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| Late Moses Oisakede |
About 18 years after his death, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on Edo State to immortalise its former leader, Comrade Moses Oisakede, who died in active service.
The organisation described him as "a selfless, honest,
brave and dutiful leader, whose actions and steps, thoughts and visions were
clear testimonies of his untainted preparedness to take on oppressors within
and outside the academic environment."
The president of NANS, Chinonso Obasi, tabled the demand in
a statement on Thursday to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the death of
Oisakede, who was its president (1998/99).
A student of Edo State University, Ekpoma, Oisakede died in
a ghastly auto crash on August 1, 2001, while on his way to the Federal
University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, to fight for the reinstatement
of over 100 students, who were dismissed by the institution's management.
He was succeeded by a former member of the House of
Representatives and now Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu (2000-2001),
who was then a student, at the University of Jos, Plateau State.
"As we mark the 18th year remembrance of Comrade Moses
Oisakede, the NANS is calling on the Edo State Government to immortalise him,"
Obasi said.
While describing the deceased as an iconic and indefatigable
president of NANS (1998/1999), whose legacies would remain indelible in the students’
movement, he stressed that the death of Oisakede was another sad reminder of
the many neglect the education sector has been subjected to by successive
governments.
According to him, 18 years after the demise of Comrade Moses
Oisakede, the country still suffers from the very anomalies that he fought to
address in the educational sector
He said, "We particularly want to remind the current deputy
governor of Edo State, our own former national president (2000-2001) of the
pride of place Moses Oisakede occupied in the hearts of Nigerian students and
express the belief that with him as the number two man in the state,
immortalising Moses Oisakede will no longer remain an annual appeal but a
necessary deed at recognising his immense contributions to humanity. We wish
the family of Comrade Moses Oisakede God's continued comfort and guidance.
"We decry the continuous non- prioritisation of the
education sector and push again for the strict implementation of UNESCO
recommendation, which says 26 per cent of developing nations' annual budget
should be made to cater for the education development of such countries, our
own nation, Nigeria, inclusive
"We urge the Federal Government of Nigeria to
henceforth accord the education sector a priority as no nation can advance
beyond the knowledge and literacy of her citizens. We admonish all oppressors
in academic robes remaining in our tertiary institutions to turn a new leaf and
save Nigerian students and our parents the pain of losing our beloved comrades
to their anti-student policies."
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