The Convener, Save Nigeria Group, and General Overseer of Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has accused a ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo of destroying students’ unionism when he held sway as military Head of State in 1978.
Governance: Sustainability of Democracy, the Role of Students in the Forthcoming General Election, Bakare traced the history of student unionisn from the colonial days saying the body was dealt a fatal blow in 1978.
He said: “General Obasanjo’s government ordered the brutal suppression of that protest. Live bullets were fired at protesting students.
“As we proceeded outside Unilag’s main gate, I narrowly escaped death as Akintunde Ojo, the young man standing just beside me, was gunned down.
“Through that incident, Obasanjo carved his name on marble as a villain of democracy.
“I did not mince words when opportunity presented itself in November 1978 when I pointed to his face, ‘This government possesses power without compassion, might without morality and strength without sight’.
“Nevertheless, student unionism in Nigeria today is in a sorry state.”
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