OPEN LETTER TO THE VICE CHANCELLOR, HIS BOARD OF ADVISORS AND THE UNIBEN COMMUNITY

After what has happened, a student decided to write a letter the authority of the University of Benin. Read.

It is quite disappointing that the Vice Chancellor of an institution who is at the apogee of administration is bereft of the minutest flicker of administrative ability.

However, it is only human to help those at the base of the ladder up the rungs. That's how the world get better. So, I will, in this article, help the Vice Chancellor realize some 'wise' steps you with your management team are taking in the wrong direction.

First, you, the VC and the council that brought about the increase in fees should be arrested and sued for insulting the poor and trying to monopolize education outright. Education is a right and not a privilege. The African continent is still behind lights today because the leaders have paid little or no attention to education. It is criminal and totally unjust for you to deny anyone his or her right. If education is a right, why make it impossible for the poor to get it? That is greed. It is a plot to have the children of the rich get education, which they can afford, and become rich also and the poor, as a result of their inability to acquire education, remain poor and serve the rich. In the University of Benin where you, Prof Orumwense, are the VC, cleaners earn less than N9,000 and have also not been paid in eight to ten months. If these people have hopes of getting their children to school, then they must sacrifice two years of their total savings, without feeding or spending on other things, to pay for just the acceptance and school fees which are also a way of stealing from the poor.

Mr Vice Chancellor, I think you should know also that when there is an imbalance in the social scale, there is bound to be conflict. The ones below will seek to be in parity while those above will want them to remain in their positions. This Marxist observation is one thing you should have known. Anyway, it's not too late to learn. When you oppress the poor with an I-don't-give-a-damn attitude, you expect arms to be folded or thrown between thighs without actions? The poor are not dumb. Also, I wonder what you expected of students you're training. If the people you say you're giving education were calm even in the face of injustice, won't you have been surprised? I would have counted you and the filth you give as education complete failure. Education is to liberate the mind and weigh matters objectively. That was what we did. When you decided to increase a hostel corner to N20,000, you stepped on the wrong path and students could not have kept calm. It is against what we are taught. I believe also that if you had a son in the hostel - which of course is impossible because he cannot share a toilet with over one hundred people and live with over 7 people in a small room like a poultry- he too would have joined in the fight.

A peaceful protest that even granted you audience suddenly became violent? How did you even think this out? Who are your advisors? Maybe you don't have any or they know nothing about diplomacy. How can you lock down a school after promising to grant their wish? You were even smiling during your speech. None harassed you. It's a pity the security personnel and porters whose children are part of the struggle are caught in a dilemma as they must secure their jobs. You ordered the hostels to be shut down. Who celebrates such madness? How can you issue an order by 4pm and tell students to evacuate by 6pm? Some of these people, same you called your children are from as far as Kaduna and you want them to leave, forcing them to sleep on the streets and endangering their lives. You say they are a threat to the school but forget that your inconsiderate decision is a threat to their lives.

Finally, it is very painful that you show us that what we are taught in school is irrelevant to us and the society. As a friend once said, A POORLY EDUCATED GROUP IS A DANGEROUS MOB. You included a course, Peace Studies and Conflict Resolutions, to the syllabi of the school and made it compulsory for everyone. Here is a little conflict that even a six year old kid can resolve but you chose a violent approach by ordering the Nigerian Army, Police and Civil Defense Corps to beat and arrest students. You feel threatened? That's just a blow below the belt.

I know it is very common with Nigerian universities to suspend students fighting for the truth but I won't be daunted by such threat. You MAY STOP THE MAN OF TRUTH, BUT YOU CAN NEVER STOP THE TRUTH IN A MAN.

Thanks.

Aluta continua, justa Costa victoria ascerta!