University campus elections are becoming a nightmare day in day out. There are mysterious happenings going on in every university during the campus elections that do not paint a good picture of the type of leaders we are raising as a society.
More than half of the riots in universities and colleges have been happening during and after the campus elections, caused by displeasure by certain students with the outcome of the elections.
Students have been rioting and burning down buildings and destroying property as a way to display their grievances after the outcome of an election. This however, is not the best thing to do.
For some time now we have experienced various incidences where students have destroyed their property and having the college shut down because of the elections.
We saw Maseno University in western Kenya burning down their structures because of an outcome of the elections. Machakos University burnt their small administration block to demonstrate displeasure in the electoral commission.
Some years ago we experienced Multimedia University of Kenya razing down its only student center after it was alleged that there were rigging in the campus elections.
Recently at Co-operative University, their experiments led to the deaths and several serious injuries after presidential aspirants wanted to show their superiority during campaigns.
The campus elections have generally not been a good activity altogether. There are very few incidences where we have experienced peace during such periods on the university calendar.
Apart from the hullabaloo and the excitement that is caused by these elections, this is where the university is breeding goons and bad leaders.
Students are being bribed to vote, others are getting involved into dirty activities such as beating up certain aspirants and threatening their lives simply because of campus elections.
This is the period where aspiring students get sponsorship from other politicians to launch their campaigns and go for the seat.
We have seen students in the University of Nairobi spending millions of money in the elections. These are people who are going to be our future leaders.
It is, therefore sad to learn that the university, which the society expects and hopes to change the history of this country, is getting involved in such incidences.
These students who riot after the outcome of an election are the same voters who will be used by politicians to cause riots during the national elections.
These students who indulge in voter bribery and election rigging are the same who will go into the leadership of the country and do the same.
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It is high time we get a solution to this situation. There should be sanity in our universities and the same should be reflected in the whole country.
If we allow our future leaders to continue destroying properties because of a simple election, then we are heading into tough times in the future.