Inside GreatIFE Politics: Why Some Students Fight and Others Fold

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        Michael Olawuyi

At ‎ every second semester on OAU campus, one question quietly emerges: Why do some students passionately participate in student politics while others remain indifferent? While many people blame apathy or poor leadership, the answer often begins much earlier, at home.

Even long before students ever step foot on a university campus, they form opinions about power and governance. As a child raised in a home that encourages open debate and civic responsibility is far more likely to view political participation as a duty. In alignment with this Karl Marx, a political socialization scholar, once said 'the family is the first institution where people get to develop their political attitudes, values, and beliefs.' 

Conversely, many Nigerian parents raise their children with a deep-seated politicophobia i.e. a fear of campus politics born out of a historical reality of violence, cultism, and academic victimization. Acting out of love, parents often give their children a strict warning: "Focus on your books and stay away from unionism."

‎But home orientation is not destiny. If it were, our universities would merely copy and paste the attitudes we bring from home. In reality, the campus environment is a powerful crucible that can completely reshape a student's political DNA. 


‎ THE CAMPUS AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Nowhere is this transformation more vivid than at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), "Great Ife" where, students from highly conservative, apolitical backgrounds are regularly drawn into intense political mobilization. 

‎According to researchers, this shift happens because the university environment acts as a homogenizing force. When students live together in dense spaces like Awolowo Hall, their individual differences begin to melt away in the face of shared material struggles. 

‎A student might arrive on campus determined to stay silent, but local realities quickly shatter that silence:

The Transport Crisis: When a sudden change in the transport system causes massive queues, spikes fares, and disrupts academic schedules, students are forced to organize. As we saw during the April 2026 lecture boycotts, participation becomes an act of self-preservation. 

The Welfare Struggle: Sudden eviction notices, like the Awo Hall renovation crisis, or poor healthcare facilities, such as the tragic crisis at the health center in 2021, show students that negligence in institutions can directly threaten their lives and comfort. 

‎In these moments of shared crisis, the warning from parents to "stay away" is overridden by the immediate need to survive.


A MIRROR OF THE NATION

‎This campus dynamic is a miniature version of the wider Nigerian society. The same forces that shape student mobilization also drive national political participation.

‎For instance, the digital public sphere, represented by campus WhatsApp groups and social media, mirrors the decentralized online networks that fueled the national #EndSARS movement. Social media lowers the barrier to entry, allowing a student who is too afraid to stand at Aluta Square to still participate, debate, and organize online.

‎However, the dark side of national politics is also creeping onto our campuses. According to campus observers, there is a disturbing trend where intellect-driven student union campaigns are being replaced by highly monetized, transactional politics. When student elections are decided by wealthy "cabals" and superficial showmanship rather than competence and ideas, it breeds a deep sense of cynicism. 

‎Just like in the wider Nigerian politics, when students realize the democratic process has been commodified, they withdraw. They retreat into academic isolation, validating the very fear and apathy their parents originally taught them. 


BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION

‎Political participation should never be limited to contesting for executive offices. Attending congresses at places like the Awo Café, directing tough questions to the leaders, and speaking up against unfair policies are equally vital acts of democracy. 

‎Ultimately, the home plants the first seed of political consciousness, but the university determines how that seed grows. Rather than asking whether our background dictates our political future, we should ask ourselves a simpler, more urgent question: Are we willing to build upon the foundation we were given, or will we let indifference decide our future? 
‎

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