment President, AIESEC in UDS*

*Volunteer at infinite research institute*

osmanabudu21@gmail.com

*0541832750/0503714536*