The Very Nigerian Playbook of Campus Politics

At a students’ union manifesto reading in a public university in Nigeria, it is fairly easy to predict which aspirants will emerge winners at the poll. For some, it is because of their carriage, the certainty underneath their steps. But for others, one can tell from the cheering that accompanies them as they take the stage that they have done the underground work, so that their presence at the reading is merely a formality.

It is 29 July 2026, elections season, at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK). We are gathered at Garuba Square, a popular hotspot on the Awka campus. Most students are absent; only a fraction of the student population (about 49,000) are here, but one doesn’t exactly feel this absence. The energy pulses as students tap each other, whisper to each other and hail their preferred candidates. There are students clustered in groups, speaking loudly in order to hear themselves above the din. The aspirants, about 29 of them, are seated in front, clutching their speeches tightly, tapping their legs to a rhythm only they can hear. In a few minutes, the speeches will begin with the presidential aspirants, and immediately after nine of them have spoken, the two vice-presidential aspirants will follow. After they step aside, the energy in the hall begins to dissipate as students start trickling out. Then, after the two aspirants for secretary-general conclude their readings, the students begin to leave in droves, their seats yawning as the square empties out. It is almost as though the offices of treasurer, director of sports, director of socials, director of welfare, public relations officer and their aspirants are not of consequence, insignificant to the interests of the students.