By Adnan Mukhtar
The National Association of Nigerian Students NANS, an umbrella of more than 30 million students in Nigeria was known to be a radical force in the fight against corruption, an agency for national construction, a critique of the National economy and foreign policy. NANS of yesterday was as radical as the mass labour movements not just in Nigeria but internationally.
I decided to write this article for the benefit of upcoming student leaders, as a final year student in the University, I have eleven months to graduate as a student. Immediately after my graduation, I promise to disengage from student politics not for any other reason but because of my integrity and my great contribution in the fight against corruption.
I see being in students Union while I am no longer a student, either a drop out or a graduate as a form of corruption. That is what is happening in students Union in Nigeria. There are dominated by old crooks and corrupt youths that happens to be non students especially NANS.
However, it is my hope that there will be a positive aftermaths of this article that would manifest in ideologically and politically strengthen the Students Union and a new NANS.
As I said earlier, I am writing this for the benefit of our younger generation that may finds interest in students Union, as I was told the radicalism of NANS and the role it plays towards the restoration of democracy and democratization of education during the military regimes in Nigeria, let me give my readers a brief historical analysis of NANS, a radical student movement that evolved as the most important voice for a democratic society and a democratic, accessible educational system funded and managed effectively.
The National Association of Nigerian Students NANS, was formed in July 1980 at a meeting of students representatives and activists across the country held at the Yaba College of Technology Lagos after the proscription and banning of the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) in 1978 by the Obasanjo regime, after a nation wide students unrest. The major objectives of NANS was encapsulated in the NANS charter of demand that was launched in December 1982. The charter of demands consists of the main objectives of NANS, it’s demands from the government and it’s constitutional doctrine as a guiding principle of how it operates.
The major objective is democratization of education at all levels, adequate funding of educational system from primary to tertiary level to the extent that every Nigerian has access to quality education.
The charter insisted that socio-economic justice and equality should form the basis of democracy.
NANS was a demonstration of youth radicalism, idealism and dogged commitment to an egalitarian society.
It is unfortunate that students Union of today and NANS have subjected to begging, mouthpiece and defendants of anti masses policies. Students are into NANS not only to fight for a just cause and the rights of themselves, but for materialistic gains. Holding meetings in expensive hotels and using huge amounts of money as a tool of winning elections.
Many of office aspirants in NANS are sponsored by government just to protect its interest and above all, if you are not financially stable, forget about NANS as delegates usually ask for money during elections. This is to show you how corrupt NANS is today.
I was worried when I saw this for myself in Gombe aborted 2016 NANS convention and the recent one conducted at old parade ground Abuja.
The aspirants for the presidential office have spent whooping millions just to clinch the presidential seat, if you see how money was spent by these aspirants and how desperate they are willing to win election, you will ask yourself that something is going wrong. One worst thing is that, it is happening under an administration that claims to be fighting corruption and mostly with support of the office of the special assistant to the president on youth and students affairs.
NANS have turned and changed from the radical stance it was known to inessentialism. NANS that was known to be an agency of National construction and it’s dogged resistance to Babangida’s structural adjustment programme has subjected itself to a critical mouthpiece of governmental policies either anti masses or not.
During the NANS convention of 2016 at Pantami stadium in Gombe, the federal government is doing it’s best to ensure the success of it’s own Aspirant Aruna Kadiri and even after it was aborted and an aspirant Chinonso Obasi who claimed to be from Ebonyi State University declared a faction, the government still ensured the emergence of it’s candidate Aruna Kadiri in the recent reconvened convention at old parade ground.
Both Kadiri, Chinonso Obasi and all the aspirants that contested are all claiming to be postgraduate students, some are in their early 40’s while the most youngest among them is Chinonso Obasi. I am doubting what a 40 year old is looking for as a student leader, most of the radical and left wing NANS leaders that we heard happens to be undergraduate students and that should be the tradition, it is not sensible to have a postgraduate student as NANS president when you compared the population of the undergraduate and that of the postgraduate. It looks as an incessant and unnecessary domination of right people.
I am sure, this will not happen in the NANS of yesterday, the radical students then will not allow and support this attitude.
NANS was known to have less involved itself from governmental affairs, it is unfortunate that the NANS we are currently having is fully involved and supportive to whatever policy the government has brought.
NANS was known in building alliances with some radical ideological movements like the progressive youth movement of Nigeria (PYMN) and Alliance of progressive students (APS) etc.
Today NANS, is a toothless bulldog to some unideological political parties in the country.
Upcoming student leaders need to know that the quest to rebuild NANS is a binding on them, NANS must be principled to it’s aims and objectives, the charter of demands should be amended and updated because of the current neo liberal policies in the country.
The upcoming students leaders should continue from where the radical former NANS leaders stopped, stick to its charter and aims and objectives, let them come into NANS with good intention of making the lives of students better.
The current happenings in NANS is a reflection of what is happening in Nigeria, problems of corruption, Alliance with governments and money mongering by students need to be addressed as the NANS we read about is not what we are seeing today. NANS has since turned to an inessential umbrella of Nigerian Students unless of it’s problems are addressed.
Adnan Mukhtar is the Secretary General of Northwest University, Students Council Kano. He was formerly a special assistant in NANS zone A. He wrote this article in December 2016 on his way to Kazaure, Jigawa State.
