Lawsa's General Assembly!

On Wednesday the 20th of April 2016, the association of Law students University of Benin chapter witnessed a historic event - The General Assembly Of Law Students!
The General Assembly [The GA, as it's now fondly called],

is the gathering together of all law students from all levels together, under one roof to discuss and deliberate on issues pertaining to their well being and interests as an association.

Constitutionally, the GA is an event that is supposed to be held at least twice every semester but unfortunately due to reasons that are still unclear, it's an event that has not taken place in the last ten years.

So it was against this background that when word got out that the Supreme Lawsa Congress via the office of the Speaker and in conjunction with the executive arm was calling for a General Assembly, that all law students or at least most were psyched, excited and eager to experience what is now a rare occasion.


The event was billed to start by 2pm and by fifteen minutes past two, LT One, the venue for the event was already almost filled

and by 2:40pm when the event finally kicked off proper with the entrance of the Speaker, Mr President and other elected officials of the Association, the Lecture theatre was already filled beyond capacity as quite a remarkable number of Lawsans were seen standing behind and beside the LT.

Joshua Ogbeide from the 400level constituency was the Master of Ceremony.

As with most Lawsa events, this one started with an opening prayer by Jane Igbineweka, Clasfon's Vice-President, who was ably represented by Zainab Mukthar from 200level and then the Muslim prayer by Muhammad Nasir from 200level constituency, followed by a welcome address by both the Speaker, Nna Victor and the President of the Association, Nosa Garrick, respectively.

This too, was followed by introduction of guests and dignitaries by the Master of Ceremony, starting with all principal members of congress, all the executives and judges of the association plus the faculty representatives at the student union government.

Succeeding the introductions, the speaker, Nna Victor proceeded to enlighten law students about the need for a constitutional amendment and the steps taken thus far by the parliamentary arm to achieve this feat i.e the setting up of a constitutional amendment committee, provision of a soft copy of the Lawsa constitution amongst a few others.

At the end of his speech he called for questions and when there were none, he proceeded to set up the "seven man committee", which had two persons from 500level and 400level constituency respectively, while a single person from the remaining constituencies.

Jona Jones - 500level.
Davidson Obabueki - 500level.
Auta Friday - 400level.
Nenenwa Esther - 400level.
Patrick Omodia - 300level.
Michael Okperin - 200level.

The chief judge of the A.C.E Jural court Awesome Ojeah administered the oath to these ones.

The next item on the agenda was Law and it's SUG aspirants, the electoral representative for the faculty - Toju Peters, was unavoidably absent and in his stead, Olubunmi Olatunji proceeded to sensitize Law students as to the stakes, interests and aspirants of the faculty in the upcoming election.
This was notably one of, if not the biggest highlight of the General Assembly, as the "jagaban" of law as he is fondly referred to in some quarters, lit up the occasion with his oratory and revved all law students present into a frenzy.
After which he presented the candidates, who were greeted with a thunderous applause and screams their numerous supporters.

It was immediately after this, that the president of the association, Nosa Garrick, took the podium, for the most anticipated and arguably the main highlight of the event - "The State Of The Association!"
At this junction, "ULP" could spot refreshments going round as Law students reclined to get an update as to the affairs of "their" association.
The President proceeded to appreciate congress, the planning committee and all lawsans for making the GA finally a reality.
He went on to list the achievements of the administration and shine more light on the ongoing project of journal publication amongst a few others.
The president reiterate that the major problem of the association is and has always been finance, he pleaded with law students to support the association by fulfilling their financial obligations.
He went to buttress this point by giving the total number of students that had paid their lawsa dues from each of the constituencies, with 400level been the highest with a little over a hundred and 500level the lowest with under thirty students having done so.
The president then fielded questions from those in the audience, this section of the General Assembly had mainly members of the 400level constituency, Augustus Ndiyo, Iyere Promise and a handful of other law students asking pertinent questions and tossing suggestions, all which the President answered and promised to see implemented.

Mr Speaker brought the event to close by giving a vote of thanks, after which James Uro, the CALSAN President said a brief closing prayer.



ULP spoke with some of the attendees after the event and they described the event as successful, commended the organizers and implore the association to make the occasion more frequent.





Report by gafar.

President Calls "400level Class Useless"

It was a day of commotion in the 400level class, faculty of Law on Monday 25th April, 2016 as news emerged of an alleged statement by the LAWSA President, Garrick Nosa John, labelling the 400level class (aka Bench of Jurists) as 'useless'.

This was made known to the class via an announcement of the class rep, Olawale Busari. In addressing the class, he congratulated the Attorney General Aspirants, Obed Urhoghide, David Edoziem and the winner John Aigbogun for maturity displayed in the elections. After his congratulatory message, he made known to the class the alleged statement. This did not go down well with majority of the class.

Olawale registered his displeasure at the alleged statement saying it is capable of polarising the faculty and stated that he had put up an article to that effect which was on the faculty notice board.

ULP was able to get reactions from some of the classmates who spoke on record...

Edmond Otabor
Well, it is outrageous and it does not fit into the uniform of the LAWSA President, for we to expect such a statement. I am outrightly saying this right now because as a LAWSA President, you wear the uniform of the faculty, you are supposed to filter your statements and not supposed to say somethings. You are like the father of the faculty. Making such a statement is outrageous, and an action will bring an equal reaction. So when you say something like this, what else do you expect at the end of the day, another reaction of course. Faculty of Law 400level is not useless. We are made up of brilliant, vibrant, amiable and wonderful students that will in due time turn out to be prominent and important people in this country.

Odiri Igho
He should not have said that. He is a public figure and public figures do not insult people in public. For me, he should come and tender a public apology, explain himself and let us understand his position and what led to that statement. We would like to know.

Daniel Eromosele
How will 500level say the SUG elections does not concern them at all? I am really angry. See, you cannot carry faculty problem and failure and put it upon one class. That's my issue now. Whether he said or did not say we are useless is not my concern, you saying that 400level was the cause is what I am angry at. And they saying that it does not concern them, that is the impression they are giving these people and the impetus they are giving to 300level to talk anyhow. It does not make sense. They will leave here now and this division will still be here.

Joseph Asikpata Ikhide
For me, I feel the statement by the LAWSA President was ill timed for one. It definitely states his level of maturity which is very very low. I never expected that such words would come out from him. I hold him in high esteem, but I do not think that is the state of things presently. And definitely an apology will not suffice for the atrocious things he has said because of the loss of the 300level aspirant for the office of Director of Finance, Israel Olumese. The whole faculty tried, but I think they would have done better if LAWSA had rallied the whole faculty to go out and vote for him. I think would be SUG aspirants should take a cue from this and solicit for better support from the faculty.

Agbowo Joseph
Well I have heard of the alleged statement that we are useless. I do not know how a class that has shown some level of maturity and unity in the faculty of law is useless. I admit that the faculty recorded failure in the just concluded SUG elections, but then it is not a good reason to label us a failure. Many persons before now failed, and last year the same class that is now being labelled useless came out en masse and delivered Ndueche and co. So how come all of a sudden we have just become failure. Well if we are talking about what happened in the faculty of law this year, the failure should be aggregated. It is a cumulative error, coming from different constituencies. So I would really not stop my eyebrows from going up if someone says 400level constituency is a failure. In all ramifications 400level has made a statement, we are not failures or useless in anyway at all.

Mark Okhakhume
Anyway it has not been confirmed that he said it actually, even though the sources that confirmed him making the statement are credible and the class rep must have confirmed that statement before coming out to make that claim. I would not make my statement on the premise that he said it, my statement would be based on "let's assume he said it". If indeed he did make that statement, then it would be demeaning for his office because as the President you should not make such a statement. It is tantamount to Buhari saying that the Yoruba people are useless. The whole faculty lost, not just a class. The 500level did not come out to vote, I know how many I saw there when I went to vote. So the loss was generally for the faculty and not the 300level constituency alone. Eke Martins is in our class and he lost, we did not die. Did we say his class did not come out to vote? Did we die? Anybody can insult anybody, it happens. But my bone of contention is, if he did say it, it should not have come from him, seeing that he is the President of the faculty. He should have being the one to mitigate whatever tension would arise from the election not to create it. So if he did say it, he should come to class and apologise to the whole class and make them understand that he said it in the heat of passion and he's sorry. There are men older than him in that class!



However, some others were of the view that even if Garrick made the statement, the Class rep should have taken into consideration the situation of things due to the SUG and not announced the news to the class in that matter. They said that there were diplomatic methods that would have being employed in tackling the issue rather than announcing it publicly.

According to ULP sources, Garrick called the 400level class "useless", alleging that there was a low turnout of voters from the class in the SUG elections which led to Israel Olumese, the Director of Finance aspirant, losing with a small margin of 32 votes.
While the President could not be reached in person to get his own side of the story, sources close to the President intimated ULP that he has denied ever making such statement.

Lawsans have their fingers crossed to see how the drama further unfolds.

Report by Josh.

Download "LAWSA CONSTITUTION 06/07"

Due to numerous complaints from Lawsans from all levels about the unavailability of the "Lawsa Constitution", and in a bid to make sure all Lawsans are carried along in the constitution amendment process, the leadership of the Supreme Lawsa Congress 2015 / 2016 session, in conjunction with Unibenlawsapress, is proud to present to all interested Lawsans a soft copy of the "Lawsa Constitution 2006".


To download LAWSA Constitution click HERE

The Backstory! Behind The Curtains With The President - Student Union Government! {Part 2}

Unibenlawsapress went behind the curtains with the President of the Union, University of Benin and talked about some really revealing and

controversial issues! Here's the concluding part of that sit down! (For the first part, Click HERE ) Enjoy! 

There is this rumour that as President of the Union, you must have settled 'senior men', either at Ekosodin, BDPA, and so on. It just there that you must have the backing of the 'senior men' before you get to and even when in office.

R.O: It is not true, I will be sincere with you. Most people that end up settling Osasogie, Ekosodin, BDPA, it is because of the trumpet they blow. You have blown your trumpet so much and so loud, you have not even been cleared, the whole world knows you are contesting. Normal roger [the result is] they will come and meet you, "anything for us", and then you start paying dues. It is not like it is a norm, it is not a constitution that you must go there. In fact there are people that say you must 'blend'. Let me tell you, if you 'blend' because you want to become SUG President, UNIBEN will not clear you, they must know you are a cultist. Nobody amongst us here is a cultist, the Executives. You can decide to go and join after you have won, but all my Executives here, nobody is a member of any cult.

But their ['senior men'] dues is their dues. Once in a while you can send them drinks. I am a President to both Black axe, to Kegites, Muslim community, Christian Community on Campus, the Hari Krishna, the Cele (Celestial Church) and all of them, you are a President to all because they are all students. That is what I mean by been a President to all. So irrespective of their fraternities and who they want to relate with, they are dealing with you as their President, that is the capacity in which you are relating with them. You can relate with them one on one if you want to. But it is not like they will compel you to come and join their cult or you must pay them money or settle 'Senior men'. Of course you can send money during your election, you have to do your posters, people have to paste posters for you, people have to send message in blogs for you; so you must spend money on such things. For instance, in my time, my class raised funds for me i.e my classmates, they donated, friends supported, and that is what I used it campaigning. I had no money on my own to campaign.

How would you describe your relationship with parliament?

R.O: *chuckles*.

Well I will not say I enjoyed a robust relationship with the parliament. But at least a good handful of the parliament were not aggrieved with me. The Parliament have the power to seat to unseat a President when there are cogent reasons for doing so. They made a move to impeach me through the Speaker because, [according to the language used] they said that the President is not loyal. And I asked what do you mean by loyalty? I am not supposed to be loyal to the Speaker. By all standards I am the number one citizen of the Union, the entire students' community. I am not loyal to anybody apart from, maybe the management, I am loyal to those that voted me in, and not like personal loyalty. I am only 'answerable' to them [Parliament], so when you ask me questions, I should be able to tell you what is going on, so I am answerable to them, I am not loyal. That was what caused a rift. And in the course of trying to impeach me, it rigmarolled, they wanted him [The Speaker] impeached, in fact he almost died. So that is it, but by and large, a handful of them are my friends.

Looking back, will you say you have any regrets in office?

R.O: The only regret I have is that I have not been able to finish everything I wanted to. I had lots of plans. I wish I could do a re-run, I would have done a re-run

 *general laughter*

Not because I want to remain in office, but because I want to actually do more. I really had plans. The bus stops we did [for instance], we wanted to do up to fifteen bus stops. I had people that were willing to sponsor, but reaching out to them and managing my studies was not very easy. I really wanted to do more. Apart from that union has been interesting. And the reward for union is more trouble

Let us go back to the whole hostel renovation. We know you have done a lot. It is not just the school management that did it, you agitated for it. But before you leave office, do you plan to put in place policies or structures that will ensure that they are maintained? Because as at now, some of the toilets are already bad. And it is not because of students misusing them. For instance in block D hall 2, one of the pipes is already leaking, another has been locked because it is practically unusable. Will there be any policies to ensure constant maintenance?

R.O: Yes. One of the measures we carried out was those keys we supplied to lock it up, to make sure it does not go bad. And the checks and balances we intend to look into is the students. Let them help us complain. If you do not speak out, nobody will know what is happening to you. If you do not lament, you will just be in your room, complaining that nothing is being done. If anything they should call our attention to it. I will not be here, but they should call the President's attention. Like my government for instance, I ran an open government. Anybody could come here and complain, and I pray the next government will tow the same path. If you had issues then, anybody could come in. I did not have a CSO [Chief Security Officer] like other people had CSOs

*general laughter*

So I was just on my own, you could come in. Once it goes bad, for instance as you have said block D now, first things first you report to the madam in charge, PEO. I and she, we are very close, we are like 5 and 6. What I want to do now is I will beg when I am leaving office, to have a note book, I will even buy it, so she can document everything as the complaints are coming. Even as an ex-president, I will come, I will call [Director of] Works, they will come and fix it before it gets worse. But if you do not complain, nobody will know, it will remain like that. All these things we are trying to fix now, have they not been bad for years? Because people do not speak up, [even when] students were speaking up, people at the helm of affairs refused to listen.

Talking about government being a continuum. It is not just about leaving legacies, it is about who you entrust your legacies to, that is the whole basis of government. On that premise, Sir, have you picked a successor?

R.O: It will be wickedness, it will be selfish, to have six candidates contesting, and an incumbent President picks one. Everyone of them has got potential, they have got ideas. Did anybody pick me? That is what I ask myself. Nobody picked me, so I do not think I should pick anybody. But if I am to answer your question, it would be what I expect from anybody coming into office. I advise most them coming to me, but I do not have the power to pick a successor. They say 'vox populi, vox dei'; the voice of the people, the voice of God. Let the people who came out in mass and voted for me do same in this case. In Ifidon's election, he pulled a total of 1,515 votes, I pulled a total of 2,328 votes, while my opponent had more than 1,900 votes. It means that people came out more right? That is to tell you how much people believed in us, and that is why I could not disappoint them, I hope I have not disappointed them. So what I am saying in a nutshell is I did not pick a successor. I want the people to pick their successor, so when the problem comes they would share it; if the glory comes they will also share in it. 

Apart from the incident with the Police, there was this incident with the The Love Tabernacle (TLT) fellowship Pastor, that we heard. Can we talk about that?

R.O: *laughs* 

Media people o, all these Journalists.

That night was another night of embarrassment. I came to school, I think I left office, I was downstairs. I bought water and was drinking. My parking space is downstairs, when I drove in, a V-boot was already there so I parked the other way round. I was just strolling, waiting for my guys to come so we could leave. I dropped the bottle of water on the boot of the vehicle on my parking space, and rested. Somebody just came and said "remove that water". [As a sidenote] See, I hate this thing, "I did not know you were the one", I hate it. "Haaa we no know say na President o", I hate it. It means that, for someone else who is not the President, you can stampede him and break his head because he is not the President. So I have always had problems with cab men and shop owners for treating students roughly. I deal with them mercilessly. [For example, if] I catch a cab, I impound the vehicle at June 12, deflate the tires for like three days before I give them their key for free, for disrespecting students. Because students are the major stakeholders, without them there is no business for you in this school. Without students there is no VC, there is nobody, so you should not disrespect them. That is my pain, and is one of the rubbish I came to correct as a President. 

So I dropped the water and he said remove it. I said sorry are you driving out? He said no, but I should remove it. I said but the bottle does not have any effect on the car, and he was like "I said remove it". Then I said "bros calm down na". Because that is how I do my thing, I will always come gentle, but you do not want to see me angry, because I can be very mad when I am. I told him "bros no vex o, you are not driving out and this thing will not destroy your vehicle. I am only going to be here for a while", and he said "bros I say make you remove am. Its my pastor's car". And I said "oh it is your Pastor's car? Sorry o, but do you know your Pastor's car is standing on my parking space?" And he was looking at me like "who be dis one? Abeg e". He said "bros I say make you remove am". And I continued "and do you know that this place you are using for your fellowship is my building? So I do not see the reason why you should be behaving like this". Maybe he looked at me I was looking too small so he said I should not talk to him and I should get out. I said okay, so I took my water. I was now talking to him because I was angry. The Pastors came, two of them. One would expect a preacher of the word to make peace. The Pastors came, and truly the dark one came and was like "is it this issue? Come on", you know, trying to down play the whole matter. And I said you, talking to the guy now, "I told you, this is my parking space and this is my building". The fair Pastor said "who are you? How dare you talk to us like that? Do you know who we are? Because you are just a common SUG Executive that was just voted in..." He did not know I was the President, "...because you are just a member of the Union, you are just here talking anyhow". He was now warning me in my own ground, in SUG ground, warning me to my face, pointing finger in my eyes. He said how dare me say that, do I know where he is coming from, that I should not look at them because they are here doing fellowship, they can pick me outside in town and deal with me. If I lie, may God not forgive me. 

I looked at him, my boys were not around, I felt so humiliated. So I walked away, he was still following me as I was walking, the fair chubby one. And I promised myself I was going to deal with him. It is not stupidity, it is not pride; I was not protecting my name, I was protecting the office of the President. If you slight this office, it means tomorrow you can slight and go scot-free. I told the Speaker, I said you people gave them that place, that is the Parliamentary hall. Speaker came, Sec Gen, everyone came downstairs. Emakpor Daniel, NADESTU, former Sec. Gen, was trying to hear from them, and one of the boys 'wey wan form Peter with Jesus', pushed Emakpor Daniel. Before we knew, the whole thing escalated, my boys were now coming, wetin dey happen, this that etc. started scattering everywhere, students were gathered trying to see what was happening. I thank God students were there to see what was happening, so they will not say Raymond is fighting fellowships.
This same fellowship had problems with another fellowship using that place with them, based on lapse of duration of usage, almost led to a fight that they wanted to beat up the other fellowship. The Dean of Students was in town, he heard and had to come. And I told him that they (TLT) are not using that place again, we do not want people that are violent in our midst. 

If you are a Christian, live what you preach, because It is the live behind the name that actually makes the demons tremble. When the 7 sons of Sceva told the demon "we come to you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches", the demon replied "Paul I know, Jesus I know, but who are you?" And according to the bible, they ran in nakedness because they were not having the life behind the name they were calling. It is that life behind the name that will make you say "demon, I bind you in the name of Jesus", and the demon will respond. If you do not live what you preach, then there is no point actually. The Dean came and affirmed that they should not use the place again, and that has been the case. And even till today none of those Pastors have come to say they are sorry, but they will go outside and say Raymond is a wicked person. None of the Pastors have been humble enough, have the modicum of respect for constituted authority to say we are sorry, rather they are sending small small boys. Tomorrow they will become leaders and when people do that to them, let me see how they will take it. So that's that. 

It is very difficult to combine the rigours of office with academics. How have you been able to manage that?

R.O: Trust me I suffered a lot on that. I do not think I managed it very well. My academics suffered a great deal but I am bouncing back. It was not easy. I missed class many times, I had to attend meetings because of students, conferences, trips; to travel out of the state to attend to issues and the rest of them. It was not easy. 

What would you say have been the greatest gain of office?

R.O: The smile I see on students' faces each time I enter the hostel, or each time I see them pass the hall 2 project that is on going, or each time I see them in the bus stops relaxing and charging phones. The smiles I see on their faces make me happy; and the greetings I get from them too. At least I can work freely in UNIBEN today, I can stroll round and hear stuff like "Presido, good morning/evening sir". That comfort alone makes me very happy. 

How would you describe your relationship with school management?
R.O: Very very robust. That is because of my diplomatic steps. Instead of fighting, scattering sometimes, I choose to dialogue. So I have a very strong relationship with the VC, the DVC, everybody, and we are very good friends, especially the Dean. 

Sir, there is this thing concerning clearance of students for elections. We see 20 people for instance buying forms for a post, then only 2 are cleared, for the rest we see 'Security Issue' as a reason for non-clearance. We do not know the meaning of 'Security issue'. Then also these allegations of tribalism, in that it is said that the office of the President is exclusively reserved for the Binis. We saw it with you and your opponent, with Ifidon and Idahosa. Now six people being cleared and they are all Binis. What is your view on these issues, the clearance, and the purported tribalism. 

R.O: Clearance of the students is strictly not union business, it is the business of the school management. I may not know the rigours or activities that surround the clearance, but I must speak very much on the tribalism issue.
Tribalism is as old as University of Benin and Nigeria in general. Tribalism started when Awolowo was busy giving western education to the westerners, and our fore fathers were busy chasing rabbits in the farm, and the northerners were busy being nomads, rearing cattle and stuff. That was when Nigeria started tribalism. People wanted only their regions to benefit.
Not until recently, University of Benin SUG Presidency seat has been exposed to everybody. Orogun was from Delta, Chinelo was Igbo, Martin Luther was not Bini, Prince Harrison, Mike Igini, you can name them, these persons were not even Bini. Not until Osifo's time, we had a real Bini person in office. I believe in one Nigeria, I am not in support of tribalism. I just know that what is happening, probably is as a result of what is happening in other universities. You cannot be a Bini man and go to U.I (University of Ilorin) and contest for Presidency, in fact you cannot even be a Bini man and say you want to go there and they will give you admission. You need to score so much, like if they need 100marks, you have to score 200, yes in U.I and all western schools. You do not go there and say you want to be President. So if others are doing it, maybe that compelled management here to follow the same. You will not go to DELSU, nor UNIZIK and say you want to be President, you are not igbo, you do not speak igbo, they will be like "are you mad", you cannot get it; so probably that was what caused it and they decided to narrow it down. I would not say it is a good thing. I think it is a collective effort [agitation against tribalism] that should go around the whole country, not only the University of Benin. UNIBEN has been very transparent for a very long time; till tomorrow UNIBEN is still the most transparent school when it comes to union activities and giving admission. That is why it is the most sought after University in Nigeria because everybody they are welcome here. Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Calabar, whatever tribe you are, you are welcome here. So UNIBEN has better transparency in these areas. 

There is this rumour that the Executives of SUG have free access to food services in the University of Benin. You can just come and order and they give you. 

R.O: It is not true.

*general laughter* 

The difference is that they can come at anytime and they will prioritise attending to them. Secondly, they can eat for all their time in office without paying, and pay when they are leaving office. As a matter of fact I just paid my own, about 65,000 naira. And most of those ones I did not eat, it was people that went to eat in my name, sign a paper and give it to Blessed so they can give him/her food. Nobody eats free food at Blessed. As a union member, they open a record for you, so everytime you take food they document, whatever you eat they document, whenever you are leaving office, you pay. I have paid my own. 

Do you have a girl friend, are you in a relationship?

R.O: I do. She does not like being referred to as a 'girl friend', so when people ask me if I have a girl friend I say no. So when an issue comes up they will be like "but you said you did not have a girlfriend", and I will say you did not ask me the other question (if I am in a relationship), you only asked if I had a girl friend, and I answered it technically by saying no. She prefers being referred to as 'Wife to be', because that is the I see her. She is not in this school, she is far away. So I have a 'wife to be'. Other people (females) are just my friends. 
The two most important people to you in the world?

R.O: Ah! My mum and the UNIBEN Students.

In this school sir?

R.O: Oh in this school? That would be my classmates, oh I love them so much and of course, UNIBEN Students. 

*Odiri cuts in* You just want to make us feel special.

R.O: *Laughter*

No! I love UNIBEN students, I swear it, you know why? Lots of things have been said about me and these students have stood in my defense several times, UNIBEN Metro for example, just about 5 months in office, wrote an open letter against me but they [students] gave me the benefit of doubt, so they've tried for me and I love them.

But especially, I love my classmates.

Your influence in leadership?

R.O: Buhari! I love Buhari!

*everybody murmurs*

Let us not look at his party, I love the fact that he is a disciplinarian, he does not play with the office, when is into official capacity, he does not play with it, he is serious. Someone that could jail his own brother for corrupt practices in the 70's is a serious leader. I think while a lot of people are blaming him, I'm among those that are supporting him today. The reason been that, a country that has been messed up for sixteen years, you cannot fix it even in four years, and for him to identify the primary problem of this country, which is corruption and is fighting with all that is in him, he is worth referring to as a mentor.

His predecessors mortgaged all our future as Nigerians, if Allison Madueke, allegedly stole 13billion pounds, which if shared among 170million Nigerians, one person would get 158million naira, it was seen with her in UK, then this country needs deliverance, baptism of fire, that is what I would call it.
So for this man to say let's trace the problem and let's start fighting it, it is worth commendation, he can die fighting this battle, because there are a lot of cliques, why do you think the University of Benin has more constant power supply as against off the campus?

Why do you think Mikano Generator will keep selling? When a big politician has the sole right to import Mikano generator into the country and you want to fix light? When you fix power, who will buy the generators? Only one man imports and supplies the entire country diesel and we want light to be stable? How can he sell his diesel and make his billions? 
Tomorrow they will build 5 star hotels and we will say they've arrived!
Look at countries like Malaysia and Dubai, an average man in any of these countries, has just one car and an average apartment with his family and they are okay because money that ordinarily would have been stolen by one person is channelled into the society. Nigeria is worth billions of dollars and yet we are not feeling the impact!
I drove to Abuja to and fro, last two weekends and I almost died on the road, because the road is bad. Our leaders, however fly on air, with their private jets and all and we are blaming the man who is trying to fight corruption, clapping for the man who under six years, allowed Dasuki, Allison Madueke, Asari Dokubo and the likes to loot Nigerians wealth under his nose and you are blaming me for not voting for him for a second tenure, to mortgage Nigeria's future for another four years.

I will only be angry if Buhari does not use the monies he is recovering to develop the country Nigeria, then I'll still come out and tell everybody that he has failed but for now, he has not failed.
He needs more than a year to fix this country. How can you fix sixteen years corruption in one year? Do you know the cabals? how do you think Dangote made his wealth? It is political policies, monopoly. The wealth of a nation is not measured by the number of people that are wealthy but by the number of economic activities that thrive daily, now how many economic activities do we have? Only Dangote is supplying this, supplying that, while the other business men are dying  and you say we should not complain?

Anyway, He's my mentor, that's just the long and short of it.
Who you go to for advice as President? 

R.O - A Lot of people. 

I consult some NANS (National Association of Nigerian Students) comrades, I consult the Dean of students, I don't consult the Vice-Chancellor, I 'beg' him to let certain things go. He is my daddy.
There are a lot of wars you can win, without showing that you are stubborn or dogged, it doesn't make you a coward, as long as you win the battle for your people and they are happy, you don't have to tell them what happened in between, whether you knelt down to beg the V.C, it doesn't matter. Some people will be like - What? A whole president, how can you be begging the V.C? 
No! If it is worth it, let it go, as long as the students will benefit from what you are clamouring for.

Bad habits you are proud of breaking or would like to break? 

R.O - One of my weakness is women!

I'm easily moved by emotions and and I'm quick to be moved by their frailties. When they have issues and they come forward with it, I find it very difficult to resist them and end up solving it for them. So many of them use it to get at me, when you solve a problem for a girl for instance and she has interest in you, she starts to show gratitude that is undue and before you fall into the web, you may not know.

So that's why I say one of my weakness is women.
I like the female folks a lot, probably because I never had many while I was growing, I was a loner, I had more of myself, until I started becoming a bit popular in secondary school and started getting some of them as friends, I think that's probably the reason. 
So yeah, that's one of my weakness and I pray I break it.
Are you soccer fan?

R.O - Yeah. I love football. 
Favourite football club?

R.O - I love Barcelona. I'm a Barca fan.

Favourite football team in UNIBEN?

R.O - I've not really been involved in sports activities in UNIBEN, so I'll not say I have.

Favourite movie of all time?

R.O - There are two!
"Coming to America" and "Lion King"
Favourite Nigerian Artiste?

R.O - I love Samsung, I don't do secular songs, I love Frank Edwards, because of his high pitch because I sing too.

Favourite Foreign Artiste? 

R.O - Don Moen.

What would say is your greatest strength and greatest weakness? 

R.O - My greatest strength is my speech, I maximise it a lot, my greatest weakness like said before is the females. 






Interview by gafar, Josh and Odiri. 

UNIBEN Students React To Management's Postponement Of SUG Elections"

The University of Benin student community was thrown into turmoil in the twilight hours of Thursday, 7th April, 2016, as the school management announced a postponement of the proposed Student Union Government elections. The elections which had previously been shifted from 29th of February to 12th of April due to examination reasons, was moved a day further to 13th of April, before being postponed indefinitely by school management barely five days to the elections.
This development did not go down well with some of the students who felt the school took little or no cognizance of the circumstances surrounding the candidates, supporters and the student electorate in general when making decisions affecting them.

Here are the comments of some who spoke with ULP:


Comrade Opara Ahanna James, SA to the National President of the National Association of University Students (NAUS) on Public affairs
300level Sociology and Anthropology .

"I would say that the postponement of the SUG election came as a big shock to all student on campus, even those that are politically conscious and those that are not. But the question we kept asking ourselves is, what are the reasons for the postponement? But still, there was no feasible reason, although the school management said it's based on security reasons, But for me, I feel there is more to it, of which the obvious fact tells that the school management is protecting their own interests. That's why my opinion still remains, that we as intellectuals, we must refuse to be intimidated and deceived by the school management. It's quiet unfortunate that the Aluta consciousness of every student could not be motivated.
But in every crisis or disagreement, there must be an agreement, reasons being that, everyone is scared of the wrath from the school management. So the other thing to do now, is to obey the constituted authority and avoid violence



David Ogbemudia:

400level, Attorney General Candidate
It's disheartening but we will strive on. I do not see the reason the management gave as cogent enough.  However we as students do not have a voice anymore so we cannot cry. But as much as we agitate for our rights as students, we must be calm and not resort to violence. I believe we can get justice by wits and not fists.



Lauretta Obakpolor, 400level Pharmacy, Presidential Candidate.

The truth of the matter is that security issue is not the principal reason for the postponement. I think there are other reasons the school management do not want us to know. The school management should be wise to give wise reasons about issues like this. They should understand that no matter how low the pitch of one's voice, once the voice screams it will be the loudest. Students have a voice.


Nosakhare Uzzi, 200level Science and Laboratory Technology; Director of Sports Candidate.

To be sincere I am deeply embittered by this autocratic act by the school authorities without due consideration of how the students would feel. See, this is the third time something like this is happening. Most of the aspirants performed poorly in the last exam just because the school management would not just care if they pass or fail. No good management would put an election very close to the examination period but UNIBEN did and students were patient only for them to postpone it and say it was due to the exam, that is wicked. they allowed the student to waste time and resources for what, nothing? I think the school has looked down on us for too long and I seriously think  we the students should come out and show them that we are not pleased with their actions. For crying out loud it is a student election and not lecturers' election so the students should be allowed to pilot the election with little interference from the school. Thank you.


Eke Martins, 400level Law; Secretary General Candidate.

The obvious is that the management has some cards up their sleeves which they intend to play. And I must admit the pain and shock whether psychologically or otherwise. However, it behooves on us all to mind the way we react to it. Lest we solve a wrong with a wrong. Notwithstanding, we should and will not sleep on our salient right to franchise, but in so doing let's thread with caution.





BREAKING: The SUG Elections has been now been slated for 22nd of April 2016.

The Backstory! Behind The Curtains With "The President" - Student Union Government.

Raymond Omorogbe is the Student Union Government President of the University of Benin. In this lengthy 'no holds barred' exclusive interview with ULP, we go behind the curtains as he discusses his time in office, plans, achievements, challenges, key issues in UNIBEN and a glimpse into his personal life.

Excerpts:




Good day Mr President. Let's  get a Bio from you. Tell us about yourself.

R.O: My name is Raymond Omorogbe, a final year student of the Department of Animal and Environmental Biology (AEB), Faculty of Life Sciences, by the grace of God the President, Student Union Government, University of Benin.

I'm a Christian I attend a local church in town and it's fellowship in school.


Why did you decide to become President?

R.O: I did not decide to become President, providence brought me to become President, though leadership has been part of me right from time, from primary school I was class monitor in several classes, secondary school I was class prefect, SS2 - Senior Prefect, in the same SS2, I was fellowship President, I went to lecture, I was science club president, Year One and Two, I was class rep, Year Two I was the honourable representing my class in parliament, Year Three I was a second time member of parliament and at the same time a class rep, these we positions I held before I became President.
I decided to become president because some persons are not very good at been followers, not because they do not want to follow but because there are a lot of things that should be done and they cannot correct it by been followers. I felt there were a lot of questions begging for answers by UNIBEN students and I believed that by God's grace I could effect that change, that was why I chose to run, that was why my maxim for the election was, "the change that works is here, let's make it count", because we've heard of changes, changes but the one that works, that was why I chose to run.


You talked about providence, some time last year we saw a program that was a huge success, for many that was the platform that brought you to limelight, so I'm going to ask before "spelling bee" did you know you were going to contest for Presidency?


R.O: Yes I knew!
I conceived the notion of becoming a President in 1st semester 200level, even before then, my dream in year one was to become a faculty governor.
From year one, I've been a teacher, I teach in Gorilla brains, I still do, by virtue of that I have a lot of students in the university of Benin as friends. It was in year two that I decided to widen out, instead of narrowing it to my faculty only, I felt I could achieve more around the school.
So it was not spelling bee or the fame that came with that gave me the desire to run, before then I had a dream already.


Because to some, it was just creative strategic political planning, that eventually paid off.


R.O: To be frank and sincere, when you have good food to sell to people to eat, until you present it to people nobody can ascertain whether it is sweet or not, you are the only one that can tell and then you cannot be the judge of your own food, so there was a need for exposure. Take away the fact that I teach English and I was fit for the position of an anchor, there was still need to show case to UNIBEN students a persona, that probably they may like to look into if possible becoming their president.


So, we've been looking for this opportunity since, so let's give you a word to spell?

R.O: Well, if it's something that I can spell, I would, but if isn't, I'd just say I can't, because I'm not a fountain of knowledge.

*Laughter*

Oya josh give him a wicked word to spell..

*Laughter*

R.O: Maybe that should come at the end of the interview.


Would you say you've achieved the reasons that motivated you to become President?

R.O: Well, no achievement is complete, I'd say by the grace of God, my campaign promises I have been able to keep them, maybe not exactly all but more than 70% of my campaign promises and my wishes for UNIBEN Students, we have been able to meet them.


How you describe your stay in office?

R.O: It has been tough, it has been stressful, you do not have a private life anywhere, whether in Benin or in Delta, as a matter of fact I travelled to Delta yesterday and I saw somebody shouting "Presido!!" and I was shocked, I was dressed casually and looking very funny and people were saying - "that's our SUG President ", I was scared.

*Laughter*
So office in one year has been challenging, it has been breath taking, but by the grace of God, it has been worth it.

How have you been able to differentiate your official life from your private life?


R.O: Like I said, I have hardly had a private life, It has been tough, I have lived more of official life all my time in office, because I receive calls and problems every now and then, both day and night, sometimes 2am. As a matter of fact I went to bail somebody from the police station around after 12am and we left there past 2 in the morning; on one occasion there was an attempted rape incident in Faculty [social sciences, arts & management sciences area], I was preparing for exams the next day, I deserted my books and we ran there and the mob were going to mob him to death, we were able to rescue the boy who was caught. I was going to take him to crime office but they insisted he must stay in the boot of my car, and they forced him inside and I took him.
So a lot of times, I don't really have private life, the only time I can say I have a private life is when I go home sometimes to meet my mum, siblings and family and maybe I when I go to church.


Aside the lack of a private life, which other challenges would you say you faced in office?

R.O: Well, the challenges were much, challenges from my executives, because I am not just the union, we always disagree to agree, most times, they will be like - "No, No, Presido we nor go gree", and this is what I always tell them - couples will live together for years and still quarrel, we are ten of us, from different backgrounds, different ideologies and styles of life, we've just been together for five months or more, we are bound to have disagreements, and sometimes they agree with me, so I had challenges from my executives but we always conquered our challenges.
I had challenges from students because of their demands, I was not able to meet all their demands but I was able to meet a good handful, the last I attended to recently was when they asked students to vacate hall 1 and 2 because of the Medical games, I went to hall 1 first and after a lot of arguments and shouting, we were able to strike a balance, that the blocks that were already free should be given to the visitors, while the students could stay in the remaining blocks, I went to hall 2, and hall 2 girls did not want to hear, they were all screaming - "No! No! No!", so I told them that indeed it was not their fault, management did not make proper arrangements, so after pleading with them that they just needed to accommodate just a few people, they insisted NO, so I had to call the Vice Chancellor that this could not stand and eventually hall 2 girls were allowed to retain their space and all.
So these are some of the challenges, they come all the time.

What would you say are the notable achievements of your administration?

R.O: Well, by God's grace we've had relative peace, by peace I mean certain issues that would ordinarily lead to break down of law and order, we were able to handle them so that they did not escalate, that's one.
Secondly, I'm not a 'programme' driven person, I'm more of an infrastructure driven person, when I got to office, I promised UNIBEN Students that the hostels will not remain the way they were as at when I was entering, and if time would permit, I would tell you because I want students to know what really transpired with the hostel renovation.
By experience, when I was contesting, I stayed in hall 3, block C, room 405, corner D, anybody that has stayed in hostel, knows what it means to stay in the "05's"

*Laughter*

Thank God, you guys have an idea.
Every "05", is close to the bathroom and every "06" is close to the toilet, but the bathroom is so important because every first bathroom is a urinary and corner D is the first space close to the door, so I was sitting strategically and every time urine gushed out of a person and sedimented, the first batch of the smell, got to me first, so I was suffering when I was contesting. I left the comfort of where I was actually staying to come and feel the pulse of the people that I was supposed to lead, so by staying in that place, it was hell, I had to buy air fresher to pour in that particular bathroom once in a while,  so that I could breathe in fresh air, so this made the hostel my priority, I was fine tuning while I was contesting, palliative measures to stop the smell and I campaigned with it.
I told them, you use the bathroom when you are pressed, why would one use the bathroom and not leave it clean, it's because water is needed and because these students are staying high up, to go down and get water to pour on the urinary is difficult, so if there was water in the "series", somebody would use the urinary and flush, so the solution was water and a more conducive toilet and bathroom.
I knew this would not happen in one day, I knew that it would be systematic, so I drew up a plan of fixing two toilets in every series as a palliative measure, so that if two toilets are functional, rooms 1-5 could use one, while rooms 6-10, could use the other, because in SUG floor, that's what we do.
I saw that as the first step, water should run in every series by activating the pumping machines again, change the tanks upstairs, and making sure there are bowls in every floor, so that people can use the urinary and flush. That was the plan I had.
As soon as I got to the office I contracted a contractor, [Solo's group of company], Mr Solomon, and I wrote to the PEOs of hall 1,2 and 3, to give me access to do feasibility studies on the toilets facilities in the hostels, this I did, alongside the contractor and he said that to make sure water runs in every series and two functional toilets, that each block would cost 426,000 naira for just two toilets.
When he said this, I went to management meeting with the Vice Chancellor and his team and I presented my proposal, they all praised the idea and I was jumping and shouting, thinking it was going to scale through but just like the National assembly it entered
I wrote again to the PEO of hall 3, to grant me access to snap the ills we suffer with the hostel toilets and I paid the camera man, 3000 naira, [some of these things I will show during the dinner that is coming], I took this pictures to the Vice-Chancellor and he screamed, "Is this what you people are using? human beings cannot stay here!" and I said "Sir, human beings are staying here". It was really disgusting to look at.
And I said - "Sir, something has to be done about this toilets and bathrooms. And he said "Okay! But hope these pictures have not gone to the media?" and I said "No sir!, they are in safe hands", and as a matter of fact to buttress that point, after the management meeting, I handed the pictures over to the Dean of students, the matter was gradually gathering momentum yet it still did not get attention.
This [story] is necessary because some people are saying today that I already heard the Vice-Chancellor manifesto, before he became V.C, that I knew his plan to renovate the hostel, that was why I took the hostel up.
But it's not true! I told the Vice-Chancellor that I was not going to rest on this issue, so I took my team and I said, let us do room to room investigation. We went to hall 2, room by room, we were documenting, problems upon problems, ask hall 2 girls, they saw us, we documented naked wires, some no ceiling, some no louvres, some no nets, rats everywhere, some had no [or half] doors, some were "bunk less", all these things were itemised, we couldn't breathe in hall 2 but human beings were staying there, but then God allows somethings to happen for certain things to be, Rita Awele died, after her death there was an emergency meeting, the Vice-Chancellor had already instructed before then, that something should be done about the hostel, the Director of works was already trying to work on it, in the meeting after she died, I told the Vice-Chancellor that students are angry not just because Awele died, but because of the undue negligence of management to students, and we protested, they thought we were going to scatter everywhere but thankfully we did not, after the protest, there was another meeting and it was after this, that the management released one million naira to the contractor I contracted, to start something, so that students should at least calm down.
If you do the math, you'd find that one million naira should be for two blocks, the contractor started and I said, "start with block C, hall 3, because that's where I came from and he did. The Director [of Works] came and said instead of doing two toilets, just invest the entire sum in this block, instead of two toilets why not do five toilets.
In doing the five toilets the Vice-Chancellor came to visit and he saw the work and said "This Is Beautiful!" and said that it should be replicated in all the hostels.
By virtue of our findings of naked wires, bad windows and all that, he said they should approve for furniture, which is for nets and doors which were bad. That's how they approved for toilets, louvres and everything. When they fixed those nets at first, rats were eating those nets, we came back and said, something had to be done and that's how they introduced wired gauze
This was how the hostel is what it is today, people don't know, all they know is that something is happening.
But I thank God that the Nation newspaper carried it that "The New UNIBEN SUG President promises a face-lift in the hostels", today I believe the same newspaper should carry it that the hostels have been fully renovated.
Hall 1 and hall 2 girls are bathing with showers today and now you can breathe well in the toilets, I entered recently and I could talk and breathe, when it was terrible I still entered when we were investigating then, and today I will still tell you that my office wrote, for management to give us money to buy keys, the keys you see in your toilets today, we locked up all the toilets and shared keys for every room, so that two rooms will use one toilet, to further help maintain the toilet and help their health and sanitary habits, we did that.
But many people, that I will refer to as "beefers", because every politician would always have some, would say "he didn't do anything".

That is for the hostels, during my campaign I asked hall 2 girls, how would you feel if "hotel ebelebs" is transformed into something more beautiful and aesthetic? And they all screamed!
Today like you witnessed yourself, work has started

and that is a result of what I had in mind. During my campaign, I saw a lot of girls coming around to snap pictures on the field and there was nothing beautiful to admire except for the cake and the people smiling and I felt there was a need for us to do something beautiful that people can be proud of, so many universities have these things.
On the 27th of May 2015, I wrote for that project, when I wrote I contracted an architect, this is why I say I'm more infrastructure driven, because I heard someone say it was not "Raymond's idea" it was "Ifidon's idea" and I laughed. I have a 3D picture of what that place would look like by the time they are done,

I got the proposal and I went to the Vice Chancellor's office,

the P.R.O took me there and after explaining in detail to him, "Hall 2 relaxation center and garden", he looked at me and said he had never seen anything like this before and he said the project was a go, that they are going to look critical critically into it.

After that I went with the project to the Deputy Vice Chancellors to tell you the several steps I took, the D.V.C said this project is a wonderful project and it must come to lime light, [produces a letter to the Dean of students and the architectural plan of the proposed relaxation center]

because when people start talking, they will say, "he just dey go the site, e nor know wetin dem dey do there" [explains the proposed plan, keys and their positions as against the blueprint on the table]
The quotation I brought as a lame man was 7.5 million naira, and when physical planning did theirs, it was standing at the tune of 9.9 million naira.
The seating capacity is already been constructed and by the grace of God, it's going to accommodate at least 100 persons, the garden is going to have walkways and interlocking tiles, we are going to have fancy lights and all, it's going to be a thing of beauty. This is how far we've gone with that particular project.

The 3rd you must have seen for yourselves are the bus stops round the school. The bus stop project is my office project, by God's grace I created a committee which is referred to as the "Bus stop Renovation and Reconstruction Committee", headed by Honourable Maximus Ebinabome of Microbiology department who has just graduated. He and other members of the different Faculties were the members that constituted the committee. By the grace of God, that project, each cost us about five hundred and fifty thousand naira (550,000) and by God's grace we were able to renovate four. It was not money from school management, school did not give us the money, we sourced for the funds outside. That is why you see Pastor Ize-Iyamu's name there because he was the one that sponsored the bus stop projects for us. But somebody will now say, "it is not Raymond's project, na Ize-Iyamu na imm build am". And then I laugh, if as Ize-Iyamu gave me the money after I had met him, convincing him at different times, he gave me the money and I buy a car, will anybody know? Nobody will know about it. But we did it for UNIBEN students. Today you can go there, sit down, relax, charge your phone and receive your visitors. Yet people still say "he did nothing". Then I can say indeed human beings, you cannot satisfy them.
So these are some of the projects we have embarked on, and by the grace of God, this building you are seeing here (SUG Multi-purpose Hall), if I still had time, this building would have been completed in my time. As I speak to you, the SUG multi-purpose hall, work is going to start soon. I met the Governor himself, he started the project up to what it is now, and I told him to come and finish it. I told Governor Oshiomhole, one on one, "sir come and finish this project, you started it", and as I speak to you he has already sent contractors. The next (SUG) government will come, obviously it is their time that it will be commissioned, beautiful, I do not mind. But they should not come and start taking glory from what they do not know nothing about. The contractors have already come to evaluate the total cost of finishing this project, because that is what Oshiomhole told me, that he will send his people to evaluate what it will cost and send them back to come and finish building it, he wants to commission it before he leaves office.
These are some of the things we put in place. You cannot pass maingate without feeling some bumps in your vehicle. That was not my achievement, that was UNIBEN Students' achievement, we all collectively achieved that. But what if I did not lead that protest after they threatened me that I will not graduate? What if I did not lead it and people went out in anger to go and protest, scatter everywhere, destroy buses, burn vehicles, loot stores, will there be speed breakers at maingate today? At least today lives are safer at maingate. You can cross with ease today. So each time I cross those speed bumpers I tell myself. "Our Legacy" and I am happy.
So by God's grace, I do not want to go farther than this because there are host of things I would have loved to tell you, there are things we have done. [Resisting] student oppression, students that were not supposed to be allowed to remain in their departments especially in medicine; students that had already given up hope that they cannot move to the next level; students that had graduated and were not allowed to practice what they had studied; we went very far, and all these were sacrifices, because I swore to defend the interest of the average University of Benin student. So I can tell myself by the grace of God, I have contributed my quota. Thank you very much.


What would you say is your most embarrassing experience in office?

R.O: My most embarrassing experience in office, was when I went to one of these police stations, Ugbowo Police station to be precise, to bail a student at about past 12am. We had almost completed the bail, when a policeman came. Before he came, other students came at that time of the night from CFI or RCF, either of those two, they seized their truck because of a little accident that happened, and they were happy that I was there. We were just discussing when a policeman came into our discussion. I was like "you people will not kill me, its still night. How can I be solving problem, this one is here now..." we were just talking, interacting. And the policeman said why am I complaining, that is it not my job? I know I was voted in but it is not my job to leave my sleep at night, 1am and be sorting problems. He said I should not complain jor, that it is what I bargained for, whether "na today dem begin dey see union president". I looked at him, and I knew the man was trying to slight me. So I asked who he was and they said he was a policeman, so I said to him "Sir with all due respect what is your problem? You are not supposed to be with us, go and take care of your crime and criminal related issues, we are busy, we are trying to sort out ourselves". He said how dare me talk to him like that, and behold, he slapped me. I had never been slapped since I got to office. And I promised a person that the day anybody lays hands on me, especially a law enforcement agent, I will plank the person's head, I will take the law into my hand that is what I told the person. And I made the statement to that person that evening and the man did it that morning. As soon as he did it, I slapped the living daylight out of him. I felt I misbehaved, but I kept to my word, I do not like my words falling to the ground. I kept to my word because first, he slapped me, he did not respect constituted authority. At least you should respect the office of the President. So when I slapped him in anger, he was surprised that a student could slap him; he got offended and was looking for his gun. I told him look for your gun and make sure you shoot, but be rest assured that your family house, even if it is not in the state, in Ibadan or wherever it is, including you will be burnt to ashes when you are done. Before I knew he ran, and they were looking for him. I told them that they must produce him, and that night was a night I did not want to hear.
Before I knew, UNIBEN students were aware that their President was slapped and the station was already scared. The policemen were already preparing that students will come to march down their fence. Before I knew it, a call was coming to my phone, the DPO was calling, I refused to pick his call. He called through another policeman, the DPO is my friend actually, I then picked his call and he was begging me. He told me I should assume that everything that had happened that night was his fault, I should just allow the bail to be done so we can go. After the embarrassment I got from that place, I left. Students were already at maingate waiting for me, but as a diplomatic person that I am, I cannot risk the lives of my students. If anything happens to anybody they [the police] will say it is accidental discharge, they would have even called them thieves, that they came to invade their police station. So I refused to allow them go beyond there. I think that was the most bitter experience I ever had. But the man was eventually taken away from the station, because of my demand that I do not want to see him because he is not student friendly, because I go to the police station, there is always student issues coming up, so they called the Commissioner of Police and they transferred him away from the station.


Sir thank you for throwing more light on that situation. We actually reported this incident, though it was not these detailed, we had to contact few sources to put our report together. During our investigation of this incident, our sources informed us that there is this cordial relationship between the police and the SUG. In fact the source said there were some claims you could have pressed for, like your phone that was damaged, and other things. But you did not want a situation where you will want a favour from the Police and they will make things hard because of this incident. So we want to ask, what is the relationship between the SUG and the Police


R.O: Well, your source gave you correct information.
The relationship between the SUG and the Police is a very strong one, it has to do with rapport for the fact that one or two issues will always take me to the station. There are some I will have to go and help the person out, there are some I will have to put a call across, and they will let the person go. It became necessary that every union president, in fact it is an advice to the next union president, he (or she) should have a one on one rapport with the DPO. There are a lot of issues that are trivial, that some policemen will even want to charge to court. But because you intervene they will let it go. There are a lot of times that the DPO, even the former before this present one, has released students for me, because the crime would either be "you dey pass around 9pm" or "dem carry you for maingate say you be suspected cultist", and then when they find out that you are not a cultist, they will want to bail you with fifty thousand and in the end I'll say "I do not have money sir, he is my friend I know him, let him go". So it became imperative for me to sustain that friendship. And the DPO had never made any request to me, apart from one when the AIG was coming to Benin, he came and requested our presence in police officers mess at GRA, apart from that he had not made any request to me. So on this occasion when they broke my phone, it was the glass screen guard that was broken though, and because of the slap I got a little bruise in my mouth; so when I made my demands that they must replace my phone and treat me, also transfer the man out of the station, they agreed to do these three. I was even the one that told the DPO, I said "No, you can transfer the man but I will take care of myself and my phone". So the thing is, there is need for a cordial relationship, because issues that are not supposed to escalate could escalate because there is no friendship between you and the station. And for the fact that it is the nearest police station to school, you should have a strong rapport with them. That was how we established a strong relationship; if I call the DPO in your presence now he'd be like "Raymond how far" and I'll say "Daddy I dey o, anything for your boy?" I call him 'daddy', and we will just laugh, he may say "Na you be my oga na", he will be calling me his oga. And a lot of issues, I will just call him and say [for instance] "daddy that bus that you people took is our bus o, and we do not have money", and he asks the IPO [investigating police officer] in charge to let it go that we are his people. So that is the nature of the relationship, it has been okay. 


Can any of the offices of the SUG from the Presidency down to Welfare, use funds from their office to assist in a faculty project?


R.O: Well the union is not financially autonomous. The union does not even have the funds. The funds that you people pay as SUG dues does not even come to the SUG it goes to the school management. Many people do not know this, and some will say, "Dem [SUG] dey chop our money", but the money is with the school management. And when we need money for anything, we write to them. It is at the discretion of the management to approve anything they want to approve for us. So we do not have financial autonomy. The only money we generate in the SUG is from the rent from our stores downstairs. That is why we are a bit handicapped in matters of finances. 


Do you aim to tow a political path?


R.O: Yes. By God's grace I am a teacher by birth. My father is a retired principal, his first son is a retired principal, his second son died as a vice principal. His other sons and daughters are teachers, principals, WAEC examiners, in fact teaching is an instinct in my family, it runs in my family. If you ask people that I have taught, who is Uncle Raymond, they will say he is friendly, he is funny, he plays with all of us. They will say all these things before they say he is a good teacher. So by God's grace, we are in the teaching line, I intend to tow the teaching line, but not as a teacher in secondary school, I will love to lecture anywhere God might take me to. And I will love to be actively involved in politics too. 


There is this rumour that as President of the Union, you must have settled 'senior men', either at Ekosodin, BDPA, and so on. It just there that you must have the backing of the 'senior men' before you get to and even when in office. 


R.O : It is ....


...... to be continued.








Unibenlawsapress would like to crave  your indulgence and assure all our esteemed readers that we've saved the best for the last.
We implore you to keep a date with us, this Tuesday, as we bring you the explosive and concluding part of this eye opening interview! 
God bless! 


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Interview by gafar, odiri and josh. 

Visible Panty Lines - VPL's.

VPL's


“A woman’s dress should be like barbed-wire fence: serving it's  purpose without obstructing the view".

 Fashion is a science of appearances, and we believe in the popular saying 'you are addressed the way you are dressed'.
However there's a crazy faux pas that has infected the streets of fashion and that error is what I have put in the acronym VPL.


What are VPL's?

A Visible Panty Line (VPL) is a situation were the outline of a person's underwear is visible through the clothing . The underpants may be seen as a ridge or depression in the clothes, or as a result of the clothing material being sufficiently clingy or transparent.

As lawyers in equity we are expected to look smart and charming each day of our lives and since we've been designated to wear skirts for the time being [for the women], It is appalling that this error can still be found amongst us - from the fresh 100level student to the sophisticated 500level lady. 
I've seen huge 'V' cuts on skirts of many females in the Faculty smacking their butts left and right carrying visible panty lines up and down the LT's like it's some trophy won through hard work... Please it's not a sight for healthy eyes let alone sore ones.

Visible panty line is caused mainly by too tight pants or oversized ones.

Wearing clingy or tight clothes can also show your panty lines. [Special shout out to the "bodycon sisters", greetings to the sisters who live for leggings and short tops, "aunty low waist jeans" we don't like the waist band of your pants even if it's black lace, and Miss 'see-through gown' we equally hail thee].


Wearing loose pants can create divisions on clothes It would be better to leave divisions to the police force.


ELIMINATION OF VPL's

The first step in eliminating VPL's is to purchase panties that fit!

Whenever we wear too tight panties they will dig in to your skin and cause unsightly panty lines.

In same vein , if you choose underwear that is too loose, it can easily wrinkle up inside your clothes, showing wrinkles and bumps.

Now, how do you know you're wearing too tight pants? 

If the elastic is cutting into your skin and feels restrictive, then your underwear is too tight.

If there is any excess fabric hanging down or you feel like your underwear isn't supporting your butt at all, it's probably too big.


- Wear G-strings/Thongs

Thongs don’t have the lines to show, making them the ideal panty line-free choice. While they may not be the most comfortable underwear, they are a good option when you are wearing especially tight clothing, for example, bodycon.

Be sure to check out the rear view when you sit or squat, as these positions tend to expose part of the thong, if you’re wearing low-cut denims or plain trousers.
If you're concerned about your thong showing when you squat, be sure to wear high-waisted trousers and skirts or shirts that extend lower than the waistline of your bottoms.

G-strings have even less fabric than cotton panties, so they're the best choice for minimizing panty lines.

Keep in mind that thongs are much less comfortable if they are too tight, so get one that fits properly.

For those who hate thongs, there is another alternative!


Boy Shorts provide full coverage, and because they do not cut across your butt, they offer a much more hot and Slim feel than most bikini-style underwear. You need to be more cautious with boy shorts than you do with thongs because they do not completely eliminate the possibility of a visible panty line. It's best to test them out with your favourite pair of form-fitting pants. You can find boy shorts in many different materials. Choose one that you find comfortable and that has invisible or very minimal seams.

Also make sure your boy shorts fit snugly, but doesn't cut into your skin.

It doesn't hurt to match your underwear.
Match your underwear underwear blends in with your skin, leaving invisible panty lines, even if your pants are a bit see-through.

to your skin tone when wearing light-coloured clothing. Flesh-coloured



Going commando is the best way for those comfortable with not wearing pants. Always wear underwear with skirts and dresses when going commando to prevent infections.
And to go commando means to not wear any underwear.

If you're going without underwear, avoid denims as they can cause great discomfort.

If you feel uncomfortable going commando you can also go for a pair of TIGHTS. Remember boarding school year?

Tights are awesome, they give that sleek and taut figure every chic wants and guess what; they also help tuck in your belly fat giving you that smooth look you deserve. The choice is up to you.

[You can buy high-waisted styles if you want some coverage over your stomach]

When you are in clothes that are even remotely see-through, avoid wearing white panties as white panties are common culprits, so always make sure you can't see your underwear through them before you wear them.


Please save yourself the embarrassment and hide your panty line there's a reason why it's called 'Underwear'...


I know the males would have their judgmental faces on right now but sorry don't be in a haste to judge. You guys are equally culprits too. #topicforanotherday.


Finally I like fashion to go down to the street, but I can’t accept that it should originate there.
We're learned people, we should be trend setters and not copiers.


      Oluchi Onwuka.




"Oluchi Onwuka is a 200level law student.

A fashion critic and writer, she's always on the lookout for a well dressed person. This article was written to correct a fashion faux pas that has infected society.
Let's bear one anothers burden and correct this error"