ERC Reporters
“On my way to this meeting, I saw the APC Lagos State
Government distributing pepper-grinding machines to women. Yes this is a “dividend
of democracy… But something came to my mind and I started wondering… if my
mother were to be fortunate enough to be given a pepper-grinding machine, how much
pepper would she grind before saving enough to pay my school fees in LASU?”
This comment by a LASU student captures the strong mood
against the obnoxious fee regime in Lagos State University at the Public
meeting on the crisis rocking the University organized by the Education Rights
Campaign (ERC).
 |
| HT Soweto ERC National Coordinator |
It would be recalled that the university was shut down
indefinitely over the protest that broke out over the demand for the re-opening
of the registration portal for students that failed to meet up with the
registration deadline before the examinations. While the university management
as well as the Lagos State government has begun a campaign of calumny against
the protesting students some in the media and civil society playing a willful
ally in a conspiracy of silence on the true side of the students’ agonies. The
public meeting organized by the ERC is to rally the new forces that have just
entered the struggle arena with the aim of renewing discussions on how to take
the struggle forward.
 |
| Nurudeen Yusuf (Optimist)President-Elect LASU Students Union |
Keye Ewebiyi, a former General Secretary of the Students ’ Union
of the University and a member of ERC, who chaired the meeting, commended the Executive-elect
of the LASU Students’ Union including the President and the Public Relations
Officer for making the meeting. Hassan Taiwo Soweto, the National Coordinator
of the ERC in his opening speech underlined the fee hike in LASU as the root of
the present crisis in the university and argued for the need to raise clear
demands on the reversal of the fee hike, non-payment of damages, non-victimization
of students and increase in the budgetary allocation to LASU by the Lagos State
Government with a democratic control of education workers and students.
 |
| Participants at the meeting |
The President-elect, in his speech, placed the blame of the
crisis that broke out in the university on the Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Obafunwa based on his highhandedness. Pelad (member of DSM National Executive
Committee of the Democratic Socialist Movement and the National Mobilization of
the Joint Action Front (JAF), in his solidarity speech, raised the possibility
of defeating the fee hike through collective mass mobilization.
Olajide and Tunde John, who are both members of the LASU
Alumni challenged the current students of the university and their Union to
resist the obnoxious fee regime as the former fees were a product of past struggles.
Fawale Segun and Onikoro Adeyemi, who are parts of the 1,292 students affected
by the closure of the registration portal, disclosed to the meeting their
preparedness to mobilize other affected students for further mass actions, which
the ERC and the Students’ Union should be prepared to lead.
 |
| Onikoro Adeyemi, Chairman, SAVE LASU CAMPAIGN Committee set up at the meeting |
It was resolved that an online petition rejecting the
resolutions of the Lagos State House of Assembly should be drafted and put on
the social media (especially the Facebook) with a campaign ash-tag on Twitter #SAVE
LASU. The meeting also elected an eleven-member SAVE LASU Campaign Committee
with Onikoro Adeyemi as Chairman. The meeting
resolved to convene again on Saturday February 8, 2014 with the aim of
organizing a press conference on Wednesday February 12, 2014 and to fix a date
of protest march on the Lagos State House of Assembly to submit the petition
rejecting the resolution of the Lagos State House of Assembly on the crisis.
 |
| One of LASU Students |
The meeting ended on a renewed mood to fight the attacks of
the APC–led Lagos state government and a desperate search among young people
for a genuine political alternative. Two copies of the new ERC pamphlet, LASU:
A Crisis Foretold, were sold as well as two copies of the Marxist
literature on sale with some students showing interest in joining the DSM and
ERC. A sum of N770 was realized as struggle fund. 23 people attended the
meeting and dispersed with a strong resolve to mobilize more students and
members of the public for the next meeting.
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