In FUTO if you are in Suit with a briefcase or bag moving from one lecture hall to another you are either a pastor from one of the fellowships or a self-acclaimed messiah seeking to return FUTO to the promised ‘Glory land’ and make it the best university in the entire country. The latter perfectly describes the current situation of things in School. It’s the second semester and as usual we are already getting bored of the usual clichés; ‘your boy is loyal’, “carry your boy along”, ‘I need your mandate’ e.t.c

But beyond all the politicking, blackmails and back stabbing which are characteristics to elections how far has the different presidential aspirants fared in convincing Nigerian students to vote for them and what are their chances of finally ‘becoming’? This piece will go a long way to answering these questions.

On the last count we have four candidates running for the coveted position of ‘Aluta No 1’ and if I am not mistaken they are Anaemeotu Steven, Onochie David Edozie , Holget Emmanuel and of course the current Hall A Governor; Okoroafor Joseph.

Anaemeotu Steven, a 300L student of the department of Information Management Technology who was one of the very first to declare his interest has been going round school begging Nigerian students to ‘let a Clairvoyant man rePRESent’. Steven’s major strength comes from the fact he is from a department feared for her political antecedents and history. A department that few years ago produced an SUG President in a fiercely conducted election that saw the strong contender disqualified on the bases of state of origin. That’s story for the gods. While Steven may not be flaunting money with ostentation like some of his opponents, he has got a ‘sweet mouth ‘with a cool innocent demeanor that has endeared him to many students; males and females alike. According to Steven he intends making Wi-Fi services work in FUTO and at a very affordable amount too, if that is enough to make him win, I don’t know but one thing I know for sure is that Steven is a BIG threat.
If you haven’t heard or seen the name ‘ODE’ chances are that you are a student of ‘Umuagwo’ and not FUTO. From Eziobodo to Umuchima to Ihiagwa and possibly Obinze you get greeted with this name written boldly on walls. Onochie David Edozie is coming as a revolutionary, preaching change everywhere he goes. Accepted change is the only constant thing as Heraclitus rightly puts, but are FUTO students eager for that change. The next few weeks will tell. One major thing that has characterized his campaign is the way and manner he flaunts his wealth. Currently, I am yet to see anyone with a more flamboyant campaign. While this has made him pretty popular amongst students, it does cast aspersions upon his credibility. For proponents of this school of thought, the more you spend during campaign the likelihood of you milking the union dry when you eventually become. But then you cannot rule out the possibility of him being sincere and credible. The major challenge he will be facing no doubt will come from his department (Polymer and Textile Engineering) and his state of Origin. In an ideal setting competency, proficiency, pragmatism and credibility ought to be the bases of judging aspirants and not state of origin and department. Unfortunately, our society today is far from being ideal, hence these things count. The current SUG President being a student of Polymer and Textile Engineering, I am yet to be convinced if FUTO politics is matured enough to allow somebody from the same department take over from him.
The issue of non-indigenes not contesting in the FUTO SUG presidential election has been a major topic of debate for so many years as even last year a strong candidate was disqualified on this basis. We are yet to see how ODE will wade through this maze of challenges and come out successful. Time will tell.

The third candidate is the very popular ‘Holget Emmanuel’ from the department of Project Management Technology. He is a son of the soil, Eziobodo precisely and that already is a big boost. Holget became popular when he started doing Mathematics tutorials for pre-degree students here in school and since then he has grown from strength to strength to become a tutorial master to of repute. The question on everybody’s lips is if his popularity will translate to victory at the polls. His major challenge will come from the fact that he has two other opponents from his faculty; SMAT.

The last entrant to the race but definitely not the least is the current Governor of Hostel A; Comr. Okoroafor Joseph. When all thought the race was just between Steven, ODE and Holget, this vibrant and articulate young fellow from Transport Management Technology department believes he has what it takes to give the former three a run for their money. His major strength has to come from occupants of Hall A where it has been gathered he is doing quite well and the fact that he is popular among catholic students in STACC. Findings however reveal that while he may be popular in STACC not many people are aware of his political ambition. His performance at the polls will now depend on how well he is able to cover the entire schools and department in a space of three weeks or thereabout.

Finally, I doubt the possibility of three candidates running from SMAT as against one from SEET. SMAT surely has its agenda and that will be greatly jeopardized if three of them are allowed to finally contest. The political shenanigans have started and a consensus candidate emerging amongst the three candidates is almost inevitable. Will Steven step down for Holget, or will Holget step down for Joseph or is it going to be the other way round. The events of the following few days will make it clearer to us. But before then let us not underestimate the influence of the ‘innovatives’ and the ‘powerfuls’. They have proved over time that they know the game better and this time around, there will be no exception.
May the best candidate win.

Written by Uwakwe Martin Mundus. (IMT 300L)

FUTO KARAA ON POINT

You guys should go and read ur books. All the aluta this and aluta that ends on campus and cant fetch u good life outside campus. If I ask u to differentiate between a thermoplastic resin and a thermosetting resin now, u will start scratching ur head.

Them rig the shit