BEYOND THE LENS: A TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT IS POSSIBLE.

Truly,the UofA is woven of many strands. I would recognise them and let it so remain. Our fate as the university of national unity is to become one, and yet many. This is not a prophecy, but a description of our identity. How many times have we heard that chant? The Lillian Jean Williams song for Nigeria in 1959? But is that phrase a principle or a prophecy? Assuming it is a principle, the next logical question would be, are we united? Is our Union promoting national unity?

I'll gladly take out my time to appreciate our leaders that have stood firmly to protect our democracy and our Constitution at all cost,for John Lewis, before his passing, wrote: “Democracy is not a state, it is an act.” – and what he meant, was that the UofA's Students Union democracy is not guaranteed. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. To guard it, and never take it for granted. And protecting our democracy takes struggle. NO WONDER, ALUTA CONTINUA

It takes sacrifice. But there is joy in it, and there is progress as VICTORIA ASCERTA. Because we, the leaders, have the power to build a better future for our students who gave us their voices through voting. 

One of the tasks that we clearly have now,as leaders is to rebuild trust in our Union. Yes that's about cleaning up expenses, yes that is about reforming our parliament, and yes it is about making sure students are in control - and that we the students leaders are always their servant and never their masters.

But I believe it is also something else. It is about being honest about what our Union government can achieve;not forgetting what a veteran student leader "Wolly Bee" said during our capacity building workshop organised by the Students affairs division— Transparency and collaborations is the key to a successful student politics. Let's not forget that real change is not what government can do on its own - real change is when everyone pulls together, comes together, works together, where we all exercise our responsibilities to ourselves, to our constituency and to others.

It is fairly safe to say and obvious that we as a union are not truly united, which means we are either falling or have already fallen.I saw someone else write the other day: “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”

Let me give another one: “You cannot preach a divisive philosophy and expect unity.”

While it is true that the country as a whole is divided with the different strands and boundaries, the students who are the majority population are more divided than the rest. Making it worse, there is a whole politics that survives off that division. Practise that philosophy of division for 12 years and we see what we have today as insurmountable walls. 

While we cannot rewrite history, what was done is with us now and we cannot change what happened, but we can learn something. 

So,today, the exercise is to climb out from under the rubble of a politic that has laid our nation as a wasteland of divided people and runaway leaders, and it is a daunting task.

As an adjunct, I recall the excitement around our inauguration as lawmakers and the oath we took to defend the constitution of our Union at all cost. Walking up to that hall of fame where laws and decisions,were being made for UofA students union, was to all of us, a nail-biter. As we stood before the noble assemblage, amidst a sea of eager faces a

wit, with the hope of the 93.3% of the students voice at heart. We all couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions - anxiety, nervousness, and above all, gratitude to God and the traditional owners of the house,whom we've promised to always make proud. 

It is probably a bit too much to ask that we the students leaders be the new example and the shining light on the proverbial hill. Students are tired of seeing leaders who prefer nothing more than to enrich themselves, forgetting posterity and our digitalised world.

It’s time for a little sobriety from which everyone can benefit. It is, despite the seeming doom and gloom, still very possible to re-engineer our Union government to being the top Africa. 

It would be nice if we could reverse the clock, but we can’t. If we could, we might start with a clean slate and design what we appropriate for our students populace 

This cabal game must be stopped and someone must call us back to the realisation that we are, despite our tendencies, one humanity and need to operate as though that is our aim to exemplify because divided we continue to fall.

We are a union and we must remain as one and let's try and build a more responsible society here in UofA. One where we don't just ask what are our entitlements, but what are our responsibilities,one where we don't ask what are we just owed, but more what can we give.And a guide for that the new SUG - that those that can should, and those who can't we will always help.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us as leaders.