NUGS Congress 2012: All is Not Lost

The 46th Annual Congress of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) came to an abrupt halt in the late hours of Sunday, August 12 2012 after the SRC Presidents and Local NUGS Presidents of member institutions, in a crunch meeting, decided to suspend congress and form an interim committee with the task of organising an emergency congress in a month's time.

The meeting was called after repeated delays of scheduled programmes, including the voting. The delays were attributed to the inability of the hitherto factionalised NUGS leadership to reach a consensus on key issues. The SRC presidents were also disgusted by the tense atmosphere created before the elections through the hiring of "macho men" and a millieu of wild allegations that were made at the grounds.

The congress was in contrast to the 10th Annual Congress of the Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS). At that congress, a hitherto factionalised union emerged united, and it was expected that the mother union (NUGS) will take a cue from one of its blocs. But it was not to be....

To the external observer, this chaotic episode in the student's front must look like a monumental failure; it certainly doesn't help the image of NUGS. That is so, but one must also not overlook the fact that students have taken affairs into their own hands with a gusto rarely seen on the Ghanaian political scene. They have decided to do what they can to save the union.

It is my hope that the decision taken at the congress will not lead to further wrangling. The overriding objective should be the swift election of new executives, and all stakeholders should be ready to compromise their stance to facilitate the achievement of that objective in the shortest possible time. My sympathies are with the candidates contesting for the various NUGS offices who were clearly exhausted and frustrated after months of campaigning across the country.

All is not lost comrades, for as long as we stand, NUGS stands. Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta!!

By Jerome Wematu Kuseh GUPS General Secretary