Please, be specially informed of the Students’ Retreat being organised by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) through its platform of Centre for Popular Education (CEPED) in collaboration with the Amilcar Cabral Ideological School (ACIS) for students’ union leaders and activists in tertiary institutions in the country, in view of commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the death Comrade Chima Ubani on September 21, 2015.
The Retreat is scheduled as follows:
Date: Monday September 21, 2015: (Arrival September 20 & departure September 22)
Venue: Bayero University Kano (BUK)
Time: 9am – 9.30pm
The Retreat is focused to revive the students’ movement on an agenda of critical consciousness and the building of sustained students-lecturers solidarity.
Speakers at the event include: Keynote Speaker: Dr. Nasir Issa Faggae, President ASUU; Main Speakers: Lanre Arogundade [NANS President 1983 – 85], Mahmud Aminu [NANS President 1991–92, Moderators: Shola Olorunyomi, Hauwa Mustapha and Owei Lakemfa; and Solidarity Messages from NANS, NLC, TUC, JAF, ASUP and COEASU.
Please see below for the detailed background of the Retreat.
Please accept our fraternal regards as we look forward to participation and adequate coverage of the event by your news correspondents.
For further enquiries, please contact the undersigned.
CONVENER
Comrade Abiodun Aremu [08033347962]
For CEPED & ACIS
Students’ Retreat in Memory of COMRADE CHIMA UBANI @ 10
BACKGROUND
33 years ago (1982), Nigerian students under the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), which was then ideologically driven by the Patriotic Youth Movement of Nigeria (PYMN) from 1979 to 1994, formulated and adopted the NANS Charter of Demands at the Bayero University Kano.
The NANS Charter of Demands defined a clear direction of struggle for the Nigerian Students and the youth.
The direction of struggle articulated by the NANS Charter was anchored on two planks: (i) class struggle & (ii) anti-imperialist struggle. The two planks explained the positions of the Nigerian students on the Education system at all levels from primary to tertiary institutions, the political and economic system desirable for Nigeria, its foreign relations and international solidarity; and including a Constitution for the practice of internal democracy in the running of its affairs.
A complimentary document to the NANS’ Charter called Academic Reform Programme (ACAREF) was developed in 1989 as an Alternative response to the anti-people policies of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) that was imposed by Ibrahim Babangida military dictatorship in 1986 in obedience to the dictates of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A shinning and inspiring example of the PYMN driven NANS is Comrade Chima Ubani who died on September 21, 2005 in the cause of struggle against neo-liberal policies and hike in the prices of fuel.
Comrade Chima Ubani played a prominent role in NANS and was President of the Students’ Union of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka 1986, General Secretary of the Campaign for Democracy (CD) 1991-94, Joint-Secretary of the United Action for Democracy (UAD) 1997-2000 with Comrade Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, Deputy President of the Democratic Alternative (DA) 2001–2005 and its founding General Secretary 1994–2001, Inaugural Secretary Joint Action Front (JAF) 2004 and Executive Director of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) until his demise. Also, Chima belongs in the ACIS’ HALL OF MARTYRS.
The Amilcar Cabral Ideological School (ACIS) – joint-organisers of the Retreat [with Centre for Popular Education CEPED] – desires social change of Nigeria and Africa on the path of socialist transformation. Equally, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) from which CEPED emerged recently adopted at its NEC a political agenda of a Socialist Welfare State for Nigeria. In addition, ASUU is committed to a symbiotic and virile students-lecturers relationship.
We believe that the students and youth are a major segment of the African population that can (in alliance with the working people) drive the process of social change. But we cannot expect the current generation of students to drive social change if the operation of the students’ movement across the country is not guided by the principles and values of the NANS’ Charter of Demands; but instead, their thoughts and actions are dominated by the rotten and corrupt values of neo-colonist and neo-liberal political and economic order.
From the benefit of hindsight, there is the necessity to bridge the ever widening consciousness gap between the old generation of the students’ movement and the current generation, because it would be impossible to create a virile mass base for social change without the organisation of the students and youth on Critical consciousness.
GOALS
- The creation of an environment of Critical consciousness is the main goal of the Students’ Retreat in memory of Comrade Chima Ubani.
- Focus on reviving the Nigerian Students’ movement on the basis of the NANS CHARTER OF DEMANDS.
- To institute a sustained CEPED-ACIS’ collaboration on ideological and leadership education for students at departmental, faculty and students’ union levels.
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