The voices IrRepresent are not for sale

By Onono Onimisi

Since assuming office as the Vice President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Bayero University Kano, I have received several approaches from individuals and political actors seeking my support in mobilising students for different presidential aspirations.

The conversations have been interesting. Some have even suggested that I am wasting opportunities by refusing to turn my access to students into a means of making money from politicians.

“You are wasting strategies to get money from politicians,” they tell me.

But beyond the money and political calculations, one question continues to occupy my mind: What exactly do I stand for?

I have thousands of Nigerian students within my reach. I interact with them, listen to their concerns and understand some of the difficulties they face. That access, however, does not belong to me. It is a responsibility entrusted to me.

I cannot therefore turn the trust of these students into political currency.

Their voices are not for sale.

The reality of student life is not hidden. There is the student who struggles to afford cooking gas. There is the student who sometimes cannot afford three square meals in a day. There is the student who attends lectures while worrying about how to raise money for transportation, accommodation, feeding or other basic needs.

These are the people behind the numbers.

So, whenever the question of political mobilisation and financial benefits comes up, I ask myself a simple question: If I receive ₦1 million from a politician in exchange for mobilising students, what exactly have the students gained?

If their problems remain the same, what have I really achieved?

Leadership positions often come with opportunities for personal advancement. There is nothing wrong with personal ambition. But leadership also comes with a moral responsibility to those whose trust made the position possible.

For me, that responsibility matters.

If I publicly support a politician, I want my support to come from conviction. I want to be able to defend that support based on what I genuinely believe about the person’s ideas, character, record or capacity to serve.

It should not be because money changed hands.

I have access to people. I have influence. I understand that influence has value. But I also understand that influence can be abused.

There is a difference between having influence over people and owning their voices.

The fact that students listen to me does not give me the right to sell their support.

The fact that I occupy a leadership position does not mean I can package the trust of the people I represent and offer it to the highest bidder.

This is where conscience becomes important.

At some point, every person in leadership must ask: What will I be remembered for?

Will it be for the money I made from the position?

The political connections I accumulated?

Or for the fact that, when I had the opportunity to exploit people’s trust, I chose not to?

I do not claim to be perfect. I have personal needs, ambitions and responsibilities. But I do not want my pursuit of those things to come at the expense of the people whose interests I have promised to represent.

Nigeria does not only need leaders with access. It needs people who understand the responsibility that comes with that access.

Students should not become bargaining chips in political transactions.

Their economic struggles should not become opportunities for those in leadership to enrich themselves.

And their trust should never be treated as a commodity.

I may not have everything. I may not have taken advantage of every opportunity presented to me. But I still have my conscience, and I consider that valuable.

If I ever stand behind a political candidate, let it be because I believe in what that person represents and can defend my position without being ashamed of how I arrived at it.

Because ultimately, what is the essence of being a voice for the people if, when the opportunity comes, you become the very person who sells that voice?

The people we represent are bigger than any politician’s financial offer.

And their voices should remain theirs.

— Onono Onimisi
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