My ambition as Osun NANS JCC Chairman is not a plot to sabotage Dammygold's success (An exclusive interview with Akande Michael, O Action)

Interviewer: Please, kindly introduce yourself to the general public.

Action: I am Akande Michael, O with the political epithets Action, a student of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree from the department of Business Administration and Management, an indigent of Osun State.

Interviewer: Without much ado, let's go to the real business of the day. Kindly tell us what makes your contest as the NANS JCC Chairman, like tell us how it all went.

Action: I had plans to contest for Osun Poly Student Union President during my Industrial Training, especially during the period Nigeria was into a pandemic. I met the major stakeholders to put me through the struggle and took my time to map out the structure I want to use. This was around August 2020. I can remember so very well, that I met with some of my friends for a declaration of intention which many of them opposed while leaving few of them to embrace the agenda. 

Before I got admission for my HND, I worked as the Media and publicity director for Impeccable Campaign Organisation which sees to the victory of Impeccable as the SU President in 2021. His victory seems to affect my ambition as the incoming Student Union President due to the political system on the campus and also coming from the same department-- Business Administration & Management. 

In Abuja 2020, during one solidarity visit to one of the National Comrades, I heard about the chances of Ospoly claiming the NANS JCC Chairmanship position in 2022 due to the possible permutations for the 2021 NANS Osun election. On getting to school during my first week in HND 1 (April 2021), one of the major stakeholders in NANS National told me to work on myself harder and think far beyond Ospoly but to extend my vision to lead the entirety of state students.

I was left to choose between two options, one will happen in the coming months while the other will be another 365 days. After weeks of internal deliberations and consultations, I choose to opt-in for NANS JCC Chairman. I came to a conviction by May 2021.

Having come to the conviction, that the NANS JCC ticket is not automatic, I still have to battle for tickets among my colleagues, especially with the political tradition the school is practicing (compensation politics), it will be out to claim the ticket. I had to think about the kind of politics I will play. To secure this, I came out with a controversial graphics design, without making my intention known to the public whether or not I'm contesting for a position at Osun State Polytechnic, Iree most especially at the SUG level. I had to attend a series of meetings after the graphics surfaced online, thanks to Ajayi Folajinmi Richardson (Enigma) who gave me the scope. While being compelled to step down from the SUG race, I secured the NANS JCC ticket with some stakeholders, which I can't publicly disclose. NANS convention -- Akure 2021 was the convention I used to launch my ambition to many stakeholders. I was the only HND 1 student of Iree that attended the convention.

Interviewer: What's your relationship with Dammygold, before and after the contest?

Action: My relationship with him is strong to the extent that I always try to dodge every way that we might be competing against each other. Starting from the SUG race, I can say confidently that one of the top reasons I put in line with my thought is the friendship between me and him (Dammygold). I don't want us to compete with each other. He came to me to declare his ambition for me when he was contesting for Student Union President, I welcomed him and gave him every necessary information he needed to know, without minding the political differences we had. I gave him the structures that I had on the ground but it's not useful again since I'm not contesting for the Student Union President any longer. We were best friends until politics set in and shattered the friendship. I think I tried all my possible best to uphold it, but as fate will have it, it got out of hand. Then after the election, the friendship ought to continue but it was limited to ordinary greetings, and man has to move forward.

Interviewer: It was gathered that he declared his intention to contest for the NANS to you, is it true?

Action: He indeed declared his ambition for me. He did it via WhatsApp. I can remember, he wrote it like this, "I want to tell you that I'm aspiring for the post of NANS JCC Chairman😂". 

Immediately, I replied to him that, we have to see and talk about this. He granted my request to meet and we discussed it. In the meeting, I told him, not to waste his money cos he knows that I'm still in the race to contest. He said he knows. Even, though we both discussed the chances of Ospoly claiming the position of the Chairman. The bottom line was that he told me his intention and I didn't let him nullify it, I only told him my position and wish him well. Who am I to tell him not to contain his movement?

Interviewer: What took you so long to declare your ambition to the public, why 7 days to the election, some people believe your sole motive of put an end to Dammygold's chances of winning and that you've been pushed by some of your leaders because you don't have the interest to contest, can you say something on this?

Action: Chuckles, my ears aren't deaf to the rumors around, some even said, I betrayed the friendship, some affirmed that I was pushed by my leaders to contest, and some also said I intentionally came out to put an end to Dammygold's chances of winning. With my analysis since my inception of the struggle, there's nowhere anyone forces me to contest. Those who know me understand that I am a Marxist, I respect my leaders, I love my caucus and I always consult before taking decisions. I am somebody who counts every idea of someone as an opinion, it is left to me to decide. A leader can tell me to do this and I'll do it and I may not be based on the outcome of the repercussions involved and personal benefit. So, if anybody is thinking I was forced to come out, the person ought to be sick upstairs. 

Coming to the public declaration to contest for NANS JCC, the reality is there's nothing the public wants to offer in this struggle than unnecessary recognition everywhere. NANS JCC Osun is a vote of 8 people. I have met with the right quarters before I made my declarations, the public who don't have a vote knew my intention 7 days before the election, to me, it's even too early. But the critical stakeholders, the contestants, the senators, and others had the idea of my contentions a long time ago. So, if anyone believes NANS is all about making graphics designs, public awareness, and publicity, let him or her dig into history, he or she will understand much more.

Interviewer: We heard that Dammygold was not aware of your ambition, what can you say to this?

Action: Smiles, the first time I told him about my intention to run for the NANS JCC Chairman was when I dropped a controversial graphic, that he thought I'm going for the post of Student Union President. I arranged a meeting with him and another friend of ours, Olajide at Dammy's hostel, heritage, in the morning. I analyzed my posts and they both embraced the idea. I clarified my actions, a deliberate one to be precise but not to contest against him. That was around April 2021. I declared my intention to contest as the NANS JCC Chairman for him during the time I'm doing my clarifications. However, there was a time in the middle of 2021 when a brother of us, Seyifunmi Afolabi, came from Ondo State to help us to settle a little misunderstanding between us and that time again, I still made more emphasis on the ambition that I have. 

It just amazed me to be reading his interview with NEB, Ospoly when he claimed that "he doesn't know I had the ambition to contest for the NANS JCC Chairman". That sucks actually and I'm not surprised.

Interviewer: Why will you leave a relationship and embraced politics, just like that?

Action: Yes, the philosophy is right. However, at this point, we have to understand that there are things we should have known. We can't force friendship and relationship, if the commitment in the relationship is not reciprocated by the second party, it's synonymous with you forcing yourself on him/her. What makes a relationship beautiful is when who you love also loves you back. If otherwise, alaye, jaapa ooo. In nutshell, I feel I'm the one forcing a relationship with each other, so in other not to feel useless, make I just dey my dey, I'm tired of calling peace meeting every time. If I'm not mistaken, a peace meeting has been called more than 4 times, but in the end, all came with efforts in futility.

Interviewer: Why don't you deem it necessary to step down for Dammygold to uphold the relationship?

Action: Your question is dead on arrival. Next, please.

 Interviewer: After the convention, we read about the report released by the CPC, how did you manage to be the candidate that your Student Union President nominated among the three of you?

Action: That's one of the things that has to make you believe that I have done a lot of work before declaring my intention. Securing the ticket is not easy.

Interviewer: When you know you're not supporting Dammy as the SUG President, why did you call Attitude to ask him about Dammy's CGPA?

Action: Yes, I indeed called Attitude one night to discuss the results of Dammygold with him. My reasons for asking about the results were clearly stated for Attitude. I believed Attitude and I are on the same page (which I don't have any doubt about hitherto this moment). I asked him, I heard a rumor that Dammy's CGPA is not in 3.00. If the rumor is true, I told him what they can do, and if the rumor is not true, they should continue their movement. It is with attitude's statement that I knew something is going on, his response that, he doesn't know Dammy CGPA weaks me. And I said he should confirm and not try to get back to me. He hung up the call without further delay. Lately that night, around 10 pm, I received a call from Emir, telling me to stay off from verification of Dammy's CGPA and that nothing concerns me. He insulted me all through the 2:58 seconds phone call. All my efforts to counter the allegations seems to be abortive and he hung up. Since that day I knew have lost the friendship and relationship with Dammygold. After a few weeks of negative reactions from his camp, I assumed the work of Media & Publicity Director for Bengee Campaign Team, within a few weeks of working as a Media for the team, I knew the friendship might not be regained again, because I worked so well for Bengee to see to his victory since Bengee and I belongs to the same political party, while the bond of friendship of the other camp seems to have been broken. Some advised me to be neutral, but I can't sit on the fence, can't be a hypocrite, I have to belong to one side because I have interests I'm also to defend.

 Interviewer: Since you lost the election in NANS JCC, you haven't made any comment about it, why?

Action: What do you still expect me to say? The election has come and gone, I'm thankful and at the same time I'm sad. Skip to the other questions. I'll talk later or never.

Interviewer: Do you see yourself ending the rift between you and Dammygold anytime soon?

 Action: Of course, Yes! We will soon come back to our senses when the time comes. Yesterday we were the best set of friends, today, it's otherwise, tomorrow it might be a change of story. Let's just see how things will go as time goes on. We're preparing ourselves to be the best, I think. People have missed us and I think we miss ourselves too. 

Interviewer: We appreciate you for your time, we enjoy your time given to us, and we hope you'll answer us anytime we call on you. 

Action: Yes, I'll be available. It's my pleasure anyways.

Interviewer: Thank you.