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NASS To Legislate Against Students Violence On Campuses-Famurewa

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9 years ago

February 28, 2016

A member of the Federal House of Representatives, Honourable Ajibola Famurewa has said that the National Assembly would have to enact law to checkmate the incessant violent protest and riot of students which have destroyed many properties of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Famurewa stated this while condemning the violent protest of students of the Southern Nigeria Institute of Innovative Technology, SNIIT, Ifewara, Osun state where all the school buildings were set on fire by irate students.

The lawmaker representing Ijesa-South Federal Constituency of the state of Osun who paid a visit to the SNIIT Poly campus on Sunday alongside a former Minister of External (Foreign) Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi and the Honorable member representing Atakumosa East/ West in the Osun State House of Assembly Hon Babatunde Komolafe said that students unrest on campuses was becoming unbearable, and there was need to make law to forestall future occurrence.

He stated this just as Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, an indigene of Ifewara, described the incident as a sickness of the soul of students that carried out the destruction.

According to Famurewa, the students action was a reflection of societal decadence and the lost of family values which result to poor upbringing of the students, saying that any student that is well brought up would not go near destruction of any property.

It would be recalled that the SNIIT Poly students had last Sunday went on rampage in protest against the non-accreditation of some courses for the institution by the National Board for Technical Education.

Famurewa said: “There are many ways to address issue and seek redress than to embark on violent protest. I think it is high time we sit down and enact a law that will specifically address these issues so that such occurrence will not repeat itself again.

“What happened is a reflection of the societal decadence. Generally, our attitude and value have no meaning to majority of people again. We don’t have the value again; maybe it is because the way parents are now bringing up their children nowadays.

“I think we need to quickly enact a law now to address this kind of situation. Of recent we heard the Afe Babalola University where students went on rampage and destroyed properties. We also heard the violence protest of students at YabaTech. Few weeks ago, some secondary school students went to destroy a radio station in Ife over a minor issue.

“It calls for serious concern and we need to work on it to change the orientation of our people, and our parents too should do more and impact knowledge and societal value on their children before leaving their homes. Any student that is well brought up will not engaged his or herself on this destruction; they will not even go near it.

“Anytime I pass through this route, I pray for the proprietors of this institution because I know the kind of value it has added to this community. We will try as much as possible within the purview of law to find a way of supporting and assist the proprietor in bringing the school back and fit.”

In his reaction, professor Akinyemi said: I have always seen this establishment as part of the avenue to uplift this town in developing knowledge for the generation that is coming. The proprietor did not establish a night club, a hotel where he can get quick money. He came to create and educational institution and to now see this, I feel so distressed physically and in my soul.

“I am disturbed to see the level of destruction vested on the campus. It is highly condemnable. There has been a degeneration of values in not only the students but in the society. The degeneration of values has led to cult activities and mindless destruction.

“This is a sickness of the soul of souls involved and government must put some measure in place. It is not enough for parents to come and start begging, begging does nothing.

“Parental authority at home, parental authority in school and government itself must put some measures in place that when this kind of things happens, students who are held responsible must face punishment, they must face sanction from the society.

“Yes they are young, nobody wants to destroy their future, but at this level of destruction, we are no longer talking about innocent children and they must be made to face the full sanction of the law, then this will not repeat itself.

“It is not just here, Afe Babalola University happened, Yabatech happened, when would a stop be put to it? A stop must be put to it! The propriety here could have gone to lagos or Abuja to built an estate and make cool money.

“But instead of that he came to a rural area, not only his own investment but Corporate Social Responsibility and individual social responsibility. He wanted to uplift the students, this town and the future. Is this the way to pay him back? This is ungodly!”