For some weeks back now, one of the BCs flooding our social media pages was that of the stories of 100 level health profession courses especially the medicine and surgery (MBBS) students of the prestigious UNILAG; on how the University of First Choice and nations pride with the help of the “Health professional bodies” shattered their dreams of training to become medical doctors.
Please note, it’s not that they didn’t get admitted for a MBBS degree, they had even being matriculated into the system as medical students, written all necessary exams and met the set criteria and cut off points.
Well, the story and agitation have died down now (obviously we have “better” or “more important” problems to deal with), but what really has happened? What was done or being done? A lot has happened and a lot was done, but from my point of view; a mere onlooker, this is what I think.
Some of the students accepted their fates and moved on to the different departments they were placed in by the school (since they did not actually fail, at least they met the 50-50-50 criteria which was the initial “agreement” and “contract” for moving to the next level but they just weren’t “lucky” enough to meet the new “Health professional bodies in conjunction with UNILAG” set rule). Then the others decided to seek for justice and help for themselves in different ways; some of which resorted to legal help, some to help of people in high places and others to other means maybe known to them alone.
Now, the Legal help outcome – started as an outspoken feeling of unsatisfaction and cheating by parents and students to the university authorities in a public way, which turned legal by getting a renowned lawyer to fight for their course.
After the saga, these set of people taking the university to court for justice, they won the case (who would have thought) and have now even resumed lectures in the CMUL, Idi Araba, although the university has not totally taken all steps to the injunction by the court of law but from reliable source, they are on the process. And this is after their initial “successful” counterparts have resumed more than a month ago and even had their “fresher’s consult” on the 9th of March, organised by the Association of Medical Student University of Lagos at the college.
But is this justice for all? As only 30 students fell under this category of the legal help. Out of a total of over hundred students, only about half was admitted into the college using their own newly set criteria, leaving a good number who actually met the 50-50-50 criteria and others to the mercy of other departments in faculty(s) and now only 30 out of the chunk made it to the next level of the course of choice they actually matriculated for.
Would we call this a game of chance, choice or the cruelty of fate? Either ways, I believe everyone has an equal right to justice and what is good for the goose is good for the gander – The spirit of togetherness cannot be overemphasised. I am not pointing fingers at anyone or blaming others “misfortune” on anyone neither am I faulting anyone for standing up and saying no to injustice nor fighting for their justice in any way they deem fit, because everyone has the power of choice to choose the path of the search for help they wanted but actually some people do not even have these choices to make (yes, think about it).
So at the end, some are happy and fulfilled, some are sad and accepting fate while others are indifferent at how the whole tale of injustice has turned but should these turn tale of “justice” be the ideal?
From a quiet observer and a passive onlooker.
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