By Oseloka Zikora
His oratorical
skill is his spotlight, which catapults him mostly to dizzying heights
sometimes not contemplated. Take Ibadan, for instance, where he was an
economics student at the then premier university. He was contesting the
students’ union presidency and he had a Yoruba student as the leading opponent.
How would he, an “alejo,” that is, a stranger, turn the tables against such
formidable opposition?
*Nwodo
Then came the manifesto night: his opponent spoke first and
against the rules of the contest concluded his address in Yoruba, appealing to
ethnic sentiments and exhorting the predominantly Yoruba student population to
vote one of their own. The chant was “tinwan tinwa o, je ka wole (our own, our
own, …ours is ours)” and the atmosphere was charged. To make matters worse, the
crowd was dispersing in the accompanying commotion. Somehow, confronted by a
Yoruba student and chief campaigner of the disadvantaged “Omoigbo”, the
electoral officer asked that the hall be locked, insisted that all candidates
must be heard.
