Great IFE Remains Great IFE; What Exactly is Great IFE? by Fashoyin Adébiyí (FRIZZY)

Great IFE remains Great IFE; what exactly is great IFE?

It is traditional to begin articles with quotes, so I will begin with one as well. It is said that “when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable.” And it has come to my notice that the purpose of chanting the mantra “Great IFE” is no longer known, naturally, abuse has come about. 

During the protests, I kept hearing the question, “what is great about IFE?” and I believe that it is our generational duty, as the outgoing generation of IFE, to explain what it is. 

You see, the first thing you must note is that IFE does not refer to the town, or the school and the management, or the infrastructure. In fact, it does not refer to the sanity of the system, rather it refers to the _volkgeist_, a German term which means “spirit of the people.” IFE is an acronym for Intellectual Fighters for Emancipation. IFE refers to the students who will not allow management impose draconian policies, students who will question the arbitrary use of power by porters or the school security, and students who will write articles to find out why union officers take certain standpoints. Also, IFE refers to any student of Obafemi Awolowo University who identifies what he believes in to be right, and fights for it intellectually, whether or not it affects him personally. IFE is those who came before us, it is us, it is those coming after us, IFE is an ideology. 

So, when you hear the term “Great IFE”, it is a salutary call of recognition of our dilapidated infrastructure, the lights that suddenly develop faults during exam period, the high handed security unit, tyrannical officials of the university, the union, faculties and departments, both staff and students. It is a salutary call recognizing that in a world where everything is wrong, students of this institution will never fail to stand for what is right. It is the panegyric of Afrika, the oriki or Legacy, the incantation that keeps O.A.U cult-free, that forces drivers to freeze when students are on zebra crossing. 

So, if the system offends you and you ever have cause to doubt the greatness of Obafemi Awolowo University, by all means, do so, but never doubt the greatness of Great IFE, for every time you stand for what is right, you are great IFE, in spirit and in truth. 

Conclusively, I was told about this as a freshman, and I believe everyone of us owes a duty to keep telling each new generation. Great Ife remains Great IFE! 

Fashoyin Adébiyí (FRIZZY)

Chairman, Equity Chambers,

Faculty of Law, OAU-Ife

A Great IFE