Congress: COHI urges UNILAG authorities to avoid chaos
The Council of Higher Institutions (COHI) has advised the authorities of University of Lagos (UNILAG) to prevent chaos during the congress expected to hold by Thursday.
The proposed day for the congress was fixed after a protest by the students over the suspension of activities of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), UNILAG branch by the institution’s authorities.
It would be recalled that the management of UNILAG had suspended activities of the MSSN and dissolved its executives on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 over internal crisis in the society.
Apart from suspending the activities of the Society, the university authorities also asked the executives to hand over all office keys and assets belonging to the society to their staff advisers.
Subsequently, a committee was set up to review the society’s bye-law.
Though, the committee was supposed to submit its report for election of new executives to hold in January, it failed.
Reacting to the development, COHI Coordinator, AbdulWasiu Fasanya, accused the review committee of not being transparent in their processes.
According to him, the committee should make available, copies of the reviewed bye-law for public consumption before the congress for evaluation by members.
He said, “We have been monitoring activities on the University campus and it is discouraging that the committee that was set up to review the bye-law is not open enough. Such committee is not expected to operate in the hidden. It will shock you to know that up till this moment, a copy or section of the reviewed bye-law has not been made accessible to students.
“We just hope that this is not a delay tactic or intention to not return MSSN activities on time, because how do you expect the students not to have access to the constitution they are to deliberate upon and operate with? We appeal to the Dean Student Affairs’ to make available in print, the aspect that was reviewed in the constitution to avoid confusion and likely chaos during the congress.
“We wish to remind the school authorities that the bye law must be unavoidably made available to the students because one of the major reasons for demanding a new review was that the bye law reviewed by former executives and accepted by majority of the students at the last congress was rejected by the school authority with the claim that the bye law was not made available to the students before the congress.”
However, Fasanya complained that the clampdown on the organisation’s activities since last session was against the fundamental rights of the multitude of Muslim students in the institution.
“The constitution guarantees the lfreedom of conscience, religion and thought as well as the freedom of association. MSSN is aimed at achieving lofty objectives towards enhancing academically empowered and religiously sound members that will ensure peaceful coexistence in any community they are found,” he added.
He reiterated that the suspension of the activities of the branch has made the society lost membership to organisations that are un-Islamic.
Fasanya also urged the school authorities to lift the suspension and expedite the process of selecting new executives through the congress.
While commending the Muslim students for withstanding injustice up to this moment, he asked them to be law abiding and give deserving respect to elders.
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