WA UDS STUDENTS PROTEST (PAGE 34)

STUDENTS of the Wa campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS) on Tuesday boycotted lectures and took to the streets in a five-hour demonstration in support of the suspended president and secretary of the central Students Representative Council (SRC).
The suspended executive members are Mr Alphonse Naab, SRC president, and Mr Owusu Aboagye, the NUGS secretary.
With the hundreds of students all clad in red, many people in the municipality initially thought the march was a pre-Valentine’s Day celebration, until they saw the placards, some of which read, “UDS authorities, stop developing your pockets”, “VC must go”, “We want Naab” and “UDS, we need proper libraries and not book corners”.
The students, led by the central SRC Vice Secretary, Mr Ignatius Akubire Awaafo, marched, chanted and danced, amidst heavy security, from the central administration of the university through the principal streets of Wa to the offices of the Upper West Regional Co-ordinating Council, where they presented their petition, which was addressed to the President of the Republic, Prof. J.E. A Mills.
The students, in the petition, expressed their disappointment and dismay at the action of the acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sagary Nokoe, describing it as illegitimate, autocratic and unconstitutional.
It recalled events that led to the suspension of Mr Naab and Mr Owusu Aboagye, saying, “By the petition dated October 15, 2008 and which was copied to the VC, the student leaders were only asking for a mitigation of the problems confronting UDS students.
It is, therefore, pathetic that when students’ leaders ask for what is due the entire students’ body all that the management of the university could do is to suspend such leaders.
“Students keep paying money under the NHIS but they are yet to enjoy the service, lecture halls lacked public address systems and computer laboratory, among other facilities,” it noted.
It further stated that the decision by the leadership of the SRC to demand certain facilities for the students was in the right direction as they hit the nail right on the head.
We have used all internal measures to see to an amicable solution to the impasse and to see to the revocation of the suspension of these students’ leaders but to no avail hence the decision to embark on this demonstration.
“We, therefore, appeal to President J. E. A. Mills, to quickly intervene and help in the reinstatement of the two suspended SRC leaders.”
To this end, Mr Akubire Awaafo announced that the students were boycotting lectures from Tuesday, until they heard from the President, stressing that they would proceed to the court of law if they did not receive any positive response.
The Upper West Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr David Yakubu, who received the petition on behalf of the President, commended the students for going about the demonstration peacefully and promised to forward their concerns to President Mills.