NATIONAL UNION OF GHANA STUDENTS JUDICIAL BOARD PRESS STATEMENT, ACCRA SEPTEMBER 30,2013

The JUDICIAL BOARD of NUGS wishes to inform all stakeholders that National Officers are relentlessly preparing for an emergency congress in the shortest possible time and must hold on to their steadfast loyalty to our great union.
The scuffles,misunderstandings, among others which characterized our 47th annual residential congress of NUGS hosted by Central Uni. College brought the event to an abrupt end. The court injunction which came to a close on September 26, 2013 aggravated the situation, prolonging an emergency congress which everybody hoped and still hopes to witness and or partake.

Article 57 (a,b and c) of NUGS constitution promulgated in 2008 states that: The Judicial Board shall have jurisdiction in
(a) All matters relating to the enforcement or interpretation of this constitution
(b) All matters arising as to whether a resolution was made or authority has acted in excess of the powers conferred on it by this constitution or any other provisions made there under
(c) All matters relating to elections under this constitution. 

Therefore the Judicial Board has ordered that the National Officers take full responsibility of all preparations for an emergency congress as managers of our resources.
The date, venue and any other thing that would make the emergency congress a reality within the shortest possible time must be communicated to member institutions in order not to push delegates, students and the various SRC’s into any form of academic inconveniences since academic work has begun on all campuses.
The Board also wishes to inform member institutions that it is erroneous and a total violation in this situation for anybody or a group of students to organize an emergency congress.

Besides, Article 17 (a and b) states that
(a) There shall be a last CC meeting as the first activity of congress
(b) A steering committee shall be formed after the meeting supra to oversee congress.
In this case the steering committee does not organize congress. All pre-arrangements of congress must be done by National Officers, so that when the date is due, steering committee comes in to oversee the conduct of congress with the help of the National Officers.

The Judicial Board wishes to state categorically that it is unconstitutional for any individual or group of persons apart from the incumbent NUGS Executive members to organize any form of congress under the NUGS 2008 constitution.
The Judicial Board would resort to any legal means to enforce its interpretations and rulings if anybody fails to live up to the aforementioned. Thank you.

Signed

Elijah Adansi-Bonah
(Chief Justice & Judicial Board Chairman)

Ghana’s future left in the dirty hands of student politics?

Sometimes, I sit down and ponder on the future of Ghana and Africa. We always say, the YOUTH ARE THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. Is that wholly true? To me, the question is not about whether we are the ‘future’ or the ‘now’ of our country. But it’s a question of preparedness. Are our youth prepared to take up the challenge of the future?

The unanimous answer is always YES! The youth are ready.  And I agree. We are ready because there is not so much to learn and to apply at the top there. Most of us today, know already how to skin 20%, off a contract. We already know how to divert communal/public funds into our private accounts. We already know the dirty ways of ‘playing the political game and winning the votes of the people.

This is what STUDENT LEADERSHIP in Ghana has grown to become. Know how to convince the people and win their votes, even if it means buying it from them and reimbursing yourself with the communal funds upon wining power. Youth leaders or particularly, we the STUDENT LEADERS already know how to bloat budgets. It’s a sad reality for us.  The dirty remnants of our national politics have crept into youth leadership.
Government seems to lack a clear policy direction on YOUTH LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT. LEADERSHIP TRAINING, YES! AND I MEAN LEADERSHIP TRAINING. The whole process seems to have been left at the mercy of STUDENT POLITICS. And it sounds interesting how every STUDENT LEADER LEAVES OFFICE WITH A FUTURE AMBITION OF CONTESTING FOR MP IN THEIR CONSTITUENCIES and we achieve it, in most cases-except where the old gurus are yet to retire, at most by 2016. To me, the greatest punishment successive governments of Ghana have inflicted upon the development prospects of Ghana is to have left LEADERSHIP TRAINING in the hands of STUDENT POLITICS on campuses and at CONGRESSES. The least said about the Congresses, the better. Because in the end, we all claim, ‘JACK! THE STUDENT POLITICS IS NOT ANY DIFFERENT FROM THE NATIONALPOLITICS.  IT’S EVEN TOUGHER DOWN HERE’. How sad.

I believe, moving forward as a nation, Government should set up a clear institution for LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR THE YOUTH, whether incorporated in the academic curriculum as an extracurricular activity or outside of it. It should focus on helping the youth understand the ever-expanding CIVIL SOCIETY, GLOBALIZATION, THIRD PARTY GROUPS LIKE NGOS AND CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS, their intended and unintended consequences on development.  Africa should channel resources into helping current youth/student leaders understand the roles we can play in our quest to attain the MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS and fighting CLIMATE CHANGE. These are the tasks of our generation.

It is for these reasons that the US Department of State and other advanced countries commit up to $232million to building the leadership capacities of our youth through their various cultural-exchange programmes like the FULLBRIGHT Scholarship, YES (Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study ), IVLP  (International Visitor Leadership Program), IMET, Peace Corps, PPAP,  etc.  I believe government should shift emphasis to these paths as ways of securing the development of our country because indeed, STUDENT POLITICS, since the return to democracy, from 1992 has failed as woefully, as a nation and I say it again woefully without fear or favour.

The writer, AHMED SALIM NUHU, is the current president of the College of Art and Social Sciences Students’ Council, KNUST.

Source: http://www.myjcr.com/articles/opinions/ghanas-future-left-in-the-dirty-hands-of-student-politics-770