Full Text of the #StateOfTheUnion Twitter Interview with Luckyimoh Inyang, Current Uniuyo SUG President

Ghpsi took on Luckyimoh Inyang, current Uniuyo SUG president in a live Twitter Interview on Saturday, 12 January, 2012. Issues discussed ranged from his work with Stepping Stones Nigeria, to his recent suspension by the SUG parliament. Here are the excerpts.

@Ghpsi Good morning and welcome to our #StateOfTheUnion interview with @psychero82, current Uniuyo SUG President!

@psychero82: @Ghpsi Good morning my comrade.

@Ghpsi: To join the discourse, just add the tag #StateOfTheUnion to your tweets!

@Ghpsi @psychero82, What motivated you to choose Psychology as your course of study? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi I came in for psychology because I wanted to affect people's lives positively. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 Really? What did Psychology offer that other courses did not? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi Yea. A simple definition of psychology has it that its a science which studies human behaviour and the thought process. Its does not only study behaviours and thought processes, it finds solutions to negative behaviours and it finds solutions to conflicting thought processes. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 Before you became SUG President, you were quite involved with advocacy with regard to Stepping Stones Nigeria.

@psychero82: @Ghpsi Yea I was. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 How did advocacy with Stepping Stones Nigeria begin? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi That was before I even started my university program. It started in 2006 and was all about protecting the rights of children. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 In your view, what caused d cases of child molestation in the name of witchcraft which your org stood against? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi A lot of issues contributed but the proactive response by His Excellency the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State by passing into law the Child Rights Act has arrested the issue to a large extent. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 Are student election cycles too expensive in your opinion? Does this hinder "performance" by elected officials? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi Its a sacrifice. It should not hinder performance in any way. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 How were you able to fund your election campaign? And have you 'recovered' what you spent? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi I was self sponsored and I didn't come to the union to recover anything. People who enter unionism with such mentality will not serve the Nigerian Students! I do not consider how much I spent to get here but how much I can contribute to build our union. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 How then do you reconcile that with the allegations of embezzlement against you? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi Thank God you called "allegations". If I call you a thief, does that make you one??? What is happening is political and I am happy to tell the entire Nigerian students the true #StateOfTheUnion . Our solidarity constitution makes provision for pre-bugetary expenditures which should be included in the budget when it's eventually presented. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 How do you define "political"? Because it is alleged that you made unapproved expenses of over N800,000 #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi It is political in the sense that the whole allegation lacks basis. There is no govt that does not engage in extra budgetary expenditures. The truth of the matter is I swore and Oath to protect the integrity of our Union. The problem people are having with me is that I do not bring money sacrificially contributed by the good people of Tuskers' Republic which were meant for constitutionally specified purposes for them to share.

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 But isn't the pre-budgetary expenditure limited to N5,000? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi My comrade, we needed more than N5000 to inaugurate the SUG house. Who would have appropriated such funds when there was no parliament??? #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 What then is the position of the school management? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi The management has only allowed the union to stab itself. Our constitution has been disregarded by mgt on several occasions and we have not challenged them as a union. 4.0 CGPA was placed as qualification for commissioners in the last elections which is not as stipulated in our constitution; the election guidelines for the last elections was contrary to our constitutional provisions and we did nothing about it. Yet today, our parliament quoted the same constitution for mgt to honour. Is that not betrayal? #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 With this fiasco, do you think the extra year you sacrificed to serve the union has been in vain? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi I have sacrificed so much for the union I hold dear to my heart, but I do not think it is in vain. The power lies in the hands of the people! The parliament cannot be greater than the entirely Nigerian students. The powers of the congress shall be invoked. The Nigerian students have the right to know the truth and I hope you will help me tell them the truth they need to know. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 Rounding up, what would you count as achievements of your govt so far & what do you still have planned? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi Without trying to blow my own trumpet, the achievements of the Luckyimoh Inyang led SUG has been enormous. May I respectfully commend the foundation that has been laid by past union leaders. Firstly, the temporal union secretariat has been given a face lift. I have visited other union secretariats and what we now have deserves commendation. The secretariat is the image of the union. We have plans to atleast lay the foundation of our new secretariat at main camp by God 's grace. This administration joined the rest of the world to mark the world Heart day where students had the opportunity to free check-ups and awareness. This administration is also very interested in the social life of the Nigerian student and therefore organised a thank you party and the Eyen 9 ja show and more in the kitty this semester. We plan to hold a general congress as well is give out scholarships to deserving Nigerian students. These and lots more are in store for the Nigerian students for the remain six months we have. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 What about student advocacy? Students often feel the Union doesn't speak for them and often have no one to speak up for them in such cases like victimization by lecturers. What r u doing about this? #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi Student advocacy is not a one-off activity of the union, it is continuous. We will continue to press for basic amenities to be provided for students to make for a conducive learning environment. However, it will be challenging when parliament and executives are not speaking with one voice. A house that fights against itself cannot stand! You see, some of our students are timid. I have never gotten any complain from a student of victimisation from a student of victimisation by a lecturer. Let's have a case and see if we will not push it. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 Maybe because they don't even know you. The only time most students see SUG is when Indomie is being shared! #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi #smiles# I am very accessible. 08064896057 I am here to serve. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: @psychero82 We do wish you the best in your endeavours and thank you for taking time to address these issues #StateOfTheUnion

@psychero82: @Ghpsi I am really grateful. I hope the Nigerian students who massively voted me in were following. I say a big thx to you all and promise to always stand by my campaign promises. God bless Tuskers' Republic! There is hope for our union and our country. #StateOfTheUnion

@Ghpsi: That's a wrap! Thanks to everybody that took part. The full interview would be available later in the day #StateOfTheUnion