By: Ochi, Maduabuchi
The hallmark of great leadership is action. Those who have been entrusted with the mandate to guide a people at the forefront can only prove to those who have placed their faith in them that they have them in mind through the actions they take. In fact, it is not an exaggeration that the only basis upon which you can judge a leadership is through their actions. It tells whether the heart of the leadership is with the people, or if their sentiment lies in another place.
It has been three months since Team Amelioration was officially inaugurated as members of the Executive Council of the Students’ Union. Since then, many issues have cropped up, as life often happens. These issues presented the Union leadership an opportunity to prove to the students’ populace where its loyalty lies. Despite calling itself ‘Team Amelioration’, the leadership seems to have done little to actually ameliorate students’ concerns. On Monday, May 13, 2024, right there in the hall where the Union leadership was being inaugurated, one of such issues cropped up. Three students; Nice Linus, Aduwo Ayodele, and Mide Gbadegesin, were dragged out for raising placards against outrageous fee increments and were handed over to the Nigerian army.
The first opportunity and perhaps trial of the Union leaders was set before them, and how they handled it was to set precedence for the way their administration would carry on for the rest of the session. But the decision the Aweda Bolaji-led leadership made at such an acute point was an inaction. While the Students’ Union President, Aweda Bolaji, expressed mere sentiments to ensure the release of the students, nothing concrete was done to effect that. There were only paltry words, but no follow-through. The intervention that secured the release of the students from their inexplicable arrest had no finger of the Union leadership.
Few weeks later, the school had officially resumed, and an ever-pressing issue in the minds of students, an issue that doesn’t ever want to seem to die down leaped up. Students who study at the University would need a place to live. Consistent problems with the school’s internal accommodation system have continued to frustrate students to no end. It was yet another problem, another moment for the Union to prove through actions that it indeed was concerned about the populace who elected them. No efforts were made to make this process any easier for the students. No statement was released to that effect. Even in the year plan it presented to the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), ‘Accelerated Hall Allocation’ only happened once, which begs the question of whose hall allocation was accelerated when many students still weren’t able to secure hostel accommodation. Their action, which in this case and the previous one was choosing not to act, has left students without the safety net that their membership in the union ought to provide. Through the things they refused to do, they slowly chipped away the support that is the basis of a strong Union – tacit representation.
Taking a step back to consider a much larger issue, one that directly challenged the studentship of many who attend this institution. One can see this trend of inaction in the way they handled the struggle against increased school fees. Left to their own devices the actions of the Union were clear, dragging their feet for as long as they could. They disregarded the resolutions of the Congress that held in the previous semester, and have chosen not to act out on them. To start with, the Students’ Union leaders called a stakeholders meeting, which wasn’t a congress, to discuss increased fees, but to no effect. They advised students not to pay their fees, yet they hesitated to take the practical steps that would have ensured compliance with the instructions. Aweda Bolaji-led leadership even went as far as to postpone a SRC-called Congress meant to discuss the increased fees, for an event unknown to the Students’ Union worth more the attention. Such actions do not speak of a leadership ready to ensure students’ welfare. Like a man who tells those he owes that he will surely pay them, and yet spends all his money gambling and drinking, the Students’ Union leadership words and its actions do not tally!
Even concerning the protests that recently broke out, Team Amelioration inaction shines through. The memo concerning the rationing of electricity floated around without words from the Union executive that they were capable of addressing the concern. Then, the mass of students dissatisfied with the conditions took matters into a peaceful protest.
It was the students who took action, who took the steps to ensure that they were no longer suffering, and dragged the unwilling Union leadership alongside. On Wednesday 16th July, 2024, students took to the streets, by morning the Union executives had been forced to release a memo as demanded by the protesting students at Njeoma Road. Students ensured that some wins slipped their way that historic Wednesday as the University of Ibadan management prevailed upon, retracted a ten-hour electricity rationing memorandum.
The actions of the Aweda-led Team Amelioration, or rather its loud inactions, have continually damaged the base of faith upon which the Union of Students operates. The struggle has not ended. Students at the University of Ibadan needs adequate leadership. It is not too much to ask for.
