By: Sonaike Peter
Every institution requires leadership to address the needs of its people. Since not everyone can be involved in governance, few individuals are chosen to represent and manage the affairs of others. This principle applies to the Great Independence Hall of Residence at the University of Ibadan. In the last session, several candidates vied for different positions within the hall, each presenting their manifestos with promises to administer the welfare of Katangites. One of these candidates, Olaoye David, emerged as the Secretary of State, after defeating his opponent, Odunukan Collins, with 354 votes to 263. Beyond the votes, are streams of concerns.
Olaoye’s manifesto outlined his vision. “My experience, a vision of unity and inclusivity, a commitment to action, and essential leadership qualities to lead Independence Hall towards a brighter future that represents all of us.” His manifesto covered four key areas: educational support, career development, a feedback system, and celebrating the birthdays and achievements of katangites.
Fixing the Hall’s Academic Concerns
Olaoye’s first plan as Secretary of State focused on providing academic support to students through tutorials and an e-library, which falls under his constitutional responsibility as stated in section 2(8) of the Great Independence Hall’s constitution. This plan seemed promising, but its execution is what truly matters. According to Olaoye, he organized weekly tutorials on various courses, including Science, Technology, Arts, and Social Sciences, across both semesters. To ensure the quality of these tutorials, he retained some tutors from the previous administration committee, which he was a part of, and added new ones who demonstrated academic excellence. The feedback from students who attended these tutorials has been positive, indicating that Olaoye’s plan was well-received.
Regarding the e-library, Olaoye initially compiled some materials to populate it, but later scrapped the project because some of the courses were outdated, as pointed out by a 100-level student. Consequently, he decided to share the upgraded course materials through a WhatsApp group he created for that purpose.
But one notable concern about Olaoye’s plan execution is that, while his academic support efforts are commendable, they have been only beneficial to fresh students. This raises a crucial question: what about the staylites? Don’t they deserve academic support as well, considering that they also elected him to oversee their welfare.
On Career Development
The second part of Olaoye’s plan focused on career development, including skills acquisition and marketing support. As stated in his manifesto, Olaoye explained that his plan was a result of an observation that many students in the hall lacked “tangible skills, which is not advisable in today’s dynamic world.” However, he mentioned that this project was abandoned because the Administrator-General already had similar plans. Olaoye explained that this decision was as a result of his intention of not creating an atmosphere for a competition between him and the Administrator-General. Instead, he gave an assurance to organize an academic summit in January 2025 to make up for it.
Feedback System and Newsletter
The third part of Olaoye’s manifesto included a feedback system and a newsletter to help identify weaknesses in his administration, foster accountability and promote inclusivity in decision making. According to Olaoye, he created a google form for feedback in both the first and second semesters, but the response was low, making it ineffective. As a result, he said he resorted to gathering feedback in person, going from room to room and asking katangites for their suggestions and opinions about the hall. The potency idea is yet to materialize in the general state of the hall.
Regarding the newsletter, which was supposed to include information about the hall’s history, common pot, ‘Aro’ and its past achievements, Olaoye assured that it would be available on Sunday, January 18, 2025. An ideal newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news about the activities of a business or an organization sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. It is important to measure the newsletter by a standard deserving of the hall.
Celebrating Birthdays and Achievements
Olaoye’s final plan was to celebrate the birthdays and special achievements of katangites. In an interview with IndyPress, he stated that he initially created a google form for katangites to fill out once and for all, but due to low responses, he decided to send it monthly. However, IndyPress observed that he did not send the form in December to celebrate katangites who are December celebrants. When asked, Olaoye attributed the issue to one of his committee members being responsible for the task.
Upon reviewing Olaoye’s manifesto, it is clear that the Secretary of State has to some extent delivered his promises, while others are yet to materialize. For example, the academic tutorials which had a primary focus on fresh students, with staylites were left out of the plan.
While, we can only assess or grade his performance or underperformance based on his manifesto, a critical look at his plan reveals that his manifesto was not whole on the welfare of all residents in the hall. It summarily was itself an easy-by-size plan, considering the fact that he is the acclaimed “002” of the republic.
On what he has left to tick, the Secretary of State should not forget that he has to follow through with his unfulfilled plans; the academic summit and the newsletter, as promised. It is very important that his administration fulfills the social contract he made with Katangites to represent their aggregate interests.
