All protocols duly observed,
It is with grieving sadness and submission to the will of God that I announce the untimely passing away of our amiable and gallant Senate President – Comr. Donald Onukaogu – and four other vibrant Nigerian Students – Comr. Jeremiah Sorkaa, Comr. Abdulazeez Oladimeji, Comr Japheth Duru, and Comr. Asa Ejieta – who passed away on their way to UNIUYO to intervene in the killing of students of the University on issues that could have been resolved amicably between the students and management of the institution. The sad incidence occurred at the early hours (07:30hrs) of 13th June, 2013.
Sequel to their unwarranted death caused by the lack of ambience between Management and Students on one hand and the inability of government to provide basic infrastructures across the Federation coupled with the trigger happy attitude of the Nigerian Police, whose duty is to restore peace and tranquility in matters of crisis, it is quite disheartening and very worrisome that the Nigerian Police have found a new penchant in ruthlessly killing unarmed and helpless Nigerian Students. In recent times and within a space of three (3) months we have lost sixteen (16) Nigerian Students to the recklessness of gun trotting Policemen. Why are we mourning the demise of our Comrades and brothers whose lives and benefits could have been useful to the sustenance of our polity, but cut short by the impatient brutish intervention of the Police principally saddled with the responsibility of securing lives and properties of citizens, maintaining peace and tranquility in our dear nation – Nigeria?
Since the killing of Kunle Adepeju at the Students’ protest on February 1971, our campuses have known no peace and we continue to ask why our leaders are murdered when we stand aside and watch even when we know that the cause(s) of their death could have been prevented if the authorities are resolute to be mutually tactical and peaceful in their quest for robust relationship that is devoid of degenerating into rancor and subsequent national losses.
In years past, we have witnessed the killings of Students and martyrs of the struggle at the “Ali must go” riots, the anti-SAP riots (1986), the Students’ massacre of 1997, the Moses Oisakede death, the accident of Comr. Ibile (ex-NANS VP) and 3 other Students’ Union Presidents (2012), the Nasarawa mayhem (2013) amongst other untimely deaths
of our futuristic comrades. At the height of Police brutality and inhumanity against the Nigerian Students, the Police murdered a very promising final year medical Student of the University of Benin and hurriedly buried him in an improvised grave to cover their evil deed. Just some 4 days ago, the police again unleashed their insatiable knack for the death of Nigerian students on the students of the Micheal Otedola College of Primary education, Epe, Lagos. Killing one Yusuf Balogun, and shooting another pregnant student who is still lying in critical condition in hospital. Earlier this year around April, a student of the Ekiti State University was gruesomely murdered by the same crop of uncultured Nigerian police. Kwara State Polytechnic was not spared in the barbaric shooting spree of the men in black, as another student was gunned down by them 3 weeks ago. The most painful part of all this is the often senseless denial of the Nigerian police about most of these extra judicial killings, instead of taking responsibilities. We are disillusioned to the fact that the Police and tertiary institutions Authorities relish in our loss with intent to disparage our unified struggle against administrative excesses.
Suffice that we glean from the recollections of the lyrics of legendary Michael Jackson who admonishes us to “Heal the World” and draws the juiciest milk from the breast of universal humanity. The Nigerian Police rather than stick to their already arduous duties of maintaining law, order and security have instead chosen to drown our educational system in a sea of sorrow by killing our fellow comrades thereby turning us into desert dwellers amidst flourishing forests. Several ancient wisdoms have become modern follies and brute force has again proven to be archaic and ineffective in quelling crisis. It is equally glaringly evident that the Nigerian Police do not care about the safety of Nigerian Students. For whilst they resort to the brazen use of force against Students even without any provocation, they hide miles away when Students are victims of aggression – the Aluu four in Port Harcourt, the Adamawa, Gombe, Borno, Yobe and Kano student massacres are classical examples – we are left wondering if the Police have become sworn enemies of the Nigerian Students. On the whole, this ghoulish chain of gloom and deaths visited upon the Nigerian students’ community was sparked-off by the anti-student stance of the Nigerian Police.
I want to charge all Nigerian Students on our campuses to now know that we have a common enemy and as such should channel their energies against this sole enemy – the Nigerian Police instead of killing ourselves. Let the warning knell be sounded with vivid clarity that no blood of any Nigerian Student spilled by the Nigerian Police will go undefended henceforth through violent means, as nobody, group of persons or organization has the monopoly of violence.
Sequel to the affirmation and consequent upon the irreparable maladies visited upon on the largest Union of black Students on earth by the intertwined acts of Administrative recklessness on the part of UniUyo and Police brutality in murdering a
Nigerian Student of the said UniUyo with subsequent cruelty of fate that claimed the lives of intervening NANS Officials, the leadership of Nigerian Students under my stewardship requires the following remediation with immediate effect:
The immediate passing of a National bill to ban the Police and/or other Security Agencies from intervening in Student/Management crisis on all campuses with the synergy tactics to resolve and move forward.
The immediate resignation of the Inspector General of Police- Alh. M.D Abubakar.
The immediate removal of the UniUyo Vice Chancellor who was unable to quell crisis on her campus that degenerated to a National loss
The immediate arrest, prosecution and sack of Policemen responsible for the killing of Students of UniUyo that led to the death of our intervening Comrades.
The immediate TOTAL overhauling of the Nigerian Police Force from the rank of inspector and below.
The immediate direct compensation of the families of the deceased UniUyo Student, the NANS Senate president and his dead colleagues by the Nigerian government.
A national apology from the Nigeria Police Force on the killings of Students nationwide.
Immediate unconditional release of the 44 UNIUYO students, and other students of the MOCOPED, Epe, Lagos who were arrested and detained by Police.
The immediate reconstruction of the Abia – Akwa-Ibom Federal highway that took the lives of our Student leaders, and the naming of same after the late senate president of NANS, comrade Donald Onukaogu.
The setting up of a national enquiry that will involve NANS on the root cause of the UniUyo crisis and how to avoid subsequent crisis on our campuses.
The highlighted demands are premised on our findings which revealed that:
The major cause of the degeneration of the UniUyo Students’ crisis was as a result of the forceful emasculation of the SUG President of UNIUYO by the management against the students he’s leading and the unwarranted invitation/incursion of the Nigerian Police Force which led to the killing of Kingsley Udoette, a 200 level zoology student of UniUyo.
The untimely death of the NANS Senate President and his four other co-travelers was secondarily occasioned by bad roads which have become death traps due to administrative negligence of maintaining the Federal roads. The road is an abandoned project of FERMA.
Without the obnoxious anti student policies of the UNIUYO authorities and the flagrant display of arrogance by the Vice Chancellor of the said University, culminating in the murder of Kingsley by the blood thirsty Nigerian Police, the Senate President of NANS and his team wouldn’t have embarked on the intervention voyage that claimed their lives.
Since the 1978 Nigerian Students national struggle for democratic action on education otherwise known as “Ali must go” is yet the most revolutionary struggle that has both intellectually emancipated and sociologically united the country up to date… We chastise the NLC, TUC and other Civil Society groups for not identifying with NANS at this trying and sorrowful period. I want to remind them that we are the bedrock of democratic sustainability in Nigeria, and we will remain as such irrespective of the distractive on-going redemptive efforts of the current leadership to clean the rots of divisiveness, factionalisation and corruption that was instituted in the organization in recent past by anti-student authorities.
We have issued a 7-day national mourning for our colleagues from Monday 17th June to Sunday 23rd June 2013 and we will bury our comrades who kept the flame of courage blazing even to the point of death. Burial arrangements for our fallen heroes has equally been released by the National Executive Committee of NANS earlier today having paid condolence visits to their respective families over the last few days.
We want to appreciate everyone who have stood with us at this trying period, most importantly the Honourable Minister of education, the Department of State security, the executive Governors of Abia and Ondo States, the SSA to the President of Nigeria on youth and Students matter, Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts who have condoled with NANS and the families of the deceased.
Finally, I want to use this medium to officially declare the Nigeria Police Force as the ENEMY NUMBER ONE of Nigerian students. All our students should also be at red alert, as it may become very imperative for us to equally defend ourselves against the excessive extra-judicial killings of our members by trigger happy policemen in Nigeria, if these killings should continue beyond this point. WE ARE CHILDREN OF SOME PARENTS TOO. THESE KILLINGS MUST STOP NOW. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
IS LA SAMPRE REVOLUTION, IS LA VICTORIA!
Comrade Yinka Gbadebo
President,
National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
