NEWS DIGEST – The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Usman Barambu, has been asked to resign by students inside the association who accuse him of incompetence and ineptitude.
In a news statement issued on Thursday, the NANS integrity group, a group of students, said it was dissatisfied with the Barambu-led leadership of NANS since the administration has shown a lack of foresight and vision thus far.
The group noted in the statement that the leadership of Mr Barambu had failed to uphold the mandate of the association, which borders on the emancipation of the common people in the nation, notably students.
“This can be seen from its action against the Defence Pact of 1963 where the colonial masters wanted to establish British military camps across the length and breadth of the country
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“[Also], the Ali Must Go Struggle of 1978 against the increment of feeding fees across federal tertiary institutions.
“[Then] the vehement fight against Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of General Babangida, the struggle against the Annulment of June 12 Election in 1993, the 2012 Occupy Nigeria struggle against the removal of fuel subsidy and the 2022 End ASUU Strike Movement,” the statement read.
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The NANS integrity group said the president has failed to deliver on his manifesto and left the association without a voice since becoming president in September 2022.
Barambu’s failure is headlined by his failure to interfere in the intermittent fuel scarcity that crippled several businesses and the crisis that ensued from the naira redesign policy last month.
Even more, the group says Barambu had failed to speak against the continual increase of tuition fees by the management of several tertiary institutions in the country, as well as the military invasion of the University of Benin, which resulted in the abusive treatment of several students.
“All these burning issues have received little or no concern from the President of the world’s largest black Students movement,” said Umar Gazali, the spokesperson of the group.
The students demand that Usman Barambu give up his position as president of the association, launching the #BarambuMustGo movement in the process.
“Any organization without proper direction is bound to lose its sense of focus from its core objectives and values and as we know, everything rises and falls on leadership.
“Comr. Barambu has failed to give the necessary leadership and direction to NANS at these trying times, as such we are launching the #BarambuMustGo campaign [which will end his poor representation and return NANS to its rightful status] as the mouthpiece of Nigerian students and the general populace,” Gazali added.
