To God almighty belongs all victories. Let the falling rain bow to the trees leaves, prostrating to the greatness of the Creator.
To yesterday’s victory, we say cheers while we ice the toast of clinking glass cups for the inauguration session which is unknown for now — the date.
The students populace is predictably in two moods right now. Some whose cherished aspirants did not emerge would probably wear an ugly face, while those whose today’s cloud drizzles on their choice would have a heart that no horse would stumble on. They are elated and making merry to the successful completion of the long-awaited day and their win or wins, as they case may be.
However, when we eat, we shouldn’t forget our solemn promises.
Dear Mr. President-elect, I don’t know you enough, but I have got to know you by your words which are now inscribed on my chest like the epitaph on the tombstone of a writer, so memorable. Before, all I knew about you was that you’re a student as I am, but now you are a look-up-to leader representing our interest, the student populace, in whenever and wherever our matters are about to be ambushed by whoever whatsoever. You are now an umbrella which every student staggers to hide from the harsh and unfavorable weather condition.
Dear Mr. President-elect, no one rumored it to be that you promised uncountable things during your campaign and all that, but I have hand-picked where I felt the shoe pinches most students, where most students are thirsty and need to be quenched.
Dear Mr. President-elect, while defining the system of government you will be operating, you can be quoted to have said: “I will run the government of the student, by the students and for the students.” Well said, our own Abraham Lincoln. No one will frown at an all-inclusive system of government, you can be sure of that, even your opponents. But the tongue is fast in dishing delicious words while the body is pompous in diffusing sweat. I mean, it is easier said than done. And while a man is hungry for something, he promises heaven on earth. As a living witness, incorporating all the students in the system is not possible. However, your method to carry the students populace along, I would leave to you and your cabinet. I solely wish you well on that.
A Yoruba adage says, ”We can’t take the shape of nose away from the nose.” MAPOLY is marred with shortage in transport facility. Shortage in shuttle. Lacking in bus. From time immemorial have the students been lamenting lack of transportation. Fortunately, you promised a drastic change to drive the students out of this sunbathing stress they face due to the fact they decided to pursue their dreams but unfortunately they have to pursue buses first. In fact, every student has developed muscle in the struggling, pushing and jumbling for transportation. A kind of mundane madness. I pray you drive us safely away to a situation where buses queue at our doorsteps as we set out for school from our various locations. Drive us out, zoom!
To spit the spit once, Mr. President-elect, you tickled us, the students populace, to be on the lookout for renovation of dilapidated facilities in the school premises by consulting the concerned stakeholders to dialogue with them. We are on wild expectations as regards this. Meanwhile, I hope you discuss the state of our fish-pond road with the kindhearted Ogun state government.
Deliberately have I dropped this last in order to ask questions that would be in the mind of most students. Your dream of Digital Mapoly, how realistic is this? Is it achievable? Or just a sweet promise of bile? Incredible? No iota of doubt is embedded in these ponderous questions as we know that the world has gone digital, beyond the crawling developments we have here in this part of the world, Nigeria, while MAPOLY luxuriates in sleeping amongst other institutions in terms of going digital.
Catapult MAPOLY to the sky so that the mass of students’ shoes and skin won’t suffer on the road as a result of trekking here and there, taking files from one office to the other, sun drying in the sun like linens respectively. In countenance, you seem to be pained by the manual method MAPOLY is used to. Torch us with technological advancement. But then, can we know your planned methodology?
You are a great and a fanatic fan of dialogue, not protest. In bow will I again borrow from my people’s adage which goes thus: ìrònútó n do’ríàgbàkodò – The great grief which drooped the head of an elder, such is what the song of protest has become. In a light mood, some tenants may even resort to protest if mosquitoes bit them in their rooms. The landlord will be bitten as the owner of the house if care is disdained. I leave you, Mr. President-elect to be strategic in persuading the stewing “medulla oblongata” of the students whenever they want to go all out on protest.
In conclusion, Mr. President-elect, be the umbrella that we’ve expected you to be, the selfless leader. In your Aluta spirit, resist rubber-stamp system where the head is turned to tail and vice versa. I wish you well and I also wish we don’t spit and scold you after you leave office.
Thank you.
Quadri Yahya is an ND2 student of the Department of Mass Communication
