STUDENT LEADERS A TALE OF RAGS TO RICHES

The tale of campus politics is a case study in its own way as it revolves around a means to an end. It is a lucrative deal but a dangerous affair at the same time. Lucrative in the sense of, the money-minting tunnel, from the various business and tenders around college. The danger part comes in when student leaders brush shoulders with the administration the wrong way. A tough affair indeed as the notorious leaders may kiss their education goodbye.

A story is told, of a student leader in a university, in the North Rift part of Kenya who was feeding from hand to mouth during his days as a ‘normal’ comrade. He had no sense of fashion, kept a low profile, and made friends with not so cool people per the campus lingo. He even had a ‘village girlfriend’. And he had this itchy ambition of being part of the student governing body.

When he announced he wanted to contest for one of the dockets in the student leadership hierarchy, his move was applauded, and embraced by the majority student populace, who could identify with his social status. It meant great mobilization for votes and definitely a win in favor of their man.

The campus election body was satisfied that each candidate had meet the threshold and organized for an election. Comrades voted and the results were ready to for announcement after the tallying process. You have guessed right, the man was among the candidates elected for the big post. At the students’ center, his supporters of over 500 sang, chanted, and prayed celebrating the win. The candidate marshaled his supports for a mini rally in the wee hours of the morning, shortly after the results were announced. Probably to thank them for that elusive victory that he had attempted in the last election, which he lost miserably. He stood tall on a makeshift podium and began chanting the age-old incantation, comrade power! They responded in unison, with a hollow sound that slowly gained volume by sheer force of repetition.

 That victory had to call for a celebration.

“That morning after the celebration, that was the last interaction with ‘our man’ says John one of the comrade supporters. He promised us a part of the pie, once he joins the student leadership position.”

Details emerging, he had acquired power that made him so proud and arrogant. This made him secure the classy friends. Out goes, his fashion sense of a village farmer and in came the latest designer clothes in the market (the wardrobe had to change you know!). Ooh! and the village girlfriend? She was thrown into oblivion as there was need and pressure to acquire a more classy girl per se (or is it a digital woman?) to match up the new acquired status. There were claims his ‘village girl’ financed part of the campaign after she thoroughly convinced her parents how she urgently needed some emergency cash for an ‘academic trip’ (Oh boy!!!! the heartless  nature of men).

A typical lifestyle of a student leader in campus is that of luxury, living a high-end life that is fantasy to a normal comrade. They instantly become rich going by the string of business they own. They enjoy all the lucrative deals including the tendering process of various service offered to the student fraternity.

A vicious circle that raise its ugly head every academic year when elections, are held to choose a new body. Every new body reads from the same script-, “it’s our time to eat.” Nevertheless, that is what the perceived role models (politicians) have been doing since independence, the day’s politician. What do you expect of the seed? University student leadership, a tale of rags to riches and on the extreme cases it is rags to riches and back to rags.