Earlier this year during the whole Yaradua saga, a group of charlatans paraded themselves in Abuja under the aegis of ''Future Nigeria Group'' in support of a dead Yaradua. They performed the usual rituals of the sycophant. Prayers for egregious purposes and the well being of their corrupt benefactors as well as calls to unity of our divided nation. Of course, this unity would only be preserved so long as we leave their sick patrons alone to do their misdeeds.

In their midst was a Kolade Akinjo. A keynote speaker on the day, he had his religious game on, also having his own supplication ceremony during the charade. All very common fare one would say, except for the provenance of this Mr. Akinjo. Popularly known as Vakama, he was a former head of the student body at University of Ife, perhaps the most historically radical higher institution in Nigeria. That a former head of a student body that was at the vanguard of student opposition during the dark years of military dictatorship should stoop so low for a few shillings, tells the whole story of the health of our student polity.

I grew up in my teens idolizing the likes of Anthony Fashayo who battled so valiantly in the face of mortal danger directed at them by the Abacha regime. We also still see reminders of the spirit which animated the student protesters during the latter years of the last century on the pages of Sahara reporters and the activism of its owner Omoyele Sowore.

What we have now, is not so much a cacophony of complicit silence, but a total assimilation of the student body into the culture of deceit, immorality and corruption that their predecessors fought so hard to destroy. Rather than question authority at the juncture when we need the precocious skepticism of youth most, they are like plasticine in the hands of brim-hatted zoologists and agbada donning adulters, denizens of evil who once terrorised student in military regalia but now perpetrate their misdeeds under the cloak of democratic constitutionality. . . .

Wither Aluta. . . .
The ceremony of Innocence has been drowned, there is no best to speak of and the worst dance on the corpse of the nation.

^^good post. Thanks for posting!

Variants of this issue had been discussed on NL before but, we should not get tired of asking; as you wittingly put it "A luta Discontinua?"

Yes! I idolized some of those Student leaders too. I remember when I first read Bola Ige's Kaduna Boy and Soyinka's Ake I was a teen and I wanted to be in the University so badly and become like them too.

Nigerian universities deflated that excitement. I got to the University and I could neither find those "heroes" nor find the inspiration to be like them. I only saw cultists and many who were passionate about getting the hell out of Nigeria!


Anyway, My hurried opinion is that there are many factors but, the most glaring to me was the intellectual flight or brain-drain that occurred in the 70s after our parent's generation gave up on Nigeria, the Military and their many unfulfilled promises.

For example; University of Ife lost Papa Soyinka, Ibadan lost Osofisan, Kole Omotoso and a host of other post-Soyinka radicals to foreign universities. I will not attempt a list of the radical intellectual change-agents we've lost. I simply can't list or remember them all. but I believe all regions of Nigeria lost the services and mentorship of our radical and finest minds during that Military era.

Of course some grew old and died and some just threw in the towel and caught religion. (e.g Enoch Adeboye was a lecturer right?)

I know this same phenomenon occurred in other countries; The US media often complains about the apathy of their current generation of students. I believe My Naija generation got a very raw deal though. I mean, we were a young nation in the 70s and early 80s and we badly needed our best minds to mentor the youth and build the nation. Unfortunately, time and circumstances truncated that process.

With all due respect to the good lecturers who still labour to teach in Nigerian Universities, I think we lost our best and brightest and the student population were left with very little inspiration.

So, I can't blame student leaders for the "Discontinuation of A luta" the blame lies with the society they were born into.

Imagine a Lecture room taught daily by radicals like Chinweizu and Contrarians like Wole Soyinka or bright minds like Papa Achebe? I doubt those students will find anything funny about OBJ's "I dey laugh"  retort or his dumb "siddon kampe" comments. 

I doubt students that are constantly exposed to those kind of minds will accept Alao Akala as their governor or celebrate the perfidy and incompetence of politicians like Oyinlola. I doubt they will go to a charade organized by treasury looters and boldly re-enter their campus gates.

We are a cheated and wounded generation. I just hope the new returnees and the few idealistic home based holdouts will join forces and rescue our society from the hands of these imposed charlatans.

More importantly, I hope we will continue to use every opportunity we have to share knowledge, collaborate and challenge those who resist change, even if we have to scream at ourselves on NL sometimes 

I found this NL discussion from earlier with some good articles --> https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-3800.0.html

I enjoyed your post bro, good looking out! hopefully others will join the discussion.

@Kilode?

thanks for the link. . . .it was very very informative.

and it is good to see many who share concern over the rot amongst the student polity.

I was so envious during the recent student protests in london over the hike in tuition fees
and longed for those days when students in Nigeria sought for something that was over
and beyond themselves. Their idealism and the belief in their strengths to implement change.
All seemingly gone now and looking like never to return.

Oh well. . .God dey sha

I saw those protests on TV too. This generation of Nigerian students can do it, but they need mentors, they need a catalyst. It's not easy to be idealistic or inspired when your lecturers are busy collecting "course blocking" fees or tending to their photocopy machine shops instead of researching and imparting knowledge and ideas.

I see hope though because a society without idealistic change-conscious students can as well pack it up, march to the sea and drown.