Great Ife Students’ Union Executives Have Betrayed The Struggle – SRC Member

A Great Ife Students’ Representative Council member, has accused the executive cabinet of the Great Ife Students’ Union of betraying the struggle [protest] aimed at curtailing the ongoing three-month Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU industrial action that has crippled academic activities across federal universities.

The accusation was contained in a Facebook post made by one of the members of the Students’ Representative Council, Sumbade Jnr, who wrote that they (the union) sold out the struggle for monetary gain.

According to him, “In my life since I started students’ struggle, I’ve never cried before, but the Great Ife Students’ Union Reform led administration, made me cry today because they sold out the struggle, because of useless monetary gain.”

While interrogating Sumbade Jnr, he stressed the bribery allegation posed towards the union executive officers which amounted to the futility of the students’ demonstration said, “Definitely, they were bribed, because if they were not, when today we were supposed to stage a protest and to send our message to the state government that we are angry, they failed to do that. And even when the bribery allegation came up, the president and other excos could not deny it, even up till now, silence means acceptance in this case.”

Quizzing another student parliamentarian, Agboola Bukunmi said the Union executive leaders’ position during the protest “is more like” they betrayed the struggle by kicking against the protest which was meant to hold yesterday [Thursday], which could have paved way for engaging Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State while barricading his escorts after the student protesters perceived he would be journeying through the highway on Thursday.

Meanwhile, there has been a widespread rumour that the union executive council members were bribed with the sum of N250,000 by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, after a visit to his palace with a motive to hinder the continuation of the protest.

The Public Relations Officer of the Students’ Union, Ogunperi Taofeek Olalekan, debunked the bribery allegation in a press release published in the early hours of Friday, by saying, the Ooni didn’t pay them any N250,000 to end the protest.

According to the release signed by Ogunperi Taofeek, “The leadership of the Union would like to disclaim all allegations of foul play suspected that it has introduced to the #EndASUUStrike struggle. The meeting with Ọọni, as contained in a release earlier sent, was not “to sell the struggle.” The Union officers did not indulge themselves in any act to sell the struggle.

It was learnt that students of Obafemi Awolowo University commenced their protest last week Thursday before the Union leaders also came into the scene on Tuesday to throw their weight behind the #EndASUUStrike demonstration which spanned through Ife town and its major highways.