By Nurudeen Salako
Barely a week to go, Students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) will be trooping out to the polling station to exercise their enfranchise in electing who are to represent them at the students union level.
It would be recall that this election which was ought to be have been conducted in the previous academic session, specifically second semester was ‘suspended’ by the management due to ‘some reasons’ best known to them.
Indeed, students faulted the suspension of the election as of that time, according to them, that moment when the election was suspended was a crucial period they (students) needed to unio most in salvaging the Mapoly/Maustech crisis which erupted between the state government and academic staff union of the Polytechnic ASUP which grossly later affected not only the undue students examinations delayed but also undue stay at home with four month old strikes, thanks to black week protest.
Beyond the election being suspended, you would agreed with me that the last time we had a student union leaders elected and assumed office on campus was 2014/2015 academic session which brought in the then Glorious led administration into power, Although some students of that year ‘faulted’ the electioneering process for electoral malpractice and irregularities, as they do say that the rest is history.
The Glorious led administration would forever be remembered on Mapoly soil for mismanagement and embezzlement of students funds as it caused students more harms than expected, those who were in school then would get me better.
In spite of distrusts and regrets experienced from then Glorious led administration, there were some students who strongly believed that students union purpose could still be achieved.
Little wonder that the Usafat led Caretaker committee came on board to restore normalcy back to the students union on campus in the following year and this, of course, resulted to the management to lifted the ban laid on students union activities on campus that year.
Fast forward to the last students union election held in Mapoly, which I believe there are one thousand and one lessons for both the this year aspirants and the students union electoral committee SULECO must learn from to avoid the avoidable repetition of an embarrassing inconclusive election which we experienced the last time after students had endured long hours of queueing to vote.
As a campus journalists, having done a critical analysis and findings of what actually caused the inconclusive and controversial election conducted by the students electoral committee, these reasons was seen as the responsible factors for the unsuccessfulness of the hard earned election.
The success of that year’s election began to hit rock immediately the majority of students leaders then agreed to adopt electronic voting system (E-Voting), you ask me why? Yes! Because that environment then was not ready and can’t afford to go for E-voting simply because no one can guaranteed an error free and fair process of the election being the first of it kind in the school history, and even the fact remains that computers can be easily manipulated, little wonder some students after the election openly allegedly one of the students union presidential aspirants then popularly called SMS who happens to be a student of Computer engineering and the election venue was also in his department as being responsible for the manipulations by the virtue of his course of study.
As if that is not enough, the manifesto which was supposed to hold at a neutral ground for aspirants to come out and present their agenda to the electorates was held at the New Mass Communication building and this venue happens to be the ‘Home’ of the other presidential aspirants who is fondly called KOSOKO and what do you expect, He ‘won’ most of the audience which posits threats to the other aspirant.
Perhaps, SULECO committee may not have read meanings to all these and eventually it marred the whole electioneering process.
Findings reveals and evidently proved that aftermath of the election process that some aspirants loyalists had went online to posted some unauthorised and unauthentic election results earlier on the election day before the voting actually commenced. Believe me not, the results released online tally exactly with the announced results declared by the then SULECO chairman after the whole election and the question of credibility and fairness o the election remain unanswered even till now.
You ask me why all these analogy? It is to ensure that this ‘Only Hope’ students election should not only hold as scheduled but also to be generally regarded among students to a large extent as a free and fair election and you would all agreed with me that this can’t be achieved without allowing the campus journalists (PRESS CLUB MAPOLY) to play their role as not only an observer in checkmating any form of electoral malpractice during the election but to also independently allow them to discharges her responsibility as the fourth estate of the realm by serving as the watchdog even after the emergence of the students union executives without any form of interference.
On her part, The SULECO committee must realised that the success of this forthcoming election largely depend on them as an electoral umpire and this will be the most valuable treasure they can ever give all Mapoly students before they say goodbye to the school as their names will forever be boldly written in the sand of time.
Dear students union aspirants, the interest of the students which I believe is your priority which must have prompted the reason for your aspirations. Then, if that means we are on the same page, you would reason with me that elections results and fate should be determined by these same students who you want to administer and not your selfish interests to override the first call of duty, Students interest.
Students union aspirants, it is an open secret to you that your electorates (students) really needed some representatives to lend there voices at the management level in their own interest and this election is the "only hope" they believe that can bring solutions to their deficiency transportation system, undue harassment from security operatives, ensuring them better welfarism as students among other challenges facing the students.
Declaring this election inconclusive and welcoming it with undeserved petition will bring shame and hopeless to those students who must have endured a long hours queued under the sun just to elect who to ‘fight’ for their rights from the management and later read a shocking headline that after all their undeniable efforts put in, your personal interests rubbished them and make it fruitless. Personally, i will be left unhappy.
In conclusion, All stakeholders who are the electoral umpire SULECO committee, Students union aspirants, security operatives, Press Club Mapoly, and the most importantly students who all have roles to play before, during and after the election must ensure that they should not failed in discharging their duties and also work in conjunction as stakeholders to achieved the desired results which is a free and fair election.
Till I come your way again, I wish all mapaites a happy and successful election and they should never forget to come out in masses, those the eligible voters (ND 2 AND HND 2 FULL TIMERS) with their school fees receipts and examination pass or school identification card to vote for their choice and i pray our challenges which I won’t call problems shall be solved, hopefully with the emergence of our who will be new students union executives for the 2017/2018 academic session.
Nurudeen Salako is a student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and also the incumbent President of Press Club Mapoly 2017/2018 academic session.
