-By Abdul Mahmud
Kabiru Mohammed’s rejoinder, ‘’Re-delusion: Dino Melaye and The New Activism’’, is a sad commentary on the state of our tertiary education. Reading his grammatically-challenged piece, Kabiru Mohammed brimmed with such ignorance and stupidity that left me utterly bewildered. Much as I have sympathy for him, I am gravely worried about the future of a nation that consciously mis-educated his generation. This piece is not a sadistic analysis of Kabiru Mohammed’s education nor is it one that seeks to make a caricature of him. Whilst I empathise with him, I enjoin him to be humble to admit his stupidity and ignorance.
In his unintelligent piece, Kabiru makes outrageous claims. My initial temptation on reading his piece was to ignore his claims and move on to addressing important issues of our polity. But, it would be defeatist of knowledge to allow his kind to unfurl falsehoods and untruths as totems of worship, or to allow pathological liars, or those the renowned French historian, Joseph de Maistre once described as ‘’la secte’’- ‘’all those who throw dust in the eyes of the people’’- or seek to pull wool across the eyes of consumers of knowledge-to pass themselves off as the purveyors of truth.
Therefore, I find it historical important to scrutinise Kabiru Mohammed’s claims and to expose them for what they are: falsehoods.
Falsehood 1: ‘’ In order to put the record straight for posterity purpose that, (sic) I Tijani Kabiru Mohammed never started or began the decadence era of the state capture of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)’’(sic).
Fact: Right, let’s assume Kabiru’s tenure didn’t signal the death of progressive students politics, at least his factional presidency represented a significant aspect of the decadent era of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that began in 1994 when right-wing elements sponsored by General Abacha and actively supported by pseudo leftists and renegades of the Democratic Socialist Movement captured that organisation at its annual convention held at the Obafemi Awolowo University.
Falsehood 2: ‘’it is on record that …during Olusegun Mayegun regime (sic) he was (sic) invited to Jos. (sic) Plateau state Military state Military Junta where he had an hand shake and dinner with the then Number 2 man of Nigeria, Rear Admiral Aikhomu a military jinta that the ideological base of the leftist you claimed to’’ (sic)
Fact: Rubbish. It’s idiotic to describe Segun Mayegun as a hireling of the then military junta of General Babaginda. That he shook hands with Rear Admiral Aikhomu, so what? I was at that April 1992 ‘’Conference on the Future of Higher Education in Nigeria’’ organised by the then Minister of Education, late Professor Babs Fafunwa at the University of Jos. Late 1991, shortly after my release from Kirikiri prison, I was invited by the military junta to deliver a paper at the said conference which I declined for the following reasons: first, I demanded that all students who were expelled following the May 1991 national protest for the funding and democratisation of education in Nigeria be recalled; secondly, that the criminal charges of arson and attempted murder filed against me, Kayode Ogundamisi and eleven student activists of the University of Jos at the Miscellaneous Offences and Military Tribunal sitting in Jos be dropped; and lastly that my colleague, comrade and friend, Kayode Ogundamisi who was languishing in Jos Prison at the time be released. The military junta stuck to their guns. And in April 1992, Olusegun Mayegun, who took over from me in January 1992 at the University of Calabar, stormed the conference at the University of Jos to demand that the conference proceedings be halted. With over fourteen thousand Great Jossites mobilised for a showdown with the military junta, the state-sponsored delegates to the conference insisted that there would be no conference WITHOUT the participation of leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). For Nigerian students, it was a moral victory wrought from the crucibles of struggle. A conference that was designed to meet the set objectives of the ruling military junta was turned against it. No thanks to Abdul Mahmud, Olusegun Mayegun, Professor Anthony Olusanya (then President of Lagos State University Students Union), Kayode Ogundamisi and Steve Aluko whose rousing speeches moved the table against the enemies of our students.
That Olusegun Mayegun was duly recognised and invited to the high table by the representative of the same military junta that banned the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is today a testimony to the courage of that generation of student leaders and activists. Let me add that three weeks later, Mayegun led a national students protest against attempt by IBB to remove oil subsidy. That singular act of bravery fetched Olusegun Mayegun a place in Kuje Prison, alongside our heroes: late Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, late Beko Kuti and Baba Omojola and I was then saddled with the responsibility of moving across Nigeria as the immediate past president of the organisation to mobilise against his arrest and subsequent trial. Beat that Kabiru Mohammed and eat your words!
Falsehood 3: ‘’I met Dino Melaye in 1993 when I was newly admitted into Ahmadu Bello University and he has been a man of his own who had his political and social followers, in 1999 when I became the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, then the likes of Victor Arokoyo…. brought up a proposals (sic) for partnership’’…
Fact 1: Victor Arokoyo, named by Kabiru Mohammed, posted the following to Kabiru Mohammed’s Facebook wall: ‘’I was never part of any deal to make you work with Dino group. I don’t know what group you are talking about…I can testify that Dino’s active participation in NANS started after the death of Moses with his appointment as ASSISTANT by the NANS Acting President, Kabiru Tijani Mohammed. I remember vividly that Dino had the largest ID ever to display his post. Dino knows himself and some of us also know him well irrespective of the attempt to reconstruct history by Kabiru ’’.
Fact 2: Kabiru Mohammed and Dino Melaye were simply professional students; and with poor economic backgrounds they took to mercantilist students’ unionism to survive the harsh university environment. If both were freshmen in 1993, what were they still doing at the Ahmadu Bello University in 1999?
Falsehood 4: What record of my incarceration do you have? I challenged (sic) you for this and if in doubt ask Steve Aluko about myself, Aminu Mahmud, Salihu Lukman’’….
Fact: Kabiru is a name-dropper. The Aminu Mahmud he referred to in his rejoinder is me. Having studied the history of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and mastered the names of some of its leaders, he simply forgot that my full names are Abdul Aminu Mahmud. So, how could he have known me when he gained admission into the Ahmadu Bello University three years after I had left the university and had become a lawyer? Only a liar can look into the past and make such outrageous claim.
Since my piece appeared last week I have received calls, texts and emails from younger activists who were angered by my selective naming of those I marked out as true activists of yesterday. I am grateful to them for providing clarity to some of the issues I have raised here and helping to situate the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) post-1994 within proper historical perspective and context. True, the progressive movement recovered from the state sponsored defeat it suffered in Ife in 1994 and rebounded with its 1995 convention at Ago-Iwoye where the first and only female NANS president emerged. For the records, I am setting out here the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) from its inception in 1980. I am doing this for two chief reasons: firstly, to situate Nigerian students movement, post-the 1978 the Ali-Must-Go students protests within its ideological and progressive context; and secondly, to provide historical aid to younger students activists of today who yearn to have the past as guide to their future activist endeavours. The list is as follows:
National Association of Nigerian Students of Progressive Activists (1980-1994):
a. Tanimu Kurfi, Interim Chairman (1980/1981)
b. Chris Mamah, first elected President (1981/1982)
c. Late Chris Abashi, President ( 1982/1983)
d. Lanre Arogundade, President (1983/1984)
e. Emma Ezeazu , President (1984/1988)
f. Salihu Lukman, President (1988/1989)
g. Opeyemi Bamidele, President (1989/1990)
h. Abdul Mahmud, President (1990/1991)
i. Olusegun Mayegun, President (1992/1993)
j. Nasiru Kura, President (1993/1994)
The era of state capture of the National Association of Nigerian students (NANS) effectively began in 1994 with the Denis Inyang-leadership, and the years of intense struggles waged by the progressive left students movement between 1995 and 1999 which led to the factionalisation of the organisation elicited scant respect for the reactionary movement that became increasingly active following the unbanning of the National Association of Nigerian Students late 1993.
National Association of Nigerian Students of Reactionary faction (1994-2000):
1. Denis Inyang, President (1994/1995)
2. Baba Kasala, President (1995/1996)
3. Oludare Ogunlana, President (1997/1998)
4. Bashir Abdullahi (1997/1998)
5. Late Moses Oisakede/Kabiru Mohammed, Presidents (1998/2000)
National Association of Nigerian Students of Progressive faction (1994-2000):
1. Comfort Idika, President (1995/1996)
2. Ropo Ewenla, President (1996/1997)
3. Ujor Suleman, President (1997/1998)
4. Ken Henshaw, President (1998/2000)
Finally, in 2000, both factions of the National Association of Nigerian Students were united at the Port Harcourt Unity Convention which produced the reactionary leadership of a certain Philip Shuaibu and from there on the organisation began its rapid descent into utter abyss. The claims of connection of Kabiru Mohammed and Dino Melaye to the radical progressive tendency within the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) are neither supported by historical facts nor affirmed by the testimonies of witnesses of that era. Kabiru Mohammed in his rejoinder confessed his connection to the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). Let’s read him: ‘’In 1995 Mohammed Kazalla came up with a programme at the first senate meeting of NANS… that sail through (sic) and it was implemented that gave room for the entire Nigerian students to participate in the National Youth Summit that brought the leadership of NANS to the military junta at the International Conference Centre in 1995’’. If any student leader romanced with Ibadan politicians like Elder Oyelese and Ariseokola who he mentioned in his rejoinder, it was his own ‘’Senior Comrade’’ Oludare Ogunlana who led a NANS faction from the University of Ibadan. Kabiru Mohammed wrote about the ‘’ARAFAT’’programme that unabashedly defended the commercialisation of education. Contrast with the NANS Charter of Demands that Comfort Idika who in the same year actively campaigned against the commercialisation of education. Progressive struggles are built on historical landmarks. Intriguingly, yesterday’s landmarks do not bear the footprints of impostors like Dino Melaye and Kabiru Mohammed.
Follow me at my twitter handle @Abdulmahmud1
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