STATEMENT RELEASED BY THE YOUTH INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVE (YIDI) ON 27th SEPTEMBER, 2011 ON LEADERSHIP IMPASSES IN NUGS

The Youth Institute for Democratic Initiative, hereby referred to as YIDI, a youth advocacy group would want to register its outmost displeasure with the brouhaha that has currently engulfed the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS).
It wishes to draw to the attention of all parties involved in the impasse that the NUGS as an organization has a responsibility to protect and champion the course of students and not any political entity or pay master.
Therefore any act of omission or commission that seeks to destroy it must be avoided by all and sundry.
It is important for all involved in the brouhaha to come to terms with the fact that the myriads of problems confronting education and thus students in the country go beyond the parochial interest on any single individual or group of persons.
It wishes to state unequivocally that as a people and more especially students, we need a concerted and united front to address these challenges that have the potential to collapse our education.
Let it be known to all parties that the issues of exorbitant school fees, lack of accommodation, inadequate teachers and lecturers, lack of lecture theatres and classrooms among others continue to exist in the country and we would have expected that as people who seek to leads us, these would have been your pre-occupation and not who has a right to be the president or not.
It wishes to state that it is extremely worrying when an organization which is tasked with championing a common course for the “mobrowa” in society sets up to divide its front to the benefit of a few selfish individuals.
As it stands the organization is in a state of anarchy and the development has weakened its existing structures and the earlier all parties involved come to terms with this the better it would be for the development of education.
It is important for those in the dog fight to know that the establishment of the GETFund which has proven to be the only savior for some of the problems confronted by students in the country was muted by selfless leaders who placed the agenda of education first.
Let it be said that posterity would never ever forgive this crop of persons who claim to be leaders and are thus destroying the great oak tree which has provided shelter for all of us over the years.


It is therefore urging both factions to iron out their differences as soon as possible for the interest of the union and the Ghanaian students at large.
YIDI as a student advocacy group calls on all politicians to desist from interfering with student’s politics and allow them the peace to mobilize and champion the course of their kind.
In addition it urges all students’ leaders to be circumspective not to allow themselves to be exploited by politicians and government officials to achieve their parochial interest.
Finally it wishes to call on all stakeholders especially students in both second and third cycle institutions to join forces in solving this problem amicably.
YIDI proposes that an interim leadership be constituted immediately while an amicable solution is found for the impasse.

Spokesperson:
Jinjiwa M.I. Alhassan
0244537339
jinjiwavillage@gmail.com