Only in Nigeria do we witness an era where non-state actors audaciously seek to countermand the lawful directives of a government agency, as if anarchy were a fundamental principle of governance. The latest spectacle in this dance of absurdities comes from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), an organization that, by all rational expectations, should be engrossed in academic pursuits, research, and constructive activism. Instead, it has veered into the murky waters of legislative confrontation, attempting to dictate terms to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over its legitimate enforcement of vehicle plate number regulations
The question begging for answers is this: what business does NANS, a students’ union, have with the regulation of vehicle plate numbers? Since when did the organization morph into an authority on transport policy? It is bemusing, if not outrightly embarrassing, that a body that should concern itself with issues such as funding for education, the plight of students in dilapidated hostels, and the quality of academic curricula has chosen instead to wage war against a statutory agency enforcing security measures on our roads.
Rather than tackling pressing issues affecting students—poor learning environments, arbitrary tuition hikes, and decaying infrastructures—NANS finds it more expedient to threaten the FRSC for executing its legal duty. This is a classic example of vain voyage, an expedition without purpose, an activism devoid of wisdom.
For context, the FRSC is not engaged in some frivolous exercise; it is carrying out a crucial national security function. The enforcement against fake and irregular vehicle plate numbers is a necessary intervention to curb crime, enhance road safety, and ensure proper vehicle identification. In a country where vehicular crimes—including kidnappings, robberies, and even terrorist activities—have been traced to the use of unauthorized or forged plate numbers, any reasonable citizen should support, rather than resist, this initiative.
NANS’ opposition to this exercise is not only shocking but deeply concerning. By threatening to “shut down FRSC offices” for impounding vehicles with fake plate numbers, the students’ body inadvertently aligns itself with lawbreakers and rogue elements undermining national security. How does NANS justify this misplaced aggression? Are students now beyond the law? Do they deserve special immunity from traffic regulations? Or is this simply another misguided attempt to remain relevant in national discourse?
This reckless grandstanding by NANS further highlights the degeneracy that has plagued student unionism in Nigeria. Once a formidable voice for intellectual discourse and social justice, NANS has sadly degenerated into a ragtag pressure group grasping for relevance in matters that do not concern it. Rather than playing to the gallery, issuing empty threats, and engaging in unnecessary confrontation, NANS should redirect its energy to academic and policy-based activism that benefits its members.
The FRSC, on its part, must not be intimidated by the jejune antics of NANS. The agency has a statutory responsibility to sanitize our roads, and no student body—no matter how agitated—should be allowed to derail that mission. National security is not a playground for attention-seeking activism.
The message is clear – Nigerian students should focus on their education and leave road safety regulations to the professionals. Let the FRSC do its job. Let students do theirs. Anything else is an oddity in an already chaotic system.
Nigeria stands at a crossroads where the rule of law must triumph over the reckless impulses of misguided activism. The FRSC’s mandate is clear: to enforce vehicle registration laws, enhance road safety, and protect national security. No amount of student tantrums should derail this mission.
If NANS truly seeks relevance, let it channel its energies toward the struggle for better education, improved student welfare, and policies that uplift the academic sector. But if its leaders insist on playing the role of antagonists against lawful authority, they risk becoming mere jesters in a theater of national progress.
This is not a battle of equals. The FRSC is upholding the law, while NANS is waging a vain war against order. And in that battle, the law will—and must—prevail.
Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice was a student leader in the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.