EKWURE: TIGER BY THE TAIL 005
“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.” –Aristotle
Some self-acclaimed unity advocates and self- anointed promoters of Igede interest had caused confusion again among National Union of Igede Students, as if causing confusion is their religion. You can call it a disrupted election or the election that changed its venue or a factional brouhaha. The Igede of this generation are wrestling with the earth left to them by their ancestors. Whether we like it or not, Igede society precedes any individual and the interest held.
Factual. Straight as an arrow, deadpan. Without mincing word, ‘EKWURE’ hope to says it as it is. I know, some self-styled moralist will complain- ‘this should be out of social media’, but will never realize that all the information analyzed are gotten from social media. Keep the comments coming; the good, the bad, the downright ugly, that is freedom of speech in action.
In an article on 9th January 2022 written by a renowned writer on his Facebook wall, he wrote and I quote, “If the investigation into the cause of that embarrassment is left to sleep under the carpet, then I’m afraid of the kind of leaders these youths will grow to become tomorrow” Ogbu Hardy 2022.
Youths are the evolvers of economic, social, political, and cultural transformation and the drivers of change. The practice of use-and-dump of youths in pre-and post- election is a recurring phenomenon in Igede land. The secret may be out with time, but the question remain- what is our interest in causing confusion among youth bodies?
Let me explain to you what I think about ‘NUIS’ every day, every hour, and every minute! I see great hope and opportunity- but; the pain after the ‘but’ is too great and better imagined than experienced. The greatest proof of Igede Youth survival and aspiration must be to model, wherever they stand, the ethos of innovation, excellence, ingenuity, and ability that marked the Igede endeavor and values. There is no single proof or evidence today that the Igede Youths of this generation are capable of transforming Igede nation to which they lay claim. I have looked; I have studied the recent situation and the previous crisis in the youth bodies and I have listened to some youths, and I think something is fundamentally wrong: we are trapped in a deadening hate, selfishness, greed and early Agbada- wearing. It is the kind of nostalgia that is both defeatist and deadly because it continues to romanticize the past while the future speeds away. Youth-led leadership and participation in Igede land has been below average, whether we chose to believe it or not. We must urgently look inward and find a solution to this mess- the availability of everybody to be used for ignoble purposes.
Perhaps a fair insight into what happen will raise the following questions:
Why are youth elections in Igede never crises-free? Is the problem internal or external?
If external, how powerful are they that the youth moral strength cannot withstand?
How much is offered that is worth sacrificing the organization for or are the leadership without principles?
To be specific about the NUIS recent election, let me state unconfirmed and unverified speculations flying in the air about what happened. A section of Igede believed- subject to confirmation anyway. That:
The selection of the electoral committee in a first place was compromised.
One of the candidate was anointed by a self-style business mogul and another by a Politician.
It is faintly related to IYC and INYCN struggle for supremacy.
The outgoing Executives jumped protocol and undermine security instructions.
The due procedure for securing venue was not followed.
There is a division within the ranks of the Patrons and BOT.
The mishandling by the Police was as a result of flouted order and not because of election, while others believed they acted on an order of a certain leader.
The movement of election venue from Oju to Obi and subsequent hurried handover was impulsive, manipulative and a fulfillment of the laid down script.
Most of the youth leaders are aware of all the drama, that was why none of them responded promptly and meaningfully to the SOS call by Comrade Ogbu Hardy two articles.
Despite alleged unfair treatment of the students by the Police, none of the two Local Governments Chairmen of Oju and Obi felt it is necessary to know what actually happened.
It is about who is superior within the ranks of the ‘Unity forum’ that duplicated in Oju and Obi.
It is all about the grand plan for 2023 and who holds the wooden part of the knife.
Self- righteousness and pride can be destructive, because it creates distance between ourselves and others and can lead to intolerance or even violence. May God deliver NUIS, so that we don’t have factions as we have in other youth organizations. Must we cause confusion everywhere as if it is our religious obligation?
Ona Kingston
14th January 2022
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