Years back, the concept of Aluta has been used widely in Nigeria by students and activists. The leaders of Nigerian students’ union bodies utilized this phrase at every instance to drive home their points and during the course of their agitations.
Protests, and other moves to demand for the rights of Nigerian students are termed as “Aluta”. It is the motto of all Nigerian students’ unions across all academic institutions of higher education.
Mostly phrased as ‘Aluta Continua! Victoria Ascerta!’ in full, Nigerian student leaders also lay a claim that they originate in Aluta Republic and their President claims to be the Commander-in-Chief of Aluta Forces.
Aluta as a common slogan has earned the students leaders lots of innumerable victories which is usually a form of an intellectual course and legal fight between various institutions, or with a particular government in power.
Sadly, it is regrettable that the sacrosanct integrity and bonds of Aluta have been sold out with tokens by the crops of leaders we have now.
They tend to lose their focus and forget the foundational rights and the purpose behind the formation of the body.
Most of the Aluta campaigners and comrades are now being used as puppet by the school management, not only them, but to political office holders, either elected or appointed respectively servants to a political appointees, they lack self reliance.
Nowadays, you hardly see union leaders who clamour for his peoples right and interest without failing to channel their calls, but still comeback to betray the trust and mandate of his people by shouting “Aluta Continua, only after receiving a sided ‘corner aza wire’.
How do we get to sell our conscience so easily?
This, in turn changed the volte ideas of the power the union bodies have when individual students link Aluta positions, to that of Aboki robbers that take to the street for alms begging (Bambiala).
Once a new President is elected or appointed by the students to take the lead in a particular institution, his first assignment is to assemble his cabinet or entourages and discuss the way forward on how they can meet up with the students’ need and how they can make the academic arena more comfortable for study and coexistence.
Sadly, the reverse is the case as they rather start to mastermind how they can use that prestigious office to meet their sole needs from the so called office holders or political appointees.
There is no gainsaying that this is where the union body is eaten raw by cankerworms that orchestrate the failures of the primary aims – which is to fight for the rights of the students.
From there, they begin to visit offices to present plethora of awards to weaklings whose performance or way of governance are rated highly poor, and in most cases, all for token.
Now can you ever demand legally from this same man your right again?
Can you ever air and defend your opinions over his assertive discretions?
The bitter answer is NO.
Freedom sold for tokens may never be reclaimed even when there is billions and trillions of money for it.
– Comrade Abdullahi Hamza
Chief Press Secretary, NAES, Former SUG Media and Publicity (KSP)
