IDDI
MUHAYU-DEEN WRITES…
I agree that the
NUGS executives have been very disappointing in relation to the organization of
this year’s congress thus far and I’m not in any way going to defend them. Whilst
I agree with this assertion, I also think that we ought to be fair to the facts
and uphold the truths at all-times in our criticisms. In the buildup to this
congress, social media platforms have been inundated with so much rumour/information,
a lot of which, are either true or otherwise. Having closely monitored this development
with my objective lenses, I have been able to establish the relevant facts and
wish to make that known, whilst passing verdict on the actions of some of the
stakeholders, based on our conventions and commonsense.
To start
with, I wish to state on record that by Convention, the organization of
congress is solely the responsibility of National Officers (ie NUGS executives)
and not CC nor NEC. For more insight, I refer you to the provisions in Articles
25 and 31, where all the powers of these structures have been explicitly spelt
out. What usually happens over the years is that, National Officers decide on PROVISIONAL
date and venue for congress and then communicate same to NEC and CC (not
necessarily for approval because the Constitution does not say so)...
These dates
and venues are PROVISIONAL because NUGS, as we speak, does not have its own
hostel and other facilities that are required for the organization of congress
BUT have to always depend on other educational institutions for their
facilities. So in the light of this, it is practically impossible for the Union
to determine authoritatively, where and when its congress would be held and
that is commonsensical.
So what has
happened under the current circumstances? Let me proceed to answer: Indeed,
pursuant to our Convention, the National Officers indeed determined possible
venues and date for the 2016 congress and communicated same to CC members at Zenith
University on August 31. Prior to that, the NUGS officers were indeed given
assurance by the Authorities of the said institutions (ie. Akatsi College of
Education as well as St. Francis and St. Theresa`s in Hohoe) of the
availability of their facilities.
Unfortunately,
the academic calendar of all the Colleges of Education in the country experienced
a SUDDEN CHANGE by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) which is the only University
that officially runs the Diploma Programmes. The final years were asked to
report a week ago for their On-Campus Teaching Practice, which was not the case
at the time the arrangements were made. Initially, they were supposed to report
on 3rd October but this was suddenly changed to 12th
September. Regrettably, the executives contend that this information only got
to them at the penultimate moment, hence there was very little they could do;
other than to reconsider the date and venue.
Whilst we all
legitimately feel uncomfortable and disappointed in the Executives for what has
happened, I think we ought to be measured in castigating them. Again, our Union
is replete with similar happenings in the past even though that doesn’t justify
what happened this year. As a matter of fact, only last year, when I was in
office as the NUGS General Secretary, we, as National Officers decided to hold
our congress at Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong after the College
Authorities gave us approval. We then proceeded to inform NEC and CC about it,
followed by the issuance of invitation letters.
However,
these same Authorities disappointed us at the eleventh hour citing some inexplicable
reasons. So we had to quickly reorganize ourselves to look for an alternative
venue, which happened to be Okuapeman SHS, also in the same town and apologized
to the SRCs for the inconveniences occasioned. Giving the limited timeframe,
there was no way we could have organized CC meeting to inform members of it. So
we issued a new invitation letters to the SRC/LNUGS Executives communicating
the said variations in the initial plans.
This is
certainly what the current executives have not been able to do and I fault them
for that. These are the facts and nothing but the facts. I am not sure these
facts suggest that a particular NUGS executive doesn’t want this congress to
come off as being speculated in certain quarters. Well, we live in a democratic
society and everybody is free to say whatever they like BUT we must all know
that ultimately, our conscience shall forever be our judge. END OF STORY…
Having said
that, it is my hope and prayer that the Executives are able to sort out these
issues as early as possible in order to pave way for a smooth congress. The
students of Ghana deserve better. NUGS must not and will not die INSHA ALLAH.
Let’s all get involved in building a strong Union that can stand the test of
time. The NUGS Judicial Board should be happy I have been able to resist the
temptation of replying them over their recent release but they may not be lucky
next time. My name is Iddi Muhayu-Deen and I’m bold to say that I authored this
write-up. I won’t hide behind anonymity to malign people as others do without
shame.
Assalamu
alaikum
\
Once again, this piece was compiled by a
concerned student activist in the business of OCCUPYING HEARTS and MINDS for
the love of God and country.
IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN
Student/Youth Activist
Former NUGS Secretary
(0245335197)
Please it is shareable…
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