"Sticking to the same ineffective method - a symptom of chronic stupidity." - Emitomo Abiodun
Why do we always take things from the wrong perspective? Why have we chosen upside-down method as our norms? Why do we keep saying "this is how we have been doing it rather than this is what befits or suits our situation"? Why do we blindly follow the footsteps of our predecessors? The best method of yesterday might be the worst method of today! Choose that which suits your circumstance!
"A deliberate attempt to imitate a friend who just farted may lead you to have mess in your pants" - Emitomo Abiodun. It is unfortunate, pathetic and disgusting that a people who claim to be intellectuals are wallowing and rejoicing in a failed method without realizing! Yoruba say "Bi iwaju ko ba see lo eyin a see pada si", meaning, if proceeding with an action is difficult, withdrawing from it should be possible.
Counting one,two,three years, we will find out that it has been long when the inefficacious "Scientific Maximum Shishi (SMS)" started on this campus. I don't really have any problem with the SMS,but not accompanying or supporting it with a more effective method is an intellectual and ideological disease and emptiness!
We learnt that, in the past, the School Management used to expel or suspend any student caught in the act of stealing or convicted of stealing, which is a good way of punishing a thief! What we have today is protection of thieves, wrong doers and perpetrators! A surefire way to encourage evil and ruin a society! If a "laptop thief" is protected from having an unstable "personal academic calendar", then, what is the fate of an innocent final year project student whose laptop containing his/her project work is stolen?
Academic coma for an innocent? If a thief is shielded from having academic problems, who then should? Should an innocent victim of theft have academic problems? What should be the fate of an innocent student who relies on PDFs or soft copy materials for reading and his/her device is stolen? He/she should fail? All the best for him/her? No! He/she deserves a recompense, while Mr Thief also deserves his/her own recompense accordingly! Are you not following me? I hope you are getting my points. You are getting my analogy, right? Ok, shouldn't we choose a better method?
Two years ago, we caught Mr A stealing, we gave him SMS and paraded him, last year the same Mr A was caught, we did the same to him. "Ko tan sibe o", again,this year,he has been caught,he was beaten up and paraded! And he still deserves to remain a student walking freely on this campus while we keep losing our items to him/her? It is a universal taboo! "Awon aye o gbodo bawa gbo!" What is then the essence of punishment? Is it not to deter wrong doers? "If a thing can no longer serve its purpose, it does no longer deserve to be called its name" - Emitomo Abiodun
If a thief is protected from the punishment of theft, then who should suffer? A victim of theft? Those who are not thieves? That is where we went wrong!
In my own psychological understanding of students' nature, if not the greatest, then, at least, one of the greatest things students fear the most is an academic problem like suspension, expulsion, failure, repeat,carryover, etc.
If, in outside world people are jailed because of stealing, why can't a student be suspended for stealing? Students fear being sent home! Yes! They fear it!
Let's go back to the basis and stop just beating thieves only! They also need to be sent home to learn their lesson after beating them! Let their parents be invited, if necessary, the press should also witness it! The scolding and stigma they will experience at home is enough as a deterrent. Let's help their situation, beating and parading only cannot help them!
We have seen many paraded thieves who after a short period of time,started enjoying and romping around campus without any sense of shame. Who knows maybe they are even buying cheap fame and popularity with stealing! Your mere beating them has not help! Who your beating help sef?
I want to suggest that a student who is caught stealing for the first time should be suspended for a semester, the second time, he should serve one session term, and the third time, he should be expelled and never feature again on this campus! Why showing him all this mercy? There should always be a room for repentance! Perhaps, he did it for the first time because of poverty and hunger. But,if sent home for that reason,when he comes back, he will surely find a better alternative. Believe me, only an addicted thief will continue stealing in the face of suspension and awaiting expulsion! After investigation and beating, let the thieves be handed over to the Management for a suspension term! Enough of ineffective old method of scientific maximum shishi (sms) only!
Also, I want to call on the School Management, since the Students' Union has woefully failed in curbing or at least minimizing theft rate on our dear campus, the power to moderate theft cases should be taken away from it! Even if the SU would have one or two things to do on theft cases,its involvement should be minimal, and major decision like suspension, expulsion should be handled by the Management.
Furthermore, I also want to suggest that any caught thief should be hotly probed to the extent of getting his/her accomplices, especially, his/her buyers! If the buyers are known, we can easily recover our stolen items or at least their value in money . The thief's relatives can also be useful in this regard through the help of the judicial process in the law court.
In conclusion, I task all well meaning great Ife students who have seen one sensible point or the other in this writeup to kindly share and follow it up until it reaches appropriate quarters and its demands are implemented.
Cc:
The Vice Chancellor, OAU
The Dean of DSA, OAU
The Registrar, OAU
OAU Students' Union
All Great Ife Students
Emitomo Abiodun (NECESSITY™)
(08134583636 - WhatsApp/Call/Text)
Graduating Student of Department of Management & Accounting, OAU.


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