NANS Conventions: Experiences and recommendations to avert post-election protests, crisis, and factionalization

By S.A. Lukman AiG

Today, I will dwell on my personal experiences as well as offer my recommendations based on my views.

Since I commenced writing about NANS lately, I have received a lot of calls, with many commending and attesting to the accuracy and factual content of my narrations, while some fault my actions, claiming it’s denting the image of NANS in public.

However, my belief is that until a thing is acknowledged as flawed, it cannot be repaired. Our organization is deteriorating, and we must cry out for help so it can be fixed.

We can’t continue with post-election crises. In the past, it was man-to-man; these days, it’s man-to-machete and gun. Who knows what tomorrow will bring if we don’t cry out for redress to end the major causes of these issues.

Hence, I will be narrating identified challenges, which cumulate the fraud and fraudulent acts in the Convention alongside my recommendations to address them base on my personal experiences, The incumbent leadership of NANS led by Comr. Lucky Emonefe and Comr. Akinteye Babatunde can consider them if worthy, just as Late President Umar Musa Yaradua once acknowledged during an interview after the 2007 General Election that, “the election that produced me as President, ‘I know is not 100% credible, but I promise Nigerians that I will improve the system and give Nigeria a credible election when I am leaving office.'”

Now to the subject for today, I have attended at least 10 NANS National Conventions, including the one I contested for President of NANS in 2018.

Some identified process challenges, which the new constitution tried delivered by Asefon led NANS leadershipaddress some, yet other persist.

I mentioned the year I contested and declared the resuscitation of NUNS in protest of my perceived cheating and other irregularities that marred the 2018 Abuja NANS convention that produced Bamidele Akpan. So my reader will understand that I have suffered the same fate as Pedro Chibuzo Obi and others who might have been victims of NANS convention or any other student body convention conspiracy theories. Just that I have never benefited from the conspiracy but Pedro had did like 2 occasions and instances which I mentioned in my last episode.

I am unlucky in that aspect. The one I could have benefited from was NAPS convention 2014, where I was declared the winner of NAPS PRESIDENCY at Fed Poly Offa National Congress turned Convention, but the NANS President at that time, Tijani Usman Shehu , never liked my face. He didn’t want me near NAPS leadership again by all cost, so he ensured it was cancelled using DSS and some stakeholders of NAPS to get me arrested and compelled to anmounce nullification of the election that produced me as president of NAPS that year with new convention arrangment to be anmounce later being outgoing senate president of NAPS that was the condition for my freedom at DSS Headquarters Abuja after Hours of drilling.

As outgoing Senate President then, NAPS constitution empowers only NAPS Senate to call for convention because CPC was never in volke that period, so I announced a fresh election will hold, annulled my election as President and revert back as Senate President of NAPS, the rest is a story.

We fix Akure for the first Reconvened Convention, it was aborted at peak of clashed of interest, we fix Lokoja for second reconvene Convention, I had to pull out by withdrawing from the contest as it was obvious I couldn’t survive the conspiracy, except we burst the Convention again or I declare factional leadership, which my dear brother, friend and chief of staff then, Comr. Mohammed Eneji Eni 1, have advised and we agreed, even before we moved to Lokoja, the venue of the 3rd Convergence convention that very year, 2014 NAPS convention, that whatever the outcome, we shall take it in good fate and never declare faction if it didn’t come our way.

So as we got to Lokoja, coincidentally, the home state of then NANS president who was supporting Comr. Adeyeye Olugbenga Pilot for NAPS President, he took charge of everything, deployed men to take over the arena, so as a Jew, I just respected myself, heeded to the word of my boss Comr. Bazlur-Rahman Adekunle Agboola Raymond King, and followed the path of honor by announcing my withdrawal even before informing my chief strategist and boss leader Wolimoh Olajide Epe of my decision to back out.

Now to the challenges and Recommendations:

1. DURATION OF NANS CONVENTION: It’s not healthy nor convenient for regular and legitimate undergraduate academic students, among whom SUG Presidents are elected, to participate fully in the NANS convention up to voting day, except they forfeit some academic activities and leadership responsibilities back in school. Student conventions shouldn’t exceed a weekend so everyone can resume back on Monday for academic activities. But in the case of NANS convention, in recent years, the minimum duration is one week, sometimes exceeding seven days. The implications of this dragging on the integrity and credibility of the convention are enormous. Aside from the fact that it gives room for non-academic and commercial student leaders to take charge of delegate tag as legitimate union president return back to their various institution once the 3 days permissions approved by school authority exceeded according to invitation released by CPC, it discourages legitimate union presidents from participating in other NANS functions for the year, except those with zeal to follow up on national struggle after their era as SUG President.

RECOMMENDATION:

NANS convention should be scheduled with NANS NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS CONFERENCE, where past and incumbent leaders of the movement will arrive much earlier, converge and deliberate on issues of common interest, and establish alliances and align interests during the week before SUG Presidents are requested to arrive on Friday for elections to be held Saturday through Sunday morning, for them to depart by Monday morning at the latest.

2. ACCREDITATION PROCESS: Although the new constitution addresses this matter to some extent, it’s not fully resolved. With the introduction of a clause giving a timeframe and deadline for accreditation by the chief accreditation Officer (ASG), who often holds the process to ransom, sometimes unnecessarily, as 48 hours from the arrival date upon which he stands dissolved, with CPC and zonal coordinators taking over the responsibility, it seems not enough to address this challenge. More needs to be done to ensure accreditation is almost completed far before arrival since we are in the digital age where communication using the network is much easier.

RECOMMENDATION:

ASG, through zonal coordinators, who in turn through Joint Campus Council (JCC), sends accreditation forms to all SUG Presidents a month before the election. A form that will require details of SUG Presidents, including his or her passport photograph duly signed and stamped by the Dean of Student Affairs as confirmation of the SUG President with a signature. These forms should be submitted back through email to the ASG office, which in collaboration with zonal coordinators, who are also statutory members of the accreditation committee, commence stage 1 verifications in such a way that Zone A Coordinator is given Zone E entries to verify while Zone E entries are given to Zone C coordinator to verify, and so on.

After this, the ASG commences the last stage verification on his own for all entries from the six zones, which shall be considered final verification. By a week before the election, the display of accredited institutions and SUG Presidents (Delegates) will be published, Zone by Zone, with the photograph and basic details.

This will give room for contestants who have visited institutions on campaign to confirm the authentication of the SUG President published for each institution. If different from who is supposed to be, a complaint will be raised and addressed before the date. This will not only make the deal day accreditation process easier and faster, but it will also forestall the infighting and clashes we often experience during accreditation when groups clash on who to ‘Toronto’ which school that is absent or resolved to be impersonated at the Convention.

3. ACCREDITATION LIST: This should be fixed and consistent, unless there is establishment of new Government Institutions which will be accredited after three years of successive student Union Government existence in the institution before eligible to participate in NANS convention.

Review of accreditation list should not be every year. That makes the list compromised easily. Newly established institutions and their unions should observe for a certain period of three years before being accredited to vote or be voted for.

RECOMMENDATION

A minimum of three years should be the benchmark for revalidation and reaccreditation of institutions by NANS.

4. NANS AND NANS NATIONAL CONVENTION FUNDING AND OBLIGATIONS TO BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE AS INSTITUTIONS AND MANDATE TO QUALIFY TO BE VOTED FOR AS ASPIRANTS.

Over the recent years, no consistent financial obligations from local Unions (SUG) to the National body NANS. This further made NANS dependent on government support for convention logistics and support.

Very few institutions that pay capitation ends in selected stakeholders’ pocket. This has handicapped the association and turned NANS into a begging movement at every transition period.

RECOMMENDATION:

Upon filling the Accreditation Form for the annual National convention by Student Union Presidents, evidence of payment into NANS Central ACCOUNT, the mandatory annual due/Capitation fee should be attached. Only institutions that pay should be eligible to vote and be voted for.

Part of the fund can finance the Convention independently, while the remainder can be handed over to the new Executive to take off the administration.

5. OPEN VOTE BUYING AND DELEGATE FINANCIAL INDUCEMENT.

Recently, it has become a norm that aside from the seating allowance often given to Senators/Delegates at NANS CONVENTIONS by CPC, leading aspirants give envelopes of money to delegates to lobby them for votes.

RECOMMENDATION

This should be disbanded, and only official seating allowance should be allowed inside the Convention ground, with grave punishment for any aspirant found guilty, such as automatic disqualification and cancellation of all votes received in such an election.

6. THUGGERY AND VIOLENT TENDENCIES AT CONVENTION GROUND.

The mobilization of thugs and cultists to Convention is born out of a push to secure force to resist any form of cheating and oppression by other opponents. When a level plain ground is guaranteed, the mobilization of ERUKU will drop as only intellectuals will be needed to woo delegates.

RECOMMENDATION:

Provide an Agent form for each aspirant to nominate 1 agent each to monitor and supervise the process, as aspirants are no longer needed to be present during voting, as the new ballot system introduced by the new constitution completely writes off the act of standing with placards carrying Number Tags by aspirants during voting.

7. POST-ELECTION PETITION AND RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE.

NANS has advanced beyond an organization that won’t establish mechanisms to address internal crises arising from elections. Any infraction with evidence should attract action, including nullification of such elections, while bye-elections are conducted at Senate meetings. The act of no statutory committees to look into reservations and complaints of contestants/aspirants after the convention made the declaration of faction as a major option for aggressive contestants who lost elections on the insinuation of being robbed, manipulated, and defrauded.

RECOMMENDATION:

The Senate of NANS should enact the NANS Election Act, a special law to govern the conduct of NANS conventions, providing for a Post-Convention/Election Petition and Recommendations committee, which shall have two weeks to see to every complaint emanating from contestants at the Convention. They shall act accordingly by issuing certificates of return to those confirmed winners afterwards and declaration of cancellation of those proved to be rigged, while bye-elections hold at the first Senate meeting of the administration.

Above are my recommendations born out of my personal observation and experiences.

I hope I have justified the request of many who ask that I recommend solutions and not just narrate the problem.
Peoplesmind