A source has disclosed that the mother of student activist Ayodele Aduwo, who had received a query from the University of Ibadan for his involvement in the fee hike protest, displayed a rare blend of bravery and mental resilience in her response to a member of the university management.
The mother’s reaction to the university’s notice came in the aftermath of a concerted effort by four students, including her son, to contest an overwhelming increase in fees from N20,000 to N400,000. In the face of this potentially unsettling communication from the university, the mother’s fearless response has garnered widespread attention.
Upon receiving a message from a member of the university management via WhatsApp informing her of the query letter issued to her son, Ayodele Aduwo, for his involvement in the fee hike protest, the mother’s response was clear and emphatic.
Displaying a keen awareness of the situation and her son’s predicament, the mother let the university know that she was fully informed and involved. By stating that she was “following and being carried along,” the mother conveyed her unwavering support for her son’s actions and her refusal to be marginalized or ignored by the university authorities.
“Good evening. I am following and being carried along.
“Education should be a social service such that every bonafide citizen of this noble Nation (Nigeria) should be entitled to.”, she wrote.
Stressing further, Ayodele’s mom decried the apparent marginalization of children from lower income families within Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions, alluding to the increasingly limited opportunities for them to access quality education.
Speaking to the inequity at play within the system, she denounced the management’s sly tactics to conceal their true motives behind a facade of government compliance. She was adamant that the university’s punitive measures, targeting student activists like her son, were part of a larger scheme to safeguard the privileges of the elite, while silencing the voices of those who dared to challenge the status quo.
“The look of things in recent times in our public tertiary institutions is like the children of the poor masses are going to suffer deprivation of their right to Education.
“The management while stylishly using the government as coverings is trying to be hostile on the students of the poor masses in order to give full opportunity to the upper class citizens.”, she added.
Drawing from the wisdom of both scholars and civil rights icons, the mother of Ayodele Aduwo concluded with a poignant statement underscoring her unwavering conviction.
She argued that it is incumbent upon all individuals to speak out against injustices, drawing parallels with the teachings of a particular scholar, as well as Martin Luther King Jr.
With a poignant yet defiant tone, she declared that posterity would be the ultimate judge of the university management’s treatment of her son and the other three student activists.
“Well, a scholar said life of an individual is gradually coming to an end if he or she sees what is not palatable or hazardous to his or her well being and keep quiet.
“Martin Luther King also spoke in that direction.
“Whatever happens, posterity will judge the individual of them (UI Management) if the treatment to these ones (Ayodele Aduwo and the other three) is not favourable to them in a country we have told them is theirs.”
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