The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to mobilise for a nationwide protest over the reported undue interference by Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in its affairs.
NANS claimed to be predicating its resolve for a mass action over the current President of the association, Comrade Isa Atiku Abubakar, being subjected to political intimidation and harassment orchestrated by Seyi Tinubu, after the students’ leader refused an alleged N100 million bribe.
Issuing the threat in a statement on Wednesday by its National Public Relations Officer, Orowole Eniola Owoyemi, NANS accused Seyi Tinubu of attempting to hijack the leadership and operations of NANS.
“The National Association of Nigerian Students, through the office of the President, Comrade Isa Atiku Abubakar, is planning a nationwide protest if this continues. We will not allow our platform to be used as a political tool,” the statement added.
NANS said Seyi’s meddling undermined its independence and role as the true voice of Nigerian students.
The statement said: “From inception, NANS has been known to be an independent body that fights for the rights and privileges of Nigerian students. However, the recent happenings have negated this claim,” the statement read.
“Comrade Isa Atiku Abubakar was abducted twice on Seyi Tinubu’s instruction..
“The inauguration ceremony at The Wells Carlton Hotel, Asokoro, Abuja, was violently disrupted by thugs allegedly loyal to Seyi Tinubu. His aim is to pocket the association and turn it into a toothless bulldog.”
According to the association, Seyi would not succeed to suppress the collective voice of Nigerian students.
“His efforts will not prevail. It is not possible to silence the voice of the majority,” the statement emphasised.
However, NANS recalled a widely publicised incident in which President publicly rebuked his son during a live broadcast for meddling in the internal affairs of the association.
“The incident that occurred right inside the Villa, when the President warned his son on national television to stay away from the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, is still fresh in our memories,” Owoyemi stated.
The association has now issued a direct call to President Tinubu to caution his son.
“He shouldn’t turn NANS into a rubber-stamp association. His activities are undermining democracy in Nigeria, and it is completely unacceptable,” it said.
Comrade Atiku reported in a video clip that he was attacked by thugs of Seyi Tinubu, who violently disrupted the NANS inauguration ceremony held on Tuesday in Abuja.
Present at the occasion were former Minister of Education and two-term Governor of Kano State, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, and former Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada.
Atiku claimed that the attackers, armed with cutlasses and guns, stormed the venue — The Wells Carlton Hotel in Asokoro — in a coordinated assault that left several attendees injured and many robbed of their phones and personal belongings.
“At the inauguration hall which I personally paid for at The Wells Carlton Hotel, Asokoro, Seyi Tinubu arrived with a large number of security men and ordered them to stop the event,” Atiku said.
“The management of the hotel informed me about the interference, but I decided to go ahead with the inauguration. Immediately after we were inaugurated and Senator Shekarau began his speech, Seyi’s thugs entered the hall wielding guns and cutlasses. They stopped the senator, began stabbing people, and chased others away, snatching phones and valuables in the process.”
He alleged it was another episode in a long line of harassments targeting him and the organisation.
“Before the day of the inauguration, Seyi had asked the Senior Special Assistant on Students and Youth Affairs to lure me into silence with money. I was told he was ready to offer me a hundred million naira. My refusal to accept the bribe led to the attack yesterday,” he said.
“When Seyi’s thugs, led by one Ladoja, came in with machetes and guns, they beat people and injured many. Nigerians should beg Seyi to spare my life,” Atiku said, sounding a note of distress.”
“They attacked Senator Shekarau, the former Minister of Education, and also Captain Idris Wada, the former governor of Kogi State. Fortunately, both of them were whisked away by their security details. I, however, was taken to an unknown location after being beaten and injured.”
