Can Tobun Take LASUSU Out Of Its Wilderness?
This past Tuesday, the LASUSU community welcomes a new set of leaders, and we can only hope for the best.
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Thirty-four years and counting...
Thirty-four years, we've wandered this rugged, thorny wilderness of student unionism. Thirty-four years, and on its golden altar, we've served day after day, burnt the incense of passion, and kindled the blazing fire of "A luta". Thirty-four years, and we've had our own fair share of failures. Thirty-four years, and uwe've had our own fair share of successes. Egypts, we've escaped; Red Seas, we've crossed; Sinais, we've climbed; manna, we've fed on; quail, we've had the luxury of but trust me, we still haven't reached Canaan. Trust me, we still haven't reached the promised land.
However, despite our seeming haplessness, the past thirty-four years have seen countless individuals shown great courage and grit, and take up the mantle of leadership. The past thirty-four years have seen countless individuals dare to spearhead operations and try leading us to that seemingly illusive promised land. And today, another group of individuals begin their leadership quest. This past Tuesday, the LASUSU community welcomes a new set of leaders.
Of course, moments like this are naturally characterised by celebrations, congratulatory messages, and catchphrases signalling the beginning of a new dispensation— a new dawn. But alas, we need not become soaked up in the euphoria of this moment. We need not become too enamoured with festivities and get distracted from the very essence of this new phase. We need to have, foremost in our thoughts, the gravity of what this moment entails. We need to understand that this is another opportunity to steer the LASUSU polity in the right direction.
And in all honesty, even though the LASUSU polity has seen well-meaning student leaders try to steer her aright over the years, we all know that only a handful of them can boast excellent scorecards. Even though, year after year for the past three decades, we keep celebrating the transition from one administration to another, we know in the deepest recesses of our minds that our celebratory mood is nothing but we basking in a false sense of success— a false sense of proper representation. We know that without the correct unionism we've been starved of up till now, that new era we so much desire will not come anytime soon. We know that as long as we continue to overlook and remain aloof to the failures and shortcomings of previous administrations, that supposed promised land will continue to remain the illusion it has always been. We know that failure to learn from and improve on precedents will only amount to our roaming this wilderness for the next God-knows-how-many years.
Well, hearty congratulations to the LASUSU polity on the beginning of a new dispensation; hearty congratulations to the newly inaugurated leaders on the beginning of a new phase but we implore them to get past this wave of euphoria and hit the ground running. We call on Tobun and his entourage to learn from the failures of their predecessors, build on their successes, and give their all in laying a strong foundation to be built on by successive administrations. We implore them to take bold and aggressive steps towards the holistic revamping of the LASUSU polity. We implore them to work collaboratively in ensuring that their electioneering promises are met. We ask them to embrace innovation for we desire new things – we desire an equalitarian polity – and to do this, we need to look inward and change the approach. We implore them to conscientiously grapple the reins of responsibility and take LASUSU closer (if not completely) to the promised land.
Beyond these, we also implore LASUites to stand firm on their conviction that the newly inaugurated leaders – leaders they elected into office – are capable of representing their interests. We need to understand that leaders aren't leaders because they have the answers to everything or because they don't make mistakes. They are bound to be confused occasionally and they are bound to make mistakes. And as the dignified unionists that we all are, we are bound by duty to exercise patience and support this administration, for only then will our expectations and desires be met and delivered promptly. Only then can we dream of reaching Canaan.
Greetings...
📝: Awonuga Mujeeb, Editor, LASU Life Newsletter 🛩
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